How to Evoke Emotions in Your Readers

The esteemed poet Robert Frost once said, “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.” The meaning of this statement seems clear: if a writer is not emotionally invested in his work, the reader will not be, either.

But how does a writer transfer that emotion effectively to readers through his words? He is already tasked with creating new characters and worlds. How does he create emotion, too?

Here are several ways:

Use descriptive words/words with heavy connotation

Words with heavy connotation are words that have “loaded” meanings. For example, when used in a crime novel, the words “stabbed,” “gushed,” “stained,” and “soaked” create vivid images of a grisly murder scene. Let’s take the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass summary as an example; for readers to feel emotions, they need to see the emotions, and using words with heavy connotation creates intense, specific visuals in readers’ heads because these words are rich with description.

It’s one thing to say, “The girl cried so hard she had trouble breathing,” but saying, “Her throat seized with the sobs that tightened her airway”—using the loaded words “seized” and “tightened”—provides readers with the sensory experience required for them to feel the girl’s inability to breathe. This moves readers from merely sympathizing with this girl to empathizing with her, because they themselves are now experiencing that suffocation due to use of loaded words. Such vivid words, in turn, create vivid experiences and sensations, making it easier both to understand the experiences of the characters and to share in those experiences.

Draw from personal experiences

There’s an age-old writing maxim that says, “Write what you know,” and when writing emotions, this couldn’t be more accurate.

Have you ever experienced the emotions your character is feeling? What did those emotions feel like to you, and what would you compare them to? Because you’ve already experienced these feelings, you can empathize with your characters; to help your readers do the same, you need to describe those experiences to the readers as accurately as possible. Use analogies and figurative language, if necessary.

Do you need to write a panic attack accurately for one of your characters? If you’ve experienced one before, draw from those experiences. Some panic attacks I’ve had make me nauseous, so I’ll use that feature I’ve personally experienced when describing a character’s panic attack:

“The anxiety was back, and it she felt the nausea building up inside her like a flood, a whirlpool spinning and spinning and filling her lungs with a bottomless vortex of suffocation.”

It’s easier to describe emotions if you’ve felt them before, so don’t be afraid to revisit your own feelings while writing across the emotional spectrum. Your authentic depictions of emotions lead to a reader’s more authentic experience of whatever emotions you’re describing.

This leads to the next step:

Be vulnerable

Never be afraid to “go there” when describing emotions. When you write, you’re already giving a part of yourself to your readers. Your words no longer belong just to you; they are shared with your reader in a close, profoundly intimate exchange.

Don’t just give them the stream-of-consciousness from your brain; give them your heart, your soul. There is nothing more disheartening than tired, detached prose during a scene that’s supposed to be taut with emotion. I’m a writer, but I’m also a reader, so I’ve been on both sides of this fence; trust me when I say readers will feel any walls you put up in your writing. If you are vulnerable with your readers in your writing, you invite them to connect with you and your work, and extending that vulnerability really does make all the difference. 

Finally:

Pay attention to details

Most people do not remember the “big picture” when it comes to emotions; they remember the little details. If someone is reminiscing over a romantic relationship, he will likely recall the light, playful gestures, the sneaked glances, his lover’s small quirks or habits. If someone is mourning the death of a loved one, he usually focuses on compartmentalized memories or objects that remind him of the person instead of focusing on the actual person.

For example, Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye, in mourning his brother Allie’s death, focuses on Allie’s baseball mitt, how Allie was left-handed, and how Allie’s hair was a very vibrant shade of red—all small, seemingly insignificant details. We don’t get these details all at once, either; they are divulged slowly, giving readers crumbs they can gradually use to acquaint themselves with Allie. If you give your readers details, you run less risk of overwhelming them, and you give them a more intimate look at the emotions your characters are feeling, because you’re focusing on what your characters would: the “little things.”

Now go forth, and write with feeling!