how to write sad characters
What do I mean when I say 'how to write a sad character'? Well, this blog post is to help you learn better ways to describe a sad character, instead of just stating the character is sad! My goal is to help teach you ways of subtly implying to the reader that the character is upset, and elevate your stories to make them seem more intriguing. Whether it is body language, to the tension within the scenes, here are my tips to giving more depth to your writing..
⋆.˚ Your character's eyes - The eyes are the window to the soul, even if the character doesn't cry or react in a somber manner, even just subtle mannerisms such as not meeting another person's eyes can say a lot. Aditionally, you could also write about glossy eyes! You could mention even though your character is not specifically crying yet, or at all, their eyes have become glossy and dejected.
⋆.˚ Mannerisms / behaviour - When your character is upset, their behaviour may change. You could write that at an extroverted character going silent or more quiet - even in a room full of people - or an introverted character fully isolating themselves. Of course, these are just examples and ideas of what you could possibly do, I personally would suggest making your character contradict their usual behaviour, whether it's them building up defences, or even a waver within their confidence and self esteem. A character could even try to make themself seem smaller; hiding under clothing or hair, speaking at a much quieter volume (or not speaking at all), not being as enthusiastic with expressions, not as animated with body language, being distracted or stuck in their own head, hesitating before speaking.
⋆.˚ A backstory - Giving the character a reason as to why they're feeling a wave of sadness can really build up the tension for the readers. Whether it's an argument, a breakup, lost a loved one, go crazy with ideas! Giving a backstory can really help make people feel for your character, which is also the desired effect, you want them to feel empathetic towards said character.
⋆.˚ Emotions - This is going to be a short suggestion, as it's a pretty much as the subtitle suggests, when people are sad they'll cycle through other emotions too. It's never usually just sadness, use this to your advantage within your writing. Add in emotions such as confusion, anger, yearning, despair, forgiveness, etc! There's plenty of emotions you could pair the sadness with, it's all just down to the context of your story.
⋆.˚ Do other people notice? - Does your character have people around them, or are they completely alone? This can really affect the outcome of your character's sadness. Example, if they have supportive friends around them, they're going to be comforted. If they have toxic people around them, they're unlikely to be comforted and maybe even made fun of or taken advantage of during this period of upset. On the contrary, if they're completely alone they have to process these emotions alone with nobody to lean on. Maybe your character heals better this way, focusing only on themselves, or maybe they struggle to recover and even spiral into more misery.
𝕿𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖐 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖎𝖓𝖌, if you enjoyed this please feel free to suggest more post ideas - don't be shy I don't bite!
