Sunday, January 31, 2010

THE NEED TO SHOW WWII VET'S EMOTIONS

Ami Spencer in her most recent post {Creativity Corner} In the Mood, January 29th http://amispencer.com/blog/2010/01/29/creativity-corner-in-the-mood/#comment-4384 talks about describing emotions in our writing. When I read her post, I yelled 'Eureka, that's what is missing from my writing.' Invisible Warriors is the story of men and women who lived through incredibly difficult experiences. For many, including my dear brother these were life-changing experiences. Those of us who did not experience World War II need to understand that more than 60-years later those experiences are still as real as they were back then.

Thus, my goal is to make Invisible Warriors a collective memoir. I have been stuck because I have not been sure how to make the individuals I am including in my book real -- human. I now understand I need to include emotion. I have seen some of the men and women I have interviewed pause, take a deep breath, or take a long draft from a cigarette, and I have heard their voices crack. I have seen the tears well in their eyes -- sixty years after they lived through the war. Now I just need to convey that to my audience so that my readers understand the impact of e.g. disembarking from a landing craft with enemy shells exploding inches away from the craft.

1 comment:

  1. I have young soldiers in my college classes, some that have served 3 tours of duty in the Middle East. They all have post traumatic stress, trouble relaxing and readjusting to life after military duty. War changes and haunts them. I think this has always been the case. I know my father never spoke of what happened when he was in the Air Force in WWII.

    Our soldiers are not understood...that needs to change. You're writing can help with the healing.

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