How are you able to show crying in a text without using emoji or sentimentalism?
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Before I remove certain heretic from the comment section with super-anthrax, I have to ask:
Which one you prefer?
Writing from the POV of a psychopath, so you can write things down in a more objective tone.
Describing why a character is crying (he's afraid because he's alone, no one is there to protect him, he's gonna die alone in a place where no one will find his body, etcetera)
Note: Using emojis in a novel is THE ULTIMATE HERESY and it makes me lose so much faith in you.
Mephistopheles
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Praise my brother!!! Praise!!
(No seriusly, if the text is in a book for young adults and teenagers, it´s very good using emojis in order to show what is happening, especialy in a world where they can use whattsapp or other emoji-allowed-media.
Allas in a normal day, we writers can´t use emojis, only descrive them in a best scenario, but if the OP whants to use pictures and the alike for the sake of making a more enjoyable, undertandable and realistic world, he/she can, and SHOULD.
Our job is to connect with people and making them feel something, not rule over how it should be done.)
– Sobyro Oct 10 '17 at 16:46 -
@FabianCervantes If that'd be the case, then why should I care about copycat-YA-Wattpad-grade trash? – Mephistopheles Oct 10 '17 at 16:52
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maybe for you my bother, but every case is different. Even for the same Writer.
Let´s end this here, and try to add something usefull shall we?
– Sobyro Oct 10 '17 at 17:25 -
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I agree bud, I don't know what kind of books fabian is reading, but I will burn any book I pick up that has an emoji at the end of a sentence. This is novels, literature, the words that have been passed down for generations. It really is trash level writing if an author cannot use words to describe a smile and instead inserts a smile emoji. They shouldn't be writing at all in that case. – ggiaquin16 Oct 10 '17 at 21:28
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The point is to try not to limit literary creativity and to think that there are right and wrong rules of creating literary art. If we want to use emojis when the protagonists is reading in a Chat online or in a text message, we can do it. We can not use them outside of that context I agree, it would look bad and I would not have any logic, but if the author still wants to use and experiment, he is welcome to do so. – Sobyro Oct 11 '17 at 16:31
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@FabianCervantes I agree with you anon, but even then, I'd still prefer to use the true classics :) – Mephistopheles Oct 11 '17 at 19:01
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Quotation of text as seen or read is one defensible purpose for use of ‘emoji’ — or emoticons, as we called them in my day. (Emoticons: the Autobots' emo friends.) Perhaps you could also use them satrically — but I cannot think of a rhetorical example. Of course, if I saw an emoji or emoticon used in lieu of description … – can-ned_food Oct 12 '17 at 03:57
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To answer your question about how to show that a character is crying, not wanting to show emotion in him, or superficially describing his emotions as a narrator, or how to do this without using allusive images and pop culture (emojis)(That las part shakes me off, truth be told).
1.-Many strong characters do not show their feelings for what they are expected to not have any weackness.
Crying is seen as a weakness.
In these plot arcs I like to show that everyone has a weakness and that is fine, many authors talk about how in hard times, even the most ferocious soldiers can feel bad for a fallen partner and how to refuse to showing your feelings only hurts them more and more.
Until they can not anymore, and have to let them out, if handled well, can be moments full of emotions and a critical point in your story.
You can also talk about how a character also feels bad, tears fall from his eyes, but they are unable to understand why you feel this way or on the contrary. Even with tears in their eyes, they refuse to accept that they are bad for not seem weak or emotional. (This is a common story among female characters in environments with men).
2.-To describe as narrator how a character feels is uncommon and it is better to use a combination of narrative with dialogues and actions in the scene that reflect the internal conflict that occurs in our characters.
You can describe in very detail - between the dialogues - the actions that occur before a very sad moment.
Then as a narrator describe what a character does or when the time comes when this character is not able to continue talking or express their feelings, you can narrate how they feel, but using allegories and comparisons so that the public better understand what a character feels exactly.
3.- FIRST ALLOW ME TO END THIS DEBATE HERE AND NOW
If your text is in a book for young adults and teenagers,especialy in a world where they can use whattsapp or other emoji-allowed-media, it´s very good using emojis in order to show emotions in a chat or in the net .
All with moderation of course, not every single line haz to have it, I´m thinking more like, some chats conversations or text messages.
Allas in a normal day, we writers can´t use emojis, only descrive them in a best scenario, but if the YOU whant or NEED to use pictures and the alike for the sake of making a more enjoyable, undertandable and realistic world, you can, and SHOULD.
Sobyro
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Im sorry, I can't agree at all with your notion that books today need to have emoji's. I don't know what books you read, but if there is a book I am reading that ends the sentence with a smile face emoji, I am throwing the book away. Emojis have no place in novels. Written words, have always, and will always have a greater impact than a smile face text picture. – ggiaquin16 Oct 10 '17 at 21:26
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Well certanly not in a day-to-day dialog, or in a drama-action scene, What I try to say is that you just have to look outside at the real world.
Our forms of communication and interaction have changed over the last few days, people now communicate more through digital media like Whattsapp or Facebook, and these media allow the use of images to express larger ideas without the need for words. Many people are more attached to the emotional spectrum of life and like to show their feelings in their conversations, which is easier with the use of emoji than with words.
– Sobyro Oct 11 '17 at 16:22 -
Emoji and emoticons serve two purposes: abbreviation and expression of nonverbals. Using /me statements in chat or text messaging would be too verbose for simple and shallow emotions — that's what most emoji do. Some of them are also done à la how ‘ASCII art’ was. If someone genuinely wants to express their emotional thoughts, then you can glean that from their words if they are adequately verbose. Expecting another person's emotional profile, through experience with them, certainly helps there. – can-ned_food Oct 12 '17 at 04:16
Allas in a normal day, we writers can´t use emojis, only descrive them in a best scenario, but if the OP whants to use pictures and the alike for the sake of making a more enjoyable, undertandable and realistic world, he/she can, and SHOULD.
Our job is to connect with people and making them feel something, not rule over how it should be done.
– Sobyro Oct 10 '17 at 16:48