Emotion Enhances Writing

 

Today's poster quotes are directed towards writing with emotion so that your reader feels something. A reader wants to immerse him/herself in a story. They aren't reading so that they are on a distant planet looking into someone's benign story. 

Readers want to identify with characters. Earlier this week, I read fifty pages of a novel and closed the cover for good. The frontispiece had told me the story involved both romance and mystery, set in WWII in London. My kind of story, I thought when I brought it home from the library. What a disappointment it was. In those fifty pages, there was no romance, no mystery, nor even a hint of either one. The author used present tense, which is something that irritates me anyway. I watched this young woman move from her job to her apartment, meeting people she knew, and was told she was sad after the bombings going on. I felt absolutely nothing for her plight. 

One way to bring emotion into your story is to build your character and show how they think and react. Let the reader identify with the character. I've said it twice here, but it's only because it is important.

Another key way to evoke emotion is to show, not tell. How many times have you heard that? It's a constant in helping writers perfect their craft. Look at the two examples below:

A. Jane felt bad after Mr. Parker told her they had to let her go. "Gather your things and leave now," he said.

B. Jane left Mr. Parker's office, the heat rising in her face, her heart beating faster than normal. Her hands shook as she gathered her personal belongings at the desk where she'd never work again. A lump in her throat seemed to grow larger each moment. Her footsteps echoed down the corridor as the first sob broke forth.

In example A,  we learn two things. Jane has lost her job. She feels bad. In B, we learn she has lost her job, and we see her reactions. In the second example, we are apt to identify with her. 

We can add emotion by using descriptive words. Look at the two examples below: 

A. The happy children went down the water chute.

B. The water chute thrilled the children. They hooted and hollered, mouths wide open, eyes sparkling as they slid the long distance to the bottom.

In the first example, we're told the children are 'happy.' In the second one, we get a good picture of how excited and happy they were. 

Do you need to write with emotion only in fiction? Creative nonfiction and memoir pieces also benefit from the writer using emotion, The writer gains something if he/she uses emotion in his/her writing. As does the poet! Poetry should evoke emotion in the reader, and what better way than for the poet to show, rather than tell?

Pathos--an appeal to emotion. It's one instrument you need in your writer's toolbox.