Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/40754
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

This looks like another job for our friend [Stanislavski](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Actor_Prepares). Stanislavski had this idea that an actor should observe themselves through reflection at the end of the day to see what they were doing with their body while they experienced different emotions. That way they could portray those emotions more convincingly.

Let's apply that to a crying scene. What others have told you about building up to it is important so I am going to only focus on the scene itself.

## When did you last cry?

**Think back to when you last cried.**

- Were there tears or was your chest heaving with heavy sobs. 

- Could you see clearly or was your vision blurred by tears?

- What were your hands doing? I bet they were wiping tears or reaching for a tissue.

- Did you look at someone or stare at the floor?

- What else do you recall about your body language?

- Were you just weeping or did the events that led to that play out in your head over and over again?

**Think about right after you last cried**

- How did you feel? Were you drained or energised?

- What did your throat feel like?

- How did your stomach feel?

- Did you feel foolish or calm following an emotional release?

- How did you dry your eyes?

## When did you last comfort someone crying? (or watched someone doing so)

Think back to the last time you had a crying friend to deal with. Or even witnessed someone else comforting a crying person.

**What was the other person doing?**

- Were there hugs?

- Did they pat on the shoulder?

- What other physical contact did you see?

- How comfortable (or uncomfortable) do they seem? Same question for anyone looking on.

**What did the crying person look like?**

- Were their eyes red or puffy?

- Did their shoulders shake as they wept?

- Did they seem to shrink or curl up?

- What happened to their voice? (Did it get quieter or louder?)

- If they had makeup on, what did the tears do to it?

- Is their nose in need of a wipe (quite common that one)

- Are they doing anything to self-comfort? If you have seen it, you know what I mean.

**Think about if the crying person is able to curl up or offered a hug**

- You might have seen them press their face against their arm or on to someone's shoulder. The saying you should be thinking of exists for a reason.

- How did their body language and overall demeanour change?

- Were they then able to calm down?

## Put that onto the page

Take some of those remembered details and put them onto the page. You've mentioned, as you say, the tears enough that the reader must surely be shouting, "we get it, they are crying." So, you don't need to dwell there but show us in other ways what goes with the crying.

By expanding the realism of the tears beyond the face to body language, their tone of voice, behaviour, and so forth, you make it much easier to empathise through the power of imagination. You do not need to be heavy handed. Just flavour the text with little details here and there.

A quick dab at the eyes, later on, might be all you need to remind the reader that the character has been crying.

Tears are a fraction of the crying experience. To put us in the moment, bring the rest of it to life. Give us enough detail to physically remember crying or watching someone cry and you will put us in the moment so vividly that some readers may feel themselves welling up.

In short, show us what crying feels like; remind us enough that we feel it.

Original score: 3