Topic: The Art Of Sadness
Chapter Written By: JadedElegance (with inspiration by RubaiaKhatun )
Level: Intermediate
Related genre(s): All

An unfortunate fact of life is that inevitably, something sad will happen to each and every one of us. By extension, this is also true for your characters. Learning how to relate sadness in such a way that the reader is able to empathise or even feel the character's suffering is one of the best ways to use descriptive writing to connect with the reader.

Simply saying "He cried." or "She is sad", you will not be able to evoke feeling from the reader. This is where the useful nature of descriptive writing comes in.

If you're new to descriptive writing, it is the art of drawing a reader into a scenario or creating an emotional investment in a character. Some authors find this very natural, while others have to work to learn.

While "Show, Don't Tell" is said often enough for everyone to be bored with the standard cliche, when it comes to describing an emotion, it is not optional. Simply saying something is a certain way evokes no feeling at all.

However, paragraph after paragraph of descriptive details will leave a reader just as numb. "Telling" has a place too, and it can be used to great effect when manipulating emotion.

Describing an emotion isn't all about elaboration and adjectives. Sometimes, emotion lies within the dialogue. Sometimes, the most emotionally evocative words follow a long and descriptive passage. If the details are the setup, expressing emotion through simplicity can be the knock-out punch.

If you've ever read the Bible, you know that as a work of literature it can be long and overly descriptive. Yet, when narrating a long and tragic tale of sadness, two of the most emotional words in all of literature are this:

Jesus wept.

Perhaps using a religious text as an example isn't the best example, but it's one of the strongest examples of how emotion can be carried in a few words. However, those words would not be so powerful if not for the descriptive writing prior to that resolution. Let's take a look at some examples of descriptive paragraphs that show sadness. Using these to proper effect is the thing that can make the few moments when you "tell" very powerful.

1. "He stumbled back two steps with hands hanging loosely beside as he continued looking at her. His eyes became glassy as tears started clouding over. The very next moment, his jaw stiffened as he clenched his hands into fists and gulped down tears. One corner of his lips twitched a bit as a single tear trickled from his eye. Quickly, he turned around and walked away with head held high and red burning eyes blinking. His fists remained tightly clenched. "

What will happen when the above-mentioned person is alone or enters into a room.

"It's over. It's all over".

It is the contrast between description and the simple act of feeling that will evoke sympathy or sadness from the reader. While that could be a lovely ending for a scene, the writer might also return to a descriptive writing style:

"He crumbled hearing the heartbreaking news, tottering on staggering legs as he continued ignoring the shouts of his friends. Trying to not break down, he pulled himself inside his room and closed the door with a slam. Leaning against the door, he sat on the floor with one leg spreading in front and pulled another close to his chest. His hands were resting loosely on the floor as he looked straight into nowhere.

His eyes were blank, expressionless, unblinking. "

Once again, the contrast between description and the statement of what is happening provides an effective use of showing and telling to evoke emotion.

"Sitting there, he lost the count of time as flashes of happier days danced in front of his eyes. Slowly, an anger was blending with his sadness. He clenched his hair into fists and tears started pouring down from his cloudy eyes. Not understanding what to do, he looked here and there frantically a few times. And then, with trembling legs, he stood up and transformed the decorated, tidy room into a disheveled space, just like his own heart. Broken, he sat on the floor with a thud. Leaning against the edge of the bed, he kept his head still as he stared blankly into the distance."

The trade-off between showing and occasionally telling, the contrast of descriptive paragraphs versus simple statements of dialogue---these are techniques that can be used to great advantage.

Another technique for expressing sadness is to use a contrasting emotion, such as joy. Perhaps the character is broken-hearted and tearful but then gets some wonderful news. At that very moment, the expression will be a blend of sadness and happiness. It's a palpable way to create emotion and make your character a sympathetic one.

"As soon as the news reached his ears, a small smile formed on his face. Tears were still falling down with a vengeance. He quickly wiped the tears and the small smile turned into a wide grin. Running toward the girl, he tightly hugged her, the angel who rescued his day when she gave the news. Pulling away from the embrace, he heaved a great sigh, showing all his white teeth as happiness erased the earlier grief."

The description of emotion is often what manipulates a reader into seeing a situation through a certain lens. It is an invaluable storytelling technique, and when mastered, one that will set you apart.