Darn cats. One of the older ones has decided that the house wasn’t smelling enough of him. So I’ve been a bit busy.
How do you write expressive emotions? The emotional link between the characters in the book and its audience is essential for a successful novel.
This is a real quandary for me. I mean writing something like:
Lord Asquith felt confused and angry. Lady Susan’s refusal to dance the waltz with him left his emotions, such as they were in a tizzy.
is a bit dull. Yes, it tells you how Lord Asquith feels, but it feels flat. On the other hand, it is easy to write.
Much better is something like:
Lady Susan looked down her long patrician nose at him. “I wouldn’t dance the waltz with you, even if it were a dance that wasn’t risqué.”
“There’s no harm in it Lady Susan, and it would give me a chance to tell you how I feel about you.”
She blurted “I don’t care how you feel me.” Then turning on her heel, she strode off to find another partner.
Lord Asquith’s emotions were in a tizzy from this impolite rejection. It was all because he’d said hello to the petite blonde at the door. She was a pretty enough young lady, but he couldn’t even remember her name. “I wonder if she has a partner?”
Sorry, I got carried away. The emotions, their intensity, and the reason for the intensity are now clear.
