Emotion Emotion Emotion ...

By. M.L. Tyndall

What books or movies do you remember the most? If you think back, I’m sure you’ll discover they were the ones that invoked a strong emotion within you. The best way to write an unforgettable story which will keep your reader turning pages is to grab onto their emotions and don’t let go until the very end. I assure you that if you follow these five simple steps, you will be well on your way to creating a story your readers cannot put down.

1. The reader must first of all care about the character. Most of you know this, but it is so very essential. I urge you to read as many great books on characterization as you can get a hold of.



-----a. Create likeable main characters with qualities and goals we can relate to—humans with human passions, human weaknesses.

-----b. Give them a main story goal that the reader can understand them wanting, but that seems impossible for them to achieve. Make it something that they must have or life will not be worth living for them.


-----c. Give them at least one major character flaw that keeps getting in the way of this goal.


2. Create at least one nasty villain who is out to prevent them from reaching their goal

3. Emotional reactions. As often as you can, express the emotion the character is feeling in the most vivid way possible. Don’t just say “She was afraid”, show her fear as in “Terror sliced through her heart” or “All the blood seemed to drain from her body.” Think of how you would feel in that situation and then describe it in your own unique way.

4. Use all the senses where possible. You can create a “mood” for a scene, even a fearful mood, by incorporating a character’s sense of sight, smell, taste, and touch.


5. Use timing to create tension. Use short, choppy sentences for a fast paced, frantic scene, and long, drawn out sentences for a slower scene. Use single line sentences for effect.

In the following scene from my latest novel, The Restitution, Lady Isabel Ashton’s baby has just been stolen from his cradle in the middle of the night. She discovers he is missing only seconds after he is taken and rushes after the kidnappers. As you are reading, observe the use of all the senses to create a mood of fear, the use of choppy sentences and single line sentences to create tension, and the description of Isabel’s internal fear.

A baby’s wail pierced the humid air.

“Frederick!” Isabel screamed and dashed down the street, peering into the dark shadows.

Tangles of vines and shrubs framing the road clawed at her, stinging her face. Palm fronds quivered in the night breeze. An eerie, cold mist crept over her feet and up her nightdress.


The black outline of a man darted around a corner up ahead. “Bring my baby back!” she cried. “Frederick!” Fear like she had never known before hammered over every nerve. Gathering all her strength, she tumbled forward. The sounds of the night faded beneath the heaving of her breath.

She must not stop.

She must get to her son.

Deep laughter echoed across the wooded path. She rounded a corner and saw the tavern lights flinging a hellish glow over Kingston Bay. Several ships dozed idly on the wave-tousled water as if nothing were amiss.

Isabel slowed, her lungs straining for air. The stench of rotten fish and waste assailed her. She plodded forward, but the saturated air weighed down her every step. The road dipped and then ran along shore among the warehouses. She scanned the buildings.

A baby cried.


I hope this short example helps you to write more emotionally-charged scenes! And thank you, Novel Journey for having me on your website!