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Okay, so yesterday was the finale of the series on emotions. But there’s always so much more to learn about getting emotions on the page! So here are some awesome resources on writing emotions:

• edittorrent: Don’t undercut the drama
• The Bookshelf Muse: Description 911: Over Expressed Emotions
• “The conflict of the earlier scene guides the emotion of the next scene. The reader will assume (rightly, of course) that the first event will have some effect on the characters, and that they will show that effect, even if they try to hide it, in the immediately succeeding scene.” — edittorrent: Sequence and emotion
• “Make the reader care by giving them a reason to care. Show your characters’ emotions to invoke a similar, sympathetic response in your readers. Up your characters’ emotional stakes by revealing what’s at stake in the plot. If you’re able to do this and get your reader invested in your character, they’ll become invested in the story. They’ll turn page after page not because you’ve written the next episode of Jack Bauer’s 24 and the entire world is going to end, but because they care about the characters.” — * Fiction Groupie *: Guest Blog: Author Ashley March on Character Emotions
• Showing vs. Telling—Feeeeeeeeeelings . . . « KayeDacus.com
• “Don’t shorthand important emotional moments. Naming an emotion is probably the most common form of emotional shorthand. (She said angrily, he appeared baffled, she felt anxious, etc.) This is weak writing, though it’s appropriate for moments when you want to downplay the significance of a character’s reaction and move on quickly to other things.” — Ask An Editor: Adding Emotion | Romance University
• “Then came a suggestion that held the key to increasing tension: heighten the emotions of the point-of-view character. Even better, create conflicting emotions. Bingo. Suddenly the moment sprang to life. Both the interest level and uncertainty of the outcome spiraled up.” — Writer Unboxed » It’s Not the Cougar
• Tribal writer: 5 ways to put more ‘soul’ into your writing
• “Melodrama is when emotions, plot, or actions are too over the top. My litmus test is if a scene that is intended to be emotional/heartfelt/painful would tempt readers to groan, roll their eyes, or laugh, then I've crossed over the line.” — * Fiction Groupie *: Oh no! Melodrama! — Avoiding the Reader Eye Roll
• “This ‘emotional exposition’ scene shows a lack of confidence in the story! And this is something to watch out for in our own books. If we've done our job setting up and developing the character journey, and if we've created scenes that show the emotion, no one should ever have to state out loud the emotional revelation.” — edittorrent: Emotional exposition.
• The Bookshelf Muse: Stocking Stuffers for Writers: Emotion
• Author Liz Talley – Pass Me a Tissue: How to Add Emotion to Your Writing | Romance University
• Emotion without Sentiment by Alicia Rasley
• Emotion is Physical by Alicia Rasley
• Empowering Character Emotions course by Margie Lawson
• Getting into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn from Actors by Brandilyn Collins
• The Fire in Fiction: Passion, Purpose and Techniques to Make Your Novel Great by Donald Maass

Emotion is how we get into our readers’ hearts. Emotion can take our book from “well written” to “captivating.” We read for an experience, and emotion is the best way to convey that experience. In fact, it is the experience.