Writing With Emotion

 

This is a repeat post regarding emotion in writing. Originally written at the beginning of the pandemic. Thus, the reference.

We've all been through the full wheel of emotions during this pandemic we're experiencing. I'm guessing your emotions are up and down throughout your day. 

If you're a writer who writes without emotion, it will show in your finished product. If there is little to no emotion in your writing, it ends up appearing like a speaker who speaks in a complete monotone. We once took a city tour on a bus in Prague. They advertised that the tour would be given in several

languages. It turned out the guide could not actually speak those several languages. Instead, he had memorized the complete tour in English, Japanese and a couple other languages. Because he did not actually know the language, there was no inflection on words, no emotion in his voice. It came over as a total monotone. Yes, we learned something about Prague, but it became almost laughable. It was a perfect example for me about the importance of emotion in speaking and writing. 

Writers need emotion in what they write to connect with their readers. The writer must feel something in order to make the reader feel it, too. One of the best ways to do that is to show, not tell. If you write, Greta cried. I know what she did, but I don't feel much for her. If you write, The lump in Greta's throat gave way to tears and great sobs. She wiped her cheeks but could not stem the flow.  Maybe then I will think Oh, the poor girl.   

At certain times, we've been taught to keep our emotions in check, whether by parents or teachers. As a writer, you can let the emotions flow without worrying about what someone will think. If I write a scene about a pioneer woman encountering a rattlesnake in her garden as she is picking beans, I need to use emotion. Saying Ellen saw a rattlesnake at the end of the row of beans. alerts the reader, but there is no emotion. Write something like When she spotted the rattlesnake at the end of the row of beans, Ellen stopped, started to shake. She could not pick up her feet, only stared and prayed the viper would not move closer. Finally, she turned and ran to the barn to find Jesse, a scream trapped in her throat. 

Showing how the character felt and reacted reaches out to the reader with emotion, invoking emotion in them in return. 

Even when writing an essay, let your feelings come through. Do it when writing poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction. About the only thing I can think of where you might not use it is in a technical article. Even then, a few technical writers might conclude with their own feelings about the topic. Not always but a possibility. 

Don't keep those emotions trapped inside, Use them in your writing, and you'll be a better writer.                                       

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. 

Bring a Voice From the Heart to Your Writing

 

Words Are The Voice Of The Heart

I have a stone coaster by my computer that is black with gold letters that send a message to me every time I look at it. Words Are The Voice Of The Heart. So simple but also meaningful.

Writers brush words across a paper canvas, but the words are not always from the heart. We sometimes think only of writing as our job, our business, and we lose the emotion that should drive those words we write. 

If we don't write with emotion, others will not see or feel the emotion as they read our words. I read a short essay the other day that brought a lump to my throat and left me feeling warm all over. That writer wrote from her heart, and in doing so, she reached mine. 

There are writers who have a hard time showing their own emotions in their writing. Let's be honest, many of us cannot show emotion publicly when speaking to others or delivering a speech. Think about the workshops you've attended, and I'm guessing they are many. Which ones do you remember the most? Probably the speakers who spoke from their heart, who bared their emotions to you, and brought your own emotions to the surface. Those are the workshop presenters who make you want to hurry home and start writing. 

It works the same with what you write. Bring your voice from your heart, and you'll impress your readers far more than if the words come only from your head. Show that you care about the words you write. Even if you're writing a How-To article. You can add personal experience to back up your advice. Show your readers how doing the How-To affected you. Personalization speaks to readers.

You would think memoirists always write from the heart, that they bring their heartfelt feelings to their readers. The successful ones do, but there are others who still are afraid to bare their souls and write with the feelings and emotions that sparked whatever it is they are writing about in their memoir. Readers don't want a mere report of what happened. They want to hear your 'voice of the heart.'

For a writing exercise, write about an experience you had. Anything, anywhere. Write it first telling what happened as a report, no emotion. Then write it again and add your feelings, the emotions that you had when it happened. When you write the second version, use the voice of you heart. 

Writing From the Heart

When you write from your heart and share a part of your soul, as the poster for today says, your writing will be stronger and more appealing to readers. Whatever you put into your writing is what those readers will feel. 

The following is the opening paragraph of an essay I wrote about writing from your heart: 

I write essays, poems and stories detailing the events that bring basic emotions into my life. Anguish, joy, pain, and hope visit me through the years, some of these feelings are more intense than others. My words spill onto the paper or the computer screen, paragraph upon paragraph, a coping mechanism. At times, I become driven to put emotional experiences into words, both for myself and for others to read. My writing releases a sort of power that can deliver healing or achieve satisfaction. Four overwhelming emotions, four chapters of my life—pain, anguish, love, and hope.

The body of the essay addressed those four emotions at the end of the first paragraph, one by one. The concluding paragraph is: 

Yes, writing has served me well. Words from my heart have expressed great joy, soothed my anguish, washed away pain, and recorded my hopes and dreams. If they also bring encouragement and pleasure to others, perhaps I am twice blessed.

All of us have experienced many different emotions throughout our lifetime. We've all felt most of these at one time or another--joy, elation, pain, love, hate, anguish, pain, misery, tenderness and more. When you write about personal things like these, you are sharing part of your soul with readers. 

I think that when we write from the heart we probably do our best writing. You've opened a door and let the reader enter your world instead of telling what happened as though you are an outsider looking in. It's generic. It's plain. It has no heart. 

Learning to open your heart and share a part of your soul as you write does not come easily for some writers. Some are able to do it easily, while others must work hard to open the gate and let their true feelings pour forth. 

Ask yourself if you can write from the heart. Can you share a part of your soul with your readers? They'll love you for it if you do.

Using Emotion In Your Writing

We've all been through the full wheel of emotions during this pandemic we're experiencing. I'm guessing your emotions are up and down throughout your day. 

If you're a writer who writes without emotion, it will show in your finished product. If there is little to no emotion in your writing, it ends up appearing like a speaker who speaks in a complete monotone. We once took a city tour on a bus in Prague. They advertised that the tour would be given in several

languages. It turned out the guide could not actually speak those several languages. Instead, he had memorized the complete tour in English, Japanese and a couple other languages. Because he did not actually know the language, there was no inflection on words, no emotion in his voice. It came over as a total monotone. Yes, we learned something about Prague, but it became almost laughable. It was a perfect example for me about the importance of emotion in speaking and writing. 

Writers need emotion in what they write to connect with their readers. The writer must feel something in order to make the reader feel it, too. One of the best ways to do that is to show, not tell. If you write, Greta cried. I know what she did, but I don't feel much for her. If you write, The lump in Greta's throat gave way to tears and great sobs. She wiped her cheeks but could not stem the flow.  Maybe then I will think Oh, the poor girl.   

At certain times, we've been taught to keep our emotions in check, whether by parents or teachers. As a writer, you can let the emotions flow without worrying about what someone will think. If I write a scene about a pioneer woman encountering a rattlesnake in her garden as she is picking beans, I need to use emotion. Saying Ellen saw a rattlesnake at the end of the row of beans. alerts the reader, but there is no emotion. Write something like When she spotted the rattlesnake at the end of the row of beans, Ellen stopped, started to shake. She could not pick up her feet, only stared and prayed the viper would not move closer. Finally, she turned and ran to the barn to find Jesse, a scream trapped in her throat. 

Showing how the character felt and reacted reaches out to the reader with emotion, invoking emotion in them in return. 

Even when writing an essay, let your feelings come through. Do it when writing poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction. About the only thing I can think of where you might not use it is in a technical article. Even then, a few technical writers might conclude with their own feelings about the topic. Not always but a possibility. 

Don't keep those emotions trapped inside, Use them in your writing, and you'll be a better writer.                                       

Write With Emotion

They may forget what you said and did, but they won't forget how you made them feel.

                                                                                                             --Maya Angelou

The quote above, attributed to renowned poet, Maya Angelou is one I've seen multiple times. It's a very good reminder to writers to write with emotion. Sounds good but how hard, or how easy, is it?

It begins with us. I think writers need to feel the emotion within before they can expect to reach readers and make them feel it, as well. If we write about a trauma in our life, and all we do is report it by stating the facts, the reader may feel a bit bad but they aren't going to have that lump in the throat, or tear in the eye, or pang in the heart that they might if the writer unleashes the emotion in him/herself. 

Sometimes, we writers build a wall around our emotional self, lock the gate and throw away the key. Or we tie ourself with the ropes of tell it but don't you dare feel it. Why? When we write with deep emotion, it can hurt. We've already been hurt so why would we want to do that all over again? Consider that reliving a traumatic situation can be a step in the healing process. No miracles, just a step. Crying can be a release and so can writing about a dark part of life.

Humor is not easy to write and make the reader giggle or smirk or smile broadly. Write it with the gleeful emotion you feel yourself and your reader will respond accordingly. How about fear? We may need to have experienced fear in some time of our life to be able to write with the true emotion. Think about how your body responded--heart racing, sweat on your brow, or unstoppable trembling. 

One part of writing with emotion is to show rather than tell. If you tell what happened, it's a report. Show it if you want your reader to feel it. So simple but so important!

I read an essay that was subbed in my online writing group the other day. By the time, I got halfway through, emotion rose in me and kept going til the end of the piece. The writer did a wonderful job in relaying her own feelings to me, the reader. And she did it without being sappy. Writing with too much emotion is just as bad as writing with none. There's a fine line between the two. 

There are whole books written on this topic. Google to find them so you can read about this topic in more depth. 

Emotion Enhances Writing

Maya Angelou's quote above can be summed up in one word--Emotion! But she's a poet and words were her specialty, both in poems and prose. Her quote is far more eloquent than me telling you to write with emotion. 

Even so, whether you prefer the word or the quote, it's a very important point in what we write, whether it is fiction, a personal essay or poetry. We want our reader to react with emotion when they read what we've written. 

One good way to accomplish that is to write with emotion. If it's not there in your writing, the reader is not going to feel it. It sounds so easy to advise a writer to use emotion. In their mind, they accept it and even agree wholeheartedly but that does not always connect with the actual words they write.

Why? We're human and we can have a difficult time exposing our own emotions to others, even when that is one of the tools of writing that we need. If we pour it all out onto paper or the screen, our subconscious wonders what people will think. They'll know the real me, not the public figure I want to show others. They might also know what a fine writer you are.

There's nothing wrong with being able to expose our feelings. It's a form of release and it lets people know who we are as writers. Maya Angelou's poetry is loved and one of the reasons is that she could transfer her own emotions into the words of a poem. She could reach out and touch the reader. 

Next comes the way you should put emotion into your writing. If you tell the reader that someone is heartbroken, it's not gonna work. If you show that person feeling heartbroken, the reader could very well feel it, as well. I cannot tell you the number of times I have cried in a book,usually in the final chapter when something a character has done touches me deeply. It could be a loss or a great achievement but some authors are skilled in making the reader feel what the character is feeling. 

In summary:

• Allow your own emotions to come through your writing
• Don't lock your own emotions inside 
• Show emotions in what you write
• Don't tell the reader what emotion you're writing about

Maya Angelou knew how to laugh and cry and more and she knew how to make her readers do the same.

Showing, Telling, Emotions and More in Writing

Here it is once again. Showing or Telling. No matter how many times writers are urged to show rather than tell, too many continue to tell the tale. Some even write a story like it was a report. This happened, then this happened and on and on. 

When the reader finishes the story, he/she might feel like the story was a report in a newspaper. Journalists are taught to relate the facts. They don't worry about the reader feeling the story. But those who write fiction or creative non-fiction, need to learn to show far more than they tell to bring out feeling in their readers.

I need to back up a bit. There are journalists who write human interest stories that bring us far more than the facts. They delve into the personal side of a factual story. Even in those articles, I find more telling than showing but I have also been moved by what was written.

If you write a scene and say that a strong wind blew as Ellen walked.  it's telling. If you write the scene and say something like Ellen bent over and put one heavy foot in front of the other. She moved slowly into the wind, squinting her eyes to keep the dirt away. Her hair whipped wildly around her face as the force of the wind increased. The reader is far more likely to understand what Ellen experienced. 

As a reader, I am almost always going to feel more emotion if you show me what the character is enduring or experiencing. Just tell me about it and my reaction might be, Okay, what's next? But if you show me and let me feel what the character is feeling, I might find the same emotion as that character, whether it be love, joy, fear or anger. 

When you read a book that is hard to put down, the author has probably written so that you are living the story with the characters. He/she didn't just relate a story, step by step. 

If the writer doesn't put some emotion into his/her writing--helped by showing rather than telling--the reader is not going to have any emotion either. When someone in my writing group subs a story, she will often ask those critiquing if the emotion came through. Writers know that is important but they don't always achieve it to their own satisfaction.

The same situation is true when using sensory details. As the quote above says, the fact that it is raining is just that--a fact. And the author told you that. If you can write the scene with enough sensory details so that the reader can feel that rain, then you've achieved something all writers hope to do.

After you've written a chapter or a long scene, put it away for a day or two. Read it later with an objective eye, the way your readers might see it. How much did you tell? How much did you show and bring out emotion and sensory details that help the reader feel what the characters feel? You're still in the midst of writing so it can be fixed if you're willing to take the time and make the effort required. 

Put Emotion Into Your Writing

                 

E   M   O   T   I   O   N

I started working on a story for an anthology the other day. The story was in my mind quite clearly and I had no trouble getting the words down. When I finished, I read what I'd written. Flat! Just plain flat! 

Of course, it was a first draft and we know that it not going to be perfection but this was pretty awful. I saved it in a file and left the computer in disgust. What was wrong with it? I pondered on it the rest of the day. I realized that I had reported the story. I had told the story but it lacked emotion and also had few sensory details. 

I told the readers how I felt but I didn't show them. I described scenes but they felt flat because I didn't write with emotion. I didn't try to let the readers feel what I had been feeling. Why?

1. My aim in the first draft was to get the story down as it happened. 

2. I didn't write with passion. It didn't come from my heart. Instead, I wanted to report the story and that's all. 

3. I saw and felt the sensory details in my mind but I included very few for the reader. 

4. I didn't care about the story nearly as much as I should have. If I had, the passion would have been there--that and more.

5. I didn't use phrases that would be remembered. What I had written was ordinary.

6. If I didn't write with emotion, the reader was not going to see it either.

Writing with emotion can make the difference between a so-so kind of story and one that will be memorable and accepted by an editor. Think about your favorite books. Was it evident that the author wrote with emotion? Is that part of the reason you liked the book so much?

If you have writing projects in your files that have gone nowhere, look at them again. Ask yourself if you wrote with passion. Did you bring emotion and those improtant sensory details into play? If not, it might be time for a revision. You must care about what you're writing for the emotion to come through to the reader. If you don't give a hoot about it, then it might be time to dump it and move on to something you do care about a lot. 

Write With Heart and Soul

Heart and Soul! Two key ingredients for a writer. When we write using both, we can create emotion in a reader. As a reader, don't you love reading something that makes you weep a bit, shiver in fear and anticipation, or laugh out loud? The person whose writing brought those emotions to the surface most likely wrote with heart and soul. 

The first line of the quote above reminded me that I had written an essay called I Write From The Heart a few years ago for a contest. It didn't win but writing the essay taught me something. I learned that most of the time, I do write from my heart. And also that my writing that comes from the heart I consider some of my best work. I guess that takes in the soul cited in the second line, too. 

The heart and soul comes through in the writing of someone who cares. Yes, you have to care about the stories you write. If you don't, then you cannot expect your readers to give a twit either. Anyone can put words on paper (or screen) but they don't mean much if the person doesn't care. If your attitude is that you're writing something to be published and reap the monetary benefits and that's all, then your heart and soul has taken wings and disappeared. 

Yes, I know that writing is a business for many but if it's all business and nothing else, eventually that's going to be evident and pretty soon the publishing/moneymaking well will run dry. 

Consider, also, that people come to know you through what you write. Do you want them to meet the all-business you or the one who digs deep and writes with heart and soul. Do you want them to consider you as a person who cares? 

Don't be afraid to bare your heart and soul to your readers. One of your goals is to give your readers something they will remember. If you hold back and write only surface things, you'll cheat your readers and maybe yourself, as well. It's not always easy to let your readers into your innermost thoughts and feelings. Learn to do it and you'll be a better writer.

The last three lines of today's quote give all writers more good advice. Make the best of your talent. You'll need to dig deep to be able to do that. Sometimes writers only skim the surface of their talent. To make the best of what you are able to do in the writing world, you have to work at it on a daily basis. The more you write, the better writer you can become. With continuous writing, you may end up surprising yourself.

Writers Need To Use Emotion

Emotion is a key element in a good piece of writing. Poet, Robert Frost, said it perfectly in today's quote. If the writer isn't feeling the emotion, it is not going to come through to the reader.

In my critique group, I quite often see a critique that tells the writer that they couldn't feel any emotion when they read the submission, that it came across rather flat. Even though the subject may have been one that could be filled with emotion. Why?

Sometimes a writer is afraid to allow their feelings to surface completely. She/he might give little hints but they keep the floodgates closed. The other day I talked about why we write on the blog, and one of those reasons was to share with others. That's fine, but you need to give them whole picture. You need to dig deep and bring those feelings into the words you write. So, why are we fearful? Maybe it's comforting to let difficult emotions lie quietly where they are. It can be painful to dredge them up because then you have to deal with them.

If you want whatever you're writing to be a quality piece, one that reaches out and grabs the reader, then you will have to use all those emotions in your inner self to accomplish that. Do it to share and help others who may be experiencing some of the same feelings and do it for yourself as you deal with whatever it is that you've been keeping below the surface.

Frost references tears meaning sadness. That's far from the only emotions that we want to be able to portray. The list below is only a sampling. You will find many others if you google list of emotions.

1. fear
2. anger
3. joy
4. disgust
5. anxiety
6. worry
7. grief
8. gratitude
9. love
10. frustration

The old show, don't tell tool comes into play when writing with emotion. If you tell the reader that Jane was sad, they aren't going to have much reaction or sympathy. Show them Jane feeling sad and the reader will react in a completely different mode.

The articles, stories and poems that portray emotions will be the ones readers remember. They'll be the ones that editors accept immediately. They're the ones that will make you a good writer.

Write From The Heart, But Be Careful

Yesterday, Maureen Rogers, a Seattle writer and friend of mine, posted a link to ta new story just published at MetroMoms Fiction. "Nobody's Home" is a true story which will tug at your heart.

The story is about a small boy who has a difficult home life. Maureen was the secretary at his school, and she had to deal with a situation that would touch anyone's heart. Not only that--she wrote the story from her own heart. Yes, she's a mother herself, so maybe that helped. There;s a fine line to writing with just enough emotion and not overdoing it. The author was able to balance the two very well.

If the story you plan to write moves you personally, you want to get that fact across to your readers without coming right out and saying. I was so moved by what happened. You want to write the story so that your readers will know that you were moved. It's what is so great about writing creative non-fiction. It's a true story, but emotion and personality can be a part of it. It's that part that comes from the heart.

Be careful not to overdo it. Too much of a a good thing is--well, it's too much. Years ago, I was part of a group of writers that published at an inspirational website. One of the other writers sent stories that were basically good ideas, but she went overboard on descriptions and emotion to the point that I nearly gagged when reading them. The editor continued to publish these overdone pieces, and I often wondered why. It's frequently the new writer who writes in this manner. Time and practice should teach her that, while emotion and writing from the heart is important, it needs to be done with some careful thought. Draw that line and stay on the right side of it like Maureen Rogers did with her story.

Read A Good Short Story

Today, I'm featuring a writer, who is also my friend. Or is she my friend, who is also a writer? Either way, Lenore Skomal is a person I admire. She is a member of my online critique group (writersandcritters).

Earlier this week, a story of Lenore's was published at Fiction365. I hope you will read "Mother Dance" and take a look around this website for fiction writers afterward. They publish a new story every day of the year. I think Lenore's story will rank in the top ten of this year.

I say that because the story is filled with emotion, which is something I've talked about on this blog more than once. The author wrote from her heart, and the emotion comes through in a big way. As you read, notice that she doesn't tell the emotional parts. Instead, she shows the reader the emotion of what is happening. It's what all writers strive for but not everyone is able to achieve it. The other day, I asked you what a good book is. I can honestly say that "Mother Dance" is a good short story.

As you read, note the numbers at the bottom of the page. Click to turn to the next page. Note the submission guideline box on the right-hand side of the website. This is a paying market. Read a few more of the stories at Fiction365 to get a feel for what they like and then consider submitting to them.

My friend, Lenore, is an accomplished writer with 16 books to her credit. She is a columnist for the Erie Times News in Erie, PA where she lives with her husband. She was a professor of journalism.. Her daily blog, Gut Check, is listed in blogs I read on the right side of this blog page.

She's also one of the warmest, funniest, people I know as well as being a talented writer. And guess what? She loves shoes. Good writers are real people.

Need A Good Book To Read?

I finished a book last night that I know will stay with me for some time. A friend recommended Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese. The novel is 658 pages, but the story is so captivating that I was almost sorry to come to the final page.

The author is a physician who has written about doctors. Who better to be able to give a clear picture of other doctors and the conditions they treat? The characters are many, but the author has done a masterful job of weaving the lives of all of them together and yet making each one important.

When I first heard what the story was about, I wasn't all that sure I wanted to read it, but I'm glad that I did. The basics are--a British surgeon and a Catholic nun from India work together in a mission hospital in Ethiopia in the 1950's. Sister Mary Joseph Praise gets pregnant and dies giving birth to twin boys who are conjoined by a tube between their heads. They are separated but their father flees when the boys are born and the mother dies during the birth. The twins are raised by two Indian doctors at the mission hospital. The story is narrated by one of the twins. We see all the characters through his eyes, we journey with him through childhood, teen years, and into his middle aged years. We see life in Ethiopia with its political upheavals.

The Los Angeles Times said "Richly written...Shows how history and landscape and accidents of birth and death conspire to create the story of a single life...You may never leave the chair."  I would agree with that statement. I felt compelled to keep reading this beautifully written, moving tale. I cried in at least three places proving that the author has the ability to transfer the emotion in the story to the reader. He made me care about so many of the characters in the book, not just the protagonist.

The book has been on the bestseller lists and would be an excellent choice for Book Clubs to read. It provides a great deal for a good discussion.

How Frustrating Is This?

I'm working on an essay that was prompted by an experience we had when in France earlier this summer. It moved me a great deal, and I wanted to share it with the world--loosely speaking. I've given it a lot of thought and tried to figure out how best to approach the essay.

Should I set the scene and lead up to the main event, or should I begin with the action and fill in later? It's always a toss-up as to how to write something like this. Grabbing the reader right away is often the preferred method. Too much of setting the scene and moving slowly into the action can lose readers. I decided to write it both ways and then make a decision as to which one to keep. It takes more time and effort, but in the end, it may be worth it.

But more frustrating than the approach is being able to convey the emotion of what occurred. I experienced it first-hand, and even thinking back to the day we visited an American military cemetery and participated in a wreath laying ceremony brings back the lump in the throat and a tear to my eye. I can relate the sequence of what happened, but how can I make the reader feel some of that same emotion?

I find this to be one of the most frustrating parts of writing memoir. Even delving back into childhood and telling a family story presents the same problem. I was there, I experienced the emotion, but I want my readers to feel it, too. If I can do that, chances are, they'll finish reading and feel that it was a good read.

One solution is to show rather than tell. If you only tell a story, the reader steps back and sees it as a list of what happened. But if you show what occurred, chances are the reader will be drawn into the scene and begin to feel the emotion the writer is hoping to convey.

Google some keywords like 'writing with emotion' or 'emotion in writing' and see what you come up with.