Emotion in Writing

 

When you read a book or a short story, how do the words on the page affect you? Do you read to find out what happens next? Do you read as an outsider looking through the window to what the author has created? Do the words you read bring out emotions of any kind in you? Or are you merely an observer? 

Our poster tells us that in order to evoke sensation in the reader, they need to have the feeling of being rained on, not only told that it is raining. Easy? Maybe not. 

One way you can give your reader the feelof the rain, as referenced above, is to show, rather than tell, as often as you can. It's far easier to tell a story without showing anything than it is to show what is happening. Perhaps the writer needs to show more to allow him/herself to feel, too. 

I think that sometimes we use telling more to cut down on words. To show a character in a rainstorm might take up an entire paragraph. That might be alright in a novel but not so much in a short story, especially those that must be written to a required word count. 

A.  Jane got caught in a violent thunderstorm. 

B.  Thunder rolled across the darkened sky, and a streak of lightning flashed ahead as Jane quickened her pace. The pitter-patter of raindrops soon turned to a downpour, soaking Jane's summer dress. Her shoes were sodden, and she could feel her hair plastered against her cheeks. She shivered in the cool temps. Another flash of lightning as she ran for the nearest shelter.

A. definitely has fewer words and tells us that Jane got caught in the rain. B. shows us the sky and lightning, allows us to hear the thunder, and feel the cold, wet clothes Jane is wearing. B. also brings us right next to Jane's side whereas A. feels rather generic. She gets caught in a rainstorm. Ok, so what? 

Another thing to consider is that the writer must feel some emotion when pounding out the words. If the writer doesn't feel the emotion, the reader most certainly will not. When the advice 'write from your heart' is given, we should heed it. Too often, we keep our own emotion tempered down, especially when writing a personal essay. It's almost as if we're afraid to feel the experience again, especially if it is something difficult to deal with. The successful personal essay is written by someone who can let the emotion emerge and write with feeling. 

A good story line will be even better if the writer puts his/her own emotions into the story. With practice, it can become a habit.