Hey-o, Word-wielders,

If you've been in the business of writing long enough, you've heard the term "Show, don't tell." Not to say that you should always show and never tell, but telling isn't how you're going to immerse your reader into the story you've created. This applies to more than just the emotional side of writing, but today that is what I am going to tackle.

Consider these two examples:

Nye was furious. "What do you mean?"

Heat rushed up into Nye's cheeks, almost scalding. He gripped the table and ground his teeth, eyes looking anywhere but at Alex. "What do you mean?"

See what I'm saying? Which version draws you in? Which one paints an image in your mind?

You might say, "But I've never felt the burn of utter betrayal, the agony of grief, the exhilaration of fearlessness." You may not have felt these things in full force, but think of a time when you felt them in a smaller dosage. Take those feelings, amp them up, imagine what it would be like in the shoes of your characters.

Still, you might find it difficult to find the words to describe how your character is feeling. A quick help for that can be found at One Stop For Writers. They have an emotion thesaurus that I use. You can also, next time you feel an emotion you need help with, write down exactly how you feel. What thoughts are you thinking? What temperature are you? Do you feel pain, lightness, butterflies in your stomach? All these can be useful in diving into emotion.

Now, your POV character is living life with emotions, but so are other characters. You can't always leap into their heads to show what they're feeling, but you can use their outward actions and words to show what emotions they have. Take this example:

"Tressa, please just tell me what's wrong?" I placed a teacup in the precise center of its saucer.

The kettle whistled, and Tressa passed me to head to the stove, eyes focused on not looking at me.

"Tress, please," I said.

"Tressa turned off the burner, lips pressed into a thin smear of Poppy Kiss. She poured the water into the teapot, set her shoulders like a soldier off to war, and stiffly walked to the table.

I moved in front of her, crossing my arms.

Tressa finally met my eyes. They narrowed into cold, hard slits, and I knew I wasn't getting a word out of her.

This is so much more immersive than to simply say that Tressa is mad. Watch other people's body language. Listen to their tone of voice as they speak. Learn from real life, and your writing will reflect real emotions more and more.

What are your tips on writing emotion? Shoot me a comment down below.

May you live for Christ and give Him praise!

~Claira