Want to hear something I learned from high school theater (thanks Mr. Pollock) that helped me hugely as a writer?

Advice: Don& #39;t tell people what they& #39;re supposed to be feeling.

How is this writing advice you ask? Well.

Thread:

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I don& #39;t remember anyone& #39;s name attached to this anecdote, but here it is:

A famous actress was in a movie, where her character is supposed to run in and see the body of her dead husband lying on the floor.

She does the scene, crying.

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No, says the director. Don& #39;t cry. Don& #39;t do anything. Go in, kneel down beside him. Keep your face completely blank.

She does it that way, that& #39;s the take that winds up in the movie, and it& #39;s incredibly affecting.

Why?

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Because with her face blank, the audience could project how they would feel in a similar situation. They were being invited to empathize.

As a writer, your job is not to tell people how to feel, but like that actress, to invite people to empathize

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No possible description of ANY emotion can equal the movie in your readers& #39; heads, drawn from their own inner lives.

So don& #39;t describe emotions. Say what happens. Say what people do and how they do it.

Readers can create the emotional content for themselves.

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