Wattpad Strategies No One Told You About ✔

21 • writing emotions

[This chapter was requested by chidchick , I'm really glad you reached out and not gonna lie I'm honored that you trust my writing :) I apologize for taking too long but I hope this helps everyone out!]

HOW TO SHOW EMOTIONS THROUGH WRITING (from what I've observed/experienced)

1. Show don't tell

This is like the most basic rule on writing out there, and for me, it's still the most effective. Let me elaborate more on this one. As the name itself suggests, don't just write how your character is 'crying', SHOW it. Describe the action.

Example:

Guilty, I dug my nails into my palms as the tears rolled down my face. I sobbed and fell to the ground, my bare knees scraping against the pavement.

VS

My heart ached and guilt burned up in my chest. My nails dug into my palm painfully, almost drawing blood as tears rolled down my face. I sobbed, everything crashing down on me. I fell and my bare knees scraped against the pavement yet the only pain I felt was from my chest.

[this is actually an excerpt from my wip cause i'm feeling lazy atm eek sorry]

See the difference? Showing would mean expanding the sentences and getting to the details, but there's also the risk of overdoing it so be careful. Writing like this will help your readers connect to the feeling you want to convey and it will also make them feel like they're THERE and watching the characters act.

2. Be dramatic (for me, anyway)

I believe this is a good way to emphasize the emotions you want to portray through your writing. But then again, you should be careful because overdoing it will make your writing look forced. I mean, you should know by now that TOO MUCH is never good in terms of writing. My tip is to just use this tactic when it NEEDS to be used. Don't do it all the time. This only applies when you're writing a major scene that will greatly impact the storyline. Otherwise it'll lose its purpose.

One way of being dramatic is using figurative language.

3. Have a unique writing style

To be blunt, the rule of grammar shouldn't ALWAYS apply when you write a story. It's okay to have one word as a sentence, or a phrase, or just you can break the rules sometimes. You go out of the box when you write so you don't be really strict with your grammar. This is one step to being able to write lyrical prose.

For instance, we have this beautifully written paragraph by John Green:

"I finally ended up in the ICU with pneumonia, and my mom knelt by the side of my bed and said, 'Are you ready, sweetie?' and I told her I was ready, and my dad just kept telling me he loved me in this voice that was not breaking so much as already broken, and I kept telling him that I loved him, too, and everyone was holding hands, and I couldn't catch my breath, and my lungs were acting desperate, gasping, pulling me out of the bed trying to find a position that could get the air, and I was embarrassed by their desperation, disgusted that they wouldn't just let go, and I remember my mom telling me it was okay, that I was okay, that I would be okay, and my father was trying so hard not to sob that when he did, which was regularly, it was an earthquake."

IT WORKS. IT F*CKING WORKS. THAT is how you write, my friends.

4. Know that word choice matters

WORDS ARE MUCH MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU THINK. But of course, you're a writer so you already know that.

After you write a sentence, read it to yourself (maybe aloud or in your mind). Make sure it sounds right. Because if you want to write something that'll affect the reader, the flow must be good and just normal. Be aware of the words you use, because it would affect the overall mood and tone of your story. Using the right words will help you increase the story tension, and this will keep your readers on edge. Using the wrong words will make the tension disappear (nuh uh) and will most possibly disinterest your readers.

5. Take advantage of the setting

Let's say your character is in a garden. She could hear birds chirping and the leaves rustling in the wind. She could smell the sweet fragrance of flowers. She could feel the wet grass tickling her bare feet. She could see the contrasting of petals with their stems and everything. Do these trigger something?

Maybe it reminds her of the time when she and her father would visit the gardens, back when he was still alive. Maybe the fragrance reminds her of the time when a boy gave her a bouquet of roses not knowing she was allergic to them. Maybe the bright blue sky makes her feel at ease.

The possibilities are endless. Not only will this help you develop your character further but you'll also able to express emotions that will certainly affect your readers. If you do it right.

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A/N: Hey everyone! I hope all of you are doing alright <3 Just a few weeks ago, I saw the comment of one of you guys saying how this book was able to help them reach their milestone of 1k reads in just a short moment of time and I swear, it really made my day. I was so glad that this tip book was able to help!

So I just want to tell you that if this tip book helped, maybe in a sense that you followed one of the tips and became successful with it, let me know your experiences by commenting! I want to hear more from you guys, and maybe I'll make a chapter wherein I'll include all of your experiences :) That way the new readers will know what to expect from this tip book. Thank you!!