MAKING READERS FEEL SOMETHING: 6 Secrets To Writing Powerful Emotions
The best books are the ones that make readers feel something. Fight me.
When people say to make readers "feel something", the first thing most authors think of is to make them cry. But that's only one part of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for books that make me tear up.
Beyond crying - or the base emotion of sadness - you get laughter, suspicion, fear. Make readers have to think about the issues you bring up - your themes. Shock them. You want readers to come away from this emotional rollercoaster wanting more.
So how do you do this? Write impactful scenes. Make them mean something.
Let's get to!
Whew! I've been so excited to write this post for so long. Now that I've done it, I'm completely wiped. It's double the length of a typical post - definitely one I can be proud of! At least, until next week.
1. Get in the mood
If you're not emotionally invested in whatever's going on in your story, how can you expect readers to be invested? Let's not forget you're the one who revealed the characters and their stories.Before writing a scene, you need to get in the right mood. While not all authors and readers are the same, if you're in a bad mood trying to write a light-hearted scene, readers will notice it. Depending on your skill level, you'll have varying degrees of success in hiding what you truly feel.
That said, if you need to get that scene written down, you can always fix it when you edit your work. But even when it comes to editing, you need to be in the right headspace.
Writing a heartbreaking scene? Feel the heartbreak. Be the heartbreak. Writing a humorous scene? Feel the humour. Be the humour. Writing an angry scene? Feel the anger. Say it with me - Be the anger.
Authors must be aware of their mindset. While eyes may be the windows to your soul, stories are the books to your heart. Readers aren't stupid, they'll figure out what's going on.
Everyone has different ways of going about this. Some authors are naturally less expressive, some are more so. Find whatever works for you. You might want to watch TV shows or YouTube videos that trigger the mood. You might want to read books or reminisce on past experiences.
My favourite method, and arguably the best, is to listen to music while writing. Music is so powerful to the point that psychologists warn against listening to certain moods of music for extended periods of time. There are plenty of YouTubers out there who dissect soundtracks and explain why we feel the emotions we feel. But that's getting off track now.
2. Be genuine
Showing emotions publicly has recently gotten a bad stigma, and not just for males. For some reason, it's become a taboo to be overly emotional. Not melodramatic - that's weird - but showing enough to make other people feel uncomfortable.
Some people naturally don't show their emotions, which is not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about when people are so afraid of this stigma that they intentionally hide their true emotions for a less out-there one.
The same thing goes with authors. We walk a fine line between writing melodrama and too little emotion. It can be hard to know when and how to balance across this tightrope. But it doesn't have to be as hard as you think.
First and foremost, be genuine. Be genuine about how much emotion is going on and how the characters feel. If "a moment" is happening, don't ruin it with cheap jokes because you're afraid of crossing the line. If cheap jokes are how the central character/s would react, then fine. If there's a cheap joke to hide the emotion, it's better to leave it out.
A while ago, I was reading two separate discussions on Reddit. I can't remember where specifically, but both were comparing their respective fandoms with how emotionally genuine they are. One of the discussions had this conclusion: despite the sometimes on-the-nose emotions, the show remains beloved because it knows that and owns it. It's not afraid to show the characters struggle at the risk of the viewers rolling their eyes. We understand this, whether consciously or unconsciously, and love it all the more.
The second discussion I read was on the Marvel films. They were saying how much potential Marvel had to show all these emotions, but don't. Instead, they throw jokes in an attempt to avoid being corny, but it's at the expense of the emotions viewers could feel. The joke falls flat because it doesn't work.
The reality is, not every reader is going to feel the same thing in the same way. What matters is that you, the author, are genuine about any feels you're going to write about.
3. Nail your character's reactions
Sometime during the middle of last year, I found a quote which inspired this post, which is currently one of the most popular posts on Lizorae. I found it while procrastinating scrolling through Pinterest. While I'm not completely sure who first said it, it goes like this:
"It's not the death that kills you, it's the reaction of their loved ones."
I could swear I heard clicking noises as the jigsaw in my mind pieced together.
It's because of this that many Avatar: The Last Airbender theorists say the first season fell flat. *mild spoilers* In the episode, Imprisoned, one of the characters was taken captive by the Fire Nation. The thing is, we just met him, so we don't feel anything when we lose him. We don't feel the grief his mother feels. The only reason we care is because Katara cares, a character we've grown to love since the first episode. *end spoilers*
Characters are going to react no matter how much you don't want it. A smile? Reaction. A frown? Reaction. Blank expression? Reaction. That's how life works. Deal with it.
Whenever something happens, your character needs to react in a way that makes sense for their personality. The bigger the event, the more important it is to make sure your character reacts appropriately.
Let's take this as an example. You have a stoic character who doesn't really show emotion. Have this character be repeatedly stoic throughout - particularly where there's minimal consequence after an action.
If something small happens, like if another character tells a bad joke, they're likely to be just as expressionless as they were before. They probably won't jump through the roof or crack up until their throat hurts. If this story was a comedy, it'd be great as humour, but for the sake of this example, it's not.
If something big happens, say their loved ones were killed, their reaction may vary. They may remain expressionless, or they may break down. It all depends on the way this character is portrayed.
Make sure you nail your character's reaction. They have to be genuine and true to their personality. Not every character reacts the same way, and not every event will cause the same reaction or the same level of emotion, so you have to figure out what type of person your character is.
The more impact an action has, the more likely it is for your character's reaction to differ from the norm. A normally loud character may quieten at an impactful event. The jokester may become serious.
People are weird. When it boils down to the essence of what I'm trying to say, have your character always be true to their personality.
4. Balance how long the characters react for
How your character reacts is one question. How long they react for is another. You don't want to skim it, but you also don't want to drag it out.
Skimming it makes it seem like whatever just happened isn't important. If it isn't important, then great! If it is, you might want to extend the reaction period. The larger the consequence of the action is, the longer the character will react for.
Dragging it out will make readers want to mush their heads into their pillows. It won't allow the readers to continue sympathising, it'll just make them stop caring. This might be great as a running gag in a comedy, but not for most genres.
The reaction time should be proportionate to the significance of the event. There isn't a block, per say, purely for the reaction. Think of it like a diagram. Especially with more significant events, there's a starting point. From there, the level of the reaction will taper or increase, depending on the character's arc. It's rare to have an event, react for a time and suddenly stop. There'll be traces of whatever happened throughout the story. That's okay, it's natural.
At the end of the day, there's no single equation. You've got to trust your intuition. If you're still concerned, you can ask for feedback from beta readers. And if you're still concerned, trust yourself. You're the boss of the story.
5. Focus on why it evokes emotion, not the emotion itself
Ah, the smell of sweet melodrama. It fills me with warmth and happy feelings. A pit I didn't know was there is now filled with the marshmallowy texture of overly dramatic people, places and things. It's like floating on a cloud that's floating in the sky that's floating on Earth. In short, utter bliss.
Yeah nah. Unless it's your accepted style of humour, melodrama ain't going to work. I have a post dedicated to melodrama planned, so I'm not going to go into too much detail here. Sign up to the newsletter in the left sidebar so you don't miss it!
Compare the first paragraph to this paragraph:
Ah, the smell of sweet melodrama. I breathe it in, a smile tugging my lips. It's an escape from the monotony of life. A splash of colour amongst grey. A pink marshmallow among the white. No more strict schedules nor plastic masks, I'm free. Let emotions explode from me.
Now for the cliche question, which paragraph is better? Both and none. Neither are genius pieces of writing, but it works for this example. The difference between the paragraphs is that the first one focuses on how melodrama makes the narrator feel, but the latter focuses on why melodrama makes the narrator feel so happy.
Since this example is absurd, melodrama works. But I want you to try a more serious situation for yourself. Use whatever scenario you want. On your first attempt, write about the emotion. How the character feels. In the second paragraph, write about why the character feels that way. For instance, if your character's spouse died, your first paragraph might be about the crushing grief but the second, the character's thought process and what they have lost. Spoiler alert, the second paragraph will be better.
There's something I've always felt when I read books, but I've never been able to put it into words. Thankfully, Richard Price has got us covered.
"The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.”
The same concept applies to writing character's reactions. *spoilers* I cried when Freja's mum died. It was featured in three scenes: Clementine's last words, her death and Freja and Tobias mourning just before Tobby's wedding. All three were relatively short, but it still managed to give me a major book hangover. Compare this to a Kenric, a character with more page time and similar intended character. He had a funeral lasting chapters, and I didn't care. *end spoilers*
When it comes to writing big stuff, less is more. It's natural for humans to focus on small details they otherwise wouldn't have noticed. Some speculate that it's a way the brain distracts itself from their feelings. Remember that next time your character bangs their head on the wall and sink to their knees, mentally noting to give the wall a new paint job.
But less isn't always more. Like I said with the earlier example, more can be more if it's used right. I'm down for a character overreacting about how hairy spiders are if it's for comedic effect. Again, you've got to trust your intuition.
6. Contrast darkness with light
I'm sure this sounds super cheesy, but hear me out. Where there is light, there must be darkness. Where there is darkness, there must be light.
Continually light hearted stories tend to leave little to no impact on readers. Maybe that's just me, I don't know, but I get sick of it because the world isn't as good as the book makes it out to be. Continually dark stories have the same effect, but for a different reason. It's depressing. It leaves no hope for the readers.
If you're writing a middle grade story about a kid competing in a spelling bee, I'm not saying you need to kill their coach to add meaning. This darkness could just be losing a round and developing mild anxiety. The degree of light and dark will depend on your target audience. Just make sure there's a difference.
Why does it matter? So imagine a grim dark book. Bad things are always happening and the characters are always down in the shark pit. When something worse happens, the readers have experienced the darkness before, so more won't bother them.
Now imagine the same book. Bad things happen, but so do good things. The characters aren't always happy-clappy, but they joke around and share good times. Now when something worse happens, it has the potential to punch readers in the gut. Why? Because readers have seen the potential for light to happen. They know it could be better, they know what the characters have to lose. So when the character finally descends into darkness, it's heart wrenching.
Take the 2012 movie version of Les Miserable. *spoilers* The entire movie is generally dark. The brightest star is the love story between Cosette and Marius. On their wedding day, Jean dies. It's supposed to be a happy day, but his death casts a shadow. We see Cosette scream and Marius comfort her. But it doesn't stop there.
Jean ascends to an alternate reality where his side has won. There, he's met with the characters who had died previously, but are now living. They sing a reprise of their battle song in triumphant tones. A story that began dark ended in light. A scene that began light, turned dark, and ended in a greater light. *end spoilers* It's hard to explain a two hour musical in one paragraph, so watch it for yourself and you'll understand the impact.
My personal belief is that, however dark the story becomes, it should end with at least a hint of hope. Because in the current state of the world, humans need to know that there's something better at the end of the line. There's always something to live for. We can move on, become better people, help other people overcome their problems.
~
You want your story to make readers feel something. To do this, you need to put on the right feeling cap and write. Be honest about what you're trying to evoke. Be true to your character. But don't elongate the drama, keep it simple and clean. Maintain the balance between light and dark.
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