Today I was changing channels and came across an old disaster movie. About fifteen minutes into watching it, a scene came up where a mother gave her baby to an older daughter and told her to leave as they were stuck in a quagmire of traffic. The daughter's boyfriend was on a motorcycle that easily threaded through the stalled and wreaked automobiles. By taking the baby and leaving with her boyfriend, she would be leaving her mom and dad behind, most likely to die. Tears welled up in my eyes and I had to quickly wipe them away before my husband walked in and saw me making a fool of myself.
I had always heard to write an emotional scene the reader needed to like the characters and be vested in them. Well, this was only fifteen minutes of a movie with a large cast. I didn't know if I really liked these characters. But the part that choked me up was knowing I would've done the same thing to save my two girls. Hopefully I would never be placed in that spot but I know I would willingly do whatever was needed to guarantee my kids were still breathing and healthy.
That's when I realized the movie had done one thing for sure to bring out emotion, they presented a situation they knew most parents could understand and feel. Sometimes, even if you don't like or know the character well enough, you can place them in a position where they make a decision you know you would've done the same. At that moment, the reader would be in the shoes of the character, feeling the same feelings, experiencing the same doubts, desires, fears or sadness. That's what I want in my writing.
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