A good cry
I'm not someone who cries easily. Well, actually, I do cry easily, which is part of the problem. What I should say is, I'm not someone who cries easily in front of people. In fact, it's fair to say I hate crying in any public forum. Loathe it. Dread it. Will do just about anything I can to keep myself from even tearing up in public or even in front of friends or loved ones. Like blinking rapidly, clearing my throat, pretending I have something in my eye... Admittedly, I've improved somewhat. My husband has seen me cry. That took awhile, but still. Last year when I was going through a difficult time some friends saw me cry. It was big. It felt like a breakthrough.I was reflecting recently that in all my books so far, the heroine has a good cry. A cathartic, cleansing cry, and in front of the hero. And I didn't do this intentionally ('must write cry scene') but simply as part of the story. And I love writing that kind of scene--a scene, which to me, shows an emotional vulnerability and nakedness as great as or greater than any scene of physical vulnerability and nakedness.
So tell me, what kind of crier are you? Do you cry easily and freely (I envy you, then!) or quietly and carefully? Or perhaps something in between?
posted by Kate Hewitt at
6:16 PM
Hi Kate, I love your new website! Coming from an army family, tears were seen as a sign of weakness (how sad is that?)so unfortunately I can usually manage to bottle them up. Yet the strangest things will get me going - does anyone remember that Ark Royal documentary, with film of a doctor and his patient being winched onto a helicopter? Bravery medals all round. Now I just have to hear 'Sailing' and I start...
Hi Christina,
Yes, I know what you mean about odd things setting you off.
Since I've had children I've cried more easily--things that are emotionally moving tend to affect me as much as or more than particularly sad things. And then when I try to relate the moving thing (as seen in a commercial, perhaps) I get all choked up just talking about it!
Kate