Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Writing ABC - E Is For Emotion #MFRWauthor #amwriting

E is for emotion. Emotion is a very vital part of an author's arsenal. Emotion is the way the characters react to events, to each other and to sending them into action. Emotion is sometimes hard for me to write and I'm not sure why. My critique partners are always fussing at me about putting the emotion in.

Characters' emotions show in several ways. The first is body language. Have you ever been with someone who says one thing but their body gives a different view and can be contradictory to what they're saying. Body language is a good way to develop characters. Some people have what is called a "tell." Often used by gamblers of the opponents. Wight now I'm working with a character who when she is angry cries. Other characters may play with their hair or some other action that tells the others what is really happening.

Thoughts is another way to show where a character's emotions are headed. Their thoughts may be in direct conflict with what they want to say or what they actually verbalize.

And of course emotions can be shown directly. A bit about the tone of a character's voice or a show of an expression after words are spoken can tell a lot.

So emotions are very important for the writer as are the different ways of showing a character's emotions.