It’s hard to do a happy or sad scene when my mood is completely different from the character’s. Now I’m thinking that I should leave those scenes for the moment when I’m having those feelings and that could be a lot more authentic. Do you do this?
Hey Plamen!
I do this, but only occasionally. While it does help to genuinely feel what your characters are feeling, it’s not always something you can guarantee the time and emotional energy to do.
Here’s something that I do that might help you too! Whenever I do feel those emotions, I write down and analyze what I’m feeling and how I would describe it. Break it down to the physical details–what I see, feel, taste, smell, etc. I get really vulnerable with it and describe exactly what I’m experiencing. That way, when I need to write a sad, happy, or angry scene, I already have the things to pull from and don’t need to feel those things in that exact moment to get an accurate description.
As a writer, I always seek new things to experience, feel, and see! Then, when I come across a scene where I need to pull from something, I have a backlog of experience, emotions, and thoughts to draw from. I don’t have to experience exactly what my character is experiencing to be able to write it, but I can draw from a similar experience I once had. 🙂 That way, I can sit and write any scene whenever needed!
Of course, if you’re feeling a specific emotion that would go great with whatever your character is feeling, absolutely go and write that scene! That’s brilliant raw inspiration right there. 🙂 Hope this helps!
Great answer Allison, and a great question Plamen. I see this as a sort of “method acting” where we dig into our personal archive of experience as Allison suggested. I have used songs to launch me straight into that mood; or if you’re a big journaler, your own words can take you right into a past event where you felt those strong emotions and the thoughts you had about it. I also use a different song to get me out and recall ways YHVH has blessed me, so I’m not stuck in that emotion for the rest of the day. Maybe this can work for you too.
You are right! We just have to draw from the experience we have. Maybe it’s the same with artists – they remember the feeling and can show it, and we can write it.