Workshop: Writing with Emotional Authenticity
- rileytommy10
- Aug 11
- 6 min read
A plot moves a story forward, but emotion makes it unforgettable.
Evoking authentic emotion through writing is one of the most important things a writer can do. If readers don’t feel anything, they’ll lose interest—and when they lose interest, they’ll put the book down.
The most memorable stories are the ones where the audience feels tethered to the characters. If the protagonist is happy, we share their joy; if they’re grieving, we feel the weight of their sorrow. That’s the power of emotional authenticity: it creates a living connection between the reader and the story.
In this workshop, we’ll explore how to identify, strengthen, and deepen the emotional core of your writing so your readers don’t just follow the story—they experience it.
Step 1: Identify the Emotional Core
Every scene in your story should have an emotional through-line. Readers should leave each scene with a clear, visceral feeling.
Exercise – The One-Word Heart
Choose a scene from your work-in-progress.
Ask yourself: What single emotion should the reader feel most strongly after reading this scene? (e.g., longing, grief, relief, pride).
Write that emotion at the top of your page.
Revise the scene so that dialogue, description, and pacing all subtly reinforce that central feeling.
Pro Tip: Emotions don’t happen in a vacuum—they are caused by events, shaped by the character’s history, and filtered through their current situation. Show the why behind the emotion so readers understand it and believe it.
Step 2: Show, Don’t Announce
Avoid bland, generic statements like “The man was angry” or “She was happy.” These labels don’t create images in the reader’s mind—they just tell.
How to Show Instead of Tell:
Focus on physical reactions: clenched jaws, trembling hands, shifting posture.
Include sensory details: the smell of spices, the sting of icy wind, the taste of bitterness.
Highlight behavior that reflects the emotional state.
Examples:
The man was angry. → His jaw clenched, eyes narrowed, and his voice dropped to a sharp whisper as his fingers drummed hard against the table.
She was cooking. → She stirred the simmering pot with care, humming softly as the scent of cumin filled the air. Her apron was dusted with flour, and steam curled up into her face, making her smile.
The man was confident. His stride was steady, his gaze unwavering. Every gesture was deliberate, drawing people into his orbit as if pulled by gravity.
It was a hot day. → The sun blazed relentlessly, heat shimmering off the pavement. Sweat rolled down his temple, and the air pressed heavy against his skin.
Exercise – Remove the Labels- take a scene where you’ve written direct emotional statements. Remove every emotion word and replace it with physical, sensory, and behavioral details that imply the feeling. Variation: Have someone else read both versions and ask which felt more vivid.
Step 3: Mine Real and Universal Experiences
You already have the tools for authentic emotional writing—you’ve lived them.
Exercise – The Memory Bridge
Choose an emotion your character is experiencing.
Recall a moment in your own life when you felt something similar.
Write a brief description of that moment, focusing on sensory details—what you saw, heard, smelled, touched, and tasted.
Adapt those sensations into your character’s scene.
Goal: Combine the universal (shared human emotions like love, loss, fear) with the specific (unique personal memories) to create a scene that feels both real and relatable.
Step 4: Layer the External with the Internal
The richest emotional writing balances what’s happening on the surface with what’s happening beneath.
Exercise – Dual Tracks write a scene with:
External Action: What the character is physically doing.
Internal Emotion: What the character is feeling but not necessarily showing.
Example: A character folds laundry (external) while wrestling with guilt over an argument (internal). Their movements become mechanical, and they refold the same shirt three times without realizing.
Step 5: Use Pacing to Amplify Emotion
Pacing controls how readers feel the moment—draw it out for tenderness or dread, quicken it for urgency or shock.
Exercise – Slow It Down, Speed It Up
Write a 300-word emotional scene.
Version 1: Slow the pacing—use pauses, inner thoughts, and rich description.
Version 2: Speed the pacing—short sentences, quick exchanges, minimal reflection.
Compare the two and choose the one that matches your intended emotional impact.
Step 6: Symbolism as Emotional Echo
Objects, colors, and recurring motifs can carry emotional weight, subtly reinforcing a scene’s feeling.
Exercise – The Silent Mirror
Choose a recurring element—a tree, a song, a color—that appears in multiple emotional scenes.
Let its appearance change with the character’s emotional state.
In joy: bright, warm, vibrant.
In grief: broken, faded, bare.
Example: The same photograph appears in several scenes—once proudly displayed, later facedown in a drawer, and finally restored to a frame after reconciliation.
Step 7: Revise for Emotional Depth
Authentic emotion often emerges in revision.
Exercise – The Emotion Audit For each scene, ask:
What is the emotional purpose of this moment?
Does every choice in description, dialogue, and pacing support it?
What can be cut, altered, or strengthened to make it more vivid?
20 Emotional Description Starters
(From Telling to Showing)
1. Instead of “He was angry”
His jaw clenched, knuckles whitening around the glass.
Words shot from his mouth like sparks from flint.
2. Instead of “She was happy”
Her smile widened until it reached her eyes.
She hummed under her breath, fingers tapping to an unheard tune.
3. Instead of “They were nervous”
Beads of sweat gathered at the base of their neck.
Their voice wavered, betraying the calm smile.
4. Instead of “He was sad”
His shoulders sagged as if carrying invisible weight.
He traced the rim of his coffee cup without looking up.
5. Instead of “She was in love”
Her gaze lingered on him long after he turned away.
Her laughter came easily, spilling into the space between them.
6. Instead of “He was confident”
His stride was steady, unhurried, as if he owned the ground beneath him.
Every gesture felt deliberate, measured, and sure.
7. Instead of “She was afraid”
Her breath quickened, each inhale a shallow gasp.
The room seemed to shrink, shadows inching closer.
8. Instead of “They were embarrassed”
Heat crept up their neck and into their cheeks.
Their eyes darted anywhere but the source of attention.
9. Instead of “He was thoughtful”
His gaze drifted past the room, as if replaying an old memory.
He rubbed his chin slowly, brow creased in quiet calculation.
10. Instead of “She was determined”
Her jaw tightened as she adjusted her stance.
Every step landed with purposeful weight.
11. Instead of “It was a hot day”
The asphalt shimmered under the relentless sun.
Sweat traced slow paths down their temple.
12. Instead of “It was cold”
Frost clung to the edges of the windowpane.
Their breath rose in soft white clouds.
13. Instead of “It was windy”
The trees bowed and swayed, their leaves whispering furiously.
Loose papers chased each other down the street.
14. Instead of “The room was crowded”
Elbows brushed with every step, the air thick with overlapping voices.
Chairs were scarce, and the walls seemed to inch closer.
15. Instead of “The scene was disturbing”
A stale, heavy silence hung over the dimly lit room.
Shadows clung stubbornly to corners no light could reach.
16. Instead of “He was impatient”
His foot tapped in a quick, restless rhythm.
He checked his watch for the third time in a minute.
17. Instead of “She was relieved”
Her shoulders loosened, and her breath came out in a long exhale.
She closed her eyes for a moment, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
18. Instead of “They were shocked”
Their mouth opened, but no words came out.
The glass slipped from their hand, shattering on the floor.
19. Instead of “He was curious”
His head tilted, eyebrows arched, as if leaning into the answer.
He inched forward, straining to catch every word.
20. Instead of “She was tired”
Her eyelids fluttered with the weight of staying open.
She moved slowly, each step dragging just behind the other.
Writer’s Takeaways
Anchor every scene in emotion. Even the most intense action benefits from a human heartbeat.
Small details create big impact. Specificity makes feelings tangible.
Cause and effect matter. Emotions must have clear triggers rooted in character history and plot.
Vulnerability builds connection. Flaws, doubts, and contradictions make characters real.
Balance intensity. Too much emotion can overwhelm; too little can create distance.
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