I’m trying something new and weird this week. Struggling for a blog post idea, I gave up while I drove into work. ‘Blue Monday’ by Orgy showed up during the random song playlist and it got me thinking. Don’t songs sometimes inspire us to write stories? I don’t see why it can’t work with blog posts too.
That brings me to the topic of ’emotions in writing’. The song has a lot about asking someone how they feel about their treatment of the singer as well as how one should feel in response to the treatment. Certainly has an undertone of anger and abuse, but we’re not getting into that. I’m thinking more about how authors need to draw emotions out of three targets:
- Audience– This is the main target. If you can instill specific emotions into a reader, you can get them hooked. They will connect with the characters and become invested in the ensuing events. You need to bridge that gap between fiction and reality, which is done through triggering an emotional response.
- Characters– You need to have characters react accordingly, which means determining the correct emotional state. How do they feel towards the treatment they are receiving? This may appear to be easy, but you can run into the trap of having all of your characters react the same way. If everyone has the same emotional range and responses then they don’t come off as individuals. The audience might have trouble making their connection if everyone is the same. Consider this another reason why cloning is a dangerous activity.
- Author– Sorry, but we may have to trigger ourselves in certain situations. There are times we need to feel an emotion in order to write it correctly. It could be one that we don’t normally feel or one that we feel so much that we don’t pay attention to the nuances. This is where we recall the physical signs of emotions such as body language, facial expressions, and voice tone. This would be asking ‘how should I feel’ as he step into the character.
As an author, I always try to hit all three points as often as I can. This is one reason why I write bios of my characters. I add a line or two about their personalities and general demeanor, which helps me make a hierarchy of emotions. There are some that they will feel more easily than others. Characters may try to avoid or hide a painful emotion, which can lead to issues down the line. All of this creates an emotional profile that will be carried and evolved throughout the story. I feel that by doing this, I can muster the correct emotions in myself and, by extension, touch on those of the reader.
Another aspect that comes from the song is when you trick the audience. This can happen when you’re working with emotions. Throwing a curveball such as an ally turning traitor or killing someone off can be met with anger. Many invested readers will start conjuring their own predictions and subplots, which might not match those of the author. Once something happens to destroy their plan, they may have trouble coming back to the story. The best way to lower the risk of this is making sure the curveballs are well-written with a proper amount of foreshadowing and sense. If it comes off as being done solely for shock then a reader might take it personally. This is a big problem since audiences talk online about their ideas and sometimes think an author is watching their discussions to see if they’ve been discovered. It’s a weird pitfall of the Internet Age.
Can you write a story without stirring or touching on emotions? Of course, but I don’t know why you would want to. That’s a personal opinion. Even non-fiction is seeking to touch the heart and get you to at least care. I mean, caring is an emotion. One that we have to manipulate more than we realize or wish to acknowledge. Probably the most basic emotion that we need even with our blurbs. Curiosity can only draw a reader in to give things a look, but caring can hold them for a bit longer. I think one has to care to be curious too.
So, what do you think of stirring emotions in your stories? Maybe this music inspiration thing actually worked out.
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