Writing is all about emotion, when you get right down to it. People read and writers write because we’re after something magical: excitement, happiness, power, peace, fear, sadness, anger. Even the humble Aesop’s fables arouse feelings, whether curiosity, surprise, or delight.
But writing about or with emotion is exceptionally difficult. This applies whether you are portraying a character’s emotions or trying to elicit emotion in your readers. (These two objectives may overlap.)
Since I’ve been blogging about detail selection lately (here and here), I want to look at how this feature of writing applies to emotions.
Aim at the story, not the emotion.
Knowing what emotions your characters are feeling, as well as the emotions you want your readers to feel, will make your writing more effective—but only if these details are implicit. Your job is not to tell readers what to feel, but to create the circumstances for emotions to naturally arise.
This means that you need a solid, convincing plot and characters. If your two-dimensional protagonist falls dramatically in love with a poorly drawn love interest through a series of unbelievable events, there is little chance your readers will also feel swept away. Focus your attention on the details of a good story, and the story will do the rest.
How does this point apply to portraying the emotions of characters? It means that you can spend less time describing how your characters feel and more on clearly delineating them and their circumstances. When your readers can easily step into your characters’ shoes, they will easily feel your characters’ emotions. You won’t need to give them clues.
Write about emotion using concrete language.
We often experience and describe our feelings in abstract terms. Her soul was stirred to its depths by sorrow is entirely abstract and metaphorical. Concrete descriptions have more power. They can be achieved in two ways: by describing emotion in terms of physical sensations and expressions, and by describing the thoughts associated with emotions. A lump constricted her throat and suddenly she was weeping is an example of the first way. An example of the second: She realized she would never see him again. Combining the two can create extra impact, though not always.
Avoid emotionalism.
Emotionalism happens when your writing is overtaken by frequent, extreme emotions. Your characters are constantly gasping, jumping, teary eyed, dizzy, nauseated, aroused, or breathless as they journey moment by moment through an agonizing continuum of emotional drama. Unfortunately, your readers will not be transported on waves of emotion; they will get emotional whiplash. Nor should your persuasive essay maintain a fever pitch of rage, indignation, or excitement. Readers will either become skeptical of the emotion or grow tired and stop caring about it.
Allow the emotional energy of your writing to build, ebb, flow, release, and vary in intensity.
A little emotional detail goes a long way.
Think of emotional detail in your writing like salt. Some dishes require more and some less, but too much is always a disaster.
Be reasonable about the amount of emotional content you include in your story or other piece of writing. How often do you refer to or discuss emotions? What proportion of words is devoted to emotion? Do you repeat certain emotions or descriptions of emotion? When in doubt, err on the side of less, not more.
Banner photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash