I’m surprised when I run into people who think authors shouldn’t access any emotions while writing. They feel one must remain calm, clear-headed, and at peace even if the scene is one of anger or fear. Never been given an explanation of why it’s bad to become emotional while writing, but I’m assured it will lessen the quality. Clearly, I disagree with this idea.
I think an author has to access the proper emotions on some level in order to get it across in the story. They don’t have to be weeping to write sadness or roaring in anger like their character. One can ‘access’ the emotions without letting them take over. Even letting them peek out as you write will help to pick the proper words to get them across. For example, it doesn’t feel genuine if I’m sitting there meticulously thinking about synonyms for glee since that means I don’t feel it. The words I use will become flat and the characters tend to lack the proper nonverbal aspects. A little dab of what I need is enough to help cross that bridge.
I think my mentality does stem from the belief that authors put some of themselves into their writing. Call it the soul, heart, emotions, or whatever, but a person leaves a trace of their inner self when they write a story. This isn’t something the reader can see and point out, but they can feel it coming off the words. It’s an energy that triggers emotions, which I think is best done by the author feeling them in the moment. Almost like we’re leaving a slumbering spell on the pages. It won’t work if you’re numb and stoic while writing a high emotion scene.
Now, I do understand where people are coming from with this. We tend to be raised to keep our emotions hidden, so showing them is bad. For women, they might fear being called unstable, bitchy, unhinged, or other words for mentally ill. For men, they might fear being called weak, a wuss, crybaby, and other mocking, emasculating phrases. It’s messed up for everyone, especially since keeping emotions locked up leads to blossoming mental illness. Not to mention physical issues as well. So, some authors might not want to release their emotions even onto the page because they aren’t comfortable showing them to others.
This act does come with vulnerability too. If you put your sadness into a scene and a reader says it’s funny, you can feel hurt. It might seem like they are mocking your pain even though they didn’t mean too. Yes, a reader is open to their own interpretation of scenes, but that doesn’t erase the potential damage. As I said, an author puts a piece of themselves on the page and that can be emotionally risky. Many, especially new authors, might not want to take that risk.
So, what do other people think about becoming emotional on some level while writing? Does it help, harm, or mean nothing to creating the story?
Legends of Windemere 
Interesting thoughts. I never noticed this. I figured we all just did whatever was unique to us.
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That’s probably still true.
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I absolutely agree with you, Charles. I have found myself crying at some points!
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Same here. Angry too.
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I don’t want to read the book where the author had to “Fake” the emotions. I put myself back into PTSD and Depression when I wrote Broken People. Why? Because what my character was feeling had to be real. So, I strip mined my own heart and soul for the pain in it.
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It is a deliberate balancing act. You want to put genuine emotion in, but causing mental anguish can be a major downside. I wonder if this is why authors of the past are connected to drugs and alcohol so often.
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I spent the better part of a year and half back with VA following that. But it was worth it. I got to excise some demons that had plagued me long enough.+
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That’s good. Just realized autocorrect turned ‘delicate’ into ‘deliberate’ though. Sorry about that.
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I can’t imagine a writer approaching an emotional scene who doesn’t feel the emotion of the scene. Like noelleg44, I have been moved to tears at a scene. This doesn’t mean that I demand that a reader feel what I feel. If people want to make fun of the emotion, that’s up to them. But their doing so says more about them than it does me.
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I’ve met some who do it. The scenes are well-written, but it does lack that punch. Maybe there are readers who can add the emotions without much of a push.
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I think without accessing emotions the work will appear emotionless. Super post, Charles.
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Well said.
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😊
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Well said, Charles. I find myself feeling an emotion in order to show it well.
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Same here.
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Like everyone else said, it’s hard to express emotions if you aren’t emoting with your character. In addition, the act of emoting gives you physical factors you can use to “show not tell” what your character is feeling. So tightness in the shoulders, a slight throbbing in the head, are ways to show the character’s reaction, and you can only get those details by fully investing in the story.
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True. Authors need to go beyond the simple statement of emotion.
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