By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

Writing killer emotions means the writer understands a character’s unique temperament, wants, needs, flaws, desires, goals, challenges, and backstory. With these traits, a writer fills the pages with the character’s deepest of feelings.

Experts state that up to 90% of communication is nonverbal. Character driven body language allows the writer to show what a character is feeling instead of telling.

So what are killer emotions, those constantly in conflict?

• “I love you, but when you continue to break the law and take money from the family, I despise you.”
• “I want this partnership to work, but can I trust you with money?”
• “I have to ignore my feelings for you. We’re partners, and a relationship could cloud my judgment and get us both killed.”

According to Tonya Reiman in The Power of Body Language, there are seven universal emotions: surprise, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, happiness, and contempt. Your character needs to experience all seven.

When the writer uses sensory perception, emotions surface through what the character sees, hears, tastes, smells, and touches. The technique sends an invitation to the reader to be a part of the experience. The reader feels the character’s reactions and internalizes what is happening. Observe children watching a movie; they select the character they want to be in the adventure. They live the entertainment vicariously. Every word.

Symbolism touches the reader with emotion when a tangible item means something different than its physical property. A symbol cleverly inserted in the story—a word or phrase that points to a deeper meaning—provides a subtle way for the reader to understand the character’s internal workings. The weather, rushing water, a quirky personality, a number, the way the stars light up the night, and more.

Color often affects the character and then the reader. Here are a few
examples:

Red is a warm color that invokes strong emotions.
Blue carries a range of feelings from calmness to serenity.
Green symbolizes nature and growth.
Yellow is often described as cherry and warm. It can also be a color of frustration.
Purple is the color of royalty, wealth, wisdom, and spirituality. It can also symbolize arrogance. How does your character feel about the color purple?
Brown is a natural color that invokes a down-to-earth feeling.
Pink is a romance color: love, feminine, calming, and soothing.
Orange is a mixture of red and yellow to create a warm affect.
White signifies purity and innocence. It can also mean spaciousness or a sterile environment.
Black readily affects our emotions. It means evil, power, death, mourning.         Gray is a blend of black and white. In many instances it symbolizes life and death.

Learn how to weave emotion and symbolism to build a character who lives long after the novel is finished.
Using emotions also means effective word choice. Diction is important and the sound of our words ushers in feelings. Novels are about confrontation and that involves stress, tension, and conflict.

Hard consonants create a feeling of harshness.

Many words that end with “y” are light, even fun—pretty, dainty, lovely, perky.

Words with softer consonants are soothing. Add a long vowel sound and we can slow down our reader’s heart rate.
The rhythm of our sentences also creates emotive responses. If a passage seems harsh when a writer desires to create a calm scene, then we need to edit. If our sentences contain a poetic lilt when we intended to show a violent scene, we’re back to the drawing board.

Characters may refrain from stating how they feel about a situation, but through narrative, the reader learns about the thought process and how the character really feels about what is going on around her.

A bestselling writer places her character into heart-wrenching moments. Be honest. Be bold. Make the emotions raw. Hold back nothing. Then stand back and admire the best scenes you’ve ever written.

How do you show killer emotions?

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. Library Journal Best Books 2014: Genre Fiction award in the Christian Fiction category for Firewall.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Suspense Sister, and International Thriller Writers. She is co-director of The Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference and The Author Roadmap with social media specialist Edie Melson. She teaches writing workshops around the country. DiAnn is active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.

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