Writing from the heart

Re-reading Finding Your Writer's Voice got me to thinking. What makes some stories so emotionally charged that they effect us to the point of changing how we see the world? The verbiage is often ordinary, the sentence structure down right plain, and yet, the passage is riveting. Why?

There is the point that stories speak to us differently. Readers who are empathetic by nature may be prone to feeling the characters' plight. Stronger personalities yield to action, an injustice being righted. To some romance brings the story to life, others love science fiction. What touches my heart may not touch yours. 

Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall attribute powerful prose to the use of raw voice, but I think it goes deeper ... I believe that, on rare occasion, the reader becomes so emotionally bonded, so deeply entrenched in the storyline that ordinary words become extraordinary. In essence, they see and understand a glimpse of the writer's heart.

The land of Kailmeyra came to life because I longed for a world that drew power from love, that truly understood forgiveness. My heart drove every scene, every word. There were times when I was so emotionally drained I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through. Other days brought endless energy and enthusiasm, the characters never leaving my imagination. I went to bed thinking about them, dreamed about them, and in the morning I ruffed in scenes before work only to come home at night and fill them in. I allowed the story the freedom to go where it wanted. It's because of this that I feel close to those who have shared in the land of Kailmeyra. You now hold a piece of my heart. I thank you for taking your precious time to spend it with me as we delve into the possibility of a world without evil.