By Favor Khaoya
Writing a sad scene in creative writing can be challenging! As writers, we want to evoke genuine emotion in our readers enough to make them shed a tear or clench their fists. Reaching that level is not a walk in the park, particularly because these scenes often change the tone and pace of the story.
Here are some tips to help you write a powerful and moving sad scene:
Show, don’t tell: To create an emotional connection with the reader, show the character’s emotions rather than mentioning what they are feeling. People tend to feel numerous emotions in any situation, which often overlap and smear together; showing helps bring it out better. For example, instead of “She was sad,” you could write, “Tears streamed down her face as she clutched the crumpled photo of her late husband.”
Use sensory details: Utilising sensory details helps the reader visualise the scene and feel as though they are experiencing it themselves. For example, you could describe the sound of rain tapping against the window and the rhythm of the raindrops triggering a character to cry even more.
Build up to the sad moment: Building anticipation before the sad moment can heighten the reader’s emotions. Foreshadowing can be used to give readers a sense of impending sadness. For example, the sound of a phone ringing can be heard, and the character already knows that this call will be heartbreaking.
Avoid clichés: Clichés can take away the emotional impact of a scene. For example, instead of writing, “She cried a river of tears,” try to come up with a unique way to describe the character’s tears, such as She clung to him—the only safe place—as the battle for her soul and sanity raged. And then it was over, and she hiccupped against his shirt as she tried to catch her breath and stop the crying.
Example of a sad scene: The room was quiet except for the sound of the beeping machines. All her family members surrounded the hospital bed, their eyes fixed on Sarah lying motionless. While entering the room, the doctor’s solemn expression raised alarm for the family members, and they all turned to face him, anticipating the news.
“I’m sorry,” the doctor began, “We did everything we could, but we couldn’t save her.”
As she approached her mother’s deathbed, everything started spinning in Grace’s head. The air became thicker, and a knot formed inside her chest. A knot so tight she could not swallow or let go. She took her mother’s hand and kissed it. “I love you, mom,” she whispered while lying beside her. Memories flooded her mind. She remembered her mother teaching her how to ride a bike, baking cookies, and hugging her tightly before her first day of school.
Grace couldn’t believe that her mother was gone. She wished she could go back in time and tell her mother how much she loved her one more time. Get one last hug or taste one last cookie. But there would never be a ‘one more last time’ for Grace. The realisation shattered her. Tears burned in her sinuses then filled her eyes and spilled over to her hairline. These weren’t angry tears. They were tears filled with pain and loss. A loss she wasn’t ready to bear.
Conclusion
The example of a sad scene above demonstrates how powerful a well-written sad scene can be in eliciting emotions from the reader. Understanding that sadness is messy and overwhelming, and needs to be shown instead of told helps you know how to do that. Remember to use sensory details, avoid clichés, and build up to the sad moments; then, you can create a scene that evokes genuine emotions in your readers.
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