description of silence in creative writing

• Conjunctions
• Prepositions

Silence Describing Words – Adjectives with Examples

Silence is a powerful force that can speak volumes without uttering a single word. As a writer, I’ve always been fascinated by the different ways we can describe silence and the emotions it evokes. In this article, I’ll be exploring a variety of adjectives that can be used to paint a vivid picture of silence, along with examples to illustrate their usage.

From the tranquil hush of a peaceful morning to the deafening stillness of an abandoned room, silence can take on many forms. It can be eerie and unsettling, or it can be comforting and serene. By using the right adjectives, we can bring the essence of silence to life on the page, allowing readers to experience its power firsthand.

So, whether you’re a writer looking to enhance your descriptions or simply someone who appreciates the beauty of silence, join me as we dive into the world of adjectives for silence. Together, we’ll uncover the perfect words to capture the essence of silence and create a truly immersive reading experience.

Table of Contents

How to Describe silence? – Different Scenarios

Silence can be described in various ways, depending on the context and the emotions it evokes. Let’s explore some different scenarios and the adjectives we can use to vividly describe silence.

1. Peaceful Silence

• In a serene forest, the silence surrounds me like a warm embrace.
• The tranquil silence of a sleeping baby fills the room with calmness.
• As I stood on the mountaintop, the silence was pure and unbroken, giving me a sense of serenity.

2. Eerie Silence

• The abandoned house was cloaked in an eerie silence, sending chills down my spine.
• In the pitch-black night, the silence was deafening, intensifying the feeling of unease.
• The eerie silence of the graveyard made me feel as if I was being watched by unseen eyes.

3. Awkward Silence

• After my embarrassing blunder, an awkward silence hung in the air, making me wish for a hole to swallow me up.
• As I sat at the dinner table with my ex, the silence between us spoke volumes, highlighting the tension between us.
• In the classroom, the silence that followed my teacher’s question filled me with anxiety as I desperately searched for an answer.

4. Anticipatory Silence

• The anticipation filled the room, and for a moment, there was a tangible silence as everyone held their breaths.
• The silence before the performance was electric, creating a sense of excitement and expectation.
• As I waited for the results, the silence was deafening, amplifying my anticipation and nerves.

5. Reverent Silence

• As the choir sang, the silence in the church was profound, a tribute to the reverence of the moment.
• The silence at the museum allowed me to truly appreciate the beauty and intricacy of the artwork.
• In the presence of nature’s majesty, the silence in the grand canyon was awe-inspiring, reminding me of my smallness in the world.

Describing silence in different scenarios can add depth and emotion to your writing. By carefully choosing the right adjectives, you can create a more immersive reading experience, allowing your readers to fully visualize and feel the silence in their minds.

Remember, silence is a powerful tool that can convey a multitude of emotions. Experiment with different adjectives and observe the impact they have on the reader.

Describing Words for silence in English

Silence can be a powerful tool in storytelling and description. Choosing the right adjectives to express silence can create a more immersive reading experience. In this section, I’ll explore a variety of adjectives that can effectively describe silence in different scenarios. Let’s take a closer look:

Peaceful Silence

In peaceful settings, these adjectives evoke a sense of tranquility and calmness, allowing the reader to imagine themselves in a serene environment.

Eerie Silence

When describing eerie silence, these adjectives create a sense of unease and foreboding, setting the stage for a suspenseful or mysterious atmosphere.

Awkward Silence

• Uncomfortable
• Embarrassing
• Constricting

In social situations, these adjectives reflect the discomfort and tension that can arise during moments of awkward silence, making the reader empathize with the characters involved.

Anticipatory Silence

• Suspenseful

These adjectives describe the silence that builds up before something significant happens, creating a sense of anticipation and heightening the reader’s curiosity.

• Reverential

When depicting solemn or sacred moments, these adjectives convey a deep sense of reverence and respect, emphasizing the importance of the silence in the scene.

Remember, choosing the right adjectives is crucial for creating an engaging and immersive reading experience. By carefully selecting descriptive words, we can bring silence to life on the page and captivate our readers. In the next section, we’ll explore more examples and scenarios where adjectives for silence can be effectively utilized.

Adjectives for silence

Positive Adjectives for silence with 12 Example Sentences

When it comes to describing silence, there are several positive adjectives that can vividly depict the quietness and serenity of a situation. Here are some examples of positive adjectives for silence:

Negative Adjectives for silence with 5 Example Sentences

While silence can often be comforting, there are times when it can also feel uncomfortable or unsettling. Here are some negative adjectives that can describe silence in those situations:

Choosing the right adjectives for silence can greatly enhance the reading experience and create a more immersive environment for the readers. Whether it’s conveying peacefulness or unease, selecting the appropriate adjectives helps paint a vivid picture in the reader’s mind. By understanding the nuances of silence and utilizing the right adjectives, we can effectively captivate our readers and bring our writing to life.

Synonyms and Antonyms with Example Sentences

Synonyms for silence

When it comes to describing silence, there are several synonyms that can be used to vividly depict this concept. Here are some examples:

• Quietness – The quietness of the room was unnerving.
• Stillness – I could hear nothing but the stillness of the night.
• Hush – The hush that fell over the crowd was deafening.
• Serenity – The serenity of the empty beach was soothing.
• Peace – The moment was filled with a sense of peace and tranquility.

Antonyms for silence

On the other hand, if you want to convey the opposite of silence, there are antonyms that can be used to add contrast to your writing. Consider these examples:

• Noise – The noise of the city drowned out any chance of silence.
• Commotion – The commotion in the classroom made it impossible to concentrate.
• Chatter – The chatter of the birds filled the air with life.
• Racket – The racket from the construction site was unbearable.
• Bustle – The bustle of the busy street never ceased.

By using these synonyms and antonyms for silence, you can add depth and nuance to your descriptions. Remember to choose the right word depending on the context and the atmosphere you want to create.

Describing silence can be a powerful tool in writing, allowing us to create vivid and immersive experiences for our readers. Throughout this article, we have explored the impact that different adjectives can have on our descriptions of silence.

By carefully selecting positive and negative adjectives, we can add depth and nuance to our writing. Whether we choose to use words like “serene” and “tranquil” to evoke a sense of peace, or words like “oppressive” and “deafening” to convey a feeling of tension, the right adjectives can bring our descriptions to life.

Understanding the nuances of silence and utilizing the appropriate adjectives can captivate readers and transport them into the world we have created. It allows us to paint a more vivid picture, engaging their senses and emotions.

So, the next time you find yourself trying to describe silence, remember the power of adjectives. Choose them wisely, and watch as your writing comes alive, leaving a lasting impact on your readers.

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Writers in the Storm

A blog about writing.

The Power of Silence on the Page

Margie Lawson

We’ve probably all read these sentences about silence, or variations.

• The room went silent.
• We all quit talking.
• Everyone was silent for a couple of minutes.

And we’ve read these types of sentences about staying silent too.

• He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
• She opened her mouth to talk then shut it again.
• He started to talk, then decided not to.

They’re all overused. Clichéd.

When you read sentences you’ve read before, your mind can take a mini-vacation. It only takes a second to get pulled out of a story.

The more overused phrases and sentences per page, the more often you lose the reader.

You can use silence to:

• share emotion
• share backstory
• share relationship dynamics
• share how it impacts the POV character
• elicit a visceral response
• add tension or relieve tension
• show a character acting in expected or unexpected ways
• add power to any paragraph or passage or scene

Don’t go on autopilot and throw overused phrases and sentences in your WIP.

Dig deep and write fresh.

No groaning.

Agents, editors, reviewers, and readers will thank you. Sometimes they thank me.

Now we get to dive in and enjoy examples from Immersion Grads. They’ve all taken at least one of my 5-day intensive Immersion Master Classes.

I’ll deep edit analyze the first example from each author.

Please read all the examples OUT LOUD. You’ll train your cadence ear.

We’ll start with a moment of silence. The silence that happens when a parent enters the room.

Amazing Grace , Elaine Fraser , 3-time Immersion-Grad

Silence—the sort of silence that sucked movement, breath, life, out of a room—descended. A presence behind her sent out a chill. It wriggled down her spine and she shivered. Mum stilled three teenage boys, a man, and a girl, just by entering a room. Her brothers were named after superheroes, but her mother owned the power.

Wow. Stellar writing.

Deep Edit Analysis:

• Power Words:  Silence, silence, sucked, breath, life, presence, chill, wriggled, shivered, stilled, entering a room, superheroes, owned, power
• Amplification – amplified silence, big-time
• Alliteration – silence, sort, silence, sucked, sent, spine, she, shivered, stilled
• Asyndeton (No And) – movement, breath, life
• Structural Parallelism -- Last sentence
• Visceral Responses -- Three Visceral Hits: chill, wriggling down spine, shiver
• Power Internalizations : Last two sentences
• Humor Hits: Last two sentences
• Compelling Cadence: Throughout     
• Deepened Characterization for All Characters

Two more examples from Amazing Grace by Elaine Fraser:

2. Whispers and giggles wafted around her, interspersed with eerie silence and weighty stares.

3.  Grace clutched the phone as if she could squeeze it into silence. The battery would go flat soon. Then no one would bother her. She wanted to stay in bed and never speak to anyone ever again.

Home at Chestnut Creek , Laura Drake , 2-time Immersion Grad, RITA Winner

A glacial silence fills the kitchen, dampening sound like a heavy snow.

• Power Words: glacial, silence, dampening, heavy
• Compelling Cadence

The Marriage Lie , Kimberly Belle , 5-time Immersion Grad, International Bestseller

1.  Silence stretches, long and leaden, and I feel the need to defend myself.

• Power Words: silence, long, leaden, need, defend self
• Double Alliteration: s, s. and l, l
• Deepens Characterization: Shares impact of silence on POV character

2.  For the longest moment, Corban is speechless, a lapse of silence that amplifies the coffee shop sounds all around us.

3.  He passes me one of the bottles, ice cold and sweating, and we set off for the alley that leads to the trail in painful, stomach-churning silence.

Dear Wife ( Advanced Reader Copy), Kimberly Belle, 5-time Immersion Grad, International Bestseller

Dear Wife will be released June 25

• The silence that fills the hallway tightens the skin of my stomach.
• Power Words:   silence, tightens, skin, stomach
• Stimulus-Response: Silence is stimulus for a Visceral Response

2.  The words bounce around the house, then fall into a silence so absolute it rings in my ears.

3.  He doesn’t share my joviality, not even a little bit. The silence stretches, long and painful.

Long Shot , Kennedy Ryan , Immersion Grad, Top 25 Amazon Bestseller

• We stare at each other in a silence rich with things I shouldn’t say.

Wow.  It grabbed you too. Right?

• Power Words: stare, silence, rich, shouldn’t say
• Amplification: Amplified silence in a personal way.

2. We’re separated by miles and an ocean’s worth of silence floating between us.

3. There’s a thick silence once they leave. Their mingled scents still linger. Their presence was so strong, I can practically see an impression of them left in the air.

Being Alpha , Aileen Erin , 2-time Immersion Grad, USA Today Bestseller

• “He’s here,” I said too quiet, but those two words silenced the room.
• Power Words:   He’s here, quiet, silenced, room
• Emphasizes the power of that he
• Implies fear

2. My ears were still ringing from my own screams in the silence that followed. 

3. The tiny gap of silence between the sounds meant that the demon was saying two words.

Never Let Me Fall , Abbie Roads , 5-time Immersion Grad,

1.   It didn’t faze him that she didn’t speak out loud. He wasn’t like the annoying social worker at prison who’d kept trying to convince her to talk. Or the COs who’d assumed she was either deaf or stupid because she didn’t speak. Or the Sisters who’d taunted her ten times worse because she never taunted them back. He understood and accepted her silence in a way no one else ever had.

• Power Words: out loud, annoying, social worker, prison, convince, talk, COs, deaf, stupid, didn’t speak, Sisters, taunted, worse, taunted, understood, accepted, silence, no one else
• Shares four big hits of backstory for POV character
• Shares relationship dynamic

2.  The gunshot was loud and obscene in the quiet of the night. The sound of the shot didn’t echo. Instead, it stretched out like a rubber band, getting thinner and thinner by the second until only silence stood between them.

3.  Lanning nodded as if he understood, but silence ticked by slow and suspicious.

Look at the alliteration (s, s, s) and the powerful and surprising backload, suspicious .

4. And the sweet, sweet silence felt like a miracle. A deep sense of peace subdued the bad memories that played on repeat in the back of her mind.

Hello, everyone!

I hope this blog motivates you to avoid clichéd writing, dig deeper, and write fresh.

Make silence, or facial expressions, or dialogue cues, or setting, or visceral responses, or any scene element more interesting. More powerful.

Want to learn how to write as well as these authors?

Drop by my website. Check out my online courses and lecture packets. W

You get a taste of my deep editing techniques from my blogs. But my online courses and lecture packets are each a couple of hundred pages long. And they’re loaded with teaching points and analyzed examples.

Learn how to make your writing bestseller-strong!

I’m so impressed with all the examples from Immersion Grads Elaine Fraser, Kimberly Belle, Laura Drake, Aileen Erin, Abbie Roads, and Kennedy Ryan.

If these examples impressed you, please check out their books.

You can also thank them in a comment.

Thank you so much for dropping by the blog today.

Please post a comment or share a "Hi Margie!” and you’ll have two chances to be a winner.

You could win a Lecture Packet from me or an online class from Lawson Writer’s Academy valued up to $100.

Drop by my website. Check out my online courses and lecture packets.

Lawson Writer’s Academy – July Classes   1.  Ta Da, How to Put Funny on the Page, Instructor: Lisa Wells 2.  Editing Magic: Work with a Professional Editor, Instructor: Lori Patrick 3. Battling the Basics, Instructor: Sarah Hamer 4. Two-Week Intensive on Show, Not Tell, Instructor: Shirley Jump 5. Publishing Gold: Self-Publishing and Self-Marketing for Do-It-Yourselfers

I’ll draw names for the TWO WINNERS on Sunday night, at 8PM, Mountain Time and post them in the comments section.

Like this blog? Share with your friends. Give it a social media boost. Thank you soooo much!

I love blogging on Writers in the Storm. Thanks so much for inviting me to be your guest.

* * * * * *

About Margie

Margie Lawson— editor and international presenter—loves to have fun. And teaching writers how to use her deep editing techniques to create page-turners is her kind of fun.

She’s presented over 120 full day master classes in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and France, as well as taught multi-day intensives on cruises in the Caribbean.

To learn about Margie’s 5-day Immersion Master Classes (in 2019, in Palm Springs, Denver, Dallas, Cleveland, Columbus, Atlanta, and in Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, Australia), Cruising Writers cruises, full day and weekend workshops, keynote speeches, online courses, lecture packets, and newsletter, please visit: www.margielawson.com

Interested in Margie presenting a full day workshop for your writing organization? Contact Margie through her website or Facebook Message her.

Interested in attending one of Margie’s 5-day Immersion classes? Click over to her website and check them out and contact her.

Margie’s newsletter is going out next week. Sign up on her website, and you’ll be in a special drawing for a 5-page deep edit from her!

83 comments on “The Power of Silence on the Page”

Wow. I think I need to run a search for 'silent' 'silence' and 'quiet' and see what I can do to improve! Great post as always, Margie.

Hugs to Immersion Grad Rebecca Hodge --

I hope everyone searches for silence, silent, and quiet in their WIP's. And I hope they dig deep and add power.

Fresh writing sells!

How funny, I was thinking the same thing.

I'm with you, Rebecca. I need to do the same!

Thank as always, for the reminder that small details are the difference between 'good' and 'sold', Margie! And always, thank you for including me!

Guys, I crit with Kimberly Belle - you are NOT going to want to miss this book!

Hugs to Multi-Immersion Grad Laura Drake --

I'm always proud to use examples from your books. Thank you for writing fresh!

Great post! Thanks for mini-class.

Hello purlingoaks --

Glad you liked reading about silence.

Thanks for chiming in.

Hi Margie! So glad to find you here on WITS - a double hit of fun with brilliant examples and your deep edit analyses to point the way. Thank you xxx

Hugs to Immersion Grad Jay --

Love the content and cadence of your sentence.

So glad to find you here on WITS - a double hit of fun with brilliant examples and your deep edit analyses to point the way.

Hear that lovely cadence? Kudos to you!

Loved these powerful examples! There seem to be two kinds of silence. One is a denser silence that spreads and lingers, indicating atmosphere. The other is a sharper kind that appears suddenly, signaling that something new has just taken place. The first kind is often described by more sweeping generic images, while the second kind (I think) tends to be described in terms of the POV character's sensations and perceptions. Does that seem right? I would love to hear what others think!

Hello Barbara Linn Probst --

I like your brain. It works like mine.

I've developed more on writing silence than I could share in this blog. And one of the things I did was break silence into two types. I call those two types of silence short-term and pervasive.

See? Matching brains.

You described the two types well.

Hope I get to meet you sometime. I clicked over to your website and saw that Barbara Claypole White wrote a review for your book that's coming out in 2020. Barbara is one of my Immersion Grads. Love her!

Maybe I'll see you at a WFWA Retreat some year.

Barbara, I love how you defined these two sides of the silence coin. I have SO much fun in Margie's comment section. 🙂

Hi Margie, another fabulous post. Who knew silence could be so intriguing. Thanks as always for sharing your wisdom and fantastic examples.

Hugs to Multi-Immersion Grad Suzanne Purvis --

Always great to cyber-see you, but I'd love to see you in person too. It's been tooooooooo long.

Miss you...

Wonderful post! And inspiring examples, too. Thanks for including the explanations for why they work so well.

Hello Laurie Wood --

Thanks so much for letting me know you're inspired. Have fun writing fresh!

Hi Margie, your post was just what I needed this morning. Thanks for not keeping silent. 🙂

Hugs to Immersion Grad Vanessa Foster --

Ha. Clever you.

Missed you at WTWA. Hope I get to see you in 2020!

Great post, Margie! Thank you for the reminder as I head into edits!

Hugs to Immersion Grad Adrienne --

I love a perfectly timed blog topic!

I know you'll think DEEP EDITING and apply everything you learned in Immersion.

Omigosh ... the examples blew me away. And inspired me to do better! Thanks, Margie!

Hello Dani --

I love blowing people away with stellar writing. Yay!

Wonderful blog! Thank you for the reminder that even silence can (and should) deepen the story. The examples are so powerful and beautiful.

Hugs to Multi-Multi-Multi Immersion Grad Lisa Heartman --

So excited that you're a GOLDEN HEART FINALIST!

Your writing always impresses me. I'll be cheering for you from home!

Hi Margie--always enjoy your posts. They pull, push, prod me to dig deep and paint the picture in my head with stronger, more vivid color. You rock!

Hello Veronica Mixon --

I love working with you. I'm happy to pull, push, and prod!

I just did the silent, silence, quiet search. Holy moly, so many good places for revision! Thanks Margie.

Hello DLW --

Glad you did a search. Smart.

Data is always good news. Now you know what to do to make your writing stronger.

Such great examples! Thanks for the post.

Hello 2-time Immersion Grad Liv --

Great to cyber-see you. I'd love to see you in person too.

Wow, this was fantastic! Made me really stop and realize what I've been missing for silence. This blog post gave me some great new insights into this technique.

Hello Claudia -

Great to e-meet you.

Are you new to my deep editing techniques? Hope you click over to my website and check out my lecture packets and all the LWA courses.

Thanks for chiming in!

Hi, Margie, this is Claudia Shelton. For some reason my post went through as claudiathewriter and thus you didn't know who was writing. Of course I've already enjoyed your lectures and am an Immersion Master Class grad, but your post on silence amped up an area I hadn't realized needed work. Thanks!

Hello Immersion Grad Claudia --

Thanks for letting me know it's you!

Sounds like you're already using what you learned in the blog. Smart, smart, smart.

Wow! Thank you for including quotes from Amazing Grace in such stellar company. When I read others’ work I’m humbled.

You’re a wonderful teacher and mentor, Margie. Kudos to you! ?????

Hello Multi-Immersion Grad Elaine Fraser --

I always love using examples from your books. Stellar stories and stellar deep edited writing.

You always impress me.

Last night I was editing and quit when I couldn't get the silence between my characters to work with the noise on the busy dock. THANK YOU! After reading this, I went back and re-read your post on subtext from a couple of years ago. Together, they supply the one-two punch for a knock-out revision. I love you, Margie.

Margie, the power of silence . . . you don't always have to be heard. I love Abbie Roads example: He understood and accepted her silence... Silence a chance to build bravery, or cower in the corner. Thank you!

And I love your very profound, "you don't always have to be heard," Robbin!

I always appreciate the examples and your analyses.

I love these examples of writing fresh silence. My favorite ones are... a lapse of silence that amplifies the coffee shop sounds all around us and eerie silence. Thank you so much Margie for the great blog and great examples and always reminding me to write fresh!

Another excellent post to add to my collection. And more words to add to my editing search for weak words. Thanks again, Margie.

Amazing examples, as always! Always look forward to these posts, Margie. 🙂

Wonderful examples, Margie. I've bookmarked this page and written down Kimberly Belle as an author I'm going to read. I see that Dear Wife's official pub date is June 25. I love the blurb for it--enticing for sure.

You're in for a wild ride, Rick! You're going to love it.

Great tips and examples! 🙂 Thank you.

Amazing how 'nothing' can really be 'something'. Loved it, as I do all your advice and info and courses. Am finally back in the writing world after 18 months of Breast Cancer hell. You've inspired me to work harder. Thanks Margie.

Thanks for all the ideas about using silence to convey so many moods, emotions, subtexts. Excellent post

Great reminders and powerful examples, as always. Thank you, Margie!

Thank you so much, Margie. Wonderful post and inspiring examples. It's good to stretch the old brain cells!! I did a search on silent and silence - found a few I can be proud of...and a few BIG opportunities to improve 🙂 Huge hugs xx

Ahhh, now you've done it! 😉 Now I have to go through my latest wip checking for how I handled silence. I LOVE your challenges! Always enlightening. Thank you for not letting us slide on this one. Great post! --XOXO

It's amazing how getting away from the cliches and using a bit of thought changes the whole thing.

Great blog with the best advice.

Just another golden tip to add to the list of Margie isms at the top of each page xx Jean

Thanks Margie for these wonderful examples and how I can amp the tension with a fresh silence. Sherry

Always inspired by your examples, Margie. Thanks for sharing them. Thanks to the authors for writing fresh. It really does make a difference.

I was just struggling with a passage where there is silence. I haven't fixed it yet and these passages were great inspiration to find a better way. Thanks, Margie, for always inspiring me to dig deeper.

Great examples and breakdown of exactly why they’re good. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

Thanks for the post!

Stupendous examples. I'm..um..speechless. Thanks, Margie.

Great examples. I struggle with getting the description of silence right and usually just awkwardly fudge my way through... Thanks, Eileen

Thanks for the refresher, Margie 🙂 I LOVE your work, always!! Big love to you. Lexi xxxx

;very helpful, Margie. I'm heading over to your website for a look.

Thank you, Margie, for these wonderful examples. I know I've struggled with writing fresh silences. I appreciate these examples. They are great inspirations.

Thank you Margie for these great examples of silence, not cliched.

Wow, Margie! Always great, great, great ways to make our writing better! Thanks!

Your blog posts always make me feel like a beginner but also make me want to rewrite to make the story better. Thanks for the inspiration, Margie! Love these examples.

Always something to be learned. Even with topics which have been covered before, you always bring a fresh touch. Love your classes. Love you! (hugs)

I don’t think any post you’ve written hasn’t helped me elevate my writing. Your immersion grad examples rock!

Great points! We are always thinking so hard of what to say it's easy to overlook the power of saying nothing at all.

Thank you! Carla

Excellent blog, as always Margie. And perfect timing too! I’ll keep these examples in mind while writing my current book. I know it will be better because of advice like this!

Thanks for the encouragement to keep on writing fresh! So worth the effort. Loved, loved, loved Elaine's example 😀

You are amazing Margie

How just a few words can change hum drum to amazing. Great mini-lesson!

Thank you so much for this post. I just had some "silence" in a paragraph and thanks to you, I can now write it fresh, because what I wrote made me cringe.

Wow! Very fresh writing! I need to add "quiet" and "silence" to my list to make sure I write them fresh and impactful. Thank you to all the authors who contributed their work for this blog! Y'all rock! And thank you to Margie for taking me to the next levels. XOXO

Margie, I love how you identify these small moments that we all use and show us how to make them work double and triple duty. Great bullet list!

I like the idea of being able to add a quiet moment in a book, I agree that it shares an emotion with the people that are reading the book. One I love to use is when the night fell silent and only the stars and the moon are having their conversation.

Great examples. I was struggling to describe silence recently in a WIP. You've given me some fresh ideas.

Wow, wow, wow. As always, I really appreciate the fresh writing you teach and show by example. Thanks, Margie!

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How Does The Use Of Silence Play Out In Literary Fiction?

Trying to live, love, and say it well in good sentences. Pronouns: she/her. Contact: [email protected]

View All posts by Dee Das

Silence is a tool that has been utilized in literature to heighten emotion, magnify suspense or drama, and let a character grow into their own being. In literary fiction, silence is often prioritized over action. Private contemplation and deliberate gaps left in pages speak louder than a thousand words ever can.

Jhumpa Lahiri’s Whereabouts is peppered with long stretches of silence. The middle-aged narrator lives a quiet life. The moments she spends with herself are much more preferable to her than the physical presence of her friends. The silences here are not marked by loneliness. They are rejuvenating and aid the narrator in living her own truth. She runs into old lovers once in a while during grocery runs and she visits her mother sometimes who brings her no comfort. Unlike her mother, she is not chained by the shackles of a joyless marriage but she probably inherits her solitude and silence from her mother. She sleeps with her lights on, orders meals for one, and on certain days struggles to get out of bed. Lahiri doesn’t make an effort to fill up the silences as they represent the urban loneliness that our narrator is inhabiting. Here, the narrator’s quietude is a meditation on having and holding herself as she is.

The Waves by Virginia Woolf is a novel where silence is weaved with the characterization of Bernard. The silence of the coffee cup and the table appeals to him. He compares himself with a ‘solitary sea-bird that opens its wings on a stake’. He wishes to sit forever in silence with inanimate objects.

In The Remains Of The Day , Kazuo Ishiguro sheds light on the regrets of the aging butler, Stevens, through all the things he doesn’t verbalize. His disillusionment and losses are better captured through everything Stevens fails to put into words for the readers. Silence weighs down his lonely existence as we see him consciously rejecting companionship and love. Everything that has been left unsaid brings into fore the reality he is living inside of. By using silence as a plot device, Ishiguro makes space for the readers to ponder on the happenings of his novel.

Arundhati Roy’s The God Of Small Things allows the readers to imbibe the tension of everything unfolding through silence. Short phrases like ‘silence slid in like a bolt’ and ‘childhood tiptoed out’ reveal more about the many lives and selves of the characters than long paragraphs. Through the white space and her intentional economy with words, Roy urges the readers to read the room and come to their own conclusions. The silence doesn’t lay down everything on the plate for the reader. Rather, the readers need to fathom the silence, not just feel it but also dissect it, to comprehend its implications. Silence in this novel not only adds more depth and definition to the characters but also becomes a device via which Roy encourages the readers’ imagination and makes them an active part of her story. 

Adania Shibli’s Minor Detail , translated by Elisabeth Jaquette, combines silence and movement. A novel with minimal dialogue, Shibli talks about a silence that shapes the contours of the land and dictates the conditions of Israeli occupation in Palestine. Just like Scheherazade’s silence would have proved disastrous for her in The Arabian Nights , the silence forced upon the citizens of Palestine is destructive and venomous.

Shibli has captured the silence of history in the face of women’s oppression. She has amplified the silence surrounding the crime of the rape and murder of a young girl by Israeli soldiers by making no attempt at speaking on her behalf or giving her a voice. Instead, she pens another female character, who years later becomes obsessed with the death of the girl. The second part of this novel is a narration of one woman’s search for what exactly went down in the life of the murdered girl, that has been left undocumented by history. In the end, the readers realize that true stories are never found in history, but rather in the silence history tries to foist on us. 

In literary fiction, things left unsaid don’t remain so. They take shape and form in unconventional ways, manifesting in sighs, gazes, and the like. This offers us the full picture and helps readers transcend the confines of a story. Language is often too faulty a medium to rightly portray the ridiculously messy yet supremely spectacular human condition.

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Silence - quotes and descriptions to inspire creative writing

• at a loss for words

It is your emotional health that speaks most clearly in the silence.

There is no silence, for even the blossoming of a bud can be heard.

Silence is a fine tailor when your thoughts are silken thread.

In the silence there is warmth because I feel the love of my pilot light grow stronger. I feel my energy reach out into nature and energy flow back.

Whatever can silence be? For is there not always the sound of your own heart? Just as with whiteness there is light, and blackness is a canvass for dreams; if there is a soul present, there is always something. And so as the quietness grows deeper and I hear my own steady rhythm from within, I call this silence.

Before every great idea there is a silence of the soul, of the self, so welcome it and listen well.

In the silence I leave this human form at rest for my return and become a work of art in a gallery, one that is the colours of my soul.

There is a silence to my soul; I am fall leaves under frost. I feel the chill in my blood, coldness bringing the synapses of my brain to a stand still. Part of it is a pain, yet one I can endure, one I can sleep through night after night without the anaesthesia of false hope. This is my winter; I wait for spring and the chattering of the birds.

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Writing from the Deeper Self

The Important Role of Silence in Writing

Cultivation of inner silence is medicine for our writing and our being.

By Naomi Rose | Updated November 15, 2018

If you have ever been on a silent retreat, or been in nature for a period of time in silence, you already know from experience how incredibly fertile that bed of silence can be. As the usual chatter fades, the things that pull us away from our in-the-moment inner experience (things to do, places to go, errands to run, emails to send, worries to keep circulating, etc.) show their true colors as mind-distractions and perhaps ~ addictions, and just don't seem as compelling as they had before. Something in us begins to relax, then; to stop always being on alert, ready for the next action, the next item on the to-do list, the next thought/opinion/decision. We drop into ourselves, and into the moment. We are that most essential of things: here.

It is in being here that we are available to revelation ~ whether that revelation is of the epic, prophetic kind, or simply a deeply felt, spacious awareness of the beauty of life because we are here to know and feel and experience it. And it is when we are most deeply here ~ present, spacious, appreciative, and gratefully willing to encounter the blessings that arise (both from within us, and outside us as what is within us is available to meet what is outside us) ~ that deep writing is possible.

I know for myself that in a single workday, I can sit at the computer and accomplish a whole roster of things that I can tick off my to-do list, and sometimes still have room to do more. Yet none of that is usually done with inner silence. There is most often an accompanying sound track that is commenting on what I am doing, or going ahead to the next thing to do, or fretting about what I haven't yet done but should. No wonder there can be a sense of putative accomplishment, but energetic depletion at the end of such a day. And if I try to fit a writing session into such a day, most often what I write is simply another thing that I can tick off my to-do list as having accomplished.

For me, doing deep writing is a sacred act, and that includes the need to set it apart from my usual actions and ways of seeing life. It is the setting it apart from the prosaic, the getting-things-done aspect of ordinary life, that reminds me of what is potential within me. It is the silence that allows the words ~ the music, if you will ~ to arise.

There is that place in me ~ is it in you, too? ~ that is convinced that I need to keep doing every moment in order to ensure not only my own personal survival but that the entire universe keeps on going. Of course, the latter is not true at all; the universe's cosmic order does not depend on my doing everything, only what is mine to do. But when the absence of inner silence grows louder and greater, I fall into a place that on the surface looks like I should get some kind of prestigious medal of recognition from our culture, for I am doing up a storm. And yet, in that storm of doing, where is my true being? Subsumed under all that activity and noise. And what would a cultural medal of recognition for having devised and fulfilled my to-do lists then get me? Just more noise, more stress, more time on the treadmill.

The cultivation of inner silence from time to time is medicine not only for our writing, but also for our entire being. It is in silence that what is real has room to show itself, whether that "showing" is in images, in sounds, in sensations, in energies, or in nothing. There is a "nothing" that is so full that it is the pregnant potentiality from which all manifestation, all "somethings," come. We can orient ourselves in that direction, towards the silence, the inner quiet, the place where "nothing" is "happening" ~ until something reveals itself to us, and we know we must and want to follow it. That is the beginning of writing from the deeper Self. First we need to be present to the deeper Self. Then, writing from it is a following of what we receive; an encounter with something true that we do not have to invent or make up, original though it may be. It is a dance of what we don't know with what we do; it is a harmonious song sung by our finite self and our Divine Self. We can't make the words happen, but we can always make ourselves available to that quiet place where what divinely wants to grow and tell itself to us can grow and tell itself to us. We can make ourselves available to become "pregnant" with what is there for us, uniquely, and to carry that seed through to term, until it is complete.

And once we have done that ~ once we have given ourselves to that inception of truth, beauty, whatever other deep and redemptive qualities call us to them ~ we know that we are not "producers" or "manufacturers," but lovers. We have loved our creation into being, even if along the way there was doubt, despair, frustration, the equivalent of morning sickness, procrastination, and all the other ways we humans have of denying our greatness. Once the creation exists (it is a book! it is a paper! it is a painting! it is a song! it is a relationship with a human being whose every gesture, yawn, and aspiration matters to us!), it lives not only in us but also for us. It lives to give us back the joy and pleasure we put into it. It is our child, in a sense, and we have no wish to abandon it to the world, but to bring it into the world like the treasure it is.

And what happens when the world receives it? I don't mean in terms of, "Did you get on Oprah?" I mean in terms of what happens inside the individual people who receive it. My conviction is that they receive it in the same spirit in which you wrote it. If you wrote it with silence as your base, then your book takes your readers into that same universal place, and there they can touch into their own deep nature. Who would not be grateful for that?

Not everyone has the opportunity to go on a silent retreat, or even to spend a stretch of time in nature. But what we do always have with us is our own deep nature. I bless you that if you are writing, or wish to write ~ a book or a shorter work ~ that you can do so from within the sacred silence of your own deep nature. Whether this means setting aside a morning to write in which you do nothing else ~ or clearing the papers off your desk or table, and lighting a candle accompanied by a conscious intention or prayer ~ or even taking a flower essence for writing, such as Rose Press now has available ~ setting aside the world's concerns for a time, so that you can hear the silence within you and allow it to give you something wonderful to follow in words written down, is a gift you can give not only to your writing project, and not only to your eventual readers, but to your own soul.

And this silent, sacred space and time will help to heal the world. Just your doing it. Even before your book hits the stands.

Thisis a way you help the universe keep on going: by being there for it. And then allowing its gifts to take root in you as writing.

©2010 Naomi Rose. All rights reserved.

Next: Intimate Details in Writing

More with Naomi Rose

Listening Your Book into Being

For Fun, Write a Book

First Drafts

Inspired Writing

Your Book Can Heal the World

You are the Treasure Embedded in Your Book

Refining & Being Refined

Writing as a Quest

The Intimate Fruits of a Writing Retreat

Is It Commerce, or Is It Art?

Writing a New Chapter in Your Life

Not-Knowing

Beyond Expertise

Rough Drafts & Revisions

When Books are Less Than Life

Writing in a Spiral

The Value of Completing a Book

Writing as Giving Back

Intimate Details in Writing

A Challenge to Write Long(er)

Antidote to Fear

Writing What Can't Be Said

Creativity Isn't Just Good Ideas

In Praise of the Feminine

Writing as Healing

Pressing Essence into Books

Silence and Slowing Down

Please Yourself

Learning & Playing by Heart

Returning to What Persists

The You Who Writes

Slowing Down and Listening Inside

Interview with Writing Coach Naomi Rose

Describing Sadness in Creative Writing: 33 Ways to Capture the Blues

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on August 25, 2023

Categories Creative Writing , Writing

Describing sadness in creative writing can be a challenging task for any writer.

Sadness is an emotion that can be felt in different ways, and it’s important to be able to convey it in a way that is authentic and relatable to readers. Whether you’re writing a novel, short story, or even a poem, the ability to describe sadness can make or break a story.

Understanding sadness in writing is essential to creating a believable character or scene. Sadness is a complex emotion that can be caused by a variety of factors, such as loss, disappointment, or loneliness. It’s important to consider the context in which the sadness is occurring, as this can influence the way it is expressed.

By exploring the emotional spectrum of characters and the physical manifestations of sadness, writers can create a more authentic portrayal of the emotion.

In this article, we will explore the different ways to describe sadness in creative writing. We will discuss the emotional spectrum of characters, the physical manifestations of sadness, and the language and dialogue used to express it. We’ll also look at expert views on emotion and provide unique examples of describing sadness.

By the end of this article, you’ll have a better understanding of how to authentically convey sadness in your writing.

Key Takeaways

• Understanding the emotional spectrum of characters is essential to creating a believable portrayal of sadness.
• Physical manifestations of sadness can be used to convey the emotion in a more authentic way.
• Authenticity in describing sadness can be achieved through language and dialogue, as well as expert views on emotion.

33 Ways to Express Sadness in Creative Writing

Let’s start with some concrete examples of sadness metaphors and similes:

Here are 33 ways to express sadness in creative writing:

• A heavy sigh escaped her lips as a tear rolled down her cheek.
• His eyes glistened with unleashed tears that he quickly blinked away.
• Her heart felt like it was being squeezed by a cold, metal fist.
• A profound emptiness opened up inside him, threatening to swallow him whole.
• An avalanche of sorrow crashed over her without warning.
• His spirit sank like a stone in water.
• A dark cloud of grief descended on her.
• Waves of sadness washed over him, pulling him under.
• She felt like she was drowning in an ocean of melancholy.
• His eyes darkened with sadness like a gathering storm.
• Grief enveloped her like a wet blanket, heavy and smothering.
• The light in his eyes dimmed to a flicker behind tears.
• Sadness seeped through her veins like icy slush.
• The corners of his mouth drooped like a wilting flower.
• Her breath came in short, ragged gasps between sobs.
• A profound melancholy oozed from his pores.
• The weight of despair crushed her like a vice.
• A haunted, hollow look glazed over his eyes.
• An invisible hand squeezed her heart, wringing out all joy.
• His soul curdled like spoiled milk.
• A silent scream lodged in her throat.
• He was consumed by a fathomless gloom.
• Sorrow pulsed through her veins with every beat of her heart.
• Grief blanketed him like new-fallen snow, numbing and icy.
• Tears stung her eyes like shards of glass.
• A cold, dark abyss of sadness swallowed him.
• Melancholy seeped from her like rain from a leaky roof.
• His spirit shriveled and sank like a deflating balloon.
• A sick, hollow ache blossomed inside her.
• Rivulets of anguish trickled down his cheeks.
• Sadness smothered her like a poisonous fog.
• Gloom settled on his shoulders like a black shroud.
• Her sorrow poured out in a river of tears.

Understanding Sadness in Writing

Describing sadness in writing can be a challenging task.

Sadness is a complex emotion that can manifest in different ways. It can be expressed through tears, sighs, silence, or even a simple change in posture. As a writer, you need to be able to convey sadness effectively to your readers, while also avoiding cliches and melodrama.

One way to approach describing sadness is to focus on the physical sensations and reactions that accompany it. For example, you might describe the feeling of a lump in your throat, or the tightness in your chest. You could also describe the way your eyes become watery, or the way your hands tremble.

These physical descriptions can help your readers to empathize with your characters and feel the same emotions.

Another important aspect of describing sadness is the tone of your writing. You want to strike a balance between conveying the depth of the emotion and avoiding excessive sentimentality.

One way to achieve this is to use simple, direct language that conveys the emotion without resorting to flowery language or overwrought metaphors.

When describing sadness, it’s also important to consider the context in which it occurs. Sadness can be a response to many different situations, such as loss, disappointment, or rejection. It can also be accompanied by other emotions, such as anger, confusion, or melancholy.

By considering the context and accompanying emotions, you can create a more nuanced and realistic portrayal of sadness in your writing.

Finally, it can be helpful to draw on examples of how other writers have successfully described sadness. By studying the techniques and descriptions used by other writers, you can gain a better understanding of how to effectively convey sadness in your own writing.

In conclusion, describing sadness in writing requires a careful balance of physical descriptions, tone, context, and examples. By focusing on these elements, you can create a more nuanced and effective portrayal of this complex emotion.

Emotional Spectrum in Characters

In creative writing, it’s important to create characters that are multi-dimensional and have a wide range of emotions. When it comes to describing sadness, it’s essential to understand the emotional spectrum of characters and how they respond to different situations.

Characters can experience a variety of emotions, including love, happiness, surprise, anger, fear, nervousness, and more.

Each character has a unique personality that influences their emotional responses. For example, a protagonist might respond to sadness with a broken heart, dismay, or feeling desolate.

On the other hand, a character might respond with anger, contempt, or apathy.

When describing sadness, it’s important to consider the emotional response of the character. For example, a haunted character might respond to sadness with exhaustion or a sense of being drained. A crestfallen character might respond with a sense of defeat or disappointment.

It’s also important to consider how sadness affects the character’s personality. Some characters might become withdrawn or depressed, while others might become more emotional or volatile. When describing sadness, it’s important to show how it affects the character’s behavior and interactions with others.

Overall, the emotional spectrum of characters is an important aspect of creative writing. By understanding how characters respond to different emotions, you can create more realistic and relatable characters. When describing sadness, it’s important to consider the character’s emotional response, personality, and behavior.

Physical Manifestations of Sadness

When you’re feeling sad, it’s not just an emotion that you experience mentally. It can also manifest physically. Here are some physical manifestations of sadness that you can use in your creative writing to make your characters more believable.

Tears are one of the most common physical manifestations of sadness. When you’re feeling sad, your eyes may start to water, and tears may fall down your cheeks. Tears can be used to show that a character is feeling overwhelmed with emotion.

Crying is another physical manifestation of sadness. When you’re feeling sad, you may cry. Crying can be used to show that a character is feeling deeply hurt or upset.

Numbness is a physical sensation that can accompany sadness. When you’re feeling sad, you may feel emotionally numb. This can be used to show that a character is feeling disconnected from their emotions.

Facial Expressions

Facial expressions can also be used to show sadness. When you’re feeling sad, your face may droop, and your eyes may look downcast. This can be used to show that a character is feeling down or depressed.

Gestures can also be used to show sadness. When you’re feeling sad, you may slump your shoulders or hang your head. This can be used to show that a character is feeling defeated or hopeless.

Body Language

Body language can also be used to show sadness. When you’re feeling sad, you may cross your arms or hunch over. This can be used to show that a character is feeling closed off or defensive.

Cold and Heat

Sadness can also affect your body temperature. When you’re feeling sad, you may feel cold or hot. This can be used to show that a character is feeling uncomfortable or out of place.

Sobbing is another physical manifestation of sadness. When you’re feeling sad, you may sob uncontrollably. This can be used to show that a character is feeling overwhelmed with emotion.

Sweating is another physical manifestation of sadness. When you’re feeling sad, you may sweat profusely. This can be used to show that a character is feeling anxious or nervous.

By using these physical manifestations of sadness in your writing, you can make your characters more realistic and relatable. Remember to use them sparingly and only when they are relevant to the story.

Authenticity in Describing Sadness

When it comes to describing sadness in creative writing, authenticity is key. Readers can tell when an author is not being genuine, and it can make the story feel less impactful. In order to authentically describe sadness, it’s important to tap into your own emotions and experiences.

Think about a time when you felt truly sad. What did it feel like? What physical sensations did you experience? How did your thoughts and emotions change? By tapping into your own experiences, you can better convey the emotions of your characters.

It’s also important to remember that sadness can manifest in different ways for different people. Some people may cry, while others may become withdrawn or angry. By understanding the unique ways that sadness can present itself, you can create more authentic and realistic characters.

If you’re struggling to authentically describe sadness, consider talking to a loved one or best friend about their experiences. Hearing firsthand accounts can help you better understand the nuances of the emotion.

Ultimately, the key to authentically describing sadness is to approach it with empathy and understanding. By putting yourself in the shoes of your characters and readers, you can create a powerful and impactful story that resonates with your audience.

Language and Dialogue in Expressing Sadness

When writing about sadness, the language you use can make a big difference in how your readers will perceive the emotions of your characters.

Consider using metaphors and similes to create vivid images that will help your readers connect with the emotions of your characters.

For example, you might describe the sadness as a heavy weight on the character’s chest or a dark cloud hanging over their head.

In addition to using metaphors, you can also use adjectives to describe the character’s emotions. Be careful not to overuse adjectives, as this can detract from the impact of your writing. Instead, choose a few powerful adjectives that will help your readers understand the depth of the character’s sadness.

For example, you might describe the sadness as overwhelming, suffocating, or unbearable.

When it comes to dialogue, it’s important to remember that people don’t always express their emotions directly. In fact, sometimes what isn’t said is just as important as what is said.

Consider using subtext to convey the character’s sadness indirectly. For example, a character might say “I’m fine,” when in reality they are struggling with intense sadness.

Another way to use dialogue to convey sadness is through the use of behaviors. For example, a character might withdraw from social situations, stop eating or sleeping properly, or engage in self-destructive behaviors as a result of their sadness.

By showing these behaviors, you can help your readers understand the depth of the character’s emotions.

Finally, when describing sadness, it’s important to consider the overall mood of the scene. Use sensory details to create a somber atmosphere that will help your readers connect with the emotions of your characters.

For example, you might describe the rain falling heavily outside, the silence of an empty room, or the dim lighting of a funeral home.

Overall, when writing about sadness, it’s important to choose your words carefully and use a variety of techniques to convey the depth of your character’s emotions.

By using metaphors, adjectives, dialogue, behaviors, and sensory details, you can create a powerful and emotionally resonant story that will stay with your readers long after they’ve finished reading.

Expert Views on Emotion

When it comes to writing about emotions, it’s important to have a deep understanding of how they work and how they can be conveyed effectively through writing. Here are some expert views on emotion that can help you write about sadness in a more effective and engaging way.

Dr. Paul Ekman

Dr. Paul Ekman is a renowned psychologist who has spent decades studying emotions and their expressions. According to Dr. Ekman, there are six basic emotions that are universally recognized across cultures: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust.

When it comes to writing about sadness, Dr. Ekman suggests focusing on the physical sensations that accompany the emotion.

For example, you might describe the heaviness in your chest, the lump in your throat, or the tears that well up in your eyes. By focusing on these physical sensations, you can help your readers connect with the emotion on a deeper level.

While sadness is often seen as a “negative” emotion, it’s important to remember that all emotions have their place in creative writing. Disgust, for example, can be a powerful tool for conveying a character’s revulsion or aversion to something.

When writing about disgust, it’s important to be specific about what is causing the emotion. For example, you might describe the smell of rotting garbage, the sight of maggots wriggling in a pile of food, or the texture of slimy, raw meat.

By being specific, you can help your readers feel the full force of the emotion and understand why your character is feeling it.

Overall, when it comes to writing about emotions, it’s important to be both specific and authentic. By drawing on your own experiences and using concrete details to describe the physical sensations and causes of emotions, you can create a more engaging and emotionally resonant piece of writing.

Unique Examples of Describing Sadness

When it comes to describing sadness in creative writing, there are many unique ways to convey this emotion to your readers. Here are some examples that can help you create a powerful and moving scene:

• The crying scene : One of the most common ways to show sadness is through tears. However, instead of just saying “she cried,” try to describe the crying scene in detail. For instance, you could describe how her tears fell like raindrops on the floor, or how her sobs shook her body like a violent storm. This will help your readers visualize the scene and feel the character’s pain.
• The socks : Another way to show sadness is through symbolism. For example, you could describe how the character is wearing mismatched socks, which represents how her life is falling apart and nothing seems to fit together anymore. This can be a subtle yet effective way to convey sadness without being too obvious.
• John : If your character is named John, you can use his name to create a sense of melancholy. For example, you could describe how the raindrops fell on John’s shoulders, weighing him down like the burdens of his life. This can be a creative way to convey sadness while also adding depth to your character.

Remember, when describing sadness in creative writing, it’s important to be specific and use vivid language. This will help your readers connect with your character on a deeper level and feel their pain.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some effective ways to describe a person’s sadness without using the word ‘sad’.

When describing sadness, it’s important to avoid using the word “sad” as it can come across as cliché and lackluster. Instead, try using more descriptive words that evoke a sense of sadness in the reader. For example, you could use words like “heartbroken,” “bereft,” “devastated,” “despondent,” or “forlorn.” These words help to create a more vivid and emotional description of sadness that readers can connect with.

How can you describe the physical manifestations of sadness on a person’s face?

When describing the physical manifestations of sadness on a person’s face, it’s important to pay attention to the small details. For example, you could describe the way their eyes become red and swollen from crying, or how their mouth trembles as they try to hold back tears. You could also describe the way their shoulders slump or how they withdraw into themselves. By focusing on these small but telling details, you can create a more realistic and relatable portrayal of sadness.

What are some examples of using metaphor and simile to convey sadness in creative writing?

Metaphors and similes can be powerful tools for conveying sadness in creative writing. For example, you could compare a person’s sadness to a heavy weight that they’re carrying on their shoulders, or to a storm cloud that follows them wherever they go. You could also use metaphors and similes to describe the way sadness feels, such as a “gnawing ache” in the pit of their stomach or a “cold, empty void” inside their chest.

How can you effectively convey the emotional weight of sadness through dialogue?

When writing dialogue for a character who is experiencing sadness, it’s important to focus on the emotions and feelings that they’re experiencing. Use short, simple sentences to convey the character’s sadness, and avoid using overly complex language or metaphors. You could also use pauses and silences to create a sense of emotional weight and tension in the scene.

What are some techniques for describing a character’s inner sadness in a way that is relatable to the reader?

One effective technique for describing a character’s inner sadness is to focus on their thoughts and feelings. Use introspection to delve into the character’s emotions and describe how they’re feeling in a way that is relatable to the reader. You could also use flashbacks or memories to show why the character is feeling sad, and how it’s affecting their current actions and decisions.

How can you use sensory language to create a vivid portrayal of sadness in a poem or story?

Sensory language is an effective way to create a vivid portrayal of sadness in a poem or story. Use descriptive words that evoke the senses, such as the smell of rain on a sad day or the sound of a distant train whistle. You could also use sensory language to describe the physical sensations of sadness, such as the weight of a heavy heart or the taste of tears on the tongue. By using sensory language, you can create a more immersive and emotional reading experience for your audience.

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Strategies of silence : reflections on the practice and pedagogy of creative writing

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Creators/contributors, contents/summary.

• Introduction: On Silence in Language and Writing Moy McCrory and Simon Heywood
• PART 1: Silence, Solitude, and Imagination
• Daydreams and Solitude: Working the silent space Luke M. Thompson
• PART 2: History and Traditions
• Restored to his Kingdom: Reading the silences of medieval narrative Simon Heywood
• Silver Threads of Fear: Restoring the agency of female protagonists in Jewish women's storytelling traditions Simon Heywood
• The Roaring Ghosts: Depictions of female silence and its oppositions Moy McCrory
• Re-Witching Writing: Emerging out of silence Maude Casey
• PART 3: The Poetry of Silence
• Strange Affiliation Matthew Clegg
• A Poor Poetry: Silence and stillness in Thomas A. Clark's Moschatel poems Aled Ganobscik-Williams
• Making Worlds out of Silence: A text-world analysis of the unspoken in Not an Ending by Andrew Waterhouse Nigel McLoughlin
• Firstly, into Silence: Openings into Poetry Adrian Buckner
• PART 4: Silence as Structure: Prose, Script, and the Unsaid
• Silence and the Short Story Form Moy McCrory
• Graphic Novels as Works of Translation: working as an illustrator
• Bob Moulder
• Silence and Filmic Prose Gregory Heath
• Matthew Cheeseman
• PART 5: The Waiting Game
• The Silence of Peer Review Ailsa Cox
• Appendix 1: Text World Architecture of 'Not an Ending'.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

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Pace, pause & silence: Creating emphasis & suspense in your writing

• The Writer's Craft
• Open access
• Published: 18 December 2019
• Volume 9 , pages 57–59, ( 2020 )

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Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech – Martin Tupper

In the Writer’s Craft section we offer simple tips to improve your writing in one of three areas: Energy, Clarity and Persuasiveness. Each entry focuses on a key writing feature or strategy, illustrates how it commonly goes wrong, teaches the grammatical underpinnings necessary to understand it and offers suggestions to wield it effectively. We encourage readers to share comments on or suggestions for this section on Twitter, using the hashtag: #how’syourwriting?

Winston Churchill is said to have annotated his speeches with reminders to himself about rhythm and tempo—when to be silent, when to appear to struggle for the right word, when to pause for audience response (whether heckling or applause). His oratory, as a consequence, felt more like psalm than prose. Like other effective public speakers, Churchill knew that what is not said impacts the audience as much as what is. A pregnant pause whets appetites. An unanswered question hangs heavily. An abrupt redirection defers logical resolution. Wouldn’t it be lovely if writing could offer the same possibility?

It can. Prose need not always be a fast-flowing faucet, and readers need not be continuously engulfed. Pacing, pause and silence are important tools in your writing. Knowing the conventions of punctuation and syntax allows you to bend them strategically in order to both help your readers pay attention and enlist them into productive engagement with your ideas. This Writer’s Craft describes how to use punctuation and sentence structure to create emphasis and suspense in your research writing.

Punctuation

Punctuation is not only grammatical; it is also rhetorical. You can use it for persuasion, to shape the reader’s experience. Because all forms of punctuation temper the forward motion of your prose, they are tools for pacing and silence, for producing anticipation and resolution, curiosity and satisfaction. Periods and exclamations are the strongest punctuation, bringing the reader to a complete stop, a sense of an idea resolved. While a question mark creates a complete stop, it has the opposite effect. It implies an answer, creating a moment of silence in the prose that produces suspense. You can extend that silence, perhaps by ending the paragraph with a question and answering it in the next paragraph. Or you can shorten the silence by providing an immediate answer:

Too often, our development as writers relies on trial and error, haphazard feedback, accidental improvements. Sad, but does it matter? Too often, our development as writers relies on trial and error, haphazard feedback, accidental improvements. Sad, but does it matter? Only if we hope to find joy in our work.

Colons also allow you to instil anticipation: they’re like an intake of breath before revealing an illustration or a list. The ellipsis creates a drifting pause but … likely an unusual technique to find in a scholarly manuscript. Commas and semi-colons are a lighter harness but still curb the headlong flow of your prose. Commas, with their origins in antiquity and the elocutional school of punctuation [ 1 ], indicate intonation and pauses in oral speech, and they retain some of this flavour in writing. Semi-colons in particular help signal shifts in logic. Used properly, they tell the reader to gather herself for a development; however, used poorly, they send her on fruitless searches for mid-sentence meaning.

Work-based learning is central to postgraduate medical education; ethical issues rarely get attention.

In this sentence, the semi-colon presents a moment of intense work for the reader, who must ascertain what ethical issues have to do with the centrality of work-based learning in postgraduate medical education. The semi-colon’s promise of logical development remains unfulfilled and the reader is left wondering. That kind of pause you don’t want to cultivate.

Punctuating for pace is also a way to craft a particular writer’s voice in a piece. Seeking drama? Try short sentences. Their strong, staccato pacing results as much from the pauses between them as from their brevity. Trying for a conversational tone? Brackets take the reader on a brief detour from the main idea and create a sense of (hopefully purposeful) meandering. Similarly, the em dash—famously loved or hated—takes a momentary sidestep away from the main logic. Use it to set up whispered asides or provocative barbs. Take care though: brackets and dashes are boutique punctuation tools that can annoy the reader. Brackets, because they leave the reader to infer how the bracketed material integrates into the argument, can imply lazy thinking if you overuse them. Ask a trusted reader for honest feedback if you have tried to use punctuation for rhetorical effect and you wonder if you might have crossed the line.

Syntax is the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern how we construct sentences. Three aspects of syntax—sentence structure, subject-verb placement, and word order inversion—are described below as tools for pacing and emphasis.

First, you can employ sentence types to control the pacing of your prose. In a previous Writer’s Craft, we considered the structure and purposes of three sentence types: simple, compound and complex [ 2 ]. Consider this example:

My scholarly life is inextricably bound up with words. I write them to understand my research results. I read them to cultivate my ideas. I speak them to engage my colleagues. I publish them to share my knowledge.

Because all of these sentences are simple in their structure, there is a sense of strong, regular pacing. Parallelism enhances this pacing by creating a metronomic rhythm through the repeating subject/verb/object construction: ‘I write them’, ‘I read them’, ‘I speak them’, ‘I publish them’. Of course, you can’t continue ad nauseam in this pacing or your prose will sound like a primary school, Dick-and-Jane reader, plodding along rather than marching ahead. Pacing only works rhetorically when it is purposeful and varied. So perhaps we should quicken the pace in the next sentence by distilling the parallel structure down to two parallel lists of verbs:

My scholarly life is inextricably bound up with words. I write them to understand my research results. I read them to cultivate my ideas. I speak them to engage my colleagues. I publish them to share my knowledge. I love, covet and despise them; I create, destroy and mourn them.

It is not so much the simple sentence structure in this example that creates the pacing, it is the combination of simple structure, parallelism and distilling of the pattern.

Sentence structure doesn’t dictate pace; it’s a tool you use to create pace. Consider the following three sentences. They are all complex in structure, which means they have a main clause and a subordinate clause. The subordinate clause is just that—it is subordinate to, its information assigned less importance than that in the main clause. The subordinate clause is also transportable: you can put it at the beginning, the end, or somewhere mid-sentence.

Direct observation remains a rare commodity in medical education, although we insist on its importance for authentic feedback. Although we insist on its importance for authentic feedback, direct observation remains a rare commodity in medical education. Direct observation, although we insist on its importance for authentic feedback, remains a rare commodity in medical education.

The decision about how to position the two clauses should not be random. Rather, it should reflect the ‘given-new principle’ governing the ordering of information in a sentence, which states that known (given) information should precede new in order to maximize cohesion [ 3 ]. Each of the above examples, therefore, suggests a different assumption about what the reader already knows, and what is new to them. If we make such assumptions consciously as writers, we can play with emphasis and suspense.

Another method to create emphasis in your writing is by altering conventional subject/verb positioning. In English, the subject and the verb are the dominant meaning slots in the sentence, and the convention is to place them side by side in order to decrease the reader’s cognitive load. Every convention, however, presents a rhetorical opportunity to improvise for effect. Purposefully separating the subject and verb can create emphasis because the inserted phrase elaborates on the just-introduced subject, insisting the reader pause there rather than immediately landing on the verb.

Qualitative research methods, rare twenty years ago in medical education, have now become a popular approach to knowledge creation in our field.

Be careful not to create too much distance between subject and verb when you use this technique. As Sword cautions, when we separate subject and verb ‘by more than about a dozen words, readers quickly lose the plot’ (61) [ 4 ].

Another way to play with syntax for emphasis is word order inversion. Every language falls into one of six word-order types [ 5 ]. English belongs to the subject - verb - object type, in which the natural order is to place the subject first. Alter that order, referred to as ‘inversion’, and you change the emphasis:

We value reliability and validity above all else in high stakes assessments. Reliability and validity we value above all else in high stakes assessments.

When you invert subject-verb-object word order, listen carefully for what happens to tone:

We need to change if our educational practices are going to embrace medicine’s humanity. And change we will .

This example moves part of the verb before the subject to emphasize the word ‘change’. But it perhaps sounds a bit … archaic? Yoda-esque? Knowing some of the more common uses of inversion can help you adopt this technique without just sounding odd. Inversion is used with negative adverbs:

Rarely does the medical education literature position itself socio-historically.

It may also be used when a sentence starts with an adverbial expression of place:

From the sciences comes our expectation of objectivity; from the humanities comes our embrace of subjectivity .

Inversion is how we create questions:

Are entrustment decisions more reliable than conventional assessments?

And it is used with ‘so + adjective’ constructions:

So ubiquitous is the call for more direct observation , that the act of questioning its feasibility in clinical training seems somewhat sacrilegious.

Because each of these inversion techniques works implicitly, through the absence of an expected pattern, they offer tools for creating subtle emphasis.

Pacing, pause and silence are important tools in your writing. Knowing the conventions of punctuation and syntax allows you to bend them strategically in order to both help your readers pay attention and enlist them into productive engagement with your ideas. Remember though, there is a fine line between cultivating a curious, engaged reader and creating a frustrated, disengaged one. Pacing is a delicate aspect of the writer’s craft. Use it wisely.

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Lingard, L. Pace, pause & silence: Creating emphasis & suspense in your writing. Perspect Med Educ 9 , 57–59 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-019-00556-1

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How To Describe Night In Writing (100 Best Words + Examples)

As a writer, I know all too well the challenges that come with describing the essence of the night.

That’s why I’ve put together this guide to help you master the art of writing about the night.

Here is how to describe night in writing:

Describe night in writing by using vivid sensory details, metaphors, and character reactions to evoke the atmosphere, emotions, and complexities of the nocturnal world. Shift night imagery for unforgettable storytelling in different genres.

Keep reading to learn over 100 words and examples of how to describe night in writing.

Understanding the Intricacies of Nighttime Descriptions

Table of Contents

When it comes to understanding nighttime descriptions, it’s essential to recognize the intricacies of night.

And to develop a keen eye for the subtle details that set it apart from the day.

As daylight gradually fades, elements like the absence of light, the emergence of shadows, and the contrast between sounds and silence become crucial for painting a vivid picture of the night.

Night has the unique ability to transform any setting into a canvas for significant character actions or revelations. It lends itself to engaging the senses and conjuring emotions that resonate with the human experience. To effectively capture the essence of night, a writer must skilfully navigate the intricacies of this complex landscape.

Different writing techniques for night scenes can bring to life the rich tapestry of the nocturnal world, fostering a connection with readers and inviting them to immerse themselves in the story.

Here are a few pointers to keep in mind:

• Observe how objects and characters cast shadows under the moonlight, creating a play of light and darkness that can heighten the drama and atmosphere of a scene.
• Consider the unique sounds of the night, such as the hoot of an owl, the rustle of leaves, or the whisper of the wind as it weaves through branches.
• Pay attention to the interplay between the senses and the emotions of the night, with silence often evoking a profound sense of awe, mystery, or solitude.

Mastering the art of nighttime descriptions requires both an eye for detail and an understanding of its inherent metaphorical value.

By seamlessly weaving the literal and the metaphorical, a writer can craft a gripping night scene that transports readers into the heartbeat of the story’s world.

The Role of Atmosphere in Crafting Night Scenes

The atmosphere is pivotal in night scene descriptions, guiding the reader’s emotions and setting the narrative tone.

Vivid sensory experiences help in concocting an immersive atmosphere that is as tangible to the reader as the darkness itself.

In this section, we will explore the importance of sensory details and emotions in nighttime narratives, and how they intertwine with our inner thoughts, making night scenes richer and more engaging.

Setting the Tone with Sensory Details

Sensory details can capture the essence of a night scene, evoking the night’s quiet majesty.

They provide a backdrop for reflective moments and draw the reader into the story using the five senses. Consider some sensory details that you can use to bring your night scene to life:

• Visual: The moon casting a soft, silver glow on a quiet street.
• Auditory: The distant hoot of an owl or the haunting whisper of the wind.
• Olfactory: The crisp, cool air carrying the faint scent of fresh blossoms.
• Touch: The dampness of dew-covered grass beneath the character’s feet.
• Taste: The character savoring a warm drink on a chilly night.

By including these sensory details, you can set the tone of your night scenes and create a vivid, atmospheric setting that envelops the reader.

Emotions and the Night: Reflecting Inner Thoughts

The interplay of emotions and nighttime is a powerful narrative device.

Night can mirror a character’s inner thoughts and serve as a metaphor for the turmoil, tranquility, or mystery they experience.

It is a period of contemplation, amplifying the character’s emotional state, whether it’s the euphoria of falling stars or the agitation of shadows that resemble past fears.

To harness the emotional power of night, consider these tips:

• Align sensory impressions with the character’s psychological state. For example, the sharp coldness of the night could reflect their inner turmoil.
• Contrast the night’s serenity with the character’s emotional upheaval, heightening the impact of their internal struggles.
• Utilize the darkness as a catalyst for introspection, prompting the character to dig deeper into their thoughts and feelings.

Ultimately, by aligning sensory impressions with psychological states, night scenes become a medium to delve deeper into the corners of the character’s psyche.

Combine sensory details and emotions to create atmospheric night settings that resonate with readers.

Utilizing a Rich Vocabulary to Portray Night

Effectively portraying a night in writing relies heavily on a rich vocabulary.

The proper selection of descriptive words not only evokes different shades of night but also conveys various emotions and atmospheres. Whether describing the color of the sky or the feel of nocturnal air, careful word choice can transport readers into the night scene you create.

Incorporating a range of sensory words and varying degrees of specificity can enhance your nighttime descriptions.

For example, simple but potent words like  quiet  set the tone, while more specific color descriptors such as  crimson  or  azure  paint a distinct picture of the night in the reader’s mind.

Below is a table showcasing different words and phrases that can be used to portray various aspects of the night:

Tapping into this diverse vocabulary allows you to craft vivid and immersive night scenes.

Each word carries unique connotations that can resonate with the reader, enhancing their connection to the narrative.

When used effectively, these descriptive words for the night can transform your writing, painting a vibrant picture of the night and drawing readers further into your story.

30 Best Words to Describe Night in Writing

When it comes to describing night scenes in writing, the choice of words plays a crucial role in painting a vivid picture.

Here are 30 of the best words to help you capture the essence of the night:

• Star-studded

30 Best Phrases to Describe Night in Writing

Crafting a captivating night scene often involves using descriptive phrases that evoke the atmosphere and emotions of the nocturnal world.

Here are 30 of the best phrases to help you master the art of describing night in writing:

• “The moon cast a soft, silver glow.”
• “Stars adorned the velvety sky.”
• “Shadows danced in the moonlight.”
• “The night was cloaked in mystery.”
• “A serene, moonlit meadow stretched before us.”
• “The darkness whispered secrets.”
• “Nocturnal creatures stirred in the silence.”
• “The night sky was a canvas of stars.”
• “Moonbeams kissed the earth.”
• “The night held its breath.”
• “Darkness enveloped everything.”
• “The stars blinked like diamonds.”
• “The moon hung low, a glowing orb.”
• “The night was alive with whispers.”
• “A blanket of stars covered the sky.”
• “The night air was cool and crisp.”
• “Shadows played tricks on the senses.”
• “The night exuded a sense of enchantment.”
• “The world was bathed in moonlight.”
• “Silence settled like a shroud.”
• “The night was a tapestry of shadows.”
• “The stars shimmered with a celestial grace.”
• “The moonlight painted everything in silver.”
• “The night was a realm of dreams.”
• “The darkness held its secrets close.”
• “The night sky was a sea of stars.”
• “The night whispered of ancient mysteries.”
• “The moon’s glow was a guiding light.”
• “Shadows clung to the edges of reality.”
• “The night was a time for reflection.”

Writing Techniques: Going Beyond the Visuals

When crafting an engaging nighttime scene, writers must venture beyond the visuals to captivate the reader fully.

Using sounds and the sense of touch is essential for developing a rich, multi-dimensional narrative.

This section delves into incorporating sounds and silence for dramatic effect and the touch and texture of darkness in writing.

Incorporating Sounds and Silence for Effect

The sounds of night can have powerful effects on the atmosphere and emotional impact of a scene.

Thundering roars, rustling leaves, or the sudden absence of sound can all contribute to the mood of a scene. These auditory cues help create a vivid, believable setting for readers to immerse themselves in.

Consider incorporating the following techniques to represent the sounds of night and the role of silence in your writing:

• Use auditory details  to paint a fuller picture of the environment.
• Utilize silence  as a storytelling device, heightening suspense or emphasizing a moment of reflection.
• Experiment with sound  to create contrast and tension within a scene.

Silence in writing can be as impactful as the sounds themselves, emphasizing the stark difference between the quiet of the night and the sudden eruption of noise that disrupts the calm.

The Touch and Texture of Darkness

Describing touch at night is another essential aspect of crafting a compelling nighttime scene.

The tactile experience of the night is as evocative as its visual counterpart, with the cool breeze raising goosebumps, the damp fog clinging to the skin, and the unsettling sensation of unseen objects brushing against a character.

When done effectively, these tactile descriptions in writing can make the darkness feel like a comforting shroud or an ominous presence looming over the narrative.

The following list includes tips on including touch and texture in your writing:

• Describe the night’s touch  as it interacts with the character’s skin, clothing, and surroundings.
• Highlight the texture of darkness , including the roughness or smoothness of surfaces, the dampness of fog, or a character’s emotional response to the touch of night.
• Consider how the sense of touch  contributes to character development and advances the story’s plot.

Colorful Language: Painting the Night in Words

Descriptive language is essential in painting the night scene, employing shades like “scarlet,” “indigo,” or “emerald” to depict the sky’s canvas.

Such language transforms the scene into a vivid tableau, enabling readers to visualize the unique hues and tones the night unfolds.

Descriptive words for colors like “burgundy” or “magenta” not only portray the scene but also add emotional weight, enhancing the reader’s connection to the narrative.

Let us explore the variety of words that can be employed to describe the myriad shades and hues of the night sky:

Maximizing Impact with Metaphors and Similes

Metaphors and similes are essential tools in the arsenal of a writer, allowing them to create rich and expressive night descriptions.

These literary devices make it possible for writers to craft relatable, evocative scenes that draw powerful parallels between nighttime and universal experiences, enriching the narrative and fostering deeper connections with the reader’s own memories and emotions.

Comparing Nighttime to Universal Experiences

Similes and metaphors have the power to transform ordinary descriptions into captivating and imaginative prose.

They can liken the dark to a velvet blanket that envelops the world in its gentle embrace or compare stars to a multitude of diamonds scattered across the heavens, casting their ethereal glow upon the earth below. By relating nighttime to familiar experiences, writers can breathe life into their descriptions, making them truly memorable and vivid.

When employing metaphors and similes in your writing, consider the following examples:

• The night sky unfolded like an ebony tapestry, with the constellations embroidered in silver threads.
• Shadows danced and flickered on the walls, creating a haunting ballet of light and dark.
• The moon’s radiance carved a shimmering path across the water, mirroring the celestial bridge found in ancient myths.

Keep in mind the importance of balance when using metaphors and similes in your writing.

Overuse can lead to cluttered prose and detract from the impact of your descriptions. Use these devices sparingly and thoughtfully, ensuring they effectively enhance your narrative rather than overwhelming it.

Character Reactions and the Night: A Dynamic Tool

Exploring character reactions to the night serves as a dynamic storytelling tool in writing.

A character’s interaction with the night can range from a confrontation with their fears to a moment of serenity or revelation. Emotional responses to the night are as diverse as the characters themselves, allowing for the exploration of profound personal journeys influenced by the cloak of darkness.

These reactions can serve as a pivot for character development or as key moments that drive the plot forward.

In order to successfully incorporate character reactions to night into a story, consider the following aspects:

• Understanding the character’s background and personality, in order to establish how they might react to the night.
• Identifying how the night setting can influence each character’s inner emotions and thought processes.
• Developing a natural progression of the character’s journey, from initial reactions to ultimate revelations or actions.
• Utilizing sensory details, such as sights, sounds, and textures, to heighten the emotional response and connection of the character to their surroundings.
• Employing narrative devices, such as flashbacks or introspection, to delve deeper into the character’s past experiences and how they relate to their current situation.

Notable authors have expertly utilized character reactions to night to enrich their narratives.

For example, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s  The Great Gatsby , the nighttime setting serves as a backdrop for Gatsby’s extravagant parties, highlighting his desires and insecurities.

In contrast, the darkness of night in Charlotte Brontë’s  Jane Eyre  signifies Jane’s feelings of isolation and despair as she struggles to navigate societal expectations and discover her own identity.

The table below outlines various emotional responses to the night and how they can contribute to writing character dynamics:

Writing about the Darkness: Invoking Mystery and Fear

Writing about darkness has the power to reach into our core, tapping into primal emotions such as mystery and fear.

It serves as both a metaphorical and literal backdrop for danger, unknown elements, or even supernatural encounters.

By employing darkness as a narrative driver, writers can create experiences that keep readers on the edge of their seats, cementing engagement and intrigue.

Using Darkness to Drive the Narrative

When incorporating darkness into a story, there are several strategies that can drive the narrative forward.

These strategies contribute to a tense atmosphere and lie in setting up obstacles for characters, stirring tension, and laying the groundwork for suspenseful action.

The unknown aspects of the night provide a myriad of opportunities to cultivate fear and mystery in the reader’s mind.

Here is a chart that breaks down some helpful strategies:

Exploring the Twofold Nature of Night’s Tranquility and Turbulence

The twofold nature of night is a fascinating element in storytelling, offering writers countless opportunities to craft engaging narratives that capture the essence of both tranquil night scenes and turbulent night writing.

As the darkness wraps itself around the world, it reveals the duality of night.

You can use this duality to showcase how peaceful moments can intertwine with chaotic events, reflecting the complexities of human emotions and experiences.

To understand the twofold nature of night, let’s first delve into the serenity that can envelop the nocturnal landscape.

Tranquil night scenes depict nature at its most peaceful, showcasing a world untouched by human worries.

Stars glitter above, casting a calming glow upon the quiet earth below, while the gentle rustle of leaves sings a lullaby to the slumbering world. These moments of stillness can provide the most evocative settings for introspection, personal growth, or emotional connection between characters.

On the other hand, turbulent night writing employs darkness to create tension, suspense, or fear.

The howling wind and stormy skies set in stark contrast to the serenity of tranquil night scenes. These moments serve to bring out the raw, primal emotions within characters, forcing them to confront adversity, battle their fears, or come face-to-face with their deepest anxieties.

The Power of Short Sentences and Fragments in Night Imagery

Short sentences and fragments wield considerable power in night imagery.

This writing technique reinforces the themes of darkness and night by mimicking the shadows and disjointed glimpses that emerge in low light.

It creates a rhythm reflective of the night’s ebb and flow.

You can guide the reader through the narrative in abrupt, sometimes breathless, spurts that can increase tension or underscore a moment of clarity within the darkness.

Consider these examples:

• Stars blinked in and out. A hush fell. Shadows danced.
• Moonlight sliced through darkness. Cold air whispered. Teeth chattered.
• Rain lashed the window. Thunder menaced. Breath shuddered.

Each example above showcases short sentences or fragments that mimic the fleeting nature of night scenes.

By truncating the length of sentences, the writer sets a  distinctive tempo —one that effectively captures the essence of night and transports the reader into the story.

Fragments in particular can serve as impactful standalone statements, leaving room for interpretation and heightening the sense of mystery. Not confined by traditional grammatical rules, they are free to support or disrupt a narrative flow, making them potent tools for night imagery.

She hesitated. Darkness clawed at her heart. Eerie silence.

In the example above, the fragment “ Eerie silence ” punctuates the sequence and provokes a sense of unease through its abruptness.

Fragments like this one become a powerful storytelling device in night imagery, condensing tension or emotion into brief, visceral moments.

Here is a good video about writing techniques you can use to describe night in writing:

Describe Crying in Writing—Without the Clichés

When your characters start to cry in your story, you want readers to be able to sympathize with them. When your characters are pouring their heart out, overcome by grief, or overjoyed at reconnecting with someone who they thought had died, the last thing you want is for your readers to be bored—or worse, rolling their eyes.

And yet, most writers fall short when trying to convey such strong emotions. If you want to write truly powerful emotional scenes, you need to be able to write them in ways no one has ever heard before. Language like “tears welled up in his eyes” or “his voice cracked” just isn’t going to cut it. You need to use language that allows readers to feel exactly what the character is going through, and you can’t do that by relying on plain language or clichés. 

How to Avoid Writing Clichés when Describing Crying

The first method for making your crying scenes more dramatic is to cut out the clichés, but first, you need to be sure you understand what a cliché is. A cliché is a phrase, idea, or story element that has been overused to the point of being annoying. Some examples are:

• When a character screams “noooo!” up at the sky.
• When a character cries in the rain.
• The phrase “crying a river of tears.”
• When a character’s heart “hammers” or “pounds.”
• The phrase “a blood-curdling scream.” 

I’m sure you get the idea. However, traditional clichés aren’t the only things you’ll need to be on the lookout for in your own writing. 

There are certain gestures and physical descriptions that aren’t exactly cliché but are overused to the point that they have a similar effect on readers. For example, take the gesture “she wiped at her eyes.” Wiping tears away is a common reaction to crying. It’s something people actually do, and often . So why is it a problem? 

When a writer uses gestures like a character wiping at their eyes or chewing on their lip, they are attempting to “show” how the character is feeling without explicitly telling readers “she is crying.” In theory, that’s a good thing, but by relying on the same phrases that every writer utilizes, their character will feel like a cookie-cutter copy of every other character who’s ever cried. How many times have you read any of the following?

• She wiped at her eyes.
• He sniffled between words. 
• She sighed heavily, letting her head drop.
• Tears welled up in their eyes.
• A single tear rolled down his cheek. 
• He felt his throat closing up.
• Tears streamed down her face.
• He looked close to tears. 

In general, if you’ve read it before (especially more than once), it’s probably a good idea to find a more creative way to write what you’re trying to convey. Use metaphors and similes to create more visceral feelings, and don’t be afraid to describe things strangely. You can always work backward to make weird imagery more relatable. 

For example, instead of saying that a character’s throat is constricting because they’re about to cry, say that it’s like they’re struggling to swallow down a still-beating heart. 

That imagery is slimy, visceral, and uncomfortable, but it likens itself quite well to the sensation of anxiously forcing down tears. Emotions can be uncomfortable, so don’t be afraid of using uncomfortable imagery to describe them. 

Writing Different Types of Crying

People don’t just cry when they are sad. The situations in which characters can shed tears are wildly diverse, ranging from receiving a thoughtful gift to watching a horrible tragedy unfold before them. Characters can cry because they are joyful, frustrated, angry, disappointed, confused, relieved, and a number of other emotions. The tone of your description should match how the character is feeling.

Not only are there different emotions behind a character’s tears, but there are also different levels of intensity to each emotion. The words you use should be reflective of that too. The words “weeping” and “sobbing” are not perfect synonyms for the word “crying.” If a character is sobbing, they are going to be gasping for air, overcome with emotion—they may even curl up or heave.

If your character starts sobbing after a minor inconvenience, readers aren’t going to feel bad for them. Rather, they’ll just be annoyed by the character’s overdramatic reaction. Take that same reaction, however, and apply it to a scene in which another character dies, and suddenly, it becomes powerful.

However, human emotions are complex and varied, so your characters could have many other reasons for breaking down besides just “sadness.” In addition to that, emotions are rarely expressed as separate experiences. Rather, emotions overlap and twist together, making them much harder to portray in the written word. 

If you want some quick tips and pointers for portraying complex emotions, I cover the topic more in-depth in another article: How to Describe Facial Expressions in Writing . For now, let’s dive into how different emotions can alter a character’s behavior as they cry. 

Sadness is a broad emotion, so the context for why your character is crying is important for understanding how they are crying. The way someone cries when watching a sad movie is going to be very different from how they cry after receiving sad news.

In general, when a character cries out of pure sadness, with no other emotions influencing their behavior, they are likely to cry quietly. Sadness is a numbing emotion, so characters who cry out of sadness would be rather subdued. Common responses include curling up in a ball, chewing on their lower lip, and prolonged periods of simply not moving. Tears may be wiped away, or allowed to freely flow down the character’s face.

If you want to give your readers insight into how the character is feeling as they are crying, focus on the numbing aspect of sadness. Your character may feel physically and mentally deadened, tired, and even nauseous. They may also feel isolated from others as if they are alone in their suffering and no one understands, even if that isn’t necessarily true. Depending on the character, they may seek comfort from others, or withdraw to compose themself alone. 

Happy Crying

When a character is crying out of happiness, their response is going to depend on the context as well. Crying after receiving a big surprise, such as an expensive gift or an acceptance letter to a great college, is going to look different from a character crying on their wedding day. 

When a character is crying happy tears, they are likely to gasp frequently, cover their mouth with their hands, and speak in a high-pitched tone. They are also likely to emote exaggeratedly with their body, such as bowing over, bouncing up and down, fanning their face with their hands, or clapping. In more subdued settings, such as a wedding, the character may restrain their emotions and simply cry openly with a sincere smile on their face. 

Feelings of happiness are difficult to describe, but that doesn’t mean you should shy away from giving readers insight into the character’s mind. When a character cries out of happiness, they are likely going to be overwhelmed with joy, excitement, or even disbelief. Characters are also much more likely to cry happy tears if they think they don’t deserve whatever is making them happy. 

Angry Crying

Anger doesn’t always lend itself to tears, but when it does, it has specific and predictable effects on a character’s behavior. A character may cry angry tears when they are being treated unfairly, are arguing with someone, or have been hurt emotionally.

When a character gets angry, that triggers an adrenaline reaction (their “fight-or-flight” response to stress or danger). Adrenaline drives how they behave while they cry, and it may cause them to tremble, raise their voice, become red in the face, sputter, and breathe much faster than normal. Depending on the character, they may wrap their arms around themself defensively, curl their hands into fists, or lash out with aggressive gestures. 

If you want to describe how that feels from the character’s perspective, a good theme to focus on is temperature. Anger is often described as “searing” or “boiling,” and it can feel as if they are burning up inside. When anger drives a character to tears, it is usually because their emotions have reached a breaking point and must be released. 

For more tips on writing about anger, take a look at Writing a Character with Anger Issues .

Embarrassed Crying

Embarrassment by itself is often enough to motivate a character to cry. Whether they have been humiliated in front of their friends, made an embarrassing mistake, or said something stupid without thinking, embarrassment can result in a strong emotional response. If handled well, you may also allow your readers to feel your character’s pain, through the phenomenon of second-hand embarrassment . 

A character crying out of embarrassment is, above all else, going to hide away from others. They may cover their face with their hands, curl up as small as possible, and try to withdraw from other people. Though it depends on the character’s personality, most of the time, they will seek to be alone out of fear of being judged for whatever caused the embarrassment.

To give your readers insight into how the character is feeling, you should allow your character to overthink how others would respond to witnessing the embarrassing event. They may feel shame and fear, and they are likely going to feel quite self-conscious about themself and their abilities. They may even feel ashamed of their reaction to the embarrassment, and try to hide the fact that they are crying. 

Scared Crying

Not everyone cries when they are frightened, but it is not an unusual response. Some characters may cry after being spooked for a prank, while others may only break down when they genuinely fear for their life.

When a character cries out of fear, they will experience a rush of adrenaline (just like with angry crying!) They will experience tears along with the typical reactions to adrenaline, like increased heart rate, a flushed face, and faster breathing. They are also likely to freeze in place, stammer, tremble, and whine. 

Fear is a powerful emotion, and it can dominate a character’s thoughts and actions. When a character is afraid, they might not even be aware of their tears until after the danger has passed. Rather, the character is going to be focused on what they are doing to eliminate or escape from whatever they are afraid of.

Pained Crying

Pain is another common reason for characters to shed tears, and it is often unavoidable even for ordinarily stoic characters. For some, crying might be their response to any amount of pain or discomfort, while others may need to be pushed to the point of agony before they shed tears. Either way, pained crying can look different depending on the type of pain and the character affected by it. 

When a character is crying because of acute pain, such as a sudden wound, they are likely to cry out or groan loudly, curl up in a ball, or exhibit reactions similar to scared crying. However, when a character has been experiencing chronic pain for some time, they may simply break down from the exhaustion of having to put up with that all the time.

It can be tough to get into the head of a character in pain. Pain can overshadow other thoughts and feelings, or intensify negative emotions like anger, fear, or sadness. If your character is afraid for some reason, either of whatever hurt them, for the safety of their friends, or for their own survival, now would be a good time for them to hyper-fixate on that fear—and their own inability to do anything about it. 

Disappointed Crying

Disappointment is an emotion that includes elements of sadness, anger, and even embarrassment. When a character was looking forward to something, such as a gift, a trip, an event, or something else, and is let down, they express disappointment that the situation doesn’t go as they envisioned it. They may be angry at whatever messed up their plans, angry or ashamed at themself for being so let down, or simply sad that they didn’t get what they want.

A character crying because they are disappointed is likely to be pouty and subdued, but they are also likely to exhibit many of the same behaviors as angry, sad, or embarrassed crying. They might hide away, start yelling, or seek comfort from others. It all depends on the character, the situation, and what went wrong.

After being disappointed, a character is probably going to be thinking about what happened long after the situation is over with. Disappointment is a slow-burn emotion, and your character is probably going to feel pretty bummed out for a while even after they stop crying. 

Frustrated Crying

Frustration is an overwhelming emotion, and crying because of it can often worsen that initial frustration. Often, frustration is the result of a character getting fed up with their own inability to achieve something, whether that’s beating a hard stage in a game, convincing someone of something in a debate, or being able to overcome their personal struggles.

Characters become frustrated when something they worked hard for isn’t working out. When this pushes a character to tears, they might start behaving angrily, or their behavior could mirror that of sad crying. Often, a character who is frustrated will lash out violently, hit or throw things, and then sit down to cry. This pattern is almost always followed: the character lashes out to release their initial frustration, then gives up and begins to cry more passively. It is also common for a person to harm themself when they lash out, such as by pulling their hair or hitting something too hard. 

Frustration can feel like an eruption of emotion. It builds up over time and is then released all at once. This can lead characters to start crying suddenly, with very little warning before it happens. 

Panicked Crying

Panic can bring a character to tears in the blink of an eye. When a character loses something they treasure, finds themself in an unsafe place, or encounters a person who has harmed them in the past, they may begin to panic. Past trauma is a common reason many characters have for breaking down into panicked tears, but characters with anxiety and panic disorders can experience panic attacks with no clear triggers. 

When a character is panic crying, they are going to be hyperventilating, and they may have a frenzied look, pace around wildly, rock back and forth, or clutch onto someone or something for comfort (or protection). They are also likely to scream, shriek, or whimper. In a lot of ways, this type of crying manifests very similarly to scared crying, but with much more restless energy.

Panic is an emotion that can overshadow all other emotions and rational thought. A panicking character will feel numb and lightheaded, and they may have a difficult time staying upright without someone or something to lean on. They may have a difficult time stringing words into a coherent sentence, and they’ll likely have a much harder time thinking of solutions to problems, formulating complex thoughts, and rationalizing their behavior. 

Panic isn’t just experienced; it takes over a character’s thoughts and behavior completely. 

Hopeless Crying

Hopelessness is a straight path to tears. When a character believes that nothing matters, they cannot save the world (or their loved ones), or that they simply cannot go on the way they have been living, they may begin to cry hopelessly. 

Hopeless crying goes beyond sadness. When a character is feeling truly hopeless, they may become lifeless, apathetic, or even downright catatonic. They will not bother to wipe away tears, so make a point to draw attention to the tears dripping off the end of their nose or splattering on different surfaces. Many surfaces, such as clothing, wood, and concrete, change color when they are wet, so if your character is crying onto a surface like that, you could also comment on the dark spots that appear with each tear that slips off the character’s face. 

A character who is feeling hopeless may feel as if they are alone in their struggles, and they can’t do everything themself. They may feel as if they have been abandoned, let down, or held back, and that they are powerless. This sense of powerlessness can cause a character to simply give up and shut down, leading to hopeless crying. 

Writing Dialogue when a Character is Crying

When writing dialogue for a character who is crying, it is important to remember to not go overboard. Once you have established that the character is crying, you shouldn’t have to do much extra work with the dialogue to further convince your readers of that. With that said, if you just type dialogue completely normally, that may come across as jarring if the tone doesn’t match how the character is feeling. 

The best way to indicate that a character is crying as they are speaking is to break the dialogue up to slow it down. One way you can do that is with the use of ellipses, like this:

“I don’t know… Maybe it’s just… better this way.” 

However, this is really easy to overdo. Make sure you read your dialogue out loud to ensure that the pauses sound natural for the character who is speaking.

Another option is to break up the dialogue with narration that reflects the other things the character is doing as they are speaking. These interruptions are called “ action beats ,” and they are a helpful little tool for controlling the pace at which your readers move through dialogue. Here’s an example of a beat in dialogue, using the same example as above:

“I don’t know,” Nate sighed, pausing to wipe his nose on his sleeve. “Maybe it’s just better this way.”

You might be tempted to misspell words as the character is speaking to emphasize the fact that they are slurring words together as they cry, but do not do that. Either state that the character is slurring their words, or that the other characters had difficulty understanding them. Misspelling words to look slurred is awkward, and it almost never feels authentic. Not to mention, that can make it difficult for readers whose first language isn’t the one you’re writing in. 

How to Describe a Character Trying Not to Cry

Sometimes, a character who feels compelled to cry may want to hold it in, either because they are afraid of what others would think, too proud to be seen crying, or because it isn’t socially acceptable in a particular setting. If you can show your readers how your character is fighting back tears, instead of simply telling them that, the scene will be much more emotionally charged. 

When a character is trying not to cry, they may employ several techniques to try to keep the tears from coming. Here are some options you can use to indicate that a character is trying not to cry:

• They could avoid eye contact with others, or look upward or downward. Alternatively, they could close their eyes.
• They could focus on keeping their breathing steady and slow, so much so that they miss what others say to them. 
• Their face may become red.
• They may avoid speaking, out of fear that their voice could crack.
• They may bite their lip, fidget with something, or seek other sensory distractions such as chewing on something, picking at their nails, or humming. 
• They may try to hide their sadness by expressing a different emotion, such as anger or happiness. 
• They may try to think of something else to distract themself. 

Remember to keep the character’s personality, and their reason for being upset, in mind as you are writing this scene. No two characters are going to react to the same situation in the same way. In addition to that, the same character who would ordinarily stay quiet in one situation may lash out violently in a different one. 

How to Describe Fake Crying

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you may have characters who aren’t upset, but want (or need) to shed tears anyway. People have many reasons for wanting to fake tears, including connecting with others, expressing remorse, getting attention, or getting themself out of trouble. However, the most common reason people have for fake crying is manipulation. It’s much easier to get someone to do something for you if you shed a few tears first. 

Here are some quick examples of things you can include to show that a character is fake crying:

• They may squeeze their eyes shut tightly, trying to force out tears.
• They’ll likely scrunch up their face, and exaggerate their expression to look sad (such as pulling down the corners of their mouth, pulling their eyebrows closer together, and potentially pouting their lips).
• Their nose will not be running, and they won’t have any difficulty with breathing. If they want to be convincing, they will have to consciously sniffle and force their breathing into a more irregular pattern. However, their sniffles won’t sound the same without their nose running, so keep that in mind. 
• They are likely to hide their face with their hands since it will take them much longer to produce tears—if they can manage to do that at all.
• They are much more likely to wail, cry, mumble, or make any other distressed noise than someone who is actually crying. 
• They will be working harder at keeping their performance consistent, while someone who is actually crying may express a variety of other emotions as they try to get a grip on themself. It’s not uncommon for someone who is genuinely upset to express nervousness, fear, anger, and even a smile. 
• They will exaggerate everything they do to try to be more convincing. 
• They will be able to stop “crying” suddenly, whereas someone who is actually upset is going to need some time to pull themself together. 

If your story is told from the perspective of the character who is faking tears, or from an omniscient perspective, then you have an additional advantage. You could give readers insight into what the character is thinking, which you could utilize in a couple of different ways. You could be explicit, and simply show readers that the character is thinking of how to be more convincing, or you could simply show that their thoughts are clear and unrelated to what they should be upset about. Even if you don’t state it, your readers should be able to figure out that the character is faking if you give them enough clues. 

Write Crying Realistically

The most important thing to keep in mind when you are writing about characters crying is that strong emotions are not pretty. No one looks good when they are crying—they just don’t .

Here are some examples of things that happen when a character cries:

• Their face will be red and scrunched up.
• Their nose will be running.
• They’ll be sweaty.
• Their eyes will be bloodshot and puffy.
• They’ll produce more saliva.
• Their glasses may fog up.
• Tears (and snot) will get on everything.
• Their voice will crack, change pitch, and rasp.
• They may stutter or become incoherent.
• They may drool. 

When you’re describing a character crying, don’t be afraid of making your readers a bit uncomfortable. Crying is gross , so that’s how you should describe it if you want to do so realistically. If you want more tips about portraying emotion (or anything else) realistically, you should check out Show, Don’t Tell: What it is and How to Write it .

Finally, I’ll end with one last piece of advice. Your character’s reactions to different situations and events can reveal a lot about them. If they overreact in a particular situation, such as encountering a rude stranger, getting lost, or misplacing their phone, you can use that to reveal more about the character’s past. Their reaction to a rude stranger could reveal that they were hurt by someone in the past, while breaking down at the notion of being lost could suggest that they struggle with anxiety. Utilize those reactions to help you tell their story. 

Best of luck with your stories, writers!

London Review of Education

• 129 Creativity in education: challenging the assumptions
• 133 Doctors can dance
• 145 Creativity: does place matter?
• 159 The contradictions of policy and practice: creativity in higher education
• 173 Childhood in a digital age: creative challenges for educational futures
• 191 Leadership and creativity in higher education: the role of interdisciplinarity
• 201 Creative reflections on brainstorming
• 215 Silences and silence in 'creativity'
• 227 Cosmopolitics I; Cosmopolitics II
• 229 Structure and improvisation in creative teaching
• 231 The Routledge international handbook of creative learning
• 237 What are universities for?
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Frank Bruni

When donald trump met hannibal lecter.

By Frank Bruni

Mr. Bruni is a contributing Opinion writer who was on the staff of The Times for more than 25 years.

How many of your acquaintances have been eaten by an immigrant who crossed the U.S. border illegally? How many such cases have you read or heard about?

I’m going to go out on a limb — the botanical kind, not the sort that a cannibal might call dinner — and guess zero. I’m also going to guess that a few of you are wondering if I’ve lost my mind. It’s the right worry, directed at the wrong person.

Donald Trump is the one who should be drawing your concern.

Although he has always allowed himself the loopiest of digressions, frequently babbled pure nonsense and found metaphors in strange and sinister places, a new oratorical preoccupation of his suggests a doubling of the bats in his belfry.

On numerous occasions, including a speech last weekend in Wildwood, N.J., Trump has swerved from the accusation that other countries are dumping criminals and institutionalized psychiatric patients on us to mentions of the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter, a.k.a. Hannibal the Cannibal. You know, from “The Silence of the Lambs.” The character who once ate the liver of an impertinent census worker “ with some fava beans and a nice Chianti .” A role that won Anthony Hopkins an Oscar.

Trump is apparently implying that illegal immigration puts such monsters in our midst . But the “apparently” in that last sentence bears a load heavier than Atlas’s, because Trump’s remarks in New Jersey grew odder even than that lurid specter. After introducing Lecter, Trump celebrated him — as if he were a real person, as if we should be impressed by his hunger. Here’s Trump:

Has anyone ever seen “The Silence of the Lambs”? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’s a wonderful man. He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner. Remember the last scene? “Excuse me, I’m about to have a friend for dinner,” as this poor doctor walked by. “I’m about to have a friend for dinner.” But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations. The late, great Hannibal Lecter.

Where to begin? In that scene, “this poor doctor” is being marked for murder and mastication, so where do the “congratulations” come in? Heck, why not “bon appétit”? And in the novels and movies that have featured Lecter, he has never died, so why is he “late” (not to mention “great”)? If Trump is being sarcastic, well, that doesn’t come through, and if he’s doing some MAGA version of stand-up, well, it stinks. Besides which, the staccato sentences, the free association: They constitute something much less controlled, and they raise doubts about Trump’s very coherence.

That should be getting more serious attention than it is.

Trump’s legal travails and courtroom antics have to some extent obscured his performances on the stump, where his overwrought descriptions of the United States as a wasteland besieged by crime and overrun by migrants have traveled far beyond the “American carnage” of his 2017 inauguration speech, and where his proposed remedies have grown more severe. “Very simply, if you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving that store,” Trump told one crowd late last year. He was speaking not of some multimillion-dollar bank heist. He was referring to shoplifters.

I strongly recommend a recent article by Charles Homans in The Times Magazine, “ Donald Trump Has Never Sounded Like This .” It establishes that Trump’s words of late are both meaner in a real way and surreal in a meaningful way. He gets a pass for that: The hyperabundance of his gibberish and relentlessness of his provocations incline many listeners to file even his weirdest and wildest musings under Trump being Trump.

But if our current president went on a tangent about how Pennywise, the child-killing clown in “It,” makes for a creative solution to the difficulty of finding an available babysitter on a Saturday night, few political observers would shrug it off as Biden being Biden. Trump’s supporters would demand a brain scan. They’d insist on a full cognitive work-up. I wouldn’t fault them.

But I’d ask them to listen hard when Trump moons over a maniac who turned his victims into victuals. And to feel an appropriate stab of indigestion.

For the Love of Sentences

During the two weeks since my previous newsletter, many journalists deftly mined a bountiful new lode of prose possibilities. I mean Kristi Noem, the South Dakota governor and the assassin not only of a dog named Cricket and a supposedly smelly goat but also of her own political ambitions.

In The Washington Post, Ron Charles reviewed her lavishly maligned new memoir, “No Going Back”: “Far too many people have been obsessing about Noem’s fantastical tête-à-tête with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Come on — who among us hasn’t mistakenly believed that we once faced down the leader of the Hermit Kingdom? As I told Joseph Stalin, ‘We all make mistakes.’” Charles added that Noem’s, er, writing process was mostly the sloppy retrieval of “conservative maxims, like a fistful of old coins and buttons found between the stained cushions in a MAGA lounge.” (Thanks to Susan Alexander of Sequim, Wash., and Leonard and Gail Davenport of Greenport, N.Y., among many others, for spotlighting Charles’s words.)

Also in The Post, Kathleen Parker mulled the fitting manner in which Noem made her apparent bid to become Trump’s running mate. “When a politician writes a book and gets veneers,” Parker observed, “she’s probably hoping to do some victory smiling as sidekick to a reality-show scowler who pays hush money to porn actresses. They’re a match made in the tanning booth.” (Mark Van Loon, Hamilton, Mont., and Vicki Sterling Johnson, Springfield, Mo.)

In The Los Angeles Times, Robin Abcarian noted that Noem, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Sarah Palin, among others, conform to a certain MAGA model for women leaders: “First, they want to prove how tough they are by shooting guns, preferably at animals, though occasionally at cars that Democrats drive. And second, they aspire to beauty standards set by Fox News anchors. Dental veneers. Cheek and lip fillers. Botox. Hair extensions. Performative cruelty and pouty lips are what it takes to succeed as a woman in the party of Trump.” (Judy Moise, Seattle)

And in The New York Times, Michelle Cottle surveyed the range of Noem’s dreams: “On top of pursuing the V.P. slot, she has been gunning to replace Wayne LaPierre as top dog at the National Rifle Association (Boom! Double pun!).” (Michael Silk, Laguna Woods, Calif., and Leonard Naymark, Toronto, among others)

Let’s move on from Noem but stick with politics before lightening up a bunch.

In Slate, Justin Peters contemplated history: “Spinning alleged campus excesses into a broader political narrative of liberal chaos and disorder has been a favorite conservative tactic since at least the late 1960s, when Main Street disapproval of the youth-driven protests over the Vietnam War helped to narrowly deliver the 1968 presidential election to an anthropomorphic sheet of sandpaper named Richard Nixon.” (Denise Showers, Janesville, Wis., and Sue Roberts, Boston)

In The Atlantic, Tom Nichols gaped anew at our country’s flight from truth and reason: “Democracies have always had conspiracy theorists and other cranks wandering about the public square, sneezing and coughing various forms of weirdness on their fellow citizens. But even in the recent past, most people with a basic level of education and a healthy dollop of common sense had no trouble resisting the contagion of idiocy.” (Tom Grasso, Somerville, Mass.)

While I don’t typically showcase words spoken in interviews, I couldn’t resist sharing what the law and ethics expert Norm Eisen, in a guest appearance on the “Pod Save America” podcast, called Trump’s courtroom slouching: “the scoliosis of justice.” (Michael Chaskes, Los Angeles)

In The Times, J Wortham studied Brittney Griner’s technique and admired “the way she lifts the ball over the rim and into the net as gently as if she were returning a lost child to a parent.” (Ann Davenport, Olmué, Chile, and Kate Kavanagh, Concord, Mass.) In a subsequent profile of the actress Jean Smart, J distilled Smart’s character in the show “Hacks”: “Deborah is a workaholic on the verge of bitter, someone who grew tired of being cut and so became a knife.” (Karen Kasnetz, Bedminster, N.J., and Donald Jurney, Amesbury, Mass.)

In The Arizona Republic, Ed Masley appraised a recent Rolling Stones concert and wrote that Mick Jagger’s physicality “invites you to imagine Mikhail Baryshnikov raised by a family of overcaffeinated roosters.” (Paul Welch, Phoenix, and Dan Olson, Spokane, Wash., among others)

In The Guardian, Jay Rayner visited Public House, a new restaurant in Paris, and savaged a lobster pie that was awfully light on lobster: “We push vegetables aside in desperate search of tail meat. It’s ‘Finding Nemo,’ only without a redemption arc.” (Laurence Mate, Champaign, Ill., and Todd Lowe, Simpsonville, Ky.)

And in The Boston Globe, Kevin Paul Dupont marveled at how sluggish and hapless several players with the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team were as they lost to the Boston Bruins in overtime: “Ditto for their goalie, backup-turned-starter Ilya Samsonov, who was so buttoned to his goal line as the play unfolded that it’s rumored it took three master tailors from Eastern Clothing until dawn to unstitch him from the ice, toss him in a suit bag, and drag him to the team bus.” (Dan Conti, Concord, Mass.)

To nominate favorite bits of recent writing from The Times or other publications to be mentioned in “For the Love of Sentences,” please email me here and include your name and place of residence.

What I’m Writing, Doing and Reading

“I can recall Sundays when my own nonna, Adelina Bruni, who immigrated to the suburbs of New York City from southern Italy, turned her kitchen or dining room table into a chaos of Italian staples, Italian delicacies and anything in the refrigerator that might plump up the feast and everyone partaking of it. It was like some glutton’s version of a garage sale. She put out a lasagna as inexhaustible as her affection. She put out mozzarella balls, eggplant, calamari, chicken cutlets. It wasn’t so much a thoughtfully coursed meal as an act of emotional blackmail: You couldn’t get up and go home when there were so many cutlets left and a tray of cannoli and biscotti to come. You couldn’t abandon this one sacred space in a week and a life so otherwise frenzied.” That’s from my recent essay for T Magazine on the fading Italian tradition of “il pranzo della domenica,” or Sunday lunch. You can read it here .

In recent weeks I’ve had the privilege of speaking about our political dysfunctions, the degradation of our civic culture and how we could pivot in a better direction at events in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and other cities. I still have a few more such engagements tied to my latest book, “ The Age of Grievance .” I’ll be in Washington on Saturday afternoon (details here ); near my Chapel Hill, N.C., home on May 23 (details here ) and back in New York, at Trinity Church Wall Street, on May 30 (details here ). This information in addition to articles about the book and recent interviews I’ve done can be found on my website .

I relish articles that give underappreciated artists and entertainers the recognition they deserve, and I’m especially happy when I learn that these people have enjoyed immense respect from — and have had enormous influence on — their peers. Adrienne LaFrance’s appraisal of Albert Brooks , published recently in The Atlantic, is precisely such a delight.

Retire These Words! (Handcrafted Edition)

We used to make things. Remember those days? No, I’m not referring to an American past in which factory towns abounded and the ratio of manufacturing to service jobs in our economy was different — though my first sentence was the kind that often commences such a lament. I’m talking about language. I’m talking about a less precious era in which we shared the fact that we’d made a piece of furniture or a beer, not “crafted” it. When we didn’t put a crown of self-congratulation atop every project.

That’s what “crafted” does. “Handcrafted,” too — it’s a tiara with an extra smattering of jewels.

One of my earliest encounters with the “crafted” craze was at a sandwich shop around the corner from where I used to live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Originally called Lenny’s Gourmet before it sprouted more locations and renamed itself Lenwich, the shop touted “hand crafted” sandwiches. And that confused me, for two reasons.

One, I pretty much assumed that human fingers — index, thumb, maybe even pinkie — had a significant part in putting together my chicken salad sub. I didn’t need confirmation. Two, I was hard-pressed to spot or imagine the elaborate craft in that chicken salad sub. It was, after all, a chicken salad sub, not a patchwork quilt or a wheel-thrown coffee mug. Its maker — excuse me, crafter — merged meat, condiments and doughy cradle and called it a day. Or, rather, a lunch.

Surfing the net the other morning, I happened upon a caterer advertising a “crafted array of artisan sandwiches.” Made with love, I’m sure, but also with a surfeit of self-regard. “Artisanal” usually subs for “handcrafted” or vice versa, one or the other appearing on labels and in promotional literature for blankets, bourbons, bonbons. But sometimes the terms team up, staging a vanity fair. For example, Pottery Barn sells an “indigo artisan handcrafted bowl.” It’s $99, but then artisanal handicrafting doesn’t come cheap, especially in indigo.

The furniture and bedding company Saatva wants us to know that “every Saatva mattress is handcrafted,” a boast it makes on its website just two sentences away from the assurance that “we deliver it factory-fresh.”

This newsletter, I’ll have you know, is laptop-fresh, and it has been handcrafted by yours truly. Picture me stitching every syllable in needlepoint. Call it artisanal exposition.

“Retire These Words!” is an occasional feature about overused, badly used or just plain annoying language. To suggest a term or phrase, please email me here , and please include your name and place of residence.

Frank Bruni is a professor of journalism and public policy at Duke University, the author of the book "The Age of Grievance" and a contributing Opinion writer. He writes a weekly email newsletter .   Instagram   Threads   @ FrankBruni • Facebook