The Character House, Pt. 10: Emotions and Home Utilities

Think of the last book you enjoyed. You agonized over the outcome, rooted for the protagonist to succeed, and experienced the delight of victory. Finally, you closed the book feeling refreshed from the masterpiece of emotions.

Your book can provide readers with the same experience. 

In this Character House post, we’ll be discussing character emotions, represented by the home utilities (heating, cooling, electricity, water, etc.). Just as these utilities run throughout the house, emotions permeate a character’s words, thoughts, and actions.

Why Is Emotion Important?

We read fiction to connect emotionally to characters, to care deeply about them, to feel their struggles and fears. If we don’t feel these powerful emotions, we probably won’t enjoy the book. 

Different stories will resonate with different readers—a story that prompts tears from one reader might prompt boredom from another. Nevertheless, a few basic principles can help authors create emotions in both characters and readers.

How to Develop Characters’ Emotional Ranges

Emotional range refers to the way a character expresses or hides certain emotions. All characters feel the same emotions (happiness, disappointment, anger, fear, loneliness, etc.), but they express these emotions differently. One angry character might bang the table and shout, while another might behave passive-aggressively.

Here are some tips on determining your characters’ emotional ranges. 

1. Consider backstory.

Characters might try to avoid emotions that remind them of painful experiences. A character who previously hurt someone in a fit of rage might try to avoid anger and conflict at all costs. 

Conversely, positive experiences can also influence emotional expression. If your character’s upbeat personality helped her get her dream job, she might openly express excitement and enthusiasm.

2. Consider short-term and long-term beliefs.

Short-term beliefs are the ones characters hold about specific situations. Suppose George has lunch with his friend but suspects that his friend has been lying to him. George’s short-term belief is “I can’t trust my friend.” This belief may cause George to restrain his true emotions during this scene. 

By contrast, long-term beliefs are deep-seated convictions that drive the character’s actions. If Hannah grew up taking care of many siblings, she might believe, “I always need to be the dependable one.” As a result, she might strive to appear strong by concealing negative emotions, such as sadness and frustration.

3. Consider the context.

Characters might be more comfortable expressing their emotions with certain people (such as family members and close friends) than with others (such as strangers and acquaintances). In a royal council meeting, the characters might exert immense effort to restrain their anger or suppress their laughter.

How to Create Emotion in Your Story

1. Show the characters’ reactions to the events of the plot.

If the characters don’t react to the events of the story, the readers won’t know how to react themselves.

The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi lists internal and external responses for 130 different emotions. Some types of reactions listed in the thesaurus include dialogue, gestures, body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, physical reactions, and thoughts.

You don’t want to simply tell readers, “Samuel was angry.” Instead, show the emotion through action: “Samuel slammed his fist on the table.” 

However, a sobbing character doesn’t necessarily guarantee a sobbing reader. The audience will only care about the emotions if they know the characters.

2. Develop the characters.

When the characters feel real, the readers will be more likely to care about their emotions. The Character House can help you develop your characters’ strengths, weaknesses, fears, goals, external traits, insecurities, and other components.

3. Use word choice and details to create an emotional tone.

Instead of directly stating emotions, choose details with precise emotional connotations to help your audience feel exactly what your character feels.

Suppose you’re writing a scene set in a restaurant. If you want to show your character’s happiness, you could describe the warm lighting and delicious smells. On the other hand, if you want to show your character’s discomfort, you could mention the stuffy air and raucous chatter. In both cases, the details reflect the intended emotion.

4. Use description, not explanation.

If you want readers to react to a scene or character, don’t merely explain why something is sad, scary, or infuriating. Instead, describe actions and scenes to let readers draw their own conclusions. 

In The Story Peddler by Lindsay A. Franklin, the villainous king is greedy, selfish, and power-hungry. He refuses to show mercy to peasants and feasts while his subjects starve. Rather than simply telling us that we should dislike the king, Franklin describes his behavior, speech, and decisions to show why we should be disgusted. 

5. Show the context and consequences of the situation.

Context is the buildup to a situation (before). To build up to an ally’s death, you might show the ally’s family life and friendship with the protagonist. When the readers know the ally, they’ll care more when the ally dies.

Consequences are the physical and emotional results of a situation (after). The consequences of the ally’s death might include a heartbroken protagonist, a grieving family, and unfulfilled dreams. 

6. Err on the side of subtle rather than melodramatic.

In emotionally intense conversations, it’s often better to have the characters say too little than too much. They might stumble over their words and struggle to articulate their true feelings. 

Similarly, showing restrained emotions often creates more tension than showing released emotions. For example, showing a character fighting back tears builds tension, but the tension breaks when the character cries. For this reason, it’s good to avoid having characters cry too often or too early in the story.

7. Surprise readers by pushing characters to their breaking points.

Most of the time, characters’ emotions should be consistent with their personalities. However, some situations can elicit “out of character” reactions. Under certain circumstances, an enthusiastic character might fall into despair, while a grumpy character might put aside his own irritation to cheer up a friend.

Exploring Emotions

Emotions allow readers to connect with stories. All characters express or hide different emotions based on their backstories, beliefs, and situations. To effectively create emotion in your story, you can depict character reactions, describe emotive details, and choose specific words. Build up the context of an important situation, and show its physical and emotional consequences. Finally, surprise readers by pushing your characters to their breaking points.

As you develop authentic character reactions, your story will become an emotional experience that tugs on readers’ hearts long after they close the covers.

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What tools do you use to make your scenes brim with emotion?

You May Also Like

• The Character House, Pt. 13: 3 Ways to Build a Character House
• The Character House, Pt. 12: The 5 Stages of a Moving Character Arc
• The Character House, Pt. 11: Roof and Personality Traits
• The Character House, Pt. 10: Emotions and Home Utilities
• The Character House, Pt. 9: The Windows of Voice and Vulnerability