Mastering the basics of storytelling—plot, character development, structure—matters, but truly compelling fiction demands more than mechanics. Great stories don’t just tell readers what happens, they make readers feel every moment. Elevating your fiction with emotion is the key to leaving a lasting impact and drawing readers deeply into your world. Many writing guides teach the technical side, but few advise along this emotional dimension. That’s where The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass shines. It can help you unlock your storytelling’s emotional potential, so that your readers not only follow the journey but experience it on a deeper, more personal level.
Going Beyond the Surface
Maass says emotions in fiction aren’t just conveyed through dramatic events or dialogue; they often lie beneath the surface. Readers may not remember every plot point, but they’ll remember how a story made them feel. This is the power of emotionally resonant fiction, and Maass explains how to achieve it. Rather than instructing writers to simply make their characters cry or face hardships, Maass offers insights into creating nuanced emotional experiences. He discusses how you can hint at internal emotion rather than stating it outright. The subtlety increases emotional tension, and deepens readers’ empathy for characters through small, authentic moments.
The Power of Empathy
One of the book’s central themes is empathy—how to cultivate it between your characters and readers. Maass explains that empathy doesn’t come from creating perfect or highly relatable characters. Rather, it comes from putting those characters in emotionally charged situations and allowing readers to see their vulnerabilities. Maass argues that when characters respond emotionally in ways that feel true to life, readers are more likely to invest in the story. Mastering this aspect of fiction writing will help you create stories that linger in the minds of readers long after they’ve turned the final page.
Techniques That Transform
The Emotional Craft of Fiction provides practical techniques that writers can apply to their work immediately. Maass delves into specific methods for:
- Layering emotion – showing different emotional responses to the same situation, thereby building complexity
- Using subtext – conveying emotion without explicitly stating it, making readers engage more deeply
- Surprising with emotion – introducing unexpected emotional reactions to elevate tension and make characters more unpredictable
- Creating emotional climaxes – ensuring that key moments in the story hit hard by building an emotional foundation throughout the narrative
And more. Each technique is designed to elevate your story, adding depth that readers will feel, even if they can’t always articulate why a particular scene resonated so strongly with them.
Whether you’re a beginner eager to write stories that touch the hearts of readers, or an experienced writer looking to up your game, The Emotional Craft of Fiction offers valuable guidance on elevating your fiction with emotion. This book can reshape how you approach storytelling, equipping you with the tools to make emotion the heart of your writing. For the record, I have no financial or any other stake in promoting this book (and I received my second query letter rejection from Mr. Maass not long after reading it). I simply believe the insights within are transformative for any fiction writer.
Jayson Adams is a technology entrepreneur, artist, and the award-winning and best-selling author of two science fiction thrillers, Ares and Infernum. You can see more at www.jaysonadams.com.