Authors get the advice all the time to work emotions into their stories and evoke feelings from the readers. It’s sound advice, and there’s a plethora of resources out there on how to portray emotions, both internally and externally. Today though, I want to talk about what emotions we portray in books and how to make our selection more impactful.
Primary Emotions
It’s time to take a little side journey into the field of psychology. When it comes to emotions, psychologists compartmentalize them into three levels. The first is primary emotions, and these are the most basic emotions that are the body’s response to stimulus. Psychologist Paul Ekman identified six primary emotions that translate across cultures. They are: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, surprise, and sadness. Other psychologists building off his research have added more, but I like to keep things simple so we will stick to his six original primary emotions.
These six emotions are the go-to picks for most writers. When asked what the mood of the scene is, authors say sad or afraid or something basic. While these six primary emotions are very powerful, often writers overuse them and readers don’t feel the target emotion. We’ll get back to how to fix this problem, but first let’s look at the other levels of emotion.
Secondary Emotions
The second level of emotions in psychology is secondary emotions. There is no solid list of these emotions as there are many. Secondary emotions are feelings in response to the primary emotion. They show up once the initial primary emotion has faded. For instance, you may feel disgust and then feel annoyed at yourself for feeling that way. Secondary emotions are learned reactions that are ingrained into us through our upbringing and society.
Secondary emotions are more intense and specific than primary emotions. Fear can be divided into emotions like terrified, panicked, or nervous. Anger can be sectioned into jealous, enraged, or irritable. Surprise can be startled, amazed, or moved. These emotions all fall under their primary emotion, but each brings a different nuance. Being amazed by something indicates shock and awe, but being moved is being overcome by unexpected warm feelings. Both sound similar, but the way they are experienced feels very different. Each of the six primary emotions can be divided into secondary emotions that are more specific, and this more descriptive feeling is often more impactful and longer lasting than primary emotions.
Tertiary Emotions
The last level of emotions are tertiary emotions. These are the most intense emotions. It’s the smallest of details that make each tertiary emotion unique, even if they fall under the same secondary emotion. Think of tertiary emotions as zooming in on the tinniest parts that make people feel.
For instance, think of the primary emotion sadness and its secondary emotion ashamed. Being ashamed is a powerful emotion we are taught to feel about certain things, but let’s zoom in further. The tertiary emotions guilty and regretful both fall under being ashamed, but they evoke different feelings. Guilt is based on the idea that we did something wrong, and we may want to go back and make amends. Regret is the notion that we missed an opportunity or acted in a way we wish we hadn’t. These emotions are not the same. A person can feel guilty about something but not regret doing it…or regret something without feeling guilty. It’s these smallest of nuances that make each tertiary emotion feel sharp and unique.
Evoking Deeper Emotions From Readers
So what do these levels of emotions have to do with writing? Well, authors are supposed to write in a way that makes readers feel something. Often, writers pick the primary emotions and try to portray them in scenes. We make a character mad or afraid or happy about something. The problem is, primary emotions are reactionary and can’t be told or taught. The goal is to get the reader to feel them, but they won’t if you tell them to feel that way in your writing. They have to feel primary emotions on their own.
Think of the phrase “his gut twisted in fear.” Did you feel the fear? No, because it’s a cliche that tells us how to feel. Instead, you need to dig deeper and portray secondary or even tertiary emotions. You want to show the most detailed and unique emotion possible, and then you will have a better chance of getting the reader to react and feel those primary emotions.
Example
Let’s look at an example: a new soldier before his first battle. We want our readers to react with the primary emotion of fear. If we portray that fear, it would look something like this.
Darius wrapped the bronze greave around his shin and secured the strap. His fingers trembled, making the simple task take longer than it should. He wiped the sweat from his brow. He didn’t want to die. Yet death’s cold claws seemed to already choke him, stealing his voice and all his brethren’s too.
Did you feel the fear? Maybe a little, but it probably wasn’t too strong. It’s a typical scene before any battle. Trembling, silence, and the cold claws of death. We know he’s experiencing fear, but we don’t feel it. Now let’s dig down into a deeper emotion. Maybe we want the character to be nervous, or, if you go down into the tertiary level, anxious. Here’s an example of showing that tertiary emotion.
Darius wrapped the bronze greave around his shin. No, that was too high. He shifted it down and secured the strap. Too tight. He loosened it. The greave slid some, its metal edge pressing into the top of his foot. He yanked it back up and pulled it tighter again. Good thing he couldn’t sleep and had extra time to dress. What if he didn’t get his armor on right and died? His greave would fall off, the enemy would hack off his foot, and then he’d be immobile and ripe for a killing blow. Maybe he should wait until his brethren awoke and have Jupiter assist him.
How did you feel that time? Did the prose get under your skin a little more? Could you relate with fussing over something small and then blowing it out of proportion? Instead of focusing on the obvious (yes, he’s afraid of dying), we zoomed in on his anxiety. He can’t seem to get himself dressed properly! If he can’t do that, surely fighting is not going to go well. Readers get a taste of a specific emotion, and it sticks with them better. They probably feel fearful for him, maybe are even anxious with him. By making readers experience unique and specific emotions, you’re more certain to at least evoke a primary emotion from them. If you’re really good, they may even feel that tertiary emotion you portrayed.
Final Thoughts
In psychology, there is the Feelings Wheel. It’s a picture of rings in a circle that show primary, secondary, and tertiary emotions. There are numerous variations of them you can search online and use for research. Look for how emotions are stacked within each other, and make a list of possible secondary and tertiary emotions you want to portray in your stories. Then, next time you sit down to write, pick an emotion from that list to portray in the scene. You may find the text feels more impactful that way.
Thanks for reading!
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