Tension specifically involves a character attempting to hold in their feelings and battle through them inwardly, rather than getting an emotional release. The emotional release will need to happen in order for the tension to pay off, but the more you build up the tension the better that release will feel for your readers. Writing tension should make your readers feel… well, tense. Here are some tips on how to show rather than tell your readers about different kinds of tension throughout your manuscript.

1) Anger

One form of tension that a character may experience is through anger. Perhaps their friend said something derogatory about their sibling and, though they weren’t brave enough to say anything at the time, the anger is still within them, festering. It may be tempting to simply write ‘[INSERT CHARACTER NAME HERE] is feeling tension because they’re upset.’ but that’s lazy writing. Instead, write about how their leg begins shaking once their friend walks through the door. Write about how their jaw clenches when their friend speaks. Write about how they look down or straight ahead when they address their friend, instead of looking at them directly. Write about how their responses are curt instead of talkative like normal. All of these actions show rather than tell the reader that there is tension between two characters, in the form of anger.

2) Nerves

Another form of tension that can occur for a character is through nerves. A character can react to nervousness by becoming tense and rigid. Let’s say a character who adores theater has a big musical audition coming up after school. Throughout the day, that character may sit with their posture rigid as they bite their nails. They may pick at a piece of their sweatshirt, slowly unraveling the fabric by a single thread. They could clench their fists only to quickly dart out of class, run to the bathroom, and vomit in the toilet.

3) Affection

Tension can also exist between two characters who are romantically involved with one another. This form of tension can be shown through the characters sitting close together, their hands almost touching but not quite. Or perhaps one character says something a little too personally revealing, so they blush and rub their hand behind their neck. Maybe they’re forced to work together on a project, they’re bouncing ideas off of each other excitedly when one of them drops a pen and they both bend down to reach for it, then look at each other embarrassed.

4) Long Build-up

Build-up involves a form of tension that comes from long unresolved feelings. This is something readers would notice over the course of an entire book. Perhaps there’s a character who is constantly being teased by another character (let’s call them character A and B). At first, you see that character A is able to bounce back easily from character B’s teasing. Character A is a very sweet easy-going person and they let the teasing roll right off of their shoulders, smiling along with the joke.

As the book goes on, however, you start to see their attitude change. Perhaps they snap back once after a joke, or maybe they’re frowning slightly after a particular joke. But as the story progresses, their reactions become more pronounced until suddenly they’re walking around frowning, clenching their jaw, and snapping at people all the time. This example allows readers to see how certain types of unresolved feelings can create tension if they happen over a longer period of time.

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1) Excitement

The type of happiness we call excitement can be expressed in many ways by a character. Rather than stating in the narrative “[insert character name here] is feeling excited”, have them rush into the next scene out of breath, tripping and falling all over themselves. They have a huge grin plastered on their face as they attempt to catch their breath so they can tell their friend the good news. As they share the details of their excitement, they’re jumping up and down with glee or clapping their hands together. They may even pull their friend into a spontaneous hug while they’re in the middle of speaking or do a flip by kicking off a nearby wall (if they’re more of the athletic type). Think about when you feel excited about something, how you have all of this excess adrenaline and energy that you don’t know what to do with. Find a way for your character to display those feelings in a way that fits best with their character’s personality.

2) Contentment

Another type of happiness that a character can express is contentment. This is a much less energetic version than that of excitement, but there is also potentially more longevity in this version. Contentment involves a character being happy overall with what their life looks like currently in the story. You can have a character who works to get to the point of contentment or a character who starts content, only to have it ripped away from them. But, sadly, a character arc can’t occur if a character is left in this state for the entire story.

When you’re showing the reader that a character is content, it’s important to use mannerisms, dialogue, and action to do so. For example, having a character wistfully smiling to themselves and, when another character asks why they’re smiling, having them say something along the lines of “I don’t know… just happy I guess.” Having them go out of their way to do something nice for another character just because they want to is another way to show that this character is in a good place with their life. Having them give their friends speeches on how much they appreciate them, take up new hobbies, walk with a certain pep in their step, or participate more actively in their life (talking more in meetings, raising their hand more in class, etc.) can also be ways to show overall life contentment and acceptance in a character.

3) Optimism

Optimism could come from a character who is currently experiencing hardships or it could be a character in your story who is constantly looking on the bright side of any situation. And optimism within the story can either be written as positive or negative, this person is either a beacon of hope or a naive fool. The positive optimist will provide comfort to those around them, always knowing the right thing to say or do to make others feel better. And, if they’re being optimistic about themselves, they will walk around with an air of hope. On the other hand, the negative side of optimism would have this person written as fairly annoying. They will say some vague inspirational quote in the face of a person’s real struggles, telling them to “Look on the bright side…” as though that will magically make that person feel better.

Regardless of whether the portrayal is negative or positive, optimism can be shown in various ways. It can be expressed through dialogue, like a character saying any variation of “Well, at least…” or “Don’t worry, everything will work out!” It can be expressed through action, a person signing another person up for the talent show having the optimistic viewpoint that they’d win. A person going through some hardships and having one good thing happen, giving them the sudden hope that it’s all going to turn around for them. They begin walking around with their head held higher, a new spring in their step, making conversation with someone at the grocery store or starting back up on some of their favorite old hobbies.

4) Joy

This is likely the most unbridled version of happiness and is typically connected to something specific. So whereas contentment is a state of being, joy is something a character will experience based on an event that happened to them. And it is a very heightened sensation so it will be a big event that causes it. A character landing their dream job, the love of their life confesses their feelings for them, they take their dream trip, they become a parent… something as big as joy should connect to a big life event.

And since the feeling of joy is such a heightened version of happiness, how it is expressed should be heightened as well. Your character starts dancing with a stranger in the street or singing to themselves in the middle of a crowded elevator without realizing it. They call a person they haven’t spoken to in years just to say they miss them. They go to the rooftop of their apartment building and let out an ear-shattering scream of pure happiness. There are many ways to express an emotion as complex as joy without explicitly telling the reader.

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1) Holidays

If you’re working with a short time-jump, holidays can be a great marker to show how much time has passed. Let’s say, for example, you’re working within a year of your character’s life. Let’s say your story opens with the ball dropping on New Years’ and you want to jump between this moment and the following fall the next year.

Create a birthday in September that your character is preparing for so that the reader can know where they’ve jumped to in time. Or simply have the characters discussing that Halloween is coming up and what their plans are. Having a significant event on the day that you pick the story back up will also help answer questions as to why this is where the story resumes.

2) Physical Appearance

Another way to clearly show your readers a passage of time has occurred is through changes in the various characters’ appearances. For example, perhaps your protagonist got a haircut or started dressing with a different style or got a piercing. Perhaps one of their friends has lost weight or started dressing more extravagantly. These noticeable physical changes indicate to the reader that enough time has passed for appearances to alter to a significant degree.

3) School or Work

Where a character is with their school or career is also an excellent indicator of the passage of time. We go through life entering into different modes of school and then different jobs so switching up your character’s current circumstances would make sense if years pass over the time jump you’re creating. Perhaps they’ve finally finished school and entered the workforce or maybe they left the job they worked in the beginning of your story for something new.

4) Location

As time passes we oftentimes change our locations as well by moving around. This could come in many forms though depending on your character and their circumstances. The change here could be as simple as a character moving to a new apartment or buying a home. It could be that they move to a new city than they were previously located in the story. Or it could even come in the form of your character suddenly being more worldly, having traveled a lot during the time that is being skipped over.

5) Friends and Relationships

Friendships and relationships will also change as time goes on over the years. This can mean some friendships slip away and a character that your protagonist was previously close with is no longer their friend. It could mean the nature of the relationship has changed as well. For example, a friend has a baby and now your protagonist doesn’t see them as often. It could also mean the reverse and a previously strained relationship could have been reconciled over this time. They could even have some new friends that the reader hasn’t met before, though you’ll have to provide believable circumstances as to how these friendships formed.

6) Personality, Habits, Mannerisms

People’s personalities also deeply change as time progresses. Think back on who you were ten years ago and you’re likely very different from the person you are today. This will happen to your characters as well. Consider the length of the time jump you’re attempting to write first. If it’s only a year your character likely won’t be unrecognizably different, but if it’s something drastic like five years we will see more dramatic changes. Consider the events that happen between the two moments in time and how those moments will change your protagonist. How will they shape their personality, habits, hobbies, and mannerisms for the remainder of the story?

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You turn your head and see someone a few blocks away, with a gray hoodie pulled over his head, following you with his hands in his pockets. You think very little of it at first, another person walking home from a shift surely. But then you turn right onto a side street and you hear him turn to follow you. Now it’s starting to feel like you’re being followed. You pull out your keys and place one between your fingers. You pull out your phone and pretend to make a phone call. As you fake a conversation, your breathing starts to pick up but you control your pace so as not to alert him. If he makes the next turn with you you’re going to start running.

Fear is a very instinctual and powerful emotion that heightens the stakes of your story. Here are some ways that you can write a scene where your character is experiencing fear by showing the reader rather than telling them.

1) Mannerisms

As with any time you’re trying to show rather than tell the reader something, you’ll want to start by looking at your character’s mannerisms. Fear is a very primal and extreme emotion so it will be a more obvious reaction than certain others. For example, having a character scream or shake or walk slowly. They could also be biting their nails or even full out running in certain scenarios. But how a character reacts when faced with fear can say a lot about them, so think about how your character would react when faced with the fearful scenario in which you’re writing them.

2) Observations

Being from the POV of your protagonist, seeing them observe certain things can also show that they’re in a fearful state. For example, let’s say your character is walking down a boardwalk at night. As opposed to noticing a cute couple walking hand in hand or the way the ocean reflects the lights of the buildings so beautifully, your character instead notices a man sitting in a dark corner who is eating a sandwich and staring angrily after him. The fact that your character focuses on anything that could possibly be suspicious as opposed to the wholesome parts of the walk can show that they’re in a heightened state of unease.

3) Atmosphere

The atmosphere surrounding your character can be another way to show fear. Describing the dark night, a cold wind that creeps up your spine, trees looming over you, animals rustling around in bushes, a howl in the distance… all of these visuals create an eerie and spooky tone. Since we’re viewing the story through the lens of your protagonist, your readers know that how the scene is being described directly connects to how the character is feeling. So if you’re scaring your readers by how you’re describing the scene, you’re showing them your protagonist is scared too.

4) Action

How your character is acting is another excellent way to display how they’re feeling- especially when it drastically differs from how they would normally act. Think of horror movies and the choices the characters make along the way. Do they go through the woods or through the city? Do they go to hide in the house or in the shed? In most cases yes it’s frustrating because they seemingly make very stupid choices, but in some cases, it makes sense that characters panic and just run for the first thing they see. Whether or not they go back for their friends or how they choose to hide or what choices they make all depend on the situation and who they are as a character.

5) Character Clues

In addition to your protagonist, using supporting characters can also be a helpful way to show fear. They could point out that your character is acting strangely through dialogue. Or the way that they act in fear could provide a contrast to how your protagonist is handling the situation. This is also another thing that your character could observe and that could add to their heightened state of fear as well. It’s one thing to find yourself afraid, but once you see others around you are scared too that can often increase one’s sense of panic.

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1) Level of Stress

When you’re writing a character under stress, you’ll first need to decide on their level of stress. This involves considering two things: a) What would stress them based on their personality and 2) How much would that event stress them. Different events stress varying personalities at different levels. For example, a character could have a very high-stress job working for 12+ hours a day and be content with it, but they get tasked to babysit and all of a sudden they’re losing sleep. On the other hand, you may have a more laid-back or quirky character who gets stressed over being asked to virtually anything, even something as small as picking up a pen delivery. Simply start by asking yourself a few questions: How stressed do I want my character to be? What, based on my knowledge of their personality, would make them that stressed?

2) Body Language

The first way to show rather than tell stress is through body language. Perhaps the character starts to appear jittery, their hands shaking and their foot taping at all times. Maybe other characters start to notice bags under their eyes, their eyes looking bloodshot, and them displaying a series of nervous ticks like biting their nails, scratching their head, rubbing their forehead, cracking their knuckles, etc. You could have them obviously slapping themselves awake a few times, displaying that they are having trouble sleeping. Each of these pieces of body language allow the readers to see that this character is undergoing an event or circumstance that is leaving them stressed.

3) Action

Another manner in which one can show stress to your readers is through action. For example, the stressed character starts to display erratic behavior. They start showing up late to everything, seeming disheveled and dirty. Perhaps they fall asleep at their desk in the middle of class. They start laughing at random and inappropriate moments only to start crying a minute later. If they were more of a homebody, perhaps they suddenly suggest going out and drinking with friends. Maybe they start picking fights with strangers or distancing themselves from friends. Showing how their behavior changes through action can help the reader and the characters within the story note the level of stress the character is under.

4) Dialogue

You can also display character stress or anxiousness through dialogue. Perhaps a very talkative character suddenly has very little to say. Maybe they’ve suddenly become harsh, stress making them lash out at anyone who speaks to them. They could become very sensitive, unable to have conversations without tearing up. Their report with every character will be different, so perhaps someone that they normally love spending time with they suddenly grow distant from knowing that they’ll break down around them. Think about your character’s dynamic with everyone in the story as well as their normal manner of speech. Showing changes in these two aspects of the character will allow the readers to notice further red flags.

5) Arc

As with anything in your story, whether it is background noise or not, there needs to be a purpose. Consider the stress that your character is under a mini-arc. Why are they going through this? What does this stress show about the character? Perhaps it shows that a character that we previously thought infallible isn’t as strong as they portrayed themselves to be. Or maybe it challenges a character in an area that will reveal something new about them. Consider how the stress changes the character and how the audience perceives them.

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1) What type of anticipation?

Anticipation can mean a few different things, mainly it could be a positive, negative, or unknown thing. So, for example, say your character is excited about an upcoming road trip planned with their closest friends. This type of anticipation is a form of excitement and any thoughts or actions that this trip consumes for them will generally be in a positive manner.

On the other hand, maybe a character is supposed to go see their father over the weekend with whom they don’t have a good relationship. This form of anticipation is akin to dread and their actions or behaviors while thinking about this event will be negative. Finally, perhaps your character was told to meet with their teacher after school. If the object of anticipation is this vague, your character has no idea what to expect. Could this be a good thing? Could they be in for a scolding? This will likely have them fluctuating back and forth within their minds and actions and can make your character appear and feel scattered.

2) Mannerisms

One way to show that your character is anticipating an event is through their body language. But again, how their body language reflects their feelings will depend on the type of anticipation they’re feeling. Someone feeling excited about something will likely exhibit behaviors like having a spring in their step, smiling and appearing hyper, maybe packing early or trying to find new ways to pass the time (picking up new hobbies, suggesting playing games, etc). Someone who is dreading an event will likely be exhibiting body ticks like shaking their leg, biting their nails, cracking their knuckles, wringing their hands together, grinding their teeth, etc.

3) Dialogue

You can also display anticipation through character conversations. Regardless of whether the anticipation is negative or positive, the character will likely bring up the event often. If they’re looking forward to it, perhaps they ask questions about what other characters are packing, what they’re most excited about, or mention things they’re planning on doing in the middle of a totally unrelated conversation. If they’re worried or unsure about an event, perhaps they spend a lot of time asking other characters what they think the event is about or about possible punishments they could be facing. In addition, perhaps they space out in the middle of other conversations all the time, appearing distracted and disheveled.

4) Behavioral Changes

Prior to the introduction of an event worthy of anticipation, you’ll need to make sure you thoroughly establish the type of person your character is. This way, when their behavior changes drastically in anticipation of an event or phenomenon, you can see that they’re either much happier than normal or the deterioration that they face. For example, let’s say a happy and not normally superstitious person begins to believe they’re facing a string of bad luck. The anticipation here becomes what the next bad luck event will be, they don’t know when or where it will happen which makes it more terrifying.

This previously positive person is suddenly feeling hopeless, like no matter what positivity they put out there some unseen force will come and take it away from them. They begin coming to school with puffy and dark eyes. Whereas they were previously very chatty, they suddenly begin to keep to themselves. When they would previously spend lunchtime on a long walk appreciating the beauty around them, now they lay on a bench and listen to metal music. Their previously stylish wardrobe is replaced with stained sweaters and ripped jeans. Having other characters observe the changes in a person’s habits or behaviors is yet another way to show how an event is affecting them in either a positive or negative manner.

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1) What is grief?

This may seem like a redundant question, but the truth is that grief can come in many different forms. When one initially thinks of the word, one will typically think of the death of a loved one, but grief can mean many different things. Grief can come with the loss of a long relationship, having that person who was so significant in your life disappear without a trace. Grief can appear with the loss of a personal dream or goal, let’s say in the form of not getting a job or scholarship of which you’d always dreamed. It could even involve the loss not of a person in your life, but a loss of who you thought that person was. Perhaps they’ve changed significantly and you have to grieve the person they were. Grief is not as straightforward as we initially think it is and exploring a form of grief in your writing can lead to a significant emotional journey for your protagonist.

2) Denial

You’re likely familiar with the five stages of grief and it’s important that, when writing grief, you find ways to include them in your writing. Whether it’s you’re protagonist who is experiencing this pain or a secondary character, one must find ways to include these emotions through actions/dialogue rather than simply telling the reader. So, for example, denial can be expressed through one character observing that another hasn’t been crying or being expressive about their feelings in this emotional time. As another example, let’s say a character has gone missing and is presumed dead. You could have one character cleaning their room or buying them their favorite candy for ‘when they get home’. Denial can even be shown in the mere refusal to discuss the particular topic that involves the grief. Perhaps the character who is ‘in denial’ leaves the room every time the subject of their grief is mentioned. Through each of these examples, you’re allowing your reader to see that this person is in denial about their grief rather than simply saying ‘Tom is in the denial stage’, which clearly isn’t as strong or emotionally charged.

3) Anger

The second stage your protagonist or a secondary character will experience with grief is likely some form of anger. Again, this could come in many forms depending on this character’s personality. If this character is very emotionally repressed, perhaps they start to snap over very little things like the groceries dropping or not being able to find the remote. If they’re slightly more emotionally aware, perhaps they pick a fight with a close friend or begin to exhibit meaner forms of speech than they normally would. Anger can even come in the form of being completely shut off, someone who just comes home, goes to their room, and slams the door- not emerging for the rest of the night. Whether your character becomes more withdrawn and harsher or whether they become more visibly angry, showing this stage allows the reader to see how the loss is both affecting and changing the protagonist.

4) Bargaining

This is an interesting stage because it allows you the opportunity to reveal things about how the protagonist views the world, either in general or how their views have changed in the face of this desperation. For example, a character who was previously not religious or superstitious could begin praying or going to see a medium in the face of extreme grief. The opposite could be true as well, someone who was previously very religious refusing to go to church and finding more practical ways to bargain could show their level of desperation. Perhaps the previously non-religious character gets cleaned up and begins living in an entirely different way in order to bargain with God to bring home his son. Or perhaps their feelings are more isolated and then begin to believe that if they change a certain behavior of theirs then the universe will bring back what they lost. Think about who this character is and play around with how they would bargain in order to not only show who they are but also how the grief is affecting them drastically.

5) Depression

Again, this one isn’t as obvious as you’d initially think it is. When one thinks of depression, one typically pictures someone laying in a messy room, having not showered for days, watching Netflix with an empty pint of ice cream on the nightstand. But depression can take many different forms. Perhaps the person goes straight from trying to bargain to sobbing at the sudden realization that they’ve truly experienced loss. Maybe their depression takes the form of them becoming more withdrawn and quiet, not going out as often anymore. It could even come in the entirely opposite form, maybe they start going out every night and drinking excessively to the point of being banned from bars. They could even have some bipolar symptoms, where it appears that their emotions are all over the place from one moment to the next. Again, think about your character and how you think they’d experience depression, especially given the specific form of grief they’re going through.

6) Acceptance

Finally, after all of this, the character comes to a stage of acceptance. We think of this stage as peaceful, but it may not be for your character. If your character goes through this process healthily, they’ll likely come out the other side with a sense of peace about what has happened. They’ll either take comfort in the memories they have regarding this person/idea or they’ll still feel connected to them if they’re more on the spiritual side. Showing this feeling to your readers can involve one character observing that another seems to be more positive through their mannerisms, the way they’re walking, smiling, talking, etc. It could also be observed through them having (for the first time) a healthy dialogue about the subject of grief.

If, however, your character either doesn’t experience these emotions in a healthy way or they’re just not emotionally healthy in general, this acceptance stage won’t feel as peaceful. Some get to the acceptance stage and it basically means accepting that life is hard. People can come out of grief more pessimistic about the world and more guarded because they’re now afraid to become so attached to people or their own hopes and dreams. Showing these types of characters can be done through others observing how much the experience has changed them for the worse, through the character’s removal from those around them, through them experiencing unhealthy habits like excessive eating, drinking, anger, etc. Rather than talking, they’ll now grunt or give one word responses to people who try to engage with them. This may not feel as satisfying, but this is where some characters end up in the grieving process. It’s better to be realistic about what your character would exhibit in the experience than give them a happy ending that isn’t earned.

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1) POV

Parent to child relationships are very unique as it involves two lives shaping one another in a lot of ways. Primarily we think of children being shaped by their parents, but the reverse is possible as well where a parent can be affected by something their child says or does. How you portray the relationship and who is being shaped in the scenes you write depends on the point of view of your story.

As with any manuscript, your protagonist should be the one who has an arc and who is continuously changing as the story progresses. Therefore, whoever’s POV the relationship takes place from should be the character that is being shaped by the scene. For example, say you’re doing a flashback to a childhood memory your protagonist has. The memory should be of an event or occurrence where their parent said or did something that affected them, not the other way around.

2) Positive Impact

Events or words exchanged between parents and children in literature can either have a positive or negative impact on the person being affected in the scene. It doesn’t have to be completely black and white, you can create some bittersweet moments between them, but ultimately the reader should be able to see how and why the moment affected your protagonist. In addition, if you’re doing a coming of age story where a large focus is a relationship your protagonist had with their parent, it would be best to balance some positive and negative impact moments so that the whole relationship doesn’t feel one dimensional.

A moment with a positive impact is a moment where the parent teaches their child (or vice versa) something important and positive that they’ll hold onto. This could be done through an actual sit down where they give their child advice, but it can also be more subtle by just having the child observe a virtuous behavior from their parents and learn from their actions.

3) Negative Impact

Just as there are moments where parents impact us positively, there are moments they impact us negatively. As much as every parent wishes to the contrary, not one parent has done every single thing perfectly. If you’re displaying a parent to child relationship that your character views negatively, then you’ll likely flashback to or write out a lot of scenes where they have negative interactions with one another. In addition, if your book largely focuses on a parent to child relationship, it’s important to balance out the positive and negative aspects of their relationship (even if we’re largely meant to view it in a positive light).

Negative impact moments can also come in many forms. When you think of a negative moment, your first thought is likely about a parent yelling at their child. But it could just as easily be a moment of neglect where a child is asking their parent to play with them or talk to them only to be rejected. It could also be a child witnessing a behavior from their parent that they view negatively, which could be anything from a substance abuse problem to a gossiping problem.

4) Familial Mannerisms

The primary manner of showing relationships is through action, mannerisms, body language, dialogue, etc. Obviously a character’s behavior, speech, and mannerisms around their parents or children are going to be very different than how they’d behave around friends or a romantic partner. Perhaps they try not to swear out of politeness or they’re quicker to be annoyed at very little. Maybe a child will lean their head on their parent’s shoulder or kiss their cheek or hold their hand to show affection. Perhaps the parent will lay their child’s head in their lap and pet their hair to help them relax. Think about the types of physical mannerisms that you display around your family or that your friends display around theirs. Think of how you edit your speech, even unconsciously, when you’re around your parents.

5) Attitude toward other family members

Another aspect that can partially shape a parent to child relationship (and show readers how they’re supposed to feel about it) is the parent or child’s relationship with other family members vs. their immediate relationship with one another. Let’s take a mother and daughter relationship as an example. If the mother is pulling aside the daughter and giving her secret gifts or confiding things in her that she says ‘don’t tell your siblings’, your reader will get the sense that they have a closer bond or a unique bond compared to the other kids. If, however, we see the daughter trying to make time with her Mom, but Mom keeps making plans with her son (daughter’s brother) instead, that is new and important detail informing how the reader is meant to feel about their relationship.

6) Attitude toward the world at large

Children will have rare moments every once in a while where they view their parents as just people rather than just their parents (the same applies to how parents view their kids). Giving your protagonist moments where they get to observe how their parent (or child) views the world will allow them to see them in a different light than they do otherwise. For example, perhaps Mom is super loving and sweet at home, but out in the world, she’s tough and no-nonsense. This could tell her child that perhaps this is closer to what her real personality is like, but that she just has a soft spot for her family. On the other hand, it could also tell her child that she’s protective or views the world negatively as though it’s out to get her, so she feels that she has to put her guard up around strangers. Creating moments of observation like this for your readers to witness allows them to watch as your protagonist learns more about their parent/child, but also allows them to see those revelations for themselves.

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1) Compare to your own experiences

Think about a time in your life where you were in pain. This could be emotional pain or physical pain but think of a time where you experienced some semblance of suffering. It could be something as extreme as grieving for a lost loved one or colliding with a classmate at the gym- how did you handle it? Did it make you snap at the people around you? Did you try to tough it out? How we react in times of crisis can show a lot about who we are and it can highlight important differences between how we present ourselves and who we truly are.

2) Decide on the type of pain

Within every book, a character should go through some element of pain or suffering because this creates conflict. No one wants to read a book about an awesome character who has no flaws and everything in life works out for them all of the time- that would be the most boring book ever. So assuming you’re going to be creating some sort of pain or conflict for your characters to go through- what type are you going to go for? It could be some type of physical pain, something tangible like an injury or your character discovering they have an autoimmune disease of some sort. It could be that they’re trying to get sober and their pain is them going through the excruciating symptoms on the road to recovery. There are a variety of forms of physical pain in which you can inflict upon your character and their reaction to this tangible pain can help readers learn more about them.

On the other hand, you could have your character experience some sort of emotional pain or distress. Perhaps they’re going through a breakup or a family member becomes estranged to them or they lose their job. This creates internal psychological conflict and pain for your character to either overcome or fall prey to.

3) Decide on the severity of the pain

Next, you’ll need to decide how severe you want their pain to be. Are you going to put them through the most extreme pain that they could possibly go through? Or are you going to put them through something minor and see how they react then? Keep in mind that it’s not about the severity of the act in general, but rather the severity of the act to your specific character. This is where you really get to learn more about your character and see how they surprise you. For example, your character could react more severely or be in more pain from losing their childhood stuffed animal than they would from losing their parent. This raises a lot of questions for the reader- why is that? Why is the stuffed animal so important? Why wasn’t their parent as important to them? Was their reaction an indicator of this or do they react less viscerally when they are in more pain? Really think about your character, who they are, their childhood, their background, and choose versions of pain and suffering that will allow the reader to really learn about them.

4) How does your character react and why?

Now it’s time to throw your character into the situation that you’ve devised for them and see how they react. Did you choose a minor situation like them breaking an ankle and have them react very severely? Did you choose a major pain like going through surgery or getting into a car accident? Use your ‘show don’t tell’ method to describe the pain they’re going through and show how they react to it through their actions, dialogue, and mannerisms. Rather than saying, “Stacy was really upset.” say instead, “Stacy started blurting out curse words and yanking at the ends of her hair.” This way the reader can see the emotions your characters are having and experience them for themselves.

In addition, not only do your readers need to understand how your character is feeling, but also why they are reacting to this pain in their particular way. As per our example earlier with the childhood toy, perhaps the person had a complicated and difficult relationship with their parents and that the toy they lost was their only comfort during their very difficult childhood. People are extremely complicated emotionally, we’re sure you can think of one or two times in your life where you didn’t emotionally react the way you should or thought you would. Consider all of this as you’re examining your character closely and dissecting their emotional state.

5) How do other people react?

This is also a time to consider the roles of the other characters surrounding the one experiencing the pain. This could mean friends, family, coworkers, bosses, strangers- anyone who is around your character during the time they are experiencing the pain. Do they get resentful toward the character in pain, feeling they’re being overly dramatic for the situation? Do they try really hard to be there for your character, only to be pushed away over and over? Do they try in their own way, but they’re saying and doing all of the wrong things inadvertently. This time of pain can give you a way to show things about the characters surrounding your protagonist given how they react to the situation. In addition, how your character treats the people around them and how little or much they depend on them can also be indicators of how they experience pain.

The post Show Don’t Tell: Pain appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

1) Mannerisms

One way to show your readers that two characters are close friends is by using their mannerisms and body language. When two people are close, especially when they’ve known one another for a long time, they naturally have a higher level of comfortability around each other. So, having your characters pat one another on the back, rest their head on their friend’s shoulder, playfully nudge one another, uncross their arms when one spots the other- these types of actions show the reader that these two characters are close.

You can even use less obvious mannerisms as a way of showing the reader they know one another well. For example, perhaps one character always taps his foot when he’s nervous. Have your other character notice him doing this and call him out on it. This shows the reader that these characters not only display more open/warm body language around each other, but they also know one another well enough to recognize and idiosyncratic body language as well.

2) Dialogue

Another excellent way to display friendships in your writing is by using dialogue. This is also one where you need to be cautious because you can easily slip into lazy writing territory. The last thing you want to do is write something along the lines of, “Hey Tim, you know how we’ve been friends since the second grade?” Authors often make the mistake of writing dialogue like this in order to establish a long friendship. The problem with this is that it sounds super unnatural and is too clearly the author sending a message to the reader. This can have the effect of taking the reader out of the book slightly.

Instead of being so obvious about it, attempt to cite a specific memory that goes along with a conversation that they’re having. Say you’re writing two male characters, one of which is asking the other for girl advice. You could have his friend say something like, “As long as you don’t throw up on her shoes I think you’ll be fine,” and the other could say, “Dude, that was in second grade, when are you going to let that go?” This not only establishes some playful banter between the characters, but also gives a rough timeline on the friendship in a more natural manner.

3) Circumstantial Differentiation

You can also show your readers a close friendship by differentiating between how your characters act around one another vs. how they act around other characters. So perhaps one of your characters is joking around and being very fun and outgoing around their close friend, but then some of their other friends come over and that person instantly becomes shyer or more guarded. Or maybe one of your characters if very boisterous around other people, but when they’re alone with their best friend they’re more relaxed and sensitive. You can also have their mannerisms change, having them cross their arms, ruffle their hair, cover their mouth with their hand- all of these can show the reader that the character has become less comfortable.

4) Confidence/Protectiveness

As you’ll know from friendships in your own life, close friendships offer a certain level of confidence. Having your characters confide their feelings or secrets with one another will help establish the level of trust that they have for one another. This doesn’t have to be a seamless process to show their closeness either. Perhaps the character being confided isn’t going to react well to this secret- friendships don’t have to be perfect and loving all the time to be close. Having the confiding character say something like, “I knew you’d be like this…” or something along those lines to indicate that they know each other well enough to predict their reactions does just as well to show your reader that closeness.

In addition to confiding in each other, close friends tend to also show protectiveness around each other. So, you could introduce a character that one of the friends deems as untrustworthy and show how they stand up straighter and act wary or defensive of their best friend while in this person’s presence. Or you could introduce a character that the best friend is threatened by as another potential best friend and show some jealousy there.

5) Other Characters

Finally, you can use other characters and their opinions to reinforce the friendship you’ve established. Having other characters like your protagonist’s parents or additional friends that also reinforce the reverence and closeness of the friendship will also reinforce this to your reader. So perhaps your protagonist’s parent is always asking, “Where’s Jimmy?” anytime your protagonist is seen without him or maybe the best friends get into a fight at some point and everyone is shocked by this. Having people outside of the friendship notice how close they are gives even more legitimacy to the friendship.

The post Show Don’t Tell: Friendships appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.