Damn, emotional scenes are hard to write

It depends. If I figure out the emotional center for the scene and what it means to the greater whole early on, it can be relatively simple. But if I can't find it, it can be a slog, like a 30-passes-over-the scene-and-still-don't-got-it slog.

 

It's difficult for me. If I'm not feeling the emotions, then I'm not deeply engaged with the scene. But if I *am* truly emotional, then I'm not thinking clearly and I don't write well, so the scene doesn't work smoothly. I simply cannot write clearly if I'm genuinely terrified or genuinely filled with remorse or whatever.

The best I've been able to do is to be the narrator. I'm telling someone else, someone close (both personally and physically, at my shoulder) about this terrifying or sad or intense moment. I'm *aware* of the emotions, and the details that reveal the emotions, even though those emotions are not mine.

Dunno if that helps or what.

 

For me, I sometimes find myself writing a scene for which I KNOW I've felt the right emotions, but I find them hard to reproduce. It's a huge problem because like others have said, when I'm in the right place to experience the correct things (emotions, thoughts, sensations) I'm not in the right frame of mind to be creative. I feel really comfortable writing things like love, sadness, loss in a general sense. Writing things like starving, long periods of sleeplessness, withdrawal, depression, friend betrayal, I've experienced, but am not able to capture with all their respective elements, unfortunately because once the symptoms fade, my memory works to forget. Things like the death of a love, death of a child, long periods of mourning, being hunted, I've struggled with because I can only imagine, never having experienced them first hand.

It's a double-edged blade, isn't it? Writing emotionally engaging scenes with authenticity, but from a place of creativity, not indulgence.

My suggestion would be to plan something tragic, like a break-up with your partner, a period of self-loathing, a four-day fast, and then jot down notes. I'M KIDDING!!! But it's kinda hard to write some stuff without going through it at least a little. I guess that's why we're so fortunate to have this site, where people can ask others for personal input. I know I've benefited from asking questions, and I've shared a lot of really personal experiences (some I'm not proud of), all in the name of writing authenticity.

Keep being awesome, scribes. We sharpen each other.