<ul><li>Emotion is much more effectively conveyed through a mixture of dialogue, thoughts, and body language</li><li>Avoid over-using exclamation points to show intensity</li><li>Check if some action is needed to breakup the dialogue </li><li>Check if the character should be saying something instead of staying silent and just thinking about the emotion</li><li>When expressing emotion, vary your vehicles, using both verbal and nonverbal techniques for maximum impact</li></ul>

4. Over-reliance on dialogues or thoughts

<ul><li>How our bodies respond outwardly when we experience emotion.</li><li>The stronger the feeling, the more the body reacts</li><li>Characters are unique and each one may use different physical signals</li></ul>

Physical Signals

<ul><li>Cliches are a sign of lazy writing</li><li>Create your own observations instead of falling back on clichés</li><li>Think about your body and what happens to it when you’re feeling a certain emotion</li><li>You may also observe people in real life or in movies/tv shows to see how they express emotion</li><li>Some notable changes: person’s voice, speech, or overall bearing and posture</li><li>Know your character; some may shout, while others may go completely silent</li></ul>Examples of cliché emotions:<ul><li>The grin that stretches from ear to ear</li><li>A single tear pooling in the eye before coursing down the cheek</li><li>Quivering knees that knock together</li></ul>

2. Cliché emotions

<ul><li>Melodrama leads to a sense of disbelief in the reader because, in real life, emotion isn’t always so demonstrative</li><li>To avoid melodrama, recognize that emotions run along a continuum, from mild to extreme as emotions vary in strength</li><li>Make sure that your character’s feelings progress realistically</li></ul>

3. Melodrama

<ul><li>Excessive backstory slows the pace and can bore reader</li><li>In order to avoid using too much backstory, determine which details from your character’s past are necessary to share</li></ul>

5. Misusing backstory to enhance reader empathy

1. Physical signals2. Mental responses3. Internal sensations

3 Elements Of Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication cannot be told; it must be shown.You don’t want the reader to only see what’s happening; you want them to feel the emotion, and to experience it along with the character.Examples of telling:<ul><li>Mr. Paxton’s eyes were sad as he gave her the news.</li><li>Instantly, JoAnne was angrier than she’d ever been in her life</li></ul>

1. Telling

1. Telling2. Cliché emotions3. Melodrama4. Over-reliance on dialogues or thoughts5. Misusing backstory to enhance reader empathy

Common Problems in Nonverbal Communication

<ul><li>Offers a window into the thought process.</li><li>Mental responses are not always rational</li><li>An excellent way to convey to the reader how a character sees their world</li><li>An excellent way to demonstrate voice</li></ul>

Mental Responses

<ul><li>The most powerful form of nonverbal communication and should be used with the most caution.</li><li>Instinctive, raw and uncontrolled, triggering the fight-or-flight response</li><li>Will be felt by readers at a primal level</li><li>Relying too much on internal sensations can create melodrama, therefore a light touch is needed as a little goes a long way</li></ul>

Internal Sensations

Readers have high expectations. They don’t want to be told how a character feels; they want to experience the emotion for themselves. To make this happen, we must ensure that our characters express their emotions in ways that are both recognizable and compelling to read.

When it comes to writing fiction, emotion is key. In order to capture the reader's empathy and allegiance, you must convey character emotion effectively. The Emotion Thesaurus is a tool that enables you to accomplish this by * highlighting 75 universal emotions and the internal and external cues associated with them. * identifying common emotion-related writing problems and how to overcome them. * suggesting logical escalations from one emotion to the next. * showing cues associated with acute and suppressed emotions. Authors, teachers, and students agree that The Emotion Thesaurus is a convenient and helpful resource for reaching past clichéd emotional phrases and coming up with fresh ways to express what their characters are feeling. Its user-friendly list format makes it easy to understand and easy to find exactly you need.

Physical Signals

Similar ideas to Physical Signals

The Body Gives Signals

Reacting Vs. Responding

Experiences are binding signals