Non-verbal Cues ~ WHY is Showing Emotions in Writing Difficult? [Day One of Five Day Series]

5 Day – Emotions in Writing Challenge – Lack of Non-verbal Cues

Using Non-verbal Cues. WHY is showing emotions in writing so difficult?

Demonstrating emotions in writing can be difficult for many reasons

There are five key reasons why we encounter challenges in conveying emotion in our writing

Over the next four days, I aim to address each of these reasons, with the intention of shedding light, on why emotions can be hard to express in our writing and offer valuable insights on how we can enhance our writing by effectively harnessing emotions in our writing. As always, we learn better together by learning from each other. 

So let’s delve more deeply into these subjects being the five reasons showing emotions in writing

They will be:

1. Lack of Non-verbal Cues (face-to-face Revealed Day 1 – That’s Today – WooHoo!)
2. Limited Word Selection (to be revealed – Day 2)
3. Interpretation Variability (to be revealed next blog – Day 3)
4. Cultural Differences (to be revealed next blog – Day 4), and
5. Fear of Vulnerability (to be revealed next blog – Day 5).

Today we will focus our attention on:

Lack of Non-verbal Cues

👍😀Thank you Kateryna Hliznitsova on Unsplash for your lovely photo 😀👍

Why are non-verbal clues particularly difficult?

In face-to-face communication we rely on body language: facial expressions and tone of voice to convey our emotions. These nonverbal clues help us understand the emotions behind our words

When writing these cues are not available to show so instead, we use emotive words. This makes it challenging to express emotion directly

So, what can we do about this?

Despite these challenges, skilled writers can employ various techniques to convey emotions effectively. These may include the use of vivid descriptions, engaging the senses, employing metaphor and simile, using dialogue, and developing well-rounded and relatable characters.

Practice, feedback, and an understanding of the audience can also help writers improve their ability to express emotions in their writing.

But how does it look when we write it?

For each facial description, let’s experiment with these face-to-face expressions between individuals. Note I am no expert so if you can improve on these please do. I would love for you to share any that you come up with me so I can learn too.

Sight (seeing looking):

🪶As Sarah walked into the darkened room, her eyes widened in surprise as someone turned on the lights. Amongst a large group of friends and family, she spotted her best friend’s smile “Surprise! Happy Birthday!”.

🪶Mark’s furrowed brow and narrowed eyes conveyed his skepticism as he listened to his friend’s unbelievable story.

🪶With a mischievous grin and a playful twinkle in his eyes, Tom silently challenged his sister to a game of hide-and-seek.

Sound (hearing noise):

🪶Sam’s voice quivered with fear as she pleaded with her Dad not to scold her for breaking curfew.

🪶Joanne’s hearty laughter filled the pub, spreading contagious shrieks of joy from everyone around her.

🪶The sharp tone of disbelief in the teacher’s voice caused Anna’s shoulders to slump and her smile to fade.

Smell (smelling/odors):

🪶Anne’s face scrunched in disgust as she caught a whiff of the pungent odor emanating from the rubbish dumped on the side of the road.

🪶The delicious aroma of freshly baked donuts made Reah’s mouth water, and her face light up with anticipation.

🪶Jenna’s nose wrinkled in distaste as she caught a faint scent of mold coming from her kitchen’s rubbish bin. “Yuk”!

Taste:

🪶As Roland bit into the tangy lemon, his face contorted with a sour expression, causing everyone around him to burst into laughter.

🪶The bitter taste of disappointment lingered on Tom’s tongue as he received the rejection letter, his face falling with sadness.

🪶A warm smile spread across Molly’s face as she savored the rich and creamy dark chocolate, pure bliss evident from her expression.

Touch (Feeling):

🪶As Lily gently touched Gayle’s cheek with a feather her playful smile did all the more to encourage Gayle to fill the room with laughter.

🪶Bob’s face flushed with embarrassment as he stumbled over his bicycle, feeling the weight of all eyes on him.

🪶The remembered warmth of a tight hug from her mother brought tears to Lee’s eyes, her face reflecting a mix of comfort and longing.

By writing your imaginative face-to-face expressions, you can bring your characters to life and help your readers connect using emotions conveyed through visual cues.

Now, go have some fun and see what you can come up with 😅

Photo Credits:
All photos supplied on this post by Kateryna Hliznitsova on Unsplash – Thank you, Kateryna.

~ Zak ~