The Importance of Being Earnest: On Emotion and Feeling in Writing

James put his hands over his face. His jaw shuddered; his hands reddened with the flush of blood. Dropping to his knees, he screamed, "White Wonder!"

This post is going to focus on emotion and feeling in stories. I believe it is good to tell the reader what to feel, to clearly describe the character's emotion, instead of just letting the reader feel for himself or try to figure it out by analyzing the character's facial expressions or actions. Over the years (yes, since I am young, I realize the years have been few in number) I remember one oft-told writing mantra above all else: show, don't tell. Let me be the first to say that those words are not ALWAYS the wisest advice to follow! Just like a person should not always listen when somebody tells him or her to rearrange a paragraph's sentences, or to get rid of this subplot, or that character.

There are exceptions. Like emotion in writing. This is my own exception, and I feel very strongly about it because I've dealt with the issue on such a deep level. My books are emotion; when somebody reads my words, I want them to feel emotion above all else. So, back to the story excerpt I typed up at the beginning of the blog entry:

James put his hands over his face. His jaw shuddered; his hands reddened with the flush of blood. Dropping to his knees, he screamed, "White Wonder!"

Now, I haven't told you what James is feeling. I have "shown" you--just like many people suggest we do. But, although the sentence paints a vivid picture, what is James feeling? Fury? Hate? Misery? Sadness? Loss of Control? Extreme thankfulness? Physical pain?

We don't know. The picture isn't so vivid anymore, is it? I think that writer's should tell readers what the character is feeling, and essentially, what the reader should feel himself. Don't writers tell a story instead of show it? Yeah, I know this adage doesn't apply in every situation, but consider the revised sentence:

James put his hands over his face. Thankfulness flooded through him like clear, cool water. His jaw shuddered, his frustration melted away in tears and flushed through his hands, diluted with the redness of blood. The happiness was even more difficult to control than yesterday's anger. Dropping to his knees, joy bursting in his heart, he screamed, "White wonder!"

It is clear that in the above version of the sentence, James is thankful; he is uproariously happy. Perhaps he has been excused from the death sentence. I am of the opinion that this is the best way to write: to state of the character's emotions, not the mere bodily reaction, the mere expressions, for our body reacts much the same way for several different feelings. I think that writers should be clear and tell us what their characters are feeling. However, I'm not saying that "James was happy," would suffice, nor am I advocating deliberately shoving emotion into every single paragraph just for the heck it. My method is for clarification only; this is an alternative for those writers who have heard the advice "Show, don't tell" far too often, and have considered it to be the only legitimate advice. Read my examples and decide for yourself which rules to follow.