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Creating Characters that Make Readers Cry

Last week I wrote the Black Moment in my Work-In-Progress. And as you know, the Black Moment is the point in the final act of our stories where our main character hits rock bottom. Of course it’s usually more believable to gradually slide our character down to the dirty, painfully sharp cavern, rather than throwing them off the cliff to the bottom. So, that’s what I’d been working on all along—sliding her down, down, down. . .

I was sitting in my usual quiet corner of the library in a boring three-sided cubicle (which, by the way, is where I do some of my best writing). I was 75,000 plus words into my novel and was at the point where my heroine was nearing the bottom. In previous chapters I’d already heaped one little problem after another onto her so that against the weight she was helpless to do anything but slide down. But now I’d come to a scene where she had to make a crucial, heart-rending decision.

Finally, her feet hit the bottom of the deep dark hole. I found myself there with her. Her pain radiated in my heart. Her tears wet my cheeks. My arms ached with her emptiness.

After I finished typing the last words of the scene, I wiped at my tears and glanced around to see if anyone had witnessed my sob session and wondered if the librarians would now dub me as “that crazy emotional woman over in the corner.”

It wasn’t the first time I’ve cried while writing a scene. And I hope it’s not the last. There’s something incredibly satisfying about moving yourself to tears with your own words. As I pondered what I wrote, I couldn’t help asking myself, “If this scene makes me cry, will it someday move my readers to the same depth of emotion?”

How can we know if we’re creating characters that will make our readers cry? Or laugh? Or love? Isn’t that what we really want? To give our readers the kind of experience that will stir them in their deepest place?

But how do we do that?

I don’t know that there is one easy answer for how to infuse our scenes and characters with such a strong emotional-charge that it elicits a response from readers. Here are just a few ways I work at infusing emotion into my characters:

*Become the character. As I mentioned in the last post, I don’t start writing until I AM my character. When I’m in a character’s POV (point of view), their flushed skin is mine, their blood pulses through my heart, their thoughts run rampant through my mind. We’re one and the same.

*Tap my own emotions. If I AM my character, then it stands to reason if I go to the deep part of my emotional experiences and let them well up, I’ll transfer them to my character. I need only visualize and seep myself in the recent or past memories of my own losses, rejections, or frustrations in order to give them to my character in their own unique way.

*Make it believable. Getting to an emotionally-charged moment requires set-up. If we throw our characters over the cliff to rock bottom, sure they’ll feel pain. But it will feel contrived. Instead we need to establish the crucible--the thing our character can't live without. We need to drop hints at how important this crucible is and then slowly lead our character to the point where they’re forced by circumstances to relinquish their hope, dream, or whatever is critical to them. When we build up to the painful moment, our readers will invest more emotion into it.

*Slow down and show. In those especially charged scenes, I slow down the action and I take the lens of my mental camera and zoom on specific details and emotions. This isn’t the time for a panoramic or big picture shot. This is the time for a close up. I point my camera around the scene trying to capture the heartache in ways that SHOW the emotion and tension I'm trying to convey.

So what about you? Have you moved yourself to tears or laughter during your writing? What are other ways we can infuse emotion into our characters?

P.S. If you need a character worksheet, I've posted mine in a tab at the top of my blog. You're welcome to print it out and use it.

55 comments:

  1. I love the 'lady in the corner'. LOL.

    All of these are great. I specifically like your notion about slowing down and 'showing'. That is always the most effective arrow of delivery. Becoming the character is extremely important for me. Sometimes my kids walk by my office, hear me talking to myself, and think I'm nuts.

    *Shrug*.

    Another thing I use is pausing and looking at the scene through someone else's eyes, like another character. That's helpful, too.

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  2. What great advice! You're right, we have to embody our characters. If we don't feel what they feel, sometimes even shedding their tears, how can our readers feel it?

    And kiss of death, don't try to incite emotion by said, "She cried" or "Big tears rolled down her cheek". If the readers have already been shown the emotion perhaps, but those kinds of lines won't create emotion.

    I had to write an emotional scene that I dreaded for a couple of days. When I got to it, I actually shook a little.

    Good luck with the rest of your WIP.

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  3. Theresa, You're so right. Most of the time we won't be able to elicit powerful emotions if we TELL our readers things like "she cried" or "she was sad." We have to SHOW those things happening, slow down the action, and through actions and dialogue bring the sorrow to life.

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  4. I've laughed at what I've written, and felt sad too (no tears yet). I hope my characters make someone connect emotionally! Like you said though, it's tricky. I def. agree about slowing down and really showing every little thing in a scene like that.
    I'm glad you got your black moment written. :) Now I hope there's an HEA!

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  5. I love to hear stories of people crying when they write as I'm prone to do the same! In the novel I'm currently editing I sobbed my way through one scene as I wrote it. My husband even came over to see if I was OK! (He gave me a funny look when I told him I had just written a very sad scene LOL) The great thing is that 12 months on and knee-deep in editing, that scene still brings tears to my eyes. I hope it will touch my readers too. Your tips on characterisation are great. It's all about authenticity and embodying your character to a point where you're not writing 'about' them - you're writing as them.

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  6. I'm glad I'm not the only one who cries while writing :)

    this is awesome help.. I so needed it.. thanks for sharing!!!!!!

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  7. Love this!

    I don't aim to make my readers cry so much... but I do aim for an emotional experience. That may involve an occasional sniffle, a gasp, a giggle (okay quite a few giggles) and an "Awwwwwww" moment. I love aw moments. Then one when your heart races as their lips touch, when you sigh as he picks up her hand for the first time and rubs his thumb against her palm. Yes, awe moments are fun.

    I'm not sure my black moments would make people cry... but gasp, definitely. Turn the page very fast, oh yeah! Or, at least, I hope they do! ha!

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  8. I totally agree, we have to become the character in order to tap our own emotions. Characters don't have their own feelings until we give them a foot up.

    Thanks for the worksheet.

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  9. You know I love this post.

    It's funny too b/c I almost tweeted something like this. I wondered if it was normal to cry through scenes. I tend to feel so much for my characters.

    Great advice I read in one of Bell's books...to envision the scene as though it's playing in a movie. That way you might snag a description or two, a facial expression you might otherwise not think to write.

    ~ Wendy

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  10. Being that I write memoir, the emotions are easy to tap. I think it comes down to how well you can tap your own emotions and give them to a character. And how well you can write that. What comes across on the page may not be what is in our heads :)

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  11. Oh, this is a great post! I have made myself laugh, and have had heart palpitations, but I haven't cried yet. Maybe some day!!! ;) I think you are spot on in saying you must become the character. You must do the work of finding out who your character is before you can FEEL her. Loved this!!!

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  12. I love the idea of tapping our own emotions. More often than not, I haven't been in the exact same situations as my characters, but I HAVE felt the same emotions, and that's what I try to transfer to the page.

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  13. I can totally picture you crying in your little corner, peaking out to see if anyone else notices your tears.

    I've never actually cried with my characters, but I have felt that tightening in my chest when the love between two characters kicks into high gear.

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  14. I've done my share of tearing up in a library cubicle, too. :)

    In my debut book, there were scenes that made me cry every time, and they usually weren't ones where the character was crying. I think there was something about the raw honesty of two characters connecting, jumping the chasms between them and finding themselves on the same side. And the final triumph made me cry.

    Every time. Even through the third round of copy edits. I felt like an idiot. :) I feel less like an idiot now when readers write to tell me they cried in those same places.

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  15. Wonderful advice; can't wait to try it. I always cry when my characters do. They're like my children so what hurts them, hurts me.

    But I love your tip to slow down and show. Thanks for a great post.

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  16. I've really been trying to get into deep POV with my characters, and it has made such a difference in infusing emotion in my characters. Great post.

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  17. Great post! I'm like you, I try to become my characters, to feel their emotion. I love the slow down suggestion. I'll have to work on that.

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  18. Hi Jody -

    I especially like your admonition to, "slow down and show."

    In my first book, my heroine is in a hospital waiting room. Having been in that situation myself, I was able to take my painful experiences and put them to good use. It's nice to know I did something right. :)

    Blessings,
    Susan

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  19. Great advice! It's a lot harder for me to get into the mindset of my male characters, though. I try to think of how the men in my life would see the situation and react to it, but that's still a bit trickier for me.

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  20. Yes! We want our readers to care, laugh, cry. I love books that make me cry and laugh- and i think it's a very hard thing to do. Great post as usual!

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  21. Jody, I love that you cry when you write your stories because I know you've poured your heart and soul into them. That means I'll experience the same gut-wrenching emotion when I read them. I love when a writer can bring me to tears or make me laugh out loud. I wanna be moved. And I really wanna read your books and cry during your well-crafted black moments.

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  22. I've moved myself to tears with several books I've written and those moments always stick with me. I found myself wondering, as you did, if others would cry when they read it (and a few said they did).

    I agree that really getting to know your characters is key making readers feel for them. Also making them relatable. If a reader can put themselves in the characters shoes like they're in the story themselves, the story because real enough to them that emotion overflows. Great post!

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  23. :D about crying in the corner of the library. My kids like to point out that my facial expessions sometimes mirror the ones of the characters I'm writing about. I smile when they're happy, I frown when they're mad...I tear up when they're sad.

    The first time a reader told me they cried while reading my book, I froze, wondering if that was good or bad.

    The lady grabbed my arm and laughed, reassuring me that it was a good thing. :)

    Whew.

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  24. We are talking about tears other than those that flow when the rejection letter hits the em-mail in-box. :-)

    My completed historical WIP makes me cry toward the end, but I don't employ the deep emoptional POV techniques that you use. I'll have to consider it.

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  25. I'm always amazed how writers can draw out so much emotion with words.

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  26. Excellent post, Jody. You've offered some top-notch advice. I think I'll be back to read it again.

    For me, I knew I was on the right emotional track with my characters and the climax of one of my novels when I found myself reluctant to sit down to write because it was so wrenching.

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  27. YES! I love it when that happens... hope to see it happen more often!

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  28. Love this advice. Thank you for the character worksheet:)

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  29. In my own life I'm a private person and don't openly display emotions very much. Letting my characters do so has been a learning experience and liberating, too! My current MC is male and as I'm thinking through/visualizing a scene I find I'm clenching my teeth in his frustration, holding my breath, even sweating. I don't know whether I'm adequately conveying his emotion to the page for a reader fresh to the scene, but I hope so.

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  30. Be that crazy woman in the library! Some day when you're books are all over the shelves you they can say, this is where it all began. Maybe a little plaque on the cubicle would be nice???? :O)

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  31. Yes! Oh Jody, yes. I adore crying with my characters. In fact, there's one scene in the novel I just revised where I cried at every pass (about five times!) of the revisions. To me, that's the sign of a keeper.

    Crazy crying women unite!

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  32. Wait, you mean I'm not just some hopeless shmuck when I cry at my own story? Cause I've wondered... (Hey let me know if you cry when you edit that scene, too... That would also make me feel better!) Seriously, I have wondered if this just means I'm a little too easy on myself or what...

    Erica Vetsch: I felt so incredibly honored when a beta reader texted me he (WOOHOO! Yes, a HE!) was crying at my novel. It really made me feel like I'd hit the mark I was supposed to. To God be the glory!

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  33. I haven't made myself cry yet, but in reading a book this week I laughted out loud....then re-read the sentence and laughted out loud again. I'd love to have the word power to create that kind of response in a reader...

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  34. This post is a great teaching tool, Jody! I might use some of your wisdom with my composition classes to reinforce one of my lessons. My favorite is slow down and show - so wise and so important! :-)

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  35. I love the points of becoming the character and tapping into your own emotion. I tend to do these simultaneously. I experience what it's like to be the character, not just reacting the way the character would, but trying to see the world from my character's perspective, his/her thoughts, ideas, beliefs, values, and from that frame of reference I can tap into my own emotions of what I would think and feel with that perspective.

    I think another helpful way of infusing emotion in writing is to not try too hard. Emotion is something that comes naturally; if you as the writer are forcing the emotion, the character's emotion will be forced as well.

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  36. Sometimes when I have an idea for a story thats so overwhelming, I have to write it down immediately and often there are tears. Happened to me last week. :)

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  38. I went through a brief depression as I wrote the darkest chapter in my book...it's a wild ride, writing through your characters. Excellent post.

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  39. I have thought about writing fiction, but just don't yet have that craft -- but when I DO write fiction, I will come back to this post! Very insightful.

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  40. This is my hearts desire - to get to the depth you are speaking of. I love your advise - will print it out to be a reminder! Thanks

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  41. I love when I read a book that moves me to tears or better yet laughter. I hope I'm able to do the same thing with my writing. I agree with the slowing down and showing instead of telling:)

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  42. Your post is spot on. I just posted about something similar - taking our real-life experiences (like my wife fainting in my arms last week) and conveying that emotion where applicable in the hearts of the characters we create. Those are my favorite to read, the ones that seem real, believable.

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  43. Oh yes I've bawled:) Then I wonder if only I will be the one to cry there because maybe the scene means more to me than it might someone else. Thanks again for some really good advice:)

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  44. I brace myself and just write it. I feel bad, doing this to my poor characters. I caught my mom crying over my heroine in my second WIP.

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  45. I cried when I wrote parts of my memoir...and that's my own story! I don't know if that makes me pathetic or incredibly self-absorbed or what. Or maybe I just have a sad life (just kidding).

    I like your advice here. It's true -- we need to write characters that readers will relate to -- either in love, or hate, or a mix of both. This is true even when writing about yourself, I think.

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  46. If you think it's tough being the emotional woman over in the corner at a library, try being the emotional pilot (still in uniform, no less!) crying over his WIP at a gate in the airport!

    Welcome to Strangelooksville, USA, Population: ME

    Another invaluable post, Jody, thanks!

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  47. I recently had to write off a character I loved deeply. It was his time to go and I knew it. There wasn't much to be done for him in the development department. And so I went to that dark place and wrote a "goodbye scene". At first it was awkward, because I didn't want the scene to be too sad and I didn't want to have my character cry and have a break down. So he and his friend, they were trying to be those brave little toasters and pretend like it's not a big deal and that they will see each other again... I basically cried. and a friend who was reading the scene as it was written, she cried as well... Basically my heart broke.

    I think it was one of the best character interactions I've ever did.

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  48. Such excellent advice. I like the way you said you "zoom in" like with a camera. Gives me a mental image I can use later. Thanks.

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  49. Yes, I have cried when I have written sometimes. I write from my heart. I don't really know any other way to do it.

    But I also know that moving myself to tears and moving my readers are two different things! For the second one to take place, I need a thoughtful and sensitive editor!

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  50. Jody, I loved this post! You really brought us into your interior world as a writer, and I was totally with you in that library, wanting to find a tissue and wipe away your tears. I've been there before while at St. Ben's on writing residency, shedding tears as I came to my resolution; a resolution that surprised me. When I tied everything together, it tugged at me at a very deep place. It's an amazing experience, and something I'll never forget and will strive to reach again. The character sheet is awesome too. You are so incredibly thorough! No wonder you are cranking out the books as steadily as you are. You're a woman on a mission! :)

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  51. I bawled my eyes out when I killed of a character at the climax of my novel. I thought I wad just being pathetic but I'm glad I'm not alone!

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  52. I've both cried at a scene while writing it and again while reading over it to edit it. I'm not a guy who's particularly prone to crying over things, so I liked to think that it was a good indication that I'd achieved my objective for the emotion of the scene.

    As for the slow slide Vs throwing the character off a cliff. I think both methods have merit depending on what tone you want for the story you're telling. Sometimes the story is about surviving having that rug pulled from under them.

    I've read some books in the past where one small thing after another was piled on to a character and you reach the point where you think "Enough already, give them a break". So, I think it can be a balancing act to pile enough on them that they hit the bottom but to know where the line is of 'too much' (the latter can throw me out of a story so hard).

    This was a very interesting piece to read and your character sheet looks very interesting and useful. There are things on there that I wouldn't consider thinking about in advance, so thanks for sharing that :)

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  53. Great post and very helpful! Thank you.

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  55. This is such a great post. I love writing heart-wrenching scenes that move myself to tears as I write. I've never quite "sobbed" yet, but I have shed a few tears.

    Thanks for sharing this! =)

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