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For many authors, one of the most important goals of writing a story is creating an emotional response in the reader. It covers the entire range from anger to relief to happiness. I’m sure most avid readers have had a moment with a really good book where they had to put it down. Not because it was bad, but they became too sad or anger in regards to a big event. There’s the full intention of going back, but you simply need that break to compose yourself. So, how do you make this connection?
Well, it differs from genre to genre and author to author. The first thing to realize is that there is one rule that truly does go across the board. You will NEVER get the same reaction out of every reader. For example, you have people who love LOTR and have no reaction Boromir’s death. You also have those who love LOTR and tear up when they reach that part. Others laugh because they think he deserved it, a fourth group gets angry, and you could have a fifth for something else entirely. All of these are legitimate reactions to a story event and demonstrates that we’re writing to individuals instead of a hive mentality.
With such a variety of emotions, all an author can really do is try their best to create the reaction they want. You can do it through building up, painting the scene with tension, or whatever tricks work for that scene. In the end, it really does come down to the reader opening themselves to the characters. That whole ‘lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink with a straw’ thing. This okay though because imagine how boring it would be if you could do this perfectly or there was one magical note to hit that would make humanity as a whole react the way you want. Guess there are some out there who would love this shortcut. Still, that’s not how the world works, which means we can only try our best and hope the readers meet us halfway. Possibly even a quarter of the way since they’re aren’t in the planning, writing, and editing stages, but my point is that you can’t force a person to be angry if they don’t feel it.
This is where I should put a tip about pulling this off, but I’m actually at a loss because of the variety. There have been a few deaths and disasters that have caused people to teasingly tell me that I owe them tissues. Yet, I don’t think I did anything out of the ordinary to draw out that emotion. Not on purpose anyway. All I remember is that I got emotional when writing the scenes, so maybe that’s a sign that you’re going in the right direction. It does seem to be harder as the series progresses for some reason. Either people are jumping into the middle or we naturally brace for disaster as a long series moves along. Thank you to all those authors who set the standard of killing off characters the instant the become relatable or beloved.
So, it might be better to open the floor to other authors and readers. What do you do to pass emotion through your works? What do you look for to gain emotion from what you read? Do you think this is a two person job instead of it being solely on one side of the equation?
Legends of Windemere 
Definitely a two-way relationship I think, Charles…and unique for everybook and reader. Regardless of the story though, I think it shows when the writer has poured their heart into something rather than pulling the puppet strings of sentimentality… and readers respond to that honest emotion.
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Honest emotions always seem so hard to get out there. At least in my experience because I can never be 100% certain they come across well.
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I doubt we can ever judge that ourselves… it is up to the reader to ick up on them…
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Such is the bond of trust. 😁
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Agreed 🙂
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I’ve found when I add factors that have affected my life to my stories the emotion must show through because I get positive reactions from my readers.
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Great tactic. Definitely helps with the more reality-based genres too.
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Great topic today. It’s a mind game with the reader, which means the reader is a big part of the equation. Get readers invested in the character early on, it seems to help more. Emotions run the gamut too, it isn’t all about death and loss. Sometimes it’s humor or joy. Admitting that everyone won’t get it is also important. I even try to think about the emotional moments in advance so I can take advantage of plants and payoffs. That part is still a work in progress.
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Great point on the humor and joy being just as important. We tend to overlook those since people don’t talk about them as much these days. Seems many audiences focus more on the darkness, which makes things even tougher. How far in advance do you plan out the emotional moments?
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I am slowly learning that plants and payoffs are more than just logical things, like a gun in the drawer. If you want the teary puppy reunion, you should plan well in advance and make people invest in all parties involved. Bad things happen. When the reunion comes around it’s more emotional. I’m just a student here too.
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Some days I think we’re eternal students. Great advice on building connections to all parties in a reunion.
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I’m still working some of this out, but occasionally you provide some great inspiration.
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Thanks.
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Reblogged this on Entertaining Stories and commented:
Charles has a great topic for authors and readers today. Stop by and join in the comments.
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Thanks for the reblog
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You bet.
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Great post! Writing scenes with emotional content is very challenging. One piece of advice someone gave me is to avoid having your characters cry a lot, even in an emotional scene. Some readers feel nothing if a character bursts into tears a lot. Let those tears really be earned. If you want the reader to feel the character’s pain, use gestures and other body language.
I highly recommend Donald Maass’s book, The Emotional Craft of Fiction. He gives great advice on emotional content.
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Not sure I agree with the crying thing. It’s a genuine reaction, so shouldn’t it be on the table? Always strange that we expect fictional characters to act so unreal. Is it because the action feels like manipulation?
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I’m not saying a character should never cry. But if a character cries often in a book, yes, it feels like manipulation. If the goal is to make the reader feel something, why not wait until the tears are really earned.
A good article on the subject is this one: http://www.superheronation.com/2009/07/10/writing-tip-of-the-day-be-careful-with-crying-characters/
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Okay. Just sounded like the advice was that they rarely cry, but that sounds tough if the story has a lot of painful situations.
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I agree with what you said. I have found the scenes I write and am emotional are the ones the readers find emotional as well.
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Great. That’s one of the best kind of success.
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🙂
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Great topic, Charles! I love reading a story that has honest, sometimes raw, emotion layered throughout but it has to be organic. A character has to gradually go through emotions and I have to connect with the character to even give a damn.
Writing emotional fiction is draining on me. I think it’s because I sprinkle in real life moments to all my stories. Readers tend to respond more when I have bared my soul through my characters. To get it right, I lean on my beta readers and editors to make sure I’m on the right track and it doesn’t come across as fake emotions.
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I’m curious about the tactic of using real life moments. It’s very handy, but can an author do if they lack a specific event type that their story requires?
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What an endlessly fascinating topic, Charles! If I may share my own observations as a writer that has written both intensely personal memoirs, and rather brutal thrillers. I have been so very fortunate to have had my memoirs hit a nerve with the reading public, having just received review number 391 for ‘Empty Chairs’, the overwhelming response has been that the readers needed to see me survive.They all walked a mile in my shoes. During the writing of my memoirs I needed an outlet to remove me from the pain of writing them, I utilized that pain and anger and translated that into characters that my subconscious wanted to see suffer. Much cheaper than therapy, my friend. … lol. Plus the added benefit was of course that I could kill off these folks and do no jail time.
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Immense congrats on all those reviews. Did you find it easier to bring the emotion across in memoirs than thrillers? I assume it would be due to the personal nature.
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It’s a strange thing, Charles. Because my memoirs caused me to have paralyzing Flashbacks I held myself in check whilst writing them, else the anger would have overridden the message I needed to send. I found the freedom of writing my thrillers and Paranormal books far more liberating emotionally, yet I was able to maintain a healthier detachment.
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Sorry about the flashbacks. I can only imagine how rough that would be.
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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Thanks for the reblog
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Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
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Thanks. 🍕
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Welcome 🍔
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I think it’s a two person thing, and that the reader is more likely to get emotional during a scene where the author put their own emotions in to it in the first place.
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Nicely said. 🙂
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As a writer, I pour my heart and soul into my characters by pulling from my past experiences. If I can’t relate to my character’s predicament, then I put myself into the same position (safely) in order to “feel” the scene, sort of like a method actor would do. As a reader, I can tell when the author is invested, when real emotion pours on to the page. We can’t fake it or it will show in our work. I can only speak from my experience, of course. Perhaps others feel differently. Great post, Charles!
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Interesting tactic with putting yourself in a safe version of the position. Not sure how I could do that with fantasy, but life stuff really doesn’t differ between the genres. At least not as much as we would think. I don’t think I have it in me to do the method acting though.
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I suggest video games. I fought dragons in Skyrim. Does that count as fantasy?
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That could work. RPG’s have a lot of story and inspiration potential.
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Reblogged this on Author Don Massenzio and commented:
Check out this great post from the Legends of Windemere blog on creating emotions in fiction.
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Thanks for the reblog. 🙂
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You’re welcome.
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I find that when I’m pounding the keys, writing with emotion, readers respond and relate. If I am emotional, they are, too.
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That’s what I try for too. 🙂
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Alas, poor Boromir! He stumbled and fell, but just as he got back on his feet…
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Yeah. At least he went down swinging.
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Charles, you hit the nail on the head when you said that YOU, the author, gets emotional in a scene. I have literally had tears streaming down my face while my fingers pecked away on the keyboard, or laughed out loud. I think that’s the key. If it evokes emotion is us, then it most likely will do so for our readers. Great post!
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Thanks. Crying while writing is always rough. On one hand, the emotions go into the story and that’s good. On the other hand, tears on the keyboard cause a problem. 😛
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I like to method-write a bit for emotional scenes. Music helps a lot, so do books and T.V.. 🙂
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I use music a lot too. Method gets a little scary for me when I go for the darker emotions. Been a few stories where I feared going too deep and had to walk away for a few days.
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