I think of the plot structure as the bare bones to a story and the main characters as the vital organs. But emotion is the heartbeat. It’s what makes a story come alive, and helps us experience what the characters are feeling. Our emotional response is our sense of reality.
Without emotion, our stories are flat, boring, and nothing more than a narrated documentary.
We experience emotion through the five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch through the character’s point of view (POV). These senses are the pathways or arteries through which we experience emotion. In order to make the heart of the story beat with reality, we must stimulate emotional responses in the reader and create a pulse—a source of life.
We can do this by using similes, metaphors, and analogies. Other ways of accomplishing this is through elements of dialogue, varying gender responses, actions, thoughts and motivations. All of these elements funnel into the concept of showing the story unfolding and the character developing, not narrating and telling it. Below are outlined definitions and examples of each of these elements from my work in progress (WIP), my new Regency romance.
Showing Emotional Elements to the Reader
- Simile – Shows a direct comparison by using the words “like” or “as” for two different things. In the example below, rotting is compared to a corpse. The idea of a corpse definitely gives the immediate impression of something rotting.
Example: The initials RW were a reminder that at one time someone had loved him. Regina would have been his, but instead, he sat here rotting like a corpse for something he had not done.
- Metaphor – A comparison that uses a creative word or phrase to substitute for something else, but unlike a simile, it is not a direct comparison and does not use the terms “like” or “as”. The example below compares the hooves beating the ground her heart beating inside her.
Example: The sound of hooves beating the ground in a steady rhythm reached her ears, along with the excitement of her drum-pounding heart.
- Analogy – A comparison of two different things with common elements. In the example below, the analogy compares the natural hazards of the deep ocean to the evil hazards of mankind.
Example: Sailing suited him. In spite of all the unknown dangers in the depths surrounding them, and the potential life-threatening thunderstorms, Marcus preferred those hazards to the evil concoctions of mankind.
Layering in the 5 Emotional Senses
Sight – It isn’t enough to simply state what is being seen. The last thing you want is to make a scene sound like a boring police report. You need to layer in the above elements, as well as visual elements of color, size, shapes and textures and picture words that create vivid images. It is helpful to paint a setting for the reader that creates a mood to stimulate an emotional response.
Example: Marcus approached her like a lion stalking his prey. His sapphire blue eyes were so intense upon hers that Regina couldn’t move. Anticipation swelled inside her to know the mysteries surrounding him.
Sound – Don’t make your readers think too hard about what the characters are hearing. Instead, make them experience it. Think of words like sizzle and crackle. These words sound exactly as they are. If you’re going after the simile or metaphor effect, everyone knows what the sound of thunder is like, a whistle, or the ocean waves. Use these common things in a creative way to compare to other sounds. We can experience soothing sounds calm people or loud and annoying noises that makes a person cringe and want to escape. These word choices and writing approach will trigger an emotional response in your readers.
Example: The pianaforte was slightly out of tune, but to a man who had been starved of music for a number of years, it sounded like heaven and felt like magic flowing from within him. Relief filled the dormant walls of his chest in knowing that he could still play.
Smell – Every place you go has some kind of smell whether or not it’s a pleasant fragrance or an unpleasant odor. Your characters should be experiencing something similar. A smell can spark a past memory, remind you of someone, or initiate a specific transition from one setting to another. While each place may have a unique smell, we may have become so used to it that we’re immune, but a newcomer will notice it right away, or we’ll notice new smells as soon as we arrive to a new place.
Smells bring the senses alive and connect to our sense of taste. It’s hard to smell the aroma of coffee or blueberry pie baking without our tongues watering and our stomachs rumbling in eagerness. Also, keep in mind the connotation of how we interpret certain words. For instance, the word stench would not have the same meaning as fragrance. Stench brings the idea of a nasty smell to mind, while fragrance reminds us of pleasant perfumes.
Example: The next course consisted of perch fillets with white scallops and a few periwinkles on each plate. The salt smell reminded him of his voyage at sea and the wind gave him his first taste of freedom.
Taste – The reference to taste can be in regard to food as well as to someone’s preference to determine what is liked or disliked. This is an excellent sense to use when introducing characters to readers. Creativity is key. In a romance novel or in a simple romantic scene, taste is often used in kisses and passion.
Example: His full and dark lips beckoned him, as memories of kissing her flooded him from long ago. The desire to taste her again swelled in him, but the sound of he music started. It was the perfect distraction he needed as couples on each side of them began to move in a new dance.
Touch – Another creative way to stimulate emotional responses in readers is through the sense of touch. It’s a great way to show what the character is feeling and to bring a story to life. Use words that describe texture, temperature, surfaces and liquids. What is one of the first things a baby wants to do when seeing something interesting or new for the first time? They reach out to touch it. Curiosity draws the craving of our sense of touch. Even adults get the urge to touch things in nature, in science museums and places like Disney World. It’s in our human nature, and as authors, we must show our characters experiencing this same sense of touch.
Example: She stood up on her tiptoes and cupped his cheek with her uninjured hand. The tender touch of her soft, warm skin tingled his face, stirring old feelings he had tried to suppress in order to survive without human contact
People are not one-dimensional and we need our characters to be as realistic and believable as possible. We need our readers to connect with our characters and care about them. Using these strategies in writing stories will help achieve this.
