On Writing Emotions: A Writer’s Guide to Mastering Feelings in Fiction

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this several times now, but here’s the recap anyway. As you know, I’m doing the final editing round of my manuscript these days. And one of the major edits I’ve been struggling with is mastering the art of writing emotions. I feel like, as writers, we often get lost in accurately depicting emotions, especially when it comes to emotions like pain and loss.

We as people tend to process emotions very differently and our characters, being diverse, tend to have different reactions too. Stories are built on the foundation of action and reaction. 

When something meaningful occurs, readers want to see how characters respond. These reactions are key to drawing readers into the narrative. 

Emotions are the lifeblood of storytelling; they create connection and make characters believable. When done right, they make readers care about the people in your stories, encouraging them to keep turning the pages. 

But how do we, as writers, masterfully portray these crucial elements? This blog post will help guide you through the art of writing emotion in fiction.

The Purpose of Reaction

A character’s reaction is an emotional response to an event, new information, dialogue, or an opportunity. These responses help readers connect emotionally with the characters. Reactions can build curiosity, deepen understanding, and even sway readers to side with or against a character. 

However, reactions must be convincing within the context of the story. An unbelievable reaction can break the reader’s emotional connection with the character, and clash with the story’s tone.

Four Steps to Believable Reactions

To create convincing reactions, consider these four essential steps:

1. Establish the Story’s Tone

The tone sets the stage for how characters will respond to events. A serious tone calls for sincere and grounded reactions, while a comedic tone allows for more light-hearted responses. 

• For more information on setting your story’s tone, check out my blog post On Writing the First Chapter of A Novel.

2. Ground the Story in its World 

The world of the story dictates the rules and expectations that shape character reactions. A character’s reaction that is appropriate in one setting might be very out of place in another.

3. Ground the Story in its Characters 

Establish consistent patterns of behaviour and reaction early on. When something stressful or unusual happens, readers can anticipate their reaction and be surprised by it, but the reaction must be consistent with the character that has been established. Establishing a character’s values is also important because it can create surprising and unique reactions.

4. Decide How the Reaction Impacts the Story

Be aware of the purpose of each reaction. Sometimes, simple reactions will keep the story flowing. Other times, a reaction can shift the story’s direction, show character growth, or create a dilemma for the character.

Five Tips for Effective Reactions

Here are five tips to make your characters’ reactions stronger:

1. Give Characters Different Reaction Styles

If all your characters react the same way, your story risks becoming bland and predictable. Get to know your characters well so you can create a variety of reactions to the same events.

2. Avoid Unnecessary Dialogue

Sometimes a facial expression or a nonverbal response is all that’s needed. Too much dialogue can spell out a reaction when showing it would be more effective.

3. Sometimes the Obvious Reaction is Best 

There is no need to always shock the audience. A sincere character reacting sincerely can endear them to the reader.

4. Avoid Cliched Reactions

While obvious reactions can work, steer clear of overused responses. Consider a character’s response in relation to the common tropes of your genre.

5. Use Shocking Reactions to Establish Unique Characters

When you have set up your tone and story world, a shocking reaction can surprise the audience and introduce a unique character.

On Writing Emotions: Focusing in Pain

Pain is a core part of the human experience, and therefore a fundamental part of storytelling. Physical suffering often mirrors emotional suffering, which heightens drama and raises the stakes. However, writing about pain poorly can bore readers.

1. Avoid Over-Description

Too much description can be a grind for the reader. Also, be sure to not contradict the pain with character actions in the same scene. There’s a delicate balance to be struck between forgetting, elucidating, and over-describing pain.

2. Use a Pain Scale

Try using words that align with different pain levels: 

• Minor/Mild (pinch, sting, smart)
• Moderate (ache, throb, distress)
• Severe (agony, anguish, suffering) 
• Obliterating (ripping, tearing, writhing)

Use metaphors within one level of pain, rather than mixing levels.

3. Remind Readers of Pain in Different Ways

You can show pain, show your character working around their pain, or show how the pain changes. Showing the character working around the injury or wound can be more frequent than simply mentioning it. The pain itself can ebb and flow, becoming bearable and then debilitating again.

4. Research Injuries

Take the time to understand the injury your character is suffering from. This will add realism to the story as you write, and ensure the injury and its consequences last beyond the initial scene.

Writing Emotion Effectively

• Show, Don’t Tell…mostly: Avoid simply listing emotions. Instead, show emotion through character actions, body language and thoughts. Thoughts are particularly important because they often lead to emotions for both the character and the reader.
• Make it In Character: Consider whether your character would name their emotion. Younger characters may use simple labels, while others may be more nuanced. Characters who have the self-awareness to identify emotions may name them, while others may not.
• POV is key: All of the narrative should be the POV character’s thoughts. Only include named emotions if it fits the character and moment. Avoid authorial intrusion by ensuring that descriptions of a character’s emotion comes from their perspective.
• Don’t Name Complex Emotions: Surface emotions can be named easily, but complex emotions are best shown through thoughts and actions.
• Use Anger to Your Advantage: Anger is often a mask for other painful emotions. Consider whether a character’s anger is the root of their reaction, or a way of avoiding other deeper emotions. Use the character’s thoughts and actions to help the reader see the complex emotions behind the anger.

On Writing Emotions: Setting the Right Mood

Mood is a person’s state of mind, but it can also describe the disposition of a group, a time, or a place. Mood is subjective, and how a character perceives their environment is influenced by their mood. As a writer, choose words and imagery that mirror the character’s emotions.

1. Scene Purpose

Each scene has its own micro-mood depending on the character’s emotional state. The purpose of the scene determines setting elements, as well as what the character notices.

2. Word Choice

The words you choose are important. Use specific nouns, verbs and adjectives to create masterful descriptions and immerse your readers.

3. Mood Nuances

Mood informs how the character sees the setting, and the setting can affect and intensify their mood. Sensory detail should serve the purpose of the scene, character mood and concerns, not simply exist on its own.

4. Use Weather

Weather affects us every day, and your characters should also be affected. Weather can be used powerfully to affect mood in your story.

5. Beginning and End 

Consider what the mood will be at the beginning of the scene, and how it will shift by the end. Use settings to interact with your character to masterfully achieve this.

On Writing Emotions: A Closer Look At Writing About Emotional Trauma

Dealing with emotional trauma is personal, and people will cope with it differently. It’s important to respect your readers and use good judgment. Never be gratuitous, and only show what is necessary to move the story forward. Over-description can kill the pace, and the impact can be lost under a wall of sensory words.

1. Use Symbolism and Mood

The back jacket copy should hint at trauma from the past. Use symbolism, mood, weather, light, shadow, and personal symbolism to foreshadow any dark content. For example, a character’s reluctance to perform a task because of a bad memory associated with that task can indicate that something hurtful may be about to occur.

2. Vary Narrative Distance

Use deep POV to help readers feel the horror of the moment, but don’t be afraid to zoom out to give them a break. Filtering language and naming emotions can add distance, but these techniques should be used with intent.

3. Weave in Facts

Use a mix of “show” and “tell” when writing about emotional scenes. Breaking up painful emotions and sensory detail with factual statements can create a balance, add distance, and keep readers from becoming overwhelmed.

4. Show the Impact

Understand how specific traumas affect a character’s behavior, personality, fears, and view of the world.

Supercharge Your Scenes (And Yes, I Really Said That; It’s A Nice Adjective, Though Very AI-y)

Stories that evoke strong emotions are more likely to be memorable. Supercharge your pivotal scenes by loading them with powerful emotions that support the plot and character development. Scenes that are rich with emotion will linger in the minds of your readers long after they finish the book.

The journey of writing emotions properly in fiction is a continuous process of learning and refining your techniques. By understanding the purpose of reactions, mastering the art of describing pain, crafting a strong mood, knowing when to tell versus show, and being mindful of triggering content, you will craft stories that resonate with your readers on a deep emotional level. 

Your characters will come alive, your settings will be more meaningful, and your stories will leave a lasting impact. By combining these techniques in your writing, you will elevate your craft and create narratives that truly touch the hearts and minds of your audience.

If you’re still confused about where to start, I would suggest starting with TEDx video on writing descriptively.

So, what do you think? Let me know in the comments if you found these tips helpful.