forum Best way to make a reader cry??

Started August 02, 2018 by @mozartsnumberonefan group

tune

Kill the main character's loved one, like the only parent. Or have the best friend be totally innocent and then get kidnapped and turned into a test subject by the government which causes her to attack the main character and forces the main character to defend herself and then have to watch as the friend blows up because she was actually a failed test subject. Then the main character has to act like that didn't happen or she'd be putting herself and her love interest in danger. I'm not crying, you're crying.

Have the world get the better of your character.
Let circumstances slowly beat them down.
Watch them give up. Watch them break; watch them gradually become an empty shell that just doesn't care anymore.
Let them change for the worse; have them do terrible things that they never would have previously done.
Have them fall down and just lie there, no longer having the strength to get back up.
Kill loved ones, but remember that there are things worse than death.
Don't underestimate the impact death can have on your characters and readers, but don't underestimate the impact of life.

Have the world get the better of your character.
Let circumstances slowly beat them down.
Watch them give up. Watch them break; watch them gradually become an empty shell that just doesn't care anymore.
Have them fall down and just lie there, no longer having the strength to get back up.
Kill loved ones, but remember that there are things worse than death.
Don't underestimate the impact death can have on your characters and readers, but don't underestimate the impact of life.

yes

Make the parents of a character get divorced.

It hurts

Have a side character fall in love with the MC, then make the MC blind so he/she doesn't notice the love. (but drop hints that the side character loves the MC) So by the end the side character keeps trying to get the MC's attention and the reader is dying for the two to finally date. BUT near the end have the MC in a battle/street/or something dangerous then have the side character save the MC and all the MC sees before the side character dies is the side character's eyes staring lovingly at him/her for a split second. (for the battle I see someone shoot at the MC but the SC jumped in front, then for the street I see the MC walking across before looking and the SC sees a car and pushes the MC out of the way)

Dang it, @HufflepuffThatWatchesAnime, I had FINALLY gotten over Jedi Night and you had to write that example!

Lol sorry! And I have no clue what Jedi Night is.

Just every time that happens. I want to cry, but I usually only cry when an animal dies.

The episode where Star Wars Rebels returned from hiatus, had the 'space parents' ship confess their love, and then it kills off Kanan (the other person was a woman named Hera) in an explosion and has him regain his sight a second before he died so he can fulfill the promise he made to Hera before being blinded (the promise was that he'd see her again). Hera was also pregnant with her and Kanan's kid at the time but hadn't told him yet. Not to mention that in the final season, 2 episodes aired in succession, so the second episode was everyone mourning Kanan.

I have a short story. Does it make y'all wanna cry? (Otis is shy, tbh)

Otis looked around frantically. Just a minute ago, he was walking with his friend Annika in the forest. The next thing he knew, he was alone. He stood perfectly still. A stick cracked. Otis whipped his head around. He didn’t see anything. He cautiously started walking. Slowly, carefully… Just then, he was in front of a clearing. A small one, but still a clearing. He was about to walk into it and sit down on a rock, but just then, two men came up. They were fighting. They made their way into the clearing, where the bigger one shoved the smaller one onto the ground. “I swear, I don’t know where it is!”The bigger one death-glared the smaller one. “Well, if you don’t know where the money is, who does?” The smaller man was frantic. “Irwin, I swear, I don’t know!” “I know that you have it. If you won’t give it ‘ta me, imma have ‘ta…” He slowly pulled out a gun. “No-no Irwin, I’m begging you..NOOOO!” A gunshot fired. The smaller man lay there, dead. The bigger man had a look of slight regret. “I’m sorry I had t do that, brother…” The bigger man, “Irwin”, shut the man’s eyes and ran off, looking in all directions. Otis ducked into a bush.

I have an example from one of my stories:
"And here's your seat," Talia smiled coldly, maliciously. andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) hesitated, looking down at the chair as if it would hurt him.
"Sit down, Robertson," Talia chided, and andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) obliged, still silent as he looked anxiously around the room.
"Why am I here?" andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) said bluntly, and Talia shrugged.
"Can a woman not invite a friend over for dinner? Jayson, bring us our plates." Jayson carried two plates to the table, each covered with a silver domed lid. andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) and Jayson's eyes met for a split second before Jayson tore his gaze away guiltily and moved to stand beside Talia. She uncorked a bottle of wine and poured two glasses. She lifted hers and andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) returned the gesture. She clinked glsses with him and offered a cheerful "Salute." Talia downed her wine in under a minute, then lifted the lid from her plate to reveal a fancy salad.
"Join me?" She asked, and andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) lifted his lid, terrified of what to he'd see. A heart? A human limb? No, even Talia Brecker wasn't that wicked. She was eating a salad at a formal dinner, for Creston's sake. On andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer)'s plate was a piece of fish, a slice of lemon, and a small cup of butter. He took a tentative bit, deciding it was possibly the best thing he'd ever eaten, before it sunk it. A 'formal dinner' with the don of the Brecker family, her brother, and no one else. Talia staunchly refusing his request to bring along Francesca. A fish. Talia's insistence that he wear dress shoes. He was going to die tonight. He look up at Talia, his eyes pleading, but she ignored him, pushing her chair away from the table.
"Shall we go on a walk?" She asked, an edge to her voice that seemed to say 'do what I ask and I might let you live'. andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) stood up shakily, and followed Talia outside, Jayson following him. Talia led them both around aimlessly for a while until they reached the Border River.
"Robertson, I know what you've been doing," Talia said, and she addressed Jayson.
"Grab the rope and tape." Jayson grabbed them from his bag and led andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) over towards a rocky ledge blocking the river from most people.
"Please, Jayson, please. You don't have to do this," andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) begged, all of his former composure collapsing as the reality of what was happening sunk in. He was going to die. He was going to drown. He was going to be bound, gagged, and thrown in the river and his wife, his Francesca, would be left along, save for her two sisters. He was going to die before even turning twenty-one. He was going to die before meeting his child. Jayson had bound his legs and was starting on his hands.
"Please, Jayson, I have a wife, she's expecting," andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) continued, growing more frantic. Jayson had effectively ignored him before, but at the mention of a wife he looked up.
"She'll be safe, andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer). I can't spare you, but I can promise that no harm will come to Francesca." He spoke with such deliberation and conviction that andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) had to believe him, even if he didn't want to. Jayson placed a large piece of tape around andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer)'s mouth, and helped him onto the ledge.
"I'm sorry, andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer). I really am," Jayson whispered, and andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) nodded. Jayson gave him a swift push from behind and he tumbled into the river. The water was harder than he'd thought, and colder, and he couldn't do anything more than try to free his wrists and feet to no avail. He heard Jayson's mournful words echo through his brain. /I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry./ He could feel himself fading, and closed his eyes. andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) Robertson used the last moments of his life to think of his wife, his beautiful Francesca, smiling at him, true joy on her face like on their wedding day.

I'm not crying.

Let your MC mess up so so so badly. Like, almost irreparably so. And have everyone hate them for it. Let the MC be wrong and everyone else be right.

This is gold. Like usually i get annoyed with many protagonists because they do nothing wrong absolutely ever, and everyone in the story/fandom thinks they are an absolute angel. But having the main character mess up really helps to make the character more sympathetic/realistic

Let your MC mess up so so so badly. Like, almost irreparably so. And have everyone hate them for it. Let the MC be wrong and everyone else be right.

This is gold. Like usually i get annoyed with many protagonists because they do nothing wrong absolutely ever, and everyone in the story/fandom thinks they are an absolute angel. But having the main character mess up really helps to make the character more sympathetic/realistic.

"everyone in the story/fandom thinks they are an absolute angel".

Sans.

Let your MC mess up so so so badly. Like, almost irreparably so. And have everyone hate them for it. Let the MC be wrong and everyone else be right.

This is gold. Like usually i get annoyed with many protagonists because they do nothing wrong absolutely ever, and everyone in the story/fandom thinks they are an absolute angel. But having the main character mess up really helps to make the character more sympathetic/realistic.

"everyone in the story/fandom thinks they are an absolute angel".

Sans.

Yo ive seen so much cult following for that character, he's overrated

GODDAMMIT SANS! WHY ARE YOU SO POPULAR! He's probably the one that made me almost QUIT undertale…

Have the MC have an animal, protective and loyal. Been there since the MC was little. But while the story goes make the animal try and protect the MC but instead it dies. ;-; Animal deaths are the worst…

N ostap.

(I am going to call the two MC's Jack and Rene) Rene and Jack are deeply in love. The reader is entranced with the romance. One day Rene is hit by a car. She is rushed to the hospital and they make it in time. She enters a 6 hour surgery and comes out alive. Yet something is off…something is different. Rene was overtaken by amnesia. Jack pleads and tries so hard to make Rene remember him. But nothing works. As Rene sits there, a face of stone, Jack breaks into silent tears.

Omg…writing this almost made me cry…I never cry ;-;

Have the MC have an animal, protective and loyal. Been there since the MC was little. But while the story goes make the animal try and protect the MC but instead it dies. ;-; Animal deaths are the worst…

They are the worst! A lot of people are really turned off from a story if there's animal violence. I was reading an amazon review for this book I'm reading for school and they said that they stopped reading the book all together after there was a graphic animal violence scene.

Have the MC have an animal, protective and loyal. Been there since the MC was little. But while the story goes make the animal try and protect the MC but instead it dies. ;-; Animal deaths are the worst…

They are the worst! A lot of people are really turned off from a story if there's animal violence. I was reading an amazon review for this book I'm reading for school and they said that they stopped reading the book all together after there was a graphic animal violence scene.

Oh dear…I didn't know someone would close a book after an animals death ._.

I mean, it's sad, but I watched Old Yeller and I'm like, well OK then…Like, if my (non-existant) dog got shot, hell yeah I would cry, but it's just a movie/ book. I don't get super attached to an animal in a movie. I know I sound super unsympathetic,but whelp.

Have the villan be just a generally depressed person and make the reader start to like them. Then make the main character get in a fight with the villan, where the villan pleads for their life. The main character finds all their work for nothing. After years of trying to catch the villan, they turn out to be a good person? Then the main character murders the villan, and everyone hates them. The end!