February is the month of “Love” and we’ve been discussing this theme in our writing all month. Love is an emotion. I have found that emotion is the KEY to rounded character development. If you write Sean loved Mary with all his heart , do you “feel” that love? Do you identify with him? Empathize? No? How can you “show” emotion without “telling” your reader what to feel? Here’s an exercise to put yourself “in the mood,” so to speak: • Close your eyes and think of the word Love and remember a time when you felt that emotion. • How is your body reacting? What are some of your physical reactions? • What are you thinking? • What do you see? Any specific colors? What color is love? • Is there a certain smell that goes with the feeling? (lilacs, Old-Spice aftershave, Neco Wafers?) • A taste? What does love taste like? (cinnamon, licorice, scotch?) • A sound. What does love sound like? Write for ten minutes based on your feelings without using the word “love”. Here’s an exce...