This week I'm struggling with writing believable emotions for my characters. In the Action-Reaction-Decision chain of storytelling I often short change the Reaction phase. How do my characters feel about what just happened? And how do I express that in a way that is unique to my character with words and actions that I haven't used a hundred times already? Not every character can bite their lips or blink back the tears when they're uncomfortable or upset.
Do you come right out and tell the reader the character's emotions? I find sometimes when I try to show them, the reader takes away the wrong emotion. Am I using the wrong body language or do we all interpret a situation based on what our own reactions would be?
Do you analyze the emotion in your story? Do you state right out what the character is feeling so there are no doubts? Or do you go for the more subtle approach and try to show the reaction?
10 comments:
I don't know! Oh no... more things to think about.... ahhhh!!
LOL. I know Kelly. Revisions make me think of all those details.
I think I try to show them - I've never really given it a lot of thought. Now, I will.
Good luck with wringing those emotions out of your characters, Anne :)
Showing emotions too much gets me in trouble. How many times can a character gasp or frown or step back or exhale. When I go back and reread my first drafts I cringe.
Good luck with adding emotion.
Janet, I'm glad I gave you another thing to think about when you're writing. LOL.
Cat, my characters always do the same thing. Book after Book.
I have a history of not letting the reader know how the character is feeling. Been working on that for some time, now. Not really sure how I've been doing in that regard until I send out my first submission.
Ahh.. emotions! Another thing I wrestle with. In previous mss, I've been guilty of not putting in enough emotion, so this latest mss reads a bit like melodrama too me. But I figure I can always pull back in the edits!
Julia, that's the test isn't it? Whether an editor thinks you've got it right.
Rachael, it's a tough balancing act. And it's hard to be objective about our own work when we revise.
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