How to write emotions? (Guilt, Madness, Sadness, Anger)

Today's post explores how to write emotions, specifically sadness, anger, madness, regret, and guilt. These are all heavy emotions that deserve their separate paragraphs and explanations on how to write them.

GUILT

It’s defined as a feeling of having committed wrong or failed in an obligation. The second definition is a feeling of worry or unhappiness that you have because you have done something wrong such as causing harm to another person.

Giving your character a flaw 

• It gives them something to work on, which could be a source of their mistakes, but also their guilt.

• Every compelling character has imperfections. When creating a flaw, be impulsiveness, selfishness or insecurity, it serves as a source of mistakes.

• These flaws often lead to decisions or actions that the character regrets, fueling their sense of guilt. Guilt becomes a driving force for character growth, giving them something to work on throughout the story, making them more relatable and human.

Complex feelings

• There’s usually more emotions besides guilt, such as shame, sadness, anxiety and so on. Using a mix of these emotions and pointing out the complexity of human emotions can add more humanity to your character.

• The character could have underlying mental health issues, trauma, or difficult living situations, etc. Also, they might feel overwhelmed by these complex emotions.

• Make sure to think this over while writing the dialouge nad the scnes.

• When writing guilt, consider how these additional layers can influence your character’s behaviour, thoughts and relationships.

• The more you explore these nuances, the more dynamic your story becomes.

Different ways for your character to deal with guilt.

• Every character should deal with guilt in a way that suits their personality and temper.

• A character’s personality, temperament, and past experiences affect how they cope.

• Some may become withdrawn, while others lash out defensively or try to overcompensate.

• Make sure the way your characters deal with guilt is consistent with who they are. This makes the story more believable and also deepens character development.

Describe it

• Show and describe the guilt that the character is feeling to make it more impactful.

• Show it with their body language - the character avoids eye contact, becomes fidgety, or physically withdraws.

• How do they act around others? Is there a hint of self-doubt, hesitation in body and speech or defensiveness?

• If you can, describe what’s going on inside their head; adding some inner monologue can help. Explore what thoughts dance around their head.

How does a character deal with it over time?

• Avoidance: A character may refuse to acknowledge their guilt, distracting themselves with work, hobbies or even denial. They might try to bury their feelings, but it will eventually catch up to them.

• Seeking forgiveness: A more proactive character might try to make amends, apologise or overcompensate by doing good deeds. However, even after receiving forgiveness, they might still struggle to forgive themselves. 

• Defensiveness or shifting blame: Instead of admitting their fault, a character might lash out, blaming others to protect themselves from the painful emotion of guilt. This response could add tension to the relationship in the story.

• Introspection and growth: the character may confront their gult head-on (over time), reflect on their past mistakes and learning from them. This leads to personal growth and maturity, a key part of character arcs.

These concerts not only make guilt feel real to readers, but also transform it into a powerful tool and emotion for the character’s development.

MADNESS

It’s defined as a state of having a serious mental illness. Another definition is that madness is an extremely foolish behaviour. It could also be a state of wild or chaotic activity.

Origin

• Just like every emotion, madness needs to have an origin. Whether it’s genetic, traumatic, or anything similar it needs to have a source.

• Be mindful and careful while writing about mental illness. Furthermore, do your research on modern mental institutions, mental hospitals and modern therapy. Make sure not to misrepresent such topics or unknowingly emphasise stigmas around them. 

• However, if you’re writing from personal experience, your own living experience or from someone you know, your story is more than valid. 

• Also, if you’re writing a historical story, pointing out facts about historic mental institutions, make sure to present those properly. There are many confessions, written records and evidence on how mentally ill people from the past were treated in such institutions. Please be mindful of it and be respectful.

• While writing madness, balance empathy with realism. Madness isn’t just an abstract concept; it’s also a state that can transform individuals and relationships in multifaceted ways. Writing with sensitivity and depth can resonate deeply with readers and make the theme more impactful.

Make readers question everything about the character

• No matter what character sees, hears, feels or thinks. Make sure to leave those mysteries in the air for a while. Especially if you’re writing from the point of view of the character who is experiencing madness.

• If writing about a character who is observing madness, it’s useful to make that character ask the same question a reader might have.

• Nothing is what it seems should be the point in the beginning.

Madness gets worse

• It helps to point out how certain behaviours start small, but gradually take over the character’s life. Perhaps they begin with mild paranoia that grows into full-fledged delusions.

• Furthermore, characters might show how they’re slinging their grapes in reality. The character may find it harder to differentiate between real and imagined events, causing their actions to become erratic or extreme.

• The more madness consumes them, the more isolated they may feel or become, which can further spiral into alienation from friends and family. This isolation amplifies the madness, creating a self-feeding loop.

Character gets healthier

• If you choose for your character get better, you can do the following,
  Give the character an insight where they freely see the truth of their condition.
  They might struggle to hold onto these moments, which creates a powerful contrast with their episodes.

• Healing can come from various sources - therapy, relationships, and self-reflection. It can be shown in small victories like managing to resist a compulsion, avoiding harmful or self-destructive habits. This can make the character’s journey feel genuine and earned.

• Introduce friends, family, professionals, and therapists who genuinely help. The process of recovery can be slow, full of setbacks and triumphs. Emphasise the patience and work involved, making the improvement feel meaningful.

Impact on the story

• Madness often leads characters to do unpredictable things, adding tension and suspense. Their actions might create plot twists, betrayals, or even mistaken identities if they misinterpret reality.

• Use madness to explore deeper themes like reality vs. illusion, fear or the impact of trauma on the person’s wellbeing.

• The character’s descent or recovery from madness could serve as a metaphor for other themes in the story, depending on the plot. 

• Their madness could set off a series of events, like misunderstandings, conflict, or investigations. If others around them respond to their madness with fear or hostility, it might drive the character into further turmoil or force them into unexpected alliances.

• The character suffering from madness might uncover truths others miss or stumble upon mysteries through their skewed perspective, leading to hidden insights or unusual solutions.

Impact on other characters

• Show how close friends or family members might feel (scared, confused, heartbroken, worried etc). They might worry for the character's safety or struggle with their own feelings of helplessness.

• Madness can strain relationships, as others may not know how to help or may feel hurt by the character’s actions. Some might even distance themselves, while others might become more protective or compassionate.

• Characters around the protagonist might experience personal growth or change as they navigate the situation. They might become more empathetic, resilient, or even disillusioned. 

• Some characters may exploit or enable the protagonist's madness, adding tension. An antagonist might manipulate the character, making their descent worse. Others may be in denial, unknowingly harming them by refusing to address the issue.

SADNESS

It’s defined as a condition or quality of being sad. It’s also the feeling of being unhappy, especially because something bad has happened.

Character’s vulnerability

• At the very beginning of sadness, there could be a reason for it, but there doesn’t necessarily have to be one. This depends on what kind of story you’re writing.

• A reason can be of your choosing. However, it’s worth making characters feel exposed. Be it through their actions or words.

• There could be vulnerability shown with a character before the sadness is fully shown. This isn’t a rule, but it’s useful to make readers sympathise with a character before the storm hits.

Emotional silence

• Absence of dialogue or moment can sometimes convey sadness (also, grief and clinical depression) far more than words could.

• If you absolutely need dialogue in the scene, it can be from other characters. This would be preferred over inner monologue because of show, not tell rule. 

• Feel free to explore these quiet moments as sadness isn't often loud - it can be quiet after someone leaves, the empty seat on the couch or even the phone call that's left unanswered.

The rawness of sadness

• Describe it as raw, unpolished and most importantly, complex. 

• You can describe how a character tries to hide their sadness, tries to lie, tries to pretend everything is fine, also known as “smiling sadness”.

•  You can describe toxic positivity or avoid it, depending on what kind of story you are writing.

•  Chronic sadness may indicate ties to depression, so keep in mind when you write these emotions to have nuance and to write them with respect and understanding.

Glimmer of hope

• Combining dark and light is how you can make the lighter moments shine as well as dark moments hit harder. 

• Therefore, feel free to give characters some glimmer of hope. I've learnt the hard way how most readers don't like unavoidable sad endings, tragic endings or situations where there's absolutely no hope.

•  This is only advice; however, it mainly depends on what kind of story you are writing. Therefore, consider adding a glimmer of hope for characters.

Experience

• Writing about sadness and emotions in general from experience could help with authenticity, which will resonate with readers more than anything. 

• Perhaps describing a certain emotion will make readers understand the character better and perhaps have a better connection with their storyline. 

• And if you're going to use other people's experience, be respectful of their privacy and ask for consent, of course.

ANGER

Writing anger requires balance because too much can make a character feel one-dimensional, while too little can make them seem disconnected or indifferent. 

By tapping into suppressed anger, explosive outbursts, harsh language, and the aftermath, you can create anger scenes that resonate with readers and reveal your character’s depths.

The anger is defined as a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure or hostility.

Hints that something is odd

• Usually, every story has a problem or trouble that a character has to resolve. In a similar sense, anger can be hinted at very early on. 

• This problem can be: mistreatment, injustice, bullying, financial issues etc. 

• It's important to hint at how the anger is slowly rising up within a person. Whether they suppress or express it, it's important to show it slowly rising up.

Suppressed anger 

• Some of the most intriguing characters carry anger in subtle ways, buried but visible through cracks in their demeanour. 

• Suppressed anger can add a rich inner tension to your narrative and make readers curious about the tipping point. 

• Use small actions and short, loaded sentences. 

• Show clenched fists, a forced smile, or terse replies. Internal monologue is key here; show readers the character's struggle as they keep their emotions locked down. 

• Let their thoughts seethe, even as they try to mask their feelings.

Explosive anger

• Explosive anger is unfiltered, unrestrained, and often results in drastic consequences. When a character finally erupts, it reveals the depths of their emotions and the intensity of what's been building inside. This is a great tool for pivotal scenes where emotions run high and stakes peak.

• Make dialogue fast-paced, with interruptions and words that break off. Describe physical actions like a character slamming their fist, raising their voice, or making bold, angry gestures. Sensory details can emphasise the impact-describe the character's pulse, their voice shaking, or their vision narrowing.

Harsh and sharp wording

• Not only in dialogue, but also in description of how character acts, looks etc. The words a character chooses during an angry exchange reveal a lot about them. Harsh, biting language can leave wounds that linger long after the conversation is over. Consider how each character's style of speaking changes when they're angry, while some might be blunt, others sarcastic, or even cruel.

• . Think about the character's default tone and take it up a notch. Use shorter sentences, with emphasis on strong verbs and vivid adjectives. Avoid too many filler words; keep it direct, and don't shy away from exclamations or interjections if they fit the character. For particularly intense characters, maybe even have them cut someone off mid-sentence or speak in fragmented phrases.

Aftermath

• What happens after the storm? The aftermath of an anger scene is often more impactful than the

• moment itself. Consider how each character deals with what they've done or said. Some might feel guilt or shame, while others might justify their actions. This reflective stage allows readers to process the scene alongside the characters, building empathy and understanding.

• At this point, slow down the pacing. Describe the physical aftermath, like breathing patterns, exhaustion, or injuries. Use internal monologue to show remorse, justification, or continued

• resentment. Perhaps one character feels relieved, while another begins to regret their outburst. This phase can reveal new layers to your characters and shape their next decisions.

by: Nili DooL