“Fiction can do things that no other art form can. If engages imagination on a deeper level, stirs minds and hearts, and brings about change in a way that few other art forms can manage.”
Summary - The emotional craft of fiction is about intentionally using story elements like character, plot, and setting to create a powerful emotional experience for the reader. It goes beyond simply showing or telling emotions by exploring how to connect the character’s inner journey with the outer events, build compelling characters with hidden depths, and use specific writing modes to evoke specific feelings.
Part of my Development Editing course is finding craft books that can help me help authors with a variety of different issues. I absolutely love fiction books that dig deep and this book shows how they do that. Within my course, the instructor also suggests adding craft books to my arsenal to be rea to suggest titles to authors in areas they may need a little extra help – I’ll definitely be recommending this one, it was so interesting and full of helpful tips and exercises to get the emotional ball rolling in manuscripts.
This may be one of my favorite books on writing I’ve read and I’ve read quite a few!
Do you read books on your area of expertise or to learn new things?
Find The Emotional Craft of Fiction at the publisher →
Toni Rocchetti is a copy editor helping authors strengthen their narratives, deepen character arcs, and find the story that is already in the draft. She reads 80+ books a year across literary fiction, memoir, and nonfiction — and writes about what she is learning along the way. Work with Toni →
