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hayatheauthor · 12 days

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Writing Rage: How To Make Your Characters Seem Angry

Anger is a powerful emotion that can add depth and intensity to your character's personality. If you're facing issues realistically expressing your characters' rage, here are some quick tips to help you get the ball rolling. Whether your character is seething with quiet rage or exploding in a fit of fury, these tips will help you convey their emotions vividly to your readers.

This is blog one in my writing different emotions series. Go check it out to explore more emotions!

Facial Expressions

Furrowed Brows: Describe the deep lines between their eyebrows, signaling frustration or intensity.

Tightened Jaw: Mention their clenched jaw, indicating suppressed anger or tension.

Narrowed Eyes: Highlight how their eyes narrow, showing suspicion, irritation, or anger.

Raised Upper Lip: Note the slight curl of the lip, suggesting disdain or contempt.

Flared Nostrils: Describe how their nostrils flare, indicating heightened emotions like anger or aggression.

Body Language and Gestures

Crossed Arms: Show their defensive stance, portraying resistance or defiance.

Pointing Finger: Describe them pointing accusatively, conveying aggression or assertion.

Fist Clenching: Mention their clenched fists, symbolizing anger or readiness for confrontation.

Hand Gestures: Detail specific hand movements like chopping motions, indicating frustration or emphasis.

Aggressive Posturing: Describe them leaning forward, invading personal space to intimidate or assert dominance.

Posture

Tense Shoulders: Highlight their raised or tense shoulders, indicating stress or readiness for conflict.

Upright Stance: Describe their rigid posture, showing control or a desire to appear strong.

Stiff Movements: Mention their jerky or abrupt movements, reflecting agitation or impatience.

Eye Contact

Intense Stares: Describe their intense or prolonged gaze, signaling confrontation or challenge.

Avoiding Eye Contact: Note how they avoid eye contact, suggesting discomfort or a desire to disengage.

Glaring: Mention how they glare at others, conveying hostility or disapproval.

Dialogue

Raised or strained tone with variations in pitch reflects heightened emotions.

Short, clipped sentences or abrupt pauses convey controlled anger.

Use of profanity or harsh language intensifies verbal expressions of anger.

Volume increase, from whispers to shouts, mirrors escalating anger levels.

Monotonous or sarcastic tone adds layers to angry dialogue.

Interruptions or talking over others signify impatience and frustration.

Aggressive verbal cues like "I can't believe..." or "How dare you..." express anger explicitly.

Reactions

Physical Reactions: Detail physical responses like increased heart rate, sweating, or trembling, showing emotional arousal.

Defensive Maneuvers: Describe how they react defensively if someone tries to touch or talk to them, such as stepping back or raising a hand to ward off contact.

Object Interaction

Aggressive Handling: Show them slamming objects, throwing things, or gripping items tightly, reflecting anger or aggression.

Use of Props: Mention how they use objects to emphasize their emotions, like slamming a door or clenching a pen.

Descriptive Words:

Verbs:

Roared with fury, expressing unbridled anger.

Snapped in frustration, indicating sudden irritation.

Shouted angrily, releasing pent-up emotions.

Glared fiercely, showing intense displeasure.

Slammed objects in rage, symbolizing anger's physical manifestation.

Grunted in annoyance, displaying impatience.

Raged vehemently, portraying uncontrolled anger.

Adjectives:

Furious and incensed, conveying intense anger.

Seething with rage, bubbling beneath the surface.

Livid and fuming, exhibiting visible anger.

Agitated and irritated, showing growing impatience.

Enraged and wrathful, expressing extreme anger.

Vexed and irate, indicating annoyance.

Infuriated and incandescent, highlighting explosive anger.

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks?

Are you an author looking for writing tips and tricks to better your manuscript? Or do you want to learn about how to get a literary agent, get published and properly market your book? Consider checking out the rest of Haya’s book blog where I post writing and publishing tips for authors every Monday and Thursday! And don’t forget to head over to my TikTok and Instagram profiles @hayatheauthor to learn more about my WIP and writing journey!

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lyralit · 1 year

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"the wheel of feels"

#writer's block #writing help #writing emotions #lyralit #emotions #feelings #writing tips #writing prompts #word prompts #writblr #writerblr

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em-dash-press · 1 year

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Connecting With Your Reader's Emotions

We’ve all read a book or story that captured our hearts and made us feel things very deeply. It’s a superpower writers have, but it isn’t something we’re born with.

Connecting with your reader’s emotion happens when you’ve practiced writing. It becomes easier after each rough draft, each great draft, and each terrible draft.

But—if you want to save yourself some time, these are a few perspectives you can use to sharpen your writing tools.

1. Display Your Protagonist’s Inner Emotions

Your readers want to experience a character’s journey by connecting with them emotionally. We pick up books to feel things while learning something or just taking a break from life.

Displaying your protagonist’s inner conflict could look something like: She saw the ghost in the hallway, which scared her.

Your reader will feel more engaged if you describe how fear makes your protagonist feel instead of them feeling fear generally: She saw the ghost in the hallway and fear shot through her body like lightning.

You don’t need tons of flowery language to make your reader feel the same things as your character. Sometimes a minor descriptor or simile can do the job.

2. Show Your Protagonist’s Feelings Through External Reactions

Emotions don’t solely exist inside our hearts and minds. We also have external reactions to them. That could be nodding in confusion, shifting uncomfortably in a chair, or bending over laughing.

Consider this example:

“I love your laugh,” Anita said to Alice. “It makes my heart skip a beat.”

Heat spread through Alice’s cheeks as she smiled.

“Oh, you don’t mean that.”

You don’t need to mention how it feels to receive a compliment from a crush or why flattery is nice to hear. The physical reaction of blushing is something the reader can relate to and understand.

3. Make Your Reader Feel Something Your Character Doesn’t

This is a fun one. Sometimes characters have to figure something out, but the reader already knows what’s going on.

This could happen when you’re writing a horror story that is supposed to teach the reader about the joy of recognizing your own strength. The protagonist has the skills in the beginning to defeat the evil antagonist, but must reach rock bottom before cheering himself on. The whole time, the reader knows they can beat the antagonist and survive because they have the brains/strength/creativity, etc.

You could also write an enemies-to-lovers arc where it’s obvious to the reader that both characters are in love with each other long before they realize it. The reader should want them to embrace the scary feeling of falling in love, because that’s what you’re trying to teach through your story.

Consider Your Story’s Purpose

Writers have a purpose behind every story. What do you want readers to learn, consider, or experience through your own? You can use these methods of connecting with your reader’s emotions to make your plot’s purpose that much more powerful and engaging.

#emotional fiction #writing tips #writing advice #writing emotions #plotting #plotting tips #character creation

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novlr · 1 year

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ok hello first time sending in an ask but how would you go about writing a longing for your own romantic partner? if that makes sense like you love them so much that you start to feel almost hungry for them

How to write longing

Writing about deep emotions can be challenging. One of the most complex emotions to write about is longing. Longing is a powerful emotion that can tug at the heartstrings of readers and leave them wanting more. So let’s explore how to write about longing in a way that captures the essence of the emotion and engages readers.

Behaviour

Behaviour is a key factor in portraying longing in your writing. When a character is longing for something or someone, they may exhibit certain behaviours that can include:

Constantly checking their phone

Waiting by the window

Becoming restless and agitated

Daydreaming

Obsessively thinking about the thing or person they desire

Putting themselves in situations where they may encounter the object of their longing

Going out of their way to please or impress the person they desire

Silent crying

Interactions

Interactions with other characters can also help to show a character's longing. If the character is longing for someone, they will exhibit certain behaviours when with that person, but also around others. These may include:

Nervousness or stuttering

Trying to impress the person they long for

Engaging the one they long for in deep conversation to prolong their time together

Avoiding eye contact to hide their true feelings

Becoming jealous when the person interacts with others

Making grand gestures to show their affection

Becoming emotional when the person mentions leaving or being with someone else, or when others talk about this prospect.

Physical Signs

Physical signs of longing can vary depending on the character and the situation. Some common physical signs of longing can include:

Racing heart

Sweaty palms

Lump in the throat

Shortness of breath

Muscle tension or trembling

Flushed cheeks

Loss of appetite

Difficulty sleeping

Weakness or fatigue

Visual cues and imagery

Visual cues can help to set the scene and create a visual image for readers. When writing about longing, visual cues and narrative imagery can include things like:

The setting sun to illustrate melancholy

An empty bed to illustrate loneliness

A picture of the person they are longing forto illustrate their constant presence in the character's mind

A heart or other symbol of love to represent the character's feelings

A locked door or closed window to represent obstacles preventing the character from fulfilling their longing

A clock ticking loudly to emphasize the character's impatience

A scent associated with the object of their longing to immediately evoke emotions in the character and the reader.

Internal thoughts

A character’s internal thoughts allow readers to get a sense of the character's desires and motivations, as well as adding depth to their personality. Some ways you can represent their internal lives include:

Reliving memories or staring off into the distance

Focusing on small details such as the sound of footsteps or a certain smell

Being lost in thought or feeling detached from their surroundings

Having imaginary conversations with the object of their longing

Writing letters or messages they never intend to send

Having metaphor-filled dreams

Suppressing their emotions to protect themselves from potential disappointment

Rationalizing their longing as something that cannot be fulfilled

Feeling conflicted about their feelings and the potential consequences of pursuing them

Reliving memories or staring off into the distance

Body Language

Body language is always a compelling way to show, not tell your character’s inner longing. This can include:

Fidgeting

Biting their lip

Looking away when talking to or about the person they are longing for

Sighing or slumping of their shoulders

A deep gaze towards the object of their longing

Fidgeting with personal items such as jewellery or clothing

Clenching their fists

Wrinkling their brow

Tearing up or crying

Unconsciously smiling when talking about the object of their longing

Leaning towards the person they desire or those talking about them

Standing still or frozen in place when in the presence of the person they long for

Internal Feelings

Internal feelings are perhaps the most crucial aspect of representing longing. When a character is longing for something, they may feel a range of emotions like:

Sadness

Frustration

Anger

Envy

Hopelessness

Desperation

Restlessness

Obsession

Depression

Anxiety

Attitudes

Attitudes to represent longing will depend on the type of character your are writing. They may have a pessimistic or optimistic attitude towards their situation, and attitudes can shift and change with time. You can play around with variations of these attitudes, depending on where a character is on their personal journey:

Resigned due to unrequited feelings

Determined in their pursuit of the object of their longing

Guilty for longing for someone they shouldn’t

Resentful of others’ attentions

Ambivalent to everything outside of the one they long for

Jaded by former bad relationships

Vulnerable when with, or thinking about the object of longing

Defensive when speaking about their desire, or when the object of longing is criticised.

Positive outcomes of longing

When a character finally gets what they have been longing for, it can be a rewarding and satisfying experience, which translates to a satisfying relationship resolution for readers. From the character’s perspective, it means they will have an increased motivation to emulate positive traits for personal growth and find happiness and fulfilment as they progress their relationship.

Negative Outcomes

On the flip side, longing can also have negative outcomes. If the character is unable to obtain the person they are longing for, they may become depressed or despondent. It changes the nature of a narrative resolution as well as their relationships with other characters.

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erraticprocrastinator · 4 months

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Emotional reactions I'd love to see written more

For no particular reason, just because I'm a sucker for any kind of overly emotional scene.

Characters getting angry because they're worried. Not everyone instantly melts into a blob of softness and gentle words when they're worried for their loved one. Some people get antsy! "Why won't you let me help you?!", "You are not okay!", "Stop trying to play the hero!". Bonus points if there's a moment of guilt and an apology from either party afterwards.

Genuine disbelief when given news (good or bad). Not just "I don't believe it" or "Oh my goodness, really?", but actually needing to sit down, being unable to process the information being delivered, being in such shock that they can't think. It just hits so hard to read.

Crying with relief. Alright, to be fair, I do see this one pretty often, but I can't get enough of it. The mess of emotions, the opportunity for sweet moments, the way it can drive a plot point home. Whether they're worried about someone else or themselves, it just gets me every time.

#writing #reading #writeblr #writing community #writers #writers of tumblr #favourite tropes #emotional writing #writing emotions

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heywriters · 2 years

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Having a tough time with balancing a weak word (“seem”) with not head-hopping. I want to convey the POV character’s perception of what she is seeing in other people, since she can’t know for sure what they’re feeling, but I keep defaulting to “He seemed THIS” or “They seemed to THAT”. Maybe this means I’m “telling” too much. Can you suggest some alternative phrasing?

Weak Word: "Seems"

If your character is uncertain and indecisive by nature, I would leave a lot of those or rephrase them without losing the meaning, as you suggested. A character that is more confident in their assumptions may simply say "He was THIS." You could then show them to be wrong on occasion to prove their perception is not infalliable. Adverbs like "evidently" or "understandably" can be used to cushion the confidence of "is/are/was" if needed.

For example,

He seemed upset.

vs

He was understandably upset.

This will not solve the issue you're noticing, however. You have correctly identified this as a consequence of relying on "telling." Part of the reason too much "telling" is disliked is because it spoonfeeds meaning and intent to the reader. Take some of those "seems" and have the character notice body language and other evidence without adding personal commentary. Observations like these allow the reader to conclude for themselves how characters are feeling while also making characters more relatable.

For example,

Jenna seemed anxious and depressed.

vs

Jenna vented constantly about her marital and financial problems, often resulting in her turning away to dab at welling tears.

Provide detailed descriptions or use choice words, like "vented," to express a character's state without commenting on it directly. In 1st Person POV and sometimes 3rd this still counts as the POV character's opinion/perception, but skirts that awkward "telling" issue.

As you practice fixing problems like this one, you will find your favorite methods and workarounds. Sometimes it takes a balance of multiple methods to get a piece sounding perfect.

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#writing #writing tips #writing problems #creative writing #writing descriptions #writing emotions #writeblr #writing blog #writer advice #writing help #filler phrases #answer #show vs tell

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pyr0man1c · 3 months

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“I don’t hate you, the strongest emotion I’ve ever felt for you was desire and longing for you to be in my arms at the end of the day finally knowing you’re okay.”

#writing #writing prompt #character dialogue #i don’t hate you #the love I feel for you #writing emotions #otp prompts #otp dialogue

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redd956 · 1 year

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Writing Anger Things

Annoyed

Eye rolling

Need to get away from person or situation

Inner speech

Impulse to talk back and heightened attitude

Complaining

Frustration

Frustration tears

Sniffling/Hyperventilating

Anxiety

Quitting attitude

Easily overwhelmed

Anger

Downward/creased eyebrows

Clenched fist

Breathing heavily

Scrunched up face

Starting to raise voice

Anger Headache

Glaring

Tightness in face

Venting

Raging

Seeing red

Gritting teeth

Adrenaline rush

Shouting & Screaming

Fight Senses

Slight increased strength

Twitching (especially in the face)

Veins bulging

Crash afterwards

#anger stuff #anger #writing anger #writing emotions

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thepedanticbohemian · 9 months

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#writing #writers #writerscommunity #writers on tumblr #writing community #writer things #novel writing #writerslife #writers and readers #writing tips #writing emotions #writing body language #am writing #book writing #on writing #fiction writing

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myladytara · 3 months

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Maybe I am just a terminal station. People are meant to stay with me, for awhile.

They wait forever with me, share earphones, and eat with. Then they leave eventually when the time comes, going to their own destination.

I am never a home to someone, just a waiting shed for passersby.

— Sant Bibliophile دوار الشمس🌻

Artwork by Kmaco

People are supposed to leave anyways. However I wished I hadn't been left by someone close of mine in my childhood. Maybe that person leaving me at that time was reasonable enough for me to not be traumatised till now.

Maybe that's why I tend to leave people even before they leave me.Maybe that's why I can realise when it's time for them to leave. Maybe that's why I regret after doing so. And maybe that's why even after getting hurt and still believing that they ain't gonna leave me...

Isn't it too hard to live like this? To hard to live with too much emotions...

And suddenly you're 20 year old and that person comes back telling you that don't you worry I'm here.. etc etc etccc.

I'm too used to being alone that I barely need company sympathies and such..

There's something in this tune that makes me feel outrageous. Makes me go mad overthinking. As if my thoughts are loud but quieter than this tune..

#collected #writing emotions #writings on the wall #writeblr #casper #qoutes #writers on tumblr #tara rant #Spotify

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druidx · 2 months

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Hiya hen, happy Storyteller Saturday. In light of the writing I've been doing this week, have a question that's tangentially related:

Have you ever written something that’s been so emotional that you’ve almost (or actually) cried, yelled out loud, or even just felt emotional while writing it?

Happy STS from last week 😄️

Oh absolutely. I don't want to spoil them, but quite a lot of the scenes in Her Countenance was Light have made me cry reading them back (maybe while writing it, I can't remember now - a lot of my memories from that time are black-holed).

In The Ruby Falls, the scene just before the battle of Bruma and the final scene made me cry too; as did the scene in Her Lonely Shadow (prev. What Alexis Did Next) when Alexis is told that King Storri is dead.

Not many scenes make me hollar, some make me cackle, but always where there's strong emotion, I'm feeling that too. Partly, as I know you're fully aware' it's because I have a very overactive imagination (nearly puking at the TTRPG table from a GM description, anyone?), but partly it's because, in order to write as authentically as one can, one must sink themselves into the POVs of the characters and channel what they're feeling. That's probably why I write more fem MCs - I'm more familiar with females than males 😅️

Thanks for the question!

#meta writing #answered ask #aquadestinyswriting #meta wandering words #writing emotions

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hayatheauthor · 12 days

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Writing Different Emotions: A Blog Series

I decided to create a series of easily readable blogs that showcase how to portray different conventional and unconventional emotions in your writing. I aim to cover everything from body language to voice, adjectives & verbs you can use, etc. in these blogs.

Interested? Click on the read more to explore this blog series.

Writing Rage: How To Make Your Characters Seem Angry

Crafting Sad Scenes: Writing Tears and Emotional Depth

Future Emotions: writing sadness + tears, writing jealousy, writing disgust, writing joy, writing numbness, writing fear.

Want to add any emotions to the list? Comment it below and I'll be sure to create a blog accordingly!

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razieltwelve · 2 years

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Individualise Emotions

Showing the emotions of your characters is one of the most important things you can do to engage with your readers. Emotionless robots may well be interesting when they’re being sent after the protagonists, but reading an entire book about people without emotions can get tiring pretty quickly. However, a common mistake that writers make, especially newer writers, is forgetting to individualise the way characters show emotion.

What do I mean by individualise?

Simply put, not everyone shows emotion in exactly the same way. To be sure, there are often commonalities in how people express emotion. For example, most people smile when they are happy, but there can be big differences in how frequently and openly people smile, as well as how their smiles look. In fact, the same character can also express their emotions very differently at different times.

These differences can stem from a variety of causes:

Circumstances

History

Personality

Idiosyncrasies

The circumstances a character is in can deeply affect how they express emotion. A character on their own may be more likely to express their grief by crying than a character who is around others. Conversely, a character may smile even when they’re not happy if they’re around others to try to make them feel better whereas they wouldn’t make the effort if they are alone.

A character who has been raised in a culture where showing emotion is not permitted will not emote as frequently or as strongly as a character who has been raised in a culture where people are taught to show their emotions openly. This can make any emotions they do show extremely important since it means they’ve slipped out of their control. It also means that you can describe their emotion in smaller ways. Instead, of grinning or smirking, they might give a small twitch of their lips. Instead of beaming with approval when someone gets something right, they might give a small nod.

People can have different personalities, and this can lead to differences in how they show emotion. Someone who is very outgoing may wear their emotions on their sleeve – or at least appear to. Someone who is very introverted may only show their emotions openly in private or around people they know very well. There are also people whose personalities might predispose them toward showing their emotions through actions rather than emotional displays. For example, a stoic soldier might not shout his loyalty to a cause, but he may be more than willing to die for it without complaint or hesitation.

There are also often many idiosyncrasies in how people display emotion. If you’ve ever seen someone smile and thought ‘their smile looks just like this other person’s’, then you know what I’m talking about. Smiles do have things in common with each other, but each person’s smile has its own unique features as well. Describing these can really add more depth to a character and help the reader feel like they know them. The same goes with other emotions like grief, anger, and so on.

Now that we know a bit more about individualising emotions, let’s talk through an example.

Let’s take Katie, Spot, Timmy, and Old Man from The Unconventional Heroes Series.

The scenario is pretty simple. They help save a village, and the villagers give them a puppy to show their gratitude. How do they react?

Katie is still a girl, but she has quite a lot of life experience under her belt. She’s also a bit more reserved around strangers. She would accept the puppy with great dignity before waiting until she’s alone with the others to shower it with affection. She would try to act like it’s not that big a deal but would be unable to completely conceal how pleased she is with the gift.

Spot is a very young dragon. He shows his emotions openly and fiercely because that is how he feels a dragon should be, and it is how his mother has encouraged him to act. He would be absolutely delighted to receive a puppy and would make sure that everybody knows it immediately. Instead of just smiling, though, he would also make it clear that anyone who tries to hurt the puppy is getting set on fire and eaten because that’s a big part of how dragons show affection for other people (threaten to murder their enemies).

Timmy is a man in his prime who has seen the very best and very worst of what life has to offer. He would thank the villagers graciously, especially since he would notice that the reason the villagers are giving him a puppy is because they’re so poor that they don’t have anything else they can give (a fact that both Katie and Spot missed due to their enthusiasm at receiving the puppy). He accepts the puppy not because he needs it, but because not accepting it would shame the villagers. He would then immediately give the puppy to Katie and Spot, knowing they would derive more enjoyment from caring for it than he would. His happiness is most obvious when observing the two children playing with the puppy because it reminds him of the childhood he never had but which he is trying to give them.

Old Man is a man well past his prime, who like Timmy has seen the best and worst of life. Like Timmy he is deeply touched by the gesture because he sees how little the villagers have. He too would immediately give the puppy to Katie and Spot. Unlike Timmy, however, Old Man has a whole lifetime of memories to draw upon. He would sit down with Katie and Spot and tell them stories about dogs he has had or met and how best to care for their new canine. It would be during these stories that he shows the most emotion with small, gentle smiles intermixed with moments of melancholy. If asked, however, Old Man will put a smile on his face and assure the two children that he’s fine and that he’s just remembering some ‘old times’, without specifying what those are. It won’t be until he’s alone that he’ll dwell on some of the sadder memories he has about dogs while hoping Katie and Spot can avoid any of those.

As you can see, how these four characters respond and how they display emotion to the same event varies dramatically. Showing these variations adds depth to your characters and truly allows them to stand out from one another.

If you’re interested in my thoughts on writing and other topics, you can find those here.

I also write original fiction, which you can find on Amazon here or on Audible here. I’ve also just released a new story, Cosmic Delivery Boy!

Also, Cosmic Delivery Boy is now available on Audible! You can get it here.

#writing #writing technique #improving your writing #writing advice #writing tips #emotions #writing emotions

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em-dash-press · 9 months

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What Is Emotional Suspense?

We know what it feels like when a story holds us in suspense. It’s the moment you realize you can’t put your book down and you’re holding your breath as characters take risks.

What happens when you use emotions to orchestrate those feelings? You create emotional suspense, which is helpful in more than a few ways.

Definition of Emotional Suspense

Readers experience emotional suspense when they continue reading for an emotional payoff.

Picture your protagonist learning that their best friend betrayed them. The protagonist doesn’t tell their best friend right away, so there’s suspense as you wait for the answer and heartbreak, anger, and sadness waiting to crash into your heart when the confrontation finally happens.

Why Emotional Suspense Is Important for Stories

It Intensifies the Reader’s Emotions

Anyone can be happy for two characters who realize they’re best friends. We know what it’s like to have someone who understands us, so it engages our emotions easily.

That happiness becomes intensified if those two characters realize they’re best friends right when an unknown force is about to tear them apart. The reader knows it’s coming and doesn’t want the happiness to end or for either character to get hurt. The emotional suspense makes every moment more visceral.

It Makes Readers More Engaged

When a reader feels engaged with your story, it checks off a few boxes for them:

It keeps their attention with literary devices and/or plot development

It makes them feel seen in some way

It awakens emotions in them that create a human connection between them and a character (or more!) in your story

Emotional suspense can check all of those boxes:

Waiting for the emotional payoff or crumbling of any scene keeps their attention.

The emotions they share with the character create that essential readership connection

The emotions also make the reader feel seen because your character is going through something they can relate to

It Makes Endings More Satisfactory

The end of a traditional hero’s journey story is nearly always satisfactory because the plot events make them earn their ending.

Emotional suspense makes that satisfaction something you can feel in your bones because the plot makes sense logically and whatever emotional weights you’ve been waiting to drop have landed.

Examples of Emotional Suspense

Twilight

Readers spend the entire book watching Edward and Bella fall in love, despite them being a vampire and a human. Their bond is believable by the end, but when he has to suck the vampire bite from Bella’s blood, emotional suspense makes the reader hold their breath.

There’s the practical question—will he save her life?

There’s the emotional question—will his love be strong enough to override his vampire instincts?

Dune

Duke Leto has to save spice miners at the beginning of Dune. It’s his first test of leadership for the reader, all within the timed scenario of saving the miners from the coming worm. The people surrounding him tell him to save the spice and leave the miners because there’s no time.

There’s the practical question—will he save the lives on his ship and the valuable spice?

There’s the emotional question—will he choose to do the right thing (saving the miners’ lives) and prove his character as a leader (so the reader can cheer for him), instead of being the money-hungry capitalist like some of the people around him?

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Feyre goes to Under the Mountain to save Tamlin, even though it means a guaranteed death (she’s a human and everyone down there is a faerie). Her trials commence, all to potentially save the faeries she loves.

There’s the practical question—will she figure out how to beat the trials and survive?

There’s the emotional question—in potentially sacrificing herself to prove her love for Tamlin, will he love her back when it’s all over?

How to Build Emotional Suspense

Build Strong Characters

Readers won’t care about or connect with characters that are too flat. Build your protagonist and supporting characters with helpful worksheets, outlines, pictures, or any other resource that makes them feel real.

A few things to consider when creating characters:

What’s their primary goal?

What’s their biggest fear?

What do they love?

Who do they want to be?

Do they like who they are now?

Does their past follow them around?

Add Danger or a Threat

Suspense requires at least some threat or a minimal sense of danger. The more danger there is, the more suspense your reader will feel if they are already connected with your characters.

Potential forms of danger or threats:

Physical dangers

Societal dangers

Interpersonal threats

External threats

Emotional threats or danger

Spiritual threat or danger

Keep the Risk Going

After identifying the danger they’re facing, your characters will eventually make a choice to take a risk. When that happens, know if it’ll turn into short-term or long-term suspense.

Short-term risk might mean answering a few questions on a test that gets immediately graded. Long-term risk could mean giving up a full-ride college scholarship to follow their gut.

Either way, the risk must follow with some emotional payoff. That’s when the emotional suspense will wash over your reader and make them amazed at your storytelling skills.

Layer In Practicality

Most of the time, people don’t take a risk for no reason. Make sure there’s a practical reason for your character to take a risk and face whatever danger lies ahead. Otherwise, the reader will write them off as a stupid character living in an unrelatable and unreal story.

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Emotional suspense is a powerful tool that creates unforgettable stories. You’ll keep your readers on the edge of their seats by breaking this literary device apart before putting it back together in the form of a plotline.

#emotional suspense #writing emotions #writeblr #writing advice #writing tips #creative writing #writing #writers of tumblr #writing inspiration #writing community #writing help #writing resources #emotions in writing #emotions in fiction #emotional fiction #emotions

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lyralit · 1 year

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eee hii happy holidays lyra!! i love ur prompts and i was wondering how you'd personally better describe... i guess feelings? i was trying to write about someone watching fireworks with their s/o but it was extremely difficult. i feel like there's such a distinct feeling surrounding such a special event like that that i cant quite put such complex feelings into (intricate) details/words without it sounding kind of unnatural. like how do you even condense feelings that feel kind of out of body or like a fever dream into something that would even make sense? and writing ab romance is difficult because a character even simply looking at their partner opens a whole can of worms because i know there's a whole bundle of emotions that they should be feeling (affection, gratefulness, etc.) in that very specific moment but as a writer you have to convey that in a unique special non-corny way with lowkey intense detailing

I HOPE THIS ASK MAKES SENSE LOL pls help :,) but anyways i wish u nothing but happy days u seem so sweet n ur genuinely just such a good writer u inspire me sm!!

-anon

hi anon <33 happy holidays!

I think this could be one of the best places to insert the "show, don't tell" rule. you want the reader to feel the butterflies, or at least the same warmth, that the characters feel towards each other. if you outright say what the character thinks, the readers, in my experience, have a harder time understanding that.

another thing I'd like to add is that, when you're writing like this, you kind of want to be like Taylor Swift: and not necessarily in the style of writing, but in the way you insert your emotions into the story. write how you feel, and the right audience will recognize those emotions and relate to them—which is what makes the writing come alive.

finally: don't worry if the writing sounds clunky to you the first time. it's only the first time! and the people reading it see it in a whole new light, I promise.

#lovely person <3 #anon asks #writing tips #emotions #writing emotions #writing things

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venusianbiter · 9 months

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my mistake, i thought you meant it when you said you’d never leave!

#hearbreak #abandoment issues #abandoned #trauma #writing emotions #writing #writerscommunity #i wrote this #female writers #writers on tumblr #writers and poets

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