Emotion 2: Representing character emotion

Using emotional verbs

We've labelled emotions with adjectives, which frames them as kind-of passive states or qualities of experience.

But we can also label emotions with verbs, which frames them as actions.

What is the trigger and emotion in this snippet?

He regretted now that he had given the birds of the island such strange names that they are very wild and difficult of approach.

Peter Pan(1911)

Trigger: The birds are wild and difficult of approach because Peter gave them strange names.

Emotion: Regret.

Notice how regret is expressed as a verb rather than an adjective: he regretted, not he was regretful. 

(Also note that the trigger and emotion are not in causal order: the trigger causes the emotion, but in this snippet the emotion is presented first and then the trigger is given to explain that emotion.)

Let's look at a couple of examples that also use an emotional verb instead of an adjective:

Thaddeus worried that he had set off a chain reaction that he would now be unable to stop.

Mizune loved the idea of bouncing Carlo off the walls in front of the entire town.

As you write your own variation, you might notice that you can't simply convert emotional adjectives into verbs. 

For example:

  • She was sad != She sadded
  • He was scared != He scared
  • They were happy != They happied

There are some exceptions. For example:

  • He was fearful = He feared
  • She was enraged = She raged
  • They were disgusted = It disgusted them

But, for most emotional states, you need to think a bit more broadly about related verbs. For example:

  • She was sad = She moped... mourned... despaired...  
  • He was scared = He feared... dreaded... worried...
  • They were happy =  They enjoyed... savoured... relished...

If you are stuck trying to think of the right verb for the emotion you're imagining, try putting the closest adjective into a thesaurus and then looking through the options to find words that could double as verbs.

You'll get ideas pretty quickly!

Write your variation here. Think of a trigger and describe the character's emotional reaction using an emotional verb (not an adjective).
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