As I prepare to visit Paris for the first time, I’m excited about immersing myself. Really getting lost in the language, the sights, the food, well, every single thing. 

But one of the things I will make sure to do — even while I’m enjoying that buttery exquisite croissant — is to observe. 

One of great things about being a writer is being able to show interactions and relationships in different lights. To make them resonate with readers across the globe. 

Much of that comes from observing. 

Take the example of a broken heart. 

How does someone look when their heart has been broken? How does their body feel?  

I mention how the body feels because that gets at visceral reactions that can truly make your story come to life. 

Saying someone is heartbroken is flat. Showing they can’t breathe because their chest feels as if it’s been crushed — that’s something we can feel. 

Did you just take a deep breath? 

How someone looks and feels inside is different for each person. But we’ve all had friends and family who have had a relationship end, who have lost someone, and who have been betrayed. And we’ve had those experiences too. 

Now, I’m not talking about standing back and coldly calculating when someone is in pain. What I’m getting at here is to REMEMBER. 

Be there for your friend, for yourself, first and foremost. But then remember those moments.  

Even journal about them afterwards while they’re still fresh. When you look back at what you’ve just experienced, you’ll notice even more nuances you might have missed initially. 

As writers, we want to affect people with our words. Maybe even change their lives or get them to look at things differently. 

We do that by keying in on what’s real. 

I have a great illustration of this happening with my first book. One of the gals I worked with did not like vampires or werewolves. 

Not. One. Bit. 

My book has plenty of those. In fact, the main character is a vampire.  

She’s a good friend and was intrigued when she read the first page of my manuscript that I had prepped to send to an agent. She asked to read the whole thing. 

I didn’t expect much. I figured I wouldn’t even get any feedback from her. She was just doing it to be kind. 

She finished the book and asked when the next one was coming out. She needed to know what was going to happen to the characters. 

After I recovered a bit from my shock, I asked her why she was interested in characters who were vampires and werewolves — didn’t she tell me she hated those types of characters? 

She told me it was because she forgot what they were and focused on who they were. They had the same issues and problems we all have.  

They were relatable. 

Writers help make characters relatable by making them real.  

And we make them real by observing life. 

Jusqu’à la prochaine fois!