Put Emotion Into Your Writing

 

Emotion is an important element when writing fiction or creative nonfiction. Also in a poem. The dictionary definition of 'emotion' is:

a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others.

The color wheel in our photo today shows myriad words that describe emotions. Using emotion in your writing is not merely a matter of telling the reader that 'Sadie felt sad.' The reader is not going to experience Sadie's sadness by you merely telling her. Instead, the writer needs to show her sadness. Something like: Sadie sank onto the park bench, head down. She wiped tears from her cheeks with both hands balled into fists. She heaved a great sigh, then pulled out her phone and hit Message. 

If you want your reader to feel the emotion, you must feel it as you write. Dig deep and let it bubble forth. When writing creative nonfiction, you're telling a true story, an experience. It's all too easy to keep the emotion suppressed. Sometimes it's because it's painful to let it rise to the surface as if you are reliving the experience. If you want to write a piece that touches your reader, you must not cover the emotions you feel. 

It's not only sad things but also the joyful and the angry and frightened. Let yourself feel those emotions as you write. When I read a story about a man who is frightened, I want to feel the way his stomach clenches, his heart beats faster, the sweat that breaks out on his forehead, and more. Don't just tell me he is frightened. Show me, and I will care more about him/her.

You don't need to name the emotion if you show how the character feels. The reader will 'get it.' 

The way you show character traits can also bring emotion to your story and to your reader. When a character is a nasty person, show me enough about him/her that I will feel angry at him/her. Or give a character traits that will make me feel joy. How you build your character will influence the way the reader feels about him/her.

A story without emotion is like a pancake without syrup. You know something is missing.