Welcome to day 36 of 40 craft lessons.
A book might have all the narrative elements and be enhanced by many literary techniques. It might read beautifully aloud, yet still feel hollow or detached. Something is missing—a sense of warmth, connection, or genuine emotion that moves the reader beyond simple entertainment. That’s what makes a story feel meaningful and memorable. That’s what editors and agents refer to as “heart,” or “emotional resonance.”
There is no single instruction for weaving emotional resonance into a story. One suggestion is to determine the emotional core of the story: the feeling or emotional experience the story is built around. It might be curiosity, fear, joy, sadness, wonder, empathy, and so on.
In The Rabbit Listened (2018, Cori Doerrfeld), the emotional core is grief and emotional safety. The main character, Taylor, builds a block tower. Birds knock it over. Animals come, suggest their solutions, and then leave Taylor.
Taylor sits alone until the rabbit comes and listens to him.
That said, having an emotional core alone isn’t enough. Emotional truth, or authenticity, determines whether that core emotion feels real on the page. A book can be built around a powerful feeling and still fall flat if the emotions are rushed, artificial, or manipulated.
The Rabbit Listened is a special picture book because it has both a strong emotional core and emotional truth.
Hope reading this blog post has given you new ideas. See you tomorrow for Day 37.
