: Re: How do I start using my heart over my head? A little bit of background: I am trained as a electrical engineer and the more analytical stuff comes very easily to me. I've become way too analytical

@Bryan361

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Reading through your question above, I don't find your writing to be overly analytical or unemotional. You report quite clearly your desire for personal improvement and in your words, I can sense your emotional concern about your ability to write emotively. Seems to me that you are doing that already. At least when you are writing in the first person point of view.

Writing in a 1st person narrative style, is a powerful tool for inserting characterization and emotions into your storytelling. It frees you from the God like perspective of 3rd person omnipotent, forcing you to describe what your narrator sees and feels rather than what is really going on.
If your writing is coming off as too factual and sterile, I would guess that you're writing from a God's eye view. Climb down into the trenches with your characters and tell the story in one of their voices.

Then as an added bonus, don't let yourself use the word "I" in more than one sentence in five. That will allow you to start each paragraph with a statement of what you (the character) is doing, but it will force you then to add four more sentences explaining your motivations and your responses as your actions yeild fruit.

In response to the question you added as a comment on Kristina's answer, I would suggest that both reading and people watching are valuable tools for your quest. But I would also venture that your understanding of yourself is a solid starting place for understanding others. When you see someone else behaving in a manner that confuses you, take ownership of their actions and silently ask yourself, "why did I just do that?" With practice you should become skilled at recognizing exactly which fears and hungers influence specific kinds of actions. You already have a comprehensive reference for this study in your own behaviors and mannerisms. All you need is the courage to open it by asking "who would I have to be and what would I have to be feeling to act the way that person (or my fictional character) is acting right now?" Be creative in looking for answers and you'll be surprised at how accurate the answers you create will be.

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