What Am I Talking About?

How to Write a Character with THAT *Sad Aura*

Have you ever stumbled upon a character, who, despite radiating wholesome, positive energy, also has a subtle undertone of sadness? It's kind of intriguing, isn't it? If you've ever wanted to write a perhaps more complex character or explore writing emotions, why not check this out?

What am I talking about?

Let's do a quick introduction as to what I mean. I've said this a couple times already, but to the reader, this character feels despondent even though they act nothing like it. This doesn't mean they have to act happy all the time (like my first example); they might act cold, or apathetic, but the point is they don't act visibly sad.

This faint melancholic mood provides a charming, or even nostalgic feel to the audience through ONE character! Isn't that kind of fun?

Eye Expressions

This character will not show sadness on their face--that contradicts the idea of "sad aura". But you know what they say, right? Eyes are the windows to the soul; they do not lie!

When trying to highlight some of this unhappiness, write about their eyes. Talk about how their eyes look oddly dim sometimes when they smile, or how they don't meet their friend's eyes when they laugh. These cues are simple but powerful.

Adverbs

You always have to be mindful of adverbs, but here especially, adverbs (and adjectives) unconsciously influence how your audience views the character.

For example, avoid saying too much of "smiled brightly" or "talked excitedly". If these are the adverbs you purposefully want to use to portray your character, then by all means! However, these adverbs add a happier connotation, which you must be aware of. If you want something more neutral (which I recommend for the most part), consider using lighter adverbs/adjectives, such as "smiled softly", or "offered lightly".

Reasons

A reason is normally needed for almost everything. Here, you want genuine reasons to back up why your character doesn't ask for help, thus forcing them to work through their unhappiness alone.

This could be because they think other people can't solve the problem, they don't want to bother others, they don't think their issue is a big deal, or they simply believe there's no solution.

Physical Hints

And if all this isn't enough, then drop some physical hints! Perhaps your character gets distracted often, tends to hesitate before speaking, deflects concerned comments with jokes, or has a hard time acknowledging reassurances, even when it's unrelated to their personal troubles. These habits suggest the idea your character has more than meets the eye.

Mood Changes

When people are upset, their mood tends to fluctuate. For most of us, we're typically upset for a short period, so we cycle through emotions such as anger, sadness, and even joy during these moments.

However, if your character is consistently sad, not just for a day or two, their mood might shift on different days. Maybe they're really tired one day, hardly speaking. Maybe the next, they are more frustrated, snapping at people or ignoring them. Maybe the day after that, they are overly energetic, bouncing everywhere and talking all the time, providing a bit of whiplash.

Purpose

Similar to having a reason for their reluctance of reaching out, you also want to ensure that they have a purpose for fighting. Why haven't they given up yet? This is especially crucial when considering the real world, where feeling upset leads to a lack of motivation.

So, what keeps them going, then? Do they want to fix their regrets? Do they want to change?

Backstory and Actions

To be honest, I wouldn't consider a backstory an absolute necessity, but I highly suggest creating one. Why? Because you can accurately identify the reason for your character's guilt, regret, and sorrows from the past with an actual backstory.

The events of your character's past always influence their future actions.

For example, if they were a part of a severe car accident in the past, perhaps they only feel comfortable when they are the driver in the future because that means they can control the car.

Conclusion

This character is not especially different from any other character, besides the fact that they are neither obvious nor overly secretive of their genuine feelings.

With that being said, focus on embodying their eye expressions, be careful about which adverbs and adjectives you choose to use--I recommend choosing ones with more neutral connotations for a sense of melancholy, explain why your character keeps their sadness to themselves and why they keep fighting despite it, show mood fluctuations, drop physical hints, such as actions and/or specific personality traits, and make sure to connect their past to their present!

Happy writing~

3hks ^^

hello <3

💋I'm Amelie, age 14 💋

she/her 💖💖

libra 😈

here's the link to my identity card on pronoun.page 😊

https://en.pronouns.page/@that_lil_lychee

I'm into music, reading, and talking for sure lol

uhh I play softball and I'm writing a book, and now I have a podcast sooo go listen if you like books

anyway byeeeeee

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Spotify introducing me

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that-little-lychee

1 month ago

More! Jurdan! Headcanons!

Because they are my babiesss

-Jude always exclusively wears Cardan's shirts to bed. Specifically the silky one.

-Cardan keeps trying to convince her to sleep naked, like him. (Also have we collectively forgotten that he canonically does that)

-Jude is an early riser and a morning person.

-Cardan refuses to get up until midnight. (Remember that the fae are nocturnal.)

-Jude has to genuinely drag him out of bed whenever something important happens.

-Whereas Cardan always tries to keep her in bed with him (he usually succeeds)

-Jude takes up baking in her spare time because Cardan made her get a hobby that doesn't involve stabbing people.

-They like to have little playfights.

-E.g Cardan will pin her down to do her makeup.

-Or Jude will come up behind him and put him in a headlock.

-Cardan never sneaks up behind her though.

-He also knows where she keeps all of her weapons on her person.

-If he needs a weapon and he didn't bring one he just casually grabs one from like her pockets or the folds of her dress or something like that.

-Cardan is a biter. And I don't just mean in bed.

-Just like in general. He nibbles her ears or just like casually bites her shoulder.

-They go riding together through the milkwood.

-And take long walks through the gardens together.

-Jude teases Cardan about all the things he did to her at school.

-"Hey, remember that one time you tried to drown me?"

-He feels incredibly bad.

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that-little-lychee

1 month ago

@andy-the-depressed expain i don't get it-

Reblog and see if you get a color.

PURPLE: We near never speak, but I do enjoy your presence on my dashboard.

FUCHSIA: I wish I could become your best friend through the internet.

GREY: You leave me with jumbled words.

RED: I’m in love with you.

PINK: I have a crush on you.

TURQUOISE: You’re hot.

CHARTREUSE: I sincerely wish you would notice me.

TEAL: We have quite a lot in common.

BLUE: You are my Tumblr crush.

ORANGE: I dislike your page.

YELLOW: PLEASE FUCK ME.

WHITE: PLEASE MARRY ME.

GREEN: I find you cute.

BLACK: I would date you.

BROWN: I dislike you.

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that-little-lychee

1 month ago

It’s not even funny how relatable this is.

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that-little-lychee

1 week ago

When you see two of your moots are moots

Tags

meme i love my moots

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that-little-lychee

1 week ago

Hey!! Um so I was wondering what the book you're writing is about? From the line in the reblog game, I think it's a murder mystery? Am I right??

Yep it sure is

even tho I’m an Aussie it’s set in America, and it’s about a teenage girl called Tallula (Talli) Lavine, and it opens with her waking up in hospital with amnesia and a stab wound, being told that her sister Bailey was killed and then she tries to solve the murder :)

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writeblr writing reading book Murder Mystery female writers writer on tumblr

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that-little-lychee

2 months ago

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that-little-lychee

1 month ago

THE PODCAST IS OUT

HI GUYS

So if anyone wants to listen to a podcast by two teenage girls, me (Amelie) and Evelyn, who just yap about books for an hour, we're now out on Spotify, Pocketcasts, Iheartradio, Castbox and Apple Podcasts. We'll have a new episode every fortnight.

The podcast is called Bookshelved, and our first episode is 'What's your favourite... (Book Edition!)'. You can email us at 1bookshelved.pod@gmail.com. I really hope you guys can give it a quick listen just to see if it's your jam or not :)

(P.S. Credits to Anna Smith for the cover art)

Tags

Spotify writeblr writing reading book books and reading book recommendations podcast bookblr bookworm

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that-little-lychee

1 month ago

I just like putting Alastor in uncomfortable situations for him lolol

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that-little-lychee

1 month ago

YES IT HELPS A LOT THANK YOU

Hi there

so in the book i'm writing the main character, Talli, gets stabbed and hits her head on a rock or smthing which damages her memory a bit

the book opens with her waking up in the hostpital, so I was how she might be treated for a stab wound or how long they would keep her in the hospital, etc etc

would you know anything about that kind of thing? I don't need it to be INSANELY specific, it's fiction, but I would like something that's pretty close to real life

tyyyy!!!

Hello hello, I hope this helps and good luck on your book!!

Alrighty! So, the treatment for the knife wound would entirely depend on where she was stabbed and how deep the stab wound was. If you wanna keep it safe and simple, I'd go with the arms, legs, or shoulders. You could also go for the abdomen, but it would have to be an incredibly shallow stab. Don't go for the chest area or back, that makes thing super complicated. If you wanna make it in any of those other areas, feel free to ask about them! In an emergency situation, we'd try to control the bleeding by applying direct pressure, packing the wound (if it's on an extremity), or applying a tourniquet (also of it's in an extremity). With extremities, there is always the possibility, if enough force and a big enough knife is used, that bones can fracture. I'm not too sure what they'd do in a hospital setting, but based on what I've learned, unless there are some weird underlying stuff going on, they'd stitch the wound and monitor for internal bleeding. Something both EMS and the hospital will be super worried about, especially if the bleeding at the stab wound has been controlled, is the head trauma. With head trauma there is always the possibility that there is some sort of brain bleed, which is life threatening and needs surgery to fix. They'd keep her in the hospital for a long time until they've ruled the head trauma okay enough to leave, though I'm not sure how long that would be. Also, just for funsies, the part of the brain that is in charge of memories is called your hippocampus, which is located in the temporal lobes of the brain, so she'd probably have hit the side of her head! :)

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