I need some help

[Erik Vrell]

I want to make it so that Erik isn't dead inside when I write him. How should I go about writing emotions into my posts?

[Corporal Light]

I might not be the best person for advice, but I'll try my best.

I'll try to do it in a step by step process as well so, in he case anything makes no sense, you at least know the general order of things.

1. Make sure you know exactly what Erik's personality is.

You can't really have a character that has no personality, much less emotions to draw them on. Ask yourself. What IS Erik's general personality? His overall viewpoint? If there was one trait that makes him stand out, what would it be? If you can answer all of these questions, then you are on your way to writing emotions.

2. When you write, try to make your personality as obvious as possible.

This is best accomplished through dialogue. Whatever your character's personality is, make it perfectly clear. Now, obviously, if the character in question has a hidden side to him, then just show the not hidden side.

3. When you want to write emotional scenes, think about the character's mindset.

Want to write a scene where your character is bawling and you want the audience to share his pain? Aside from having to make the character through either relatibility or believability, you must also consider his mindset during that time.

Had anything happened before the scene? Why would your character act so down at this time, and not others? How about intense feelings of anger? Is he always like that, or did just the right amount of things happen that caused him to snap?

In essence, when you do these kinds of scenes, take note of your character's personality and mindset at the time.

4. Stand Out.

This is by far the most important.

If mine of the above really help, then the only thing I can say is to try to give Erik some way to stand out. Personality, appearance, backstory, etc.

[Strazio Rockwell]

This is a tough one, injecting emotion into a written character is one of the hardest things for a writer to do.

I think understanding your character's flaws is every important. People are naturally drawn towards characters that aren't perfect and have human flaws. Does your character have a temper? Let it be known, or if he can't show it make sure the reader knows that they are holding their tongue and fuming because of it. Find your character's flaws and use them to polish and contrast their strong suits. Flaws make a character moreso than their strengths.

Passive characters are *generally* boring to read, a lot of roleplayers fall into the trap of keeping the focus upon their character too much. Bring in an outside element, bring in an obnoxious character who makes a mess of things and creates conflict for your protagonist. Conflict forces a passive character to choose, it forces them to react which offers insight into their thoughts and feelings. Why did they act this way, why did they choose to save the dog instead of the cat? Bring conflict and force your character to overcome their flaws or suffer the sting of failure.

Also never allow your character to be alone for very long. A lone character tends to think a lot rather than act, which is bad and slogs a story down. It is fine in small dose, like sprinkles on a cake, but don't allow your character to be alone and monologue for longer than a few paragraphs. Bringing in a contrasting character, or someone that illicits some kind of reaction (doesn't matter what so long as its a reaction of some sort) allows us to understand the main character better. Why does he hate this person he just met? Who does this lady remind him of and why does he suddenly feel homesick?

All-in-all emotion is a ton of little things being stitched together, akin to a quilt.