Continuous Writing 3(c) - Useful Words and Phrases (Feelings)

Continuous Writing – Topic 3(c)

Feelings are an important part of continuous writing. When you include your characters’ feelings in your stories, your story will be more interesting and your characters will feel real to the reader.

Here are some phrases you can use to describe different feelings.

Angry	Sad
red with anger eyes flashed with anger seething with rage face contorted with rage frown creased her forehead	heart sank utter dismay/utter disappointment face fell down in the mouth

Happy	Scared
mind was whirling with excitement in high spirits rising enthusiasm everything was a blur adrenaline rushed within me wave after wave of excitement eyes glittered with excitement	engulfed with panic heart pounded hard and fast heart skipped a beat eyes widened in horror stood motionless in fear stared speechless huddled together crouched low palpitations that thundered in her ears

However, many writers go overboard when they write about their characters’ feelings.

For example,

Sweat was trickling down my brow and my lips quivered. A chill that started at the pit of my stomach inched its way upwards, spreading itself in all directions until a numbness overcame me.

The description above is written in the first person point of view. It is a vivid description and the reader can tell that the writer is fearful. However, it is not a very realistic description. Let’s say you are frightened. Will you really feel fear in this way? You probably will not.

How should you write descriptions about your characters’ feelings to interest your reader, yet ensure that you are being realistic?

1.     Use physical actions

I wiped the sweat from my brow with the back of my hand and stumbled to the nearest tree. Gripping the trunk hard and pressing my body against it, I paused to take a deep breath.

Here are some phrases to describe physical actions

Angry	Sad
stormed off without a backward glance slammed the door voice rose screamed hysterically clenched his fist glared at him hissed at me through gritted teeth vulgarities spewed from his lips	buried her face in her hands hung his head low shoulders sagged her voice faltered tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her cheeks shoulders heaved fell to her knees eyes were puffy and red

Happy	Scared
gestured animatedly voice rose a pitch eyes widened corners of her mouth curved raised my arms in victory spun about and leapt into the air	stuttered stammered approached the house hesitantly fidgeted paced up and down the aisle knees trembled hands were icy cold could not stop trembling glanced about uneasily

2.     Use dialogue

Just before the examination started, Vicky whispered conspiratorially in my ear. “Don’t be silly!” I replied and hurried to my seat.

The words ‘don’t be silly’ already indicate that the writer thinks Vicky’s suggestion was ridiculous.

Here are some types of dialogue to describe feelings. These just give a general idea of what to write. However, depending on how each of these are written, the same words could be used to express different feelings.

For example,

“Go away!” she sputtered, waving her arms dismissively at me.

“Go away,” she begged.

Angry	Sad
Get out! Stay out of this! How dare you! Go away! Stay away from me!	No…no…this can’t be happening… Oh no… I can’t believe this is happening. I’ve lost everything. I wish I could turn back the clock.

Happy	Scared
What a great idea! This is the best thing that has ever happened to me! What a nice surprise!	Please don’t hurt me. Wh…where is everyone?

  

3.     Use metaphors, similes and other interesting words

Her face lit up like the sunshine on a summer’s day.

She was brimming with rage.

His anger was like an exploding volcano.

She was on cloud nine.

She was like a dog with two tails.

Her face was as dark as the rain clouds.

She was frightened out of her wits.

He was scared stiff.

You can also make up your own similes. For example, ‘Her face was as bright as sunshine’.

You might have been told to show and not tell so that your stories will be more vivid and your readers can better understand your story. However, you must have a good mix of showing and telling. If you need to provide more information about the events and characters in your story, you will have to tell.

For example, ‘She had been waiting the whole day for the party’ tells the reader what the character has been doing. It is not necessary to include a sentence that ‘shows’ here.  

Another example gives background information on your characters. For example, ‘My father worked in a bank.’ gives your reader information about your father’s occupation.

The lists below give you synonyms of some of the common emotions your characters might experience in your stories. Use them to add variety to your vocabulary.

Angry	Sad	Happy	Scared
annoyed	blue	cheerful	afraid
bitter	depressed	delighted	anxious
cross	grief-stricken	ecstatic	fearful
furious	gloomy	excited	frightened
infuriated	miserable	exhilarated	petrified
outraged	upset	joyful	terrified
		jubilant
		overjoyed

The lists below are words that belong in each of the four categories above but these words also have specific meanings so I will list them together with their meanings.

Angry	Sad
defensive: behave in a way as though a person has criticised you and you are protecting yourself	devastated: extremely shocked and sad
frustrated: feel annoyed because you cannot get what you want	hopeless: feel that a situation cannot be improved
hostile: unfriendly towards others	lonely: feel alone because there is no one to talk to
impatient: cannot wait for something to happen	melancholy: feel thoughtful and sad
insulted: feel that someone has said something rude to you	remorseful: feel sorry for what you have done
offended: angry and upset about what someone has said about you
revengeful: want to do something nasty back to someone because that person has made you angry

Happy	Scared
appreciated: feel that someone is grateful for what you have done	alarmed: worried and anxious about possible danger
contented: satisfied and happy	bashful: embarrassed
grateful: thankful	cautious: avoid danger
hopeful: feeling that what you want will happen; optimistic	disappointed: feel unhappy because what you wanted did not happen
lucky: feeling that good things have happened to you	discouraged: not confident about doing what you want to
satisfied: able to get what you want	nervous: worried about something that could happen
	threatened: feel that you might be harmed

Here are some other feelings you might need when writing your stories.

Surprised	Tired
amazed	drained
astounded	exhausted
bowled over	fatigued
startled	weary
	sleepy