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- Use active voice. Choosing active voice (where a subject performs an action) over passive voice (where an action is done to a subject) enhances the emotional impact of your writing by emphasizing the person or thing responsible for the action.
- Use sensory language. You can evoke specific emotions with your writing by using language that plays on the five senses (touch, smell, sight, taste, and sound).
- Incorporate similes, metaphors, and symbols. Similes (which compare two things) and metaphors (which equate one thing to another) are powerful tools for making your writing more emotive.
- Add personal anecdotes. Share personal experiences from your life to make your writing resonate emotionally. For example, if you’re writing about the importance of hard work, you could tell a story about a time you overcame a difficult challenge through perseverance.
- The Classic “Show, Don’T Tell”
- Getting Deeper: Your Character’S Thoughts
- Choosing How to Convey Emotion
- Conveying A Character’S Emotions
If you’ve been a writer for any period of time, I’m sure you’ve heard the classic piece of writing advice to “show, don’t tell,” but this advice doesn’t go as deep as it could when it comes to emotion. Now, don’t get me wrong—this is good advice. But before I show you why this advice doesn’t cover everything, let’s look at an example of “show, don’...
New authors often forget that their character’s actions are only half the story; how they think and react internally is the other half. Let’s look at the showing example from before to see what it looks like with Sarah’s thoughts mixed in. See? We’ve been brought even further into the character and can understand what she’s feeling on a deeper leve...
When you’re writing any emotion, look at all three ways of conveying it—showing, telling, revealing inner thoughts—and decide which one you feel is best for that scene. Showing can be used when you want to bring the reader into the physicality of the emotion, anchoring them in the scene. But it can slow down pacing, especially if there are lots of ...
I hope this guide has helped you enhance the way you convey and write your characters’ emotions. For more ideas for conveying emotions—whether your own or those of your characters—check out our list of 150 words for emotions. Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!
Emotions in Writing: The Author’s Guide to Stirring Up Big Feels. Abi Wurdeman. April 20, 2023. If you know how to convey emotions in writing, you know how to draw your reader in, hold them captive, and make them remember you forever. And if you think that sounds manipulative, my brother/writing partner once referred to this skill as the art ...
- Abi Wurdeman
23 hours ago · It's like going on an emotional rollercoaster ride alongside them! When we can touch the hearts of our readers, we leave a lasting impact on their lives, which is why in this post, we’re discussing how to write emotion into your story naturally. Tips to convey emotion in writing Lay your emotional groundwork. What kind of story are you writing?
Use Sensory Descriptions: Engage the reader’s senses to make them feel what the character is feeling. Describe how the character’s emotional state affects their perception of their surroundings. Use Emotional Vocabulary: Words have power. Choose words that accurately capture the essence of your character’s emotions.
Now imagine you can connect to a character’s (made up) memories in a similar way. Use memory in your writing to convey the feelings that came up as you or your character remembered the past. 3. Use The Body. Both observation from life and emotion memory will help with this one.
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For example, describing the smell of the rain during a sad moment can help the reader feel the character’s sadness. Sensory details ground the reader in the moment, which can make them feel it more. 5. Be authentic. Draw on your own experiences and emotions to convey realistic and relatable characters.
