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An Emotional Rollercoaster

Today we’re taking your readers on an emotional ride!

The prompt

Write a story designed to elicit specific emotions in the reader

Tip

  • In looking back at your stories this month, have you noticed that you are better at eliciting certain emotions than others? Perhaps you’re good at scaring people. Perhaps you’re good at writing tearjerkers. Perhaps you good at making people laugh. Or making people feel the beauty of the situation or your words.

  • Even if you’re not sure what you’re best at, pick an emotion today that you would like to make your readers feel. This is your chance to go all “Stephen King”, or “50 Shades Of Gray”.

  • In order to elicit emotions in readers you’re going to have to make them care about your character. Then you have to put that character in peril.

  • Peril doesn’t necessarily mean dangling them off a cliff. Just remember to focus on what they really, really want…and then take it away from them.

  • The more you can keep the reader inside the heart of your character the stronger their reaction will be.

Leave a comment to let us know which emotion you went for today. And remember, if you’re enjoying these prompts, why not share them?

8 thoughts on “An Emotional Rollercoaster”

  1. I went for tear jerker. The story revolved around one character, and a very highly charged emotional incident. It had a beginning with a question. And a middle as she did what was necessary to solve the problem. And an ending, where she came to a new and unexpected resolution. It’s an ok story. And the excercise of the prompt helped me to amp this particular emotion up.
    Also, it was much easier to do after the lovely feedback I got from my question this morning about “bad” stories. It helped free me again. Thank you, guys.

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