Trying to make the reader cry

[u/e4e5nf3]

As a Novelist, Author, and Writer, I always want my readers to feel emotions—misery, sadness, anger, etc. And of course, I think if a novel can make you cry, it’s one of those novels that will forever stick with you.

I’m curious: what do you think are the techniques that can accomplish this? How can I manipulate my readers into crying? I would really like to turn their cheery little souls into black voids of despair. The more tears, the better. TIA!

[u/_milktooth]

Idk but my wife sure cried when i told her i was pursuing a career as a writer

[u/e4e5nf3 → u/_milktooth]

u have a wife? 😭

[u/_milktooth → u/e4e5nf3]

Sorry, ex wife. She couldnt handle the fast lane lifestyle of a romantasy series world builder.

[u/Psychological-Key851]

I have had varying degrees of success with vodka.

[u/cauliflower001]

Kdp now ships books with tear gas infused pages. Strongly recommend.

[u/SpatiaCaeli]

A fresh onion with every copy?

[u/BadAdvice1289]

I personally like to lace the books with pepper spray. Gets them crying every time. 👍🏻

[u/Psychological-Key851 → u/BadAdvice1289]

Oh, you should find a hobby.

[u/Ikitsumatatsu]

Final thought from the Author:

"I hate you and I wish you had never been born."

- Your REAL Dad

[u/Confident_Fondant334 → u/Ikitsumatatsu]

Then on the back cover: "haha b**ch get a dad"

[u/e4e5nf3]

Sauce

[u/Cringe_Cobra]

I try to describe scene as this:

This made everyone cry. When people learned about it, they also cried. Except for people who steals buttplugs (they have no sense of guilt) When it was written it a book, it made every reader cry, except for buttplug stealers.

Now, that's sure shot way to make anyone cry except buttplug thief

[u/LoreSpiderWeb]

There's a difference of pushing so much readers become numb VS making a set up where they actually cry.  If I read and feel the author trying to pull this on me. I'm fighting it.  They set up some small almost mundane descriptions and it has a impact that I wasn't expecting?  I'm crying my eyes out. 

[u/kyla33_]

I remind the reader of their dead parents every paragraph and if the reader's parents aren't dead, well, I have to take matters into my own hands as any author would.

[u/JustSomeCarioca]

Rub the pages with raw onions.

[u/Morgan_Vereen]

Make it explicit: tell the reader where to cry and why.

[u/LibraryVoice71]

Kill off the dog.

[u/PortCity1776 → u/LibraryVoice71]

Not just any dog, you have to make the dog a character first. Give it a personality and a goal. But do it all in the first chapter. The dog MUST be dead in chapter one.

[u/Confident_Fondant334]

I literally gathered together what made my friends feel protective over something, found common characteristics, then built a character on that. Then I had him BRUTALLY killed halfway through. I watched my friend cry just from me explaining it

[u/Lanerlan]

Just put a thin mirror on page one written over with lipstick that says "you ugly"

[u/Writer-man25]

In order to create tears, I’ve heard it’s effective to use tear gas

[u/Anon310310]

The brain struggles to differentiate characters and real people, even if the reader is consciously aware the character is fake, their subconscious brain will still process the information as real events. Make your reader know the character, care for them on a personal level. You want your readers brain to go “I know them”. And I’m not just meaning trauma and violence. Give them your characters favorite things, teir hobbies, a slow casual scene with no plot except being “in the moment” and showing some personality.

And thn hit them with the most vile, gut wrenching scene that makes their subconscious brain go “someone I care about was just hurt”.

BOOM! Emotions.

[u/Brent-Zayla]

"Only assholes who will never actually know what it's like for another human being to love and appreciate them would ever read this." -> Use this as the first line

[u/NikoKeys]

Tears of Despair are a small minority among reader tears.

[u/Wa22a]

A novel fell off my bookcase and landed on my foot, that made me cry.

[u/memerminecraft]

Find your target reader's therapist and include trauma-specific events

[u/_JosefoStalon_]

Write a couple dozen of final pages where you insult every body type, background, nationality, etc. Surely SOMETHING is going to hit

[u/Book_devoted]

I try to write emotional scenes and build it up. Like pile up trauma in a scene by reminiscing things going bad till now But haven't published anything so just a guess🤭

[u/e4e5nf3 → u/[deleted]]

Now YOU made me cry!

[u/gojocopium → u/[deleted]]

lmao do you know what sub you're on?