I don’t know about you but I have read so many books that are good in theory (rounded characters, good plot, amazing worldbuilding, a strong antagonist, all the action you can dream of), but I’ve been left feeling uninterested, bored, and ambivalent towards the whole story.
I'm always left asking: Why?
Why did this happen?
Why is it important?
Why should I care?
Odd isn’t it, you can have the most amazing storyline but if readers don’t care they aren’t going to be interested. Why? Well because they don't know your character enough to care. To quote my old writing instructor, “The truth is nobody cares. Honestly, who cares.” That's why I want to talk to you about something crucial for storytelling, emotion.
I am the type of reader who doesn’t enjoy when things go by so fast and it seems there are after-affects. Like that one tragic moment flashed in the front of our minds before becoming an afterthought, with zero reaction at all.
Unless indifference is a part of the character's personality, but even then I have a hard time with it. I want to feel what they are feeling, I want to understand their thought process, their personality, what makes them who they are.
Have you ever read a story or watched a movie that you thought was amazing? What made it amazing? Did it tug on your heartstrings a bit? Maybe you laughed or wept or even got second hand embarrassment when a character did something awkward. Sure the characters may have helped, and the setting added what it needed, and there was a good reason for those moments, but let's be honest. It made you feel something, didn't it?
I think The Young Writer in Storytelling vs. Telling a Story summed up my point really well in the following sentences, “Good books make you feel. And a good author can make their reader feel whatever they want them to. Good authors weave agendas and missions into their stories by making their readers feel a certain way. A single book can change your entire perspective on life, and depending on the author, can influence you to make a positive, or negative, change in the world.” (1)
It truly is powerful is it not? To think our words can have that effect really makes you think twice about what you say and how you say it. That is one way we can spread God’s love throughout the world, as our Lord commanded in Mark 16:15 "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (NIV).
Emotion is a crucial part of our lives, even though we don’t think of it. It's so powerful it can almost go unnoticed. “As much as we all like to believe we make decisions based on sound logic, stats, and reason – this simply isn’t the case. People act on emotion.” said Madison Gonzalez in The Science of Storytelling (2).
And she is right. People sympathize not with the action but the emotion.
Most of us don’t know the tragedies of war, but we can sympathize with being afraid and grieving someone we lost. “Storytelling invokes an emotion, inflames the heart, fuels the imagination. And when words on a page can make you feel, when writing touches your emotions, you are involved, you are intrigued, and you are connected with both the story, the writing, the author, and the author’s message.” said The Young Writer (1). That is why we must write emotion into our stories.
Storytelling really is an artform, how you have to weave together all the strands of a story and evoke emotion in the reader so they can be invested. Lucky for us authors, weaving in emotion comes in many, many ways. First and the most commonly recognized I think is in characters. The people you crafted to be in the story probably is one of the biggest ways to weave emotion in. In my opinion, the key to getting characters to be relatable and seem like real people is to give them emotional reactions when things trigger them.
Everyone feels a range of emotions, things hurt us, even if we act like they don't. And I think it's crucial for our characters to have their own range. Not only does it make the characters more human but it also opens so many doors. Seeing the way a person feels about something stems from their personality, values, worldview, mindset, and even childhood. So showing their emotional reactions is like a gateway, an opening for someone out there to connect with the character. It's pretty fantastic when you think about it, how us humans were created to be so complex and unique.
The Second main way you can put emotion into your story is by using a theme or moral. The theme is the heart of the story, it's the message you wanted to share or the reason you write. Even if you don’t have a theme laid out on paper, that doesn’t mean the reason won't show through your writing. If an author wrote something just for fun then what they wrote will have a fun undertone that the reader could subconsciously pick up on. All of a sudden, they are having fun too.
Everything that happens is connected to the heart of the story, and the story needs the heart so it can flow with life. That flow is what pulls readers in and gets them invested in the story. And stories with prominent themes or morals that leave readers with something to think about, that is how writing can change the world.
Storytelling is more than just throwing words into a sequence of events, storytelling tugs on the heart almost as a call to action. It can make a difference.
The Third and last big way I will tell you where you can weave emotion in is through descriptions. When we feel emotions, our perception changes just a little. Everything is seen in a new lens. You now notice things you wouldn’t usually or you ignore things that you would usually notice. It's different for everyone and every emotion, but when done correctly can strengthen the reader's intrigue and pull them in.
By using precise wording and meaning woven through the description, you paint the picture almost through a colored lens, which helps hint the reader to how you want it perceived. But don’t go spelling out every emotion a character may feel. Most of the time little actions or changes occur even before the person can identify what they are feeling. It's the subtle things that convey emotion, like shoulders tensing, fidgeting, gaze going down to the floor, smiles disappearing, holding their chin high, their entire demeanor either inflating and deflating.
Little things that you don't realize happen but subtly show what you are feeling in the moment.
A lot of people don’t notice, but it really does make a difference. Another thing I want to mention is that feeling things doesn’t always mean emotion. Using our five senses is something everyone does unconsciously, something we forget even happens but it makes such a huge difference. When it's not there the story doesn't feel natural, so another way to bring the reader even deeper into the story is using sensory details, describing something with the five senses.
Now I know that's a lot of words you’ve read and things you should think about, and I’m aware I didn’t spell out how exactly to write emotion in a story and that's because it's different for every author and every character. There are quite a few resources online if you want tips or just to know more. I’ve cited all the sources I used so you can find them easily at the end of this article. And before you go let me encourage you with an example of when all I have mentioned was done well in my opinion. Now I’ll try my best not to spoil anything but if I fail SPOILER WARNING!
Reapers by Bryan Davis (3) used emotional storytelling to the book's advantage with brilliant plot twists ( Especially the end, that was probably one of the best I have seen so far) that evoked so many emotions all at once. Every twist had a reason, the characters' personalities were present and shaped by their world, the descriptions aided the intrigue of it all, and all of these things added mystery which raised questions and made me keep reading. It shocked me yet pulled me in further.
I got so invested in the story with the subtle foreshadowing to something but not exactly what happened. The characters held true to their personalities and they’re reactions showed so much about the harsh post war world they were in and what tragedies they had to deal with. The questions that were answered were equally balanced with even more questions the author left readers with. This is all just my opinion though, I'm sure there are plenty of others who do the same if not better (if that even exists yet). And as I keep saying, its different for everyone. Emotion is subjective, everyone perceives the world differently. This was just the one that stood out the most to me, so I used it as an example.
Because I am so adamant about this, I always try to use my own advice in my writing. I do my best to get into the characters' heads and show things from their point of view. Perhaps I will get the opportunity to share something with you all so you can help me improve. Thank you for reading! Make sure you drink some water and have a beautiful day!
Citations
- Joy, Lillianna. “Storytelling vs. Telling a Story: How to Emotionally Connect with Your Audience | the Young Writer.” The Young Writer, 19 May 2022, theyoungwriter.com/storytelling-vs-telling-a-story/. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026. (The young writer)
- Gonzalez, Madison. “The Science of Storytelling: How to Evoke Emotion and Get Your Audience to Give.” Bloomerang, 22 June 2020, bloomerang.com/blog/the-science-of-storytelling-how-to-evoke-emotion-and-get-your-audience-to-give/. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026
- Davis, Bryan. Reapers. Scrub Jay Journeys, 2014.
