One Simple Trick to Get Emotion into Your Writing

Hey, everyone! Sorry I’ve been missing for the past two weeks. If there’s any excuse, I came down with a really bad cold and we MOVED! So it’s been crazy lately, but I’ve got a post for you today that I’m really excited about, so hang tight.

We’re going to be talking about getting emotion into your writing. We all want our readers to feel something. So how do we do this?

First off, watch these two short videos. I promise it will be worth your time. Ever seen Phantom of the Opera? Here’s the first clip. Watch from 1:30 to 1:50.

Now watch this one. It’s another version of the same scene. Watch from 8:40 to 9:20.

I don’t know about you, but I love the second version. The first one’s great, don’t get me wrong, but I love the power and emotion that this second version conveys.

Today were going to talk about one simple trick to getting this power, to make your readers cry and laugh and gasp.

What’s that trick? Use your words wisely.

If you’ve got your story in place, it will be your words that make all the difference. In movies, it’s how the characters deliver their lines. Your characters can do the same thing.

Check out this example.

“No.” He said.

Okay, that’s one way. Let’s look at how we can change it just a little.

“No!” He screamed, falling to his knees.

In the second one, how he says what he does skyrockets the tension. The way your characters act, how they say what they do, that is what’s going to get tension and emotion into your writing.

Let’s look at another example with a different kind of emotion.

“I’m so happy for you.” She said.

Okay, that was all right, but here’s another way to modify that sentence.

“I’m so happy for you.” She said, her lips drawn in a tight smile.

Emotion in that second sentence is much more powerful, because now the reader can pick up that she doesn’t really mean what she’s saying.

You see what I’m talking about? The power that your words can have? Modifying your sentences like this, showing the emotion on your character’s face during dialogue, that is what’s going to add emotion and tension into your scenes.

How have you used this technique? What examples can you think of?