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How to Show Anger in Writing (13 Fiery Tips + Examples)

Expressing anger in writing is all about striking the right chord without losing your melody.

Here’s a deep dive into making your words burn with intensity, yet not scorch the essence of your narrative.

Whether you’re penning a novel, dishing out a blog, or scripting for screens, these 13 fiery tips—punctuated with examples—will stoke your creative flames. Let’s ignite your stories!

Here’s how to show anger in writing.

1) Know the Spectrum of Anger

Table of Contents

Anger isn’t one-size-fits-all. It ranges from simmering annoyance to volcanic eruptions.

Recognizing this spectrum in your writing adds depth and realism.

I’ve written angry characters many times in my short stories and novels l– such as in my Past Lives series.

• Subtle Irritation : Characters might use short, clipped sentences. Their annoyance bubbles under the surface, revealed through terse dialogue or brisk actions.
• Blazing Rage : Here, descriptions become more intense. Language is vivid, possibly chaotic, mirroring the turmoil of unbridled anger.

Example : Compare “She was irritated by his lateness” to “Each tick of the clock was a hammer to her patience, her irritation boiling into a tempest with every wasted minute.”

2) Show the Anger, Don’t Tell the Anger

Telling readers a character is angry is one thing; showing them through actions, body language, and dialogue is another.

This approach breathes life into your scenes.

• Body Language : Clenched fists, narrowed eyes, and stiff posture are classic indicators.
• Actions : Actions speak louder than words. A character slamming a door or shattering a glass captures anger vividly.
• Dialogue : Sharp, biting dialogue can convey anger more effectively than descriptions of feelings.

Example : “Her words were ice, each syllable a dagger cloaked in venom.”

3) Use Sensory Details

Engage the senses to make your readers feel the anger.

Describe the physical sensations of anger in your character or setting.

• Sound : Raised voices, heavy breathing, or the crunch of breaking objects.
• Sight : The flush of cheeks, the lightning of a storm brewing in someone’s eyes.
• Touch : The heat of flushed skin, the tension in the air.

Example : “The room seemed to pulse with his rage, air thick as if charged with electricity, every breath a struggle against the storm within.”

4) Vary Sentence Structure

Anger can disrupt the flow of thoughts, leading to fragmented sentences or, conversely, long, run-on sentences as thoughts spiral out of control.

• Short, Choppy Sentences : Indicate quick, sharp thoughts or actions.
• Long, Unwinding Sentences : Show a buildup of anger, a mind racing faster than words can follow.

Example : “Stop. Just—stop. Words like bullets, thoughts a jumbled mess. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—listen.”

5) Use Fiery Metaphors and Similes

Comparisons can powerfully convey anger, painting vivid pictures in the reader’s mind.

• Metaphors : Describe anger as a wildfire, a storm, a beast.
• Similes : Anger like a thorn in one’s side, as volatile as a chemical reaction.

Example : “His anger was a tornado, indiscriminate in its destruction.”

6) Incorporate Internal Monologue

Internal monologues allow readers inside a character’s head, providing a firsthand look at their anger.

• Thoughts vs. Reality : Contrast what a character thinks with what they say or do.
• Rationalization : Characters may justify their anger to themselves, offering deeper insight.

Example : “In his mind, he was justified, each reason a brick in the fortress of his rage.”

7) Leverage Dialogue Tags and Action Beats

Dialogue tags and action beats can subtly indicate anger, adding dynamism to conversations.

• Tags : Use verbs like “snapped,” “hissed,” or “growled” sparingly for impact.
• Action Beats : Intersperse dialogue with actions that show anger.

Example : “‘Fine,’ he growled, the word more an animal snarl than a human response.”

8) Choose Your Words Carefully

The right words can make or break the intensity of a scene.

Opt for strong, vivid vocabulary that conveys the heat of anger.

• Adjectives and Verbs : Select those that pack an emotional punch.
• Avoid Clichés : Fresh, innovative descriptions keep readers engaged.

Example : “Each accusation was a venom-tipped arrow, words meant to wound.”

9) Reflect Anger in the Setting

The setting can mirror a character’s emotions, enhancing the mood.

• Weather : Storms, wind, or oppressive heat can parallel anger.
• Environment : A room might feel smaller, claustrophobic, as tension mounts.

10) Use Pacing to Build Tension

Pacing is crucial in portraying anger. Slow buildups can lead to explosive confrontations, while rapid escalations can underscore a character’s volatile nature.

• Build Tension Slowly : Let the anger simmer, building it through subtle cues before it boils over.
• Quick Escalation : Sudden outbursts can shock and engage readers, showcasing the unpredictability of rage.

Example : “The silence that filled the room was the calm before the storm, an ominous quiet that preceded the eruption of his pent-up fury.”

11) Explore the Roots of Anger

Understanding and conveying why a character is angry adds layers to your narrative. It makes their anger relatable and justified, even if the readers don’t agree.

• Backstory : Brief glimpses into the character’s past can illuminate the roots of their anger.
• Triggers : Identify what sparks anger in your character. Is it a word, an action, or a memory?

Example : “Old wounds were tender, and the mere mention of his father was a lit match to the kindling of his unresolved anger.”

12) Address the Aftermath of Anger

The consequences of anger can be as important as its expression. Addressing the aftermath adds realism and depth.

• Reflection : Characters might reflect on their anger, experiencing regret, justification, or even pride.
• Impact on Relationships : Anger can forge new bonds, strain existing ones, or break ties altogether.

Example : “In the quiet that followed his storm, he was left to survey the wreckage of words unsaid and bridges burned.”

13) Infuse Empathy into Angry Characters

Readers should understand, if not sympathize with, your angry characters.

By infusing empathy into your portrayal, you make their anger meaningful rather than off-putting.

• Humanize : Show vulnerable moments or justified reasons behind their anger.
• Consequences : Demonstrate awareness of their actions’ impact, adding layers to their character.

Example : “Behind his furious facade lay a quivering fear, a dread that his anger was all that kept the world at bay.”

Bonus Tip: Edit Anger with Precision

Once you’ve drafted your fiery prose, refining your depiction of anger is key. Editing allows you to ensure that the anger serves the story and character development.

• Balance : Ensure anger doesn’t overshadow other emotions or narrative elements.
• Consistency : Keep characters’ reactions in line with their development and backstory.

Example : “He reined in his temper, channeling the inferno within into a focused beam of determination.”

Here is a good video about how to show anger in writing:

Showing Anger in Special Circumstances

Below is a table that pairs various contexts with suggestions on how to describe or show the specific form of anger relevant to each situation.

Anger Across Genres: Three Scene Examples

Anger, a universal emotion, takes on unique shades in different genres.

Each of the following scenes illustrates how to weave anger into narratives, from the raw intensity of a thriller, the complex dynamics of a family drama, to the shadowed corridors of a fantasy saga.

Thriller: The Chase

Detective Lara Hale’s heartbeat thumped in her ears, mirroring the rhythm of her pounding footsteps on the rain-slick pavement.

Her breath formed misty clouds in the cold night air as she pursued the silhouette darting through the maze of alleyways. “Stop!” she bellowed, her voice laced with a fury fueled by months of dead ends and tonight’s near miss. The frustration of the chase, the anger at the faceless figure always slipping through her fingers, surged through her veins like fire. –

Each stride was powered by a cocktail of adrenaline and rage, the kind that blurred the lines between justice and vengeance. As she rounded the corner, the suspect stumbled, and Lara’s anger morphed into a predatory smile. This time, she vowed, there would be no escape.

Family Drama: The Broken Vase

The crash of the vase breaking echoed through the hallways of the Thompson household, a sound far too familiar yet always jarring. Margaret stood frozen, shards of glass scattered at her feet like crystal tears, the roses they once held wilted by the tension in the air.

“Jonathan, I—” she began, only to be cut off by Jonathan’s towering presence at the doorway. “Another one, Margaret? Really?” His voice was a low simmer, disappointment etching deeper furrows in his brow. This wasn’t just about the vase, or the many before it. It was about unspoken grievances, the kind that festered. Margaret’s hands trembled, not from the cold but from the rising tide of frustration.

“Maybe if you listened for once—” she snapped back, her voice cracking like the vase, her anger a reflection of years of feeling unheard, unseen. In the debris of their marriage, anger was the only thing that still dared to bloom.

Fantasy: The Duel

In the heart of the Eldritch Forest, under a canopy of whispering leaves, Sir Elden faced his betrayer, Lord Draven. The air was thick with ancient magic, the ground sacred and soaked with the blood of legends. “You dare challenge me in the lands of my ancestors?” Draven’s voice boomed, a thunderous declaration laced with dark power.

Elden’s response was a quiet storm, his anger not loud but deep, an abyss from which there was no return. “For the kingdom, for my sister, I will end this,” he declared, drawing his sword, a blade forged from starfire and vengeance. The duel was not just a clash of steel but of wills, a dance of fury and finesse. Elden’s every move was fueled by a righteous anger, a burning desire to restore balance and honor.

As the swords met, sparks flew, illuminating the forest with the light of their rage, a testament to the fact that some battles were driven by a love so fierce, it could only be expressed through anger.

Final Thoughts: How to Show Anger in Writing?

Portraying anger in writing demands a blend of finesse, empathy, and strategic storytelling.

By employing these 13 tips, you’ll be able to weave complex tapestries of emotion that resonate with readers and enrich your narratives. Remember, anger, when used judiciously, can illuminate characters’ depths, propel plots, and engage readers on a primal level.

Now, armed with these strategies, set your pages ablaze—metaphorically, of course.

Related Posts:

• How To Show Annoyance In Writing? (13 Cranky Ways)
• How To Show Surprise In Writing (250+ Examples & Words)
• How to Show Happiness in Writing (100+ Ways & Examples)
• How to Describe a Greedy Person in Writing (21 Best Tips)
• How to Describe a Brave Person in Writing (21 Tips + Examples)

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10 Ways To Describe Anger In Writing?

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by anger, struggling to put those fiery emotions into words? Whether it’s the simmering frustration of daily life or the intense heat of a personal conflict, anger is an emotion we all experience at some point.

Understanding how to describe anger in writing can be a powerful and therapeutic way to deal with these feelings.

Even though anger is a normal emotion , an effective control plan can help a person communicate the emotions positively. This blog aims to help you navigate anger. We will explore various writing techniques that can give voice to your anger, helping you put your feelings into words that truly resonate.

But it’s not just about venting; it’s about doing so constructively. We’ll provide you with tips on how to express your anger in an emotionally satisfying way, respectful, and considerate way. Words have immense power, and we want to show you how to use that power wisely.

Moreover, writing about your anger can be therapeutic. It can provide a release, clarity, and even healing. Join us as we try to understand anger, write about it, and become stronger and more self-aware from the process.

10 Effective Ways to Describe Anger in Writing

When penning down your emotions, effectively describing anger is an art that can captivate readers and convey complex emotions. It can also help you manage your emotions constructively.

Today, we are exploring practical techniques and strategies that will empower your words to vividly depict anger, creating a powerful connection between your writing and your emotions.

1. Reveal the Angry Character

It’s essential to reveal the inner workings of the character experiencing this emotion to convey anger effectively in writing. Anger isn’t just a feeling; it’s often a reaction to external stimuli or internal conflict.

Therefore, it’s crucial to explore what triggers the anger, whether it’s a specific event, a long-standing issue, or a culmination of frustrations. Understanding the root cause of anger allows your readers to empathize with the character’s emotional journey.

Diving into the character’s history, personality, and current circumstances is equally vital. These factors shape how anger is expressed . For example, a character with a history of betrayal may exhibit anger differently from someone who’s generally quick-tempered.

By providing insights into your character’s psyche through inner monologues, flashbacks, or dialogue, you create a deeper connection between readers and the character’s emotional experience.

Whether your goal is to craft compelling characters in a novel or to authentically journal your own experiences, allowing readers to grasp the complexities of your character’s anger is vital to compelling storytelling.

2. Portray the Facial Expression of the Character

Facial expressions are powerful tools for conveying anger in writing. They provide a visual cue that helps readers visualize the character’s emotional state. When a character is angry, their face can undergo significant changes.

Describe how their jaw tightens, nostrils flare, brows furrow, and eyes narrow or intensify. These physical manifestations vividly depict anger and make it relatable to readers.

Furthermore, the character’s facial expression can directly impact their interactions with others. A scowl may intimidate those around them, while clenched fists could be perceived as a warning of potential aggression.

Gritted teeth might signal extreme frustration. The subtler aspects of facial expression, such as a quivering lip or teary eyes, add depth to the character’s anger by revealing vulnerability and complex emotions beneath the surface.

By effectively portraying the character’s facial expression, you provide readers with a rich sensory experience that allows them to feel the character’s anger and connect more deeply with the narrative.

3. Incorporate Angry Body Language

Anger is a full-body experience, and the character’s body language plays a pivotal role in conveying this emotion in writing. Consider how the character moves and holds themselves when angry.

Do they pace back and forth, stomp their feet, or slam doors? These physical actions illustrate their frustration and create a sense of restlessness and pent-up energy.

The character’s body language can also reveal their emotional state. For example, standing tall and confrontational may suggest confidence and aggression, while slouching or shrinking in on themselves can indicate vulnerability or defensiveness. Additionally, showing the symptoms of verbal anger will also help the readers related to the character.

Describing these bodily actions and postures enriches the reader’s understanding of the character’s emotional journey.

Moreover, paying attention to the subtler, more nuanced aspects of body language is crucial. Does the character clench their fists, cross their arms defensively, or nervously tap their fingers? These small gestures convey various shades of anger, from simmering irritation to explosive rage.

Effectively incorporating angry body language into your writing helps readers see and feel the character’s emotional turmoil, making the narrative more immersive and engaging.

4. Physiological Reactions Triggered by Anger

Describing the physiological reactions of an angry character is a powerful way to immerse readers in the emotional experience. Anger isn’t solely a cognitive response; it’s a bodily one.

When someone is angry, their heart may race, their muscles may tense, and their face may flush. These physiological responses are outward signs of inner turmoil, and conveying them effectively can make the character’s anger vivid and relatable.

You can describe the character’s heart pounding like a drum, their fists clenching until their knuckles turn white, or the heat rising in their cheeks. These physical reactions provide a visceral connection, allowing readers to observe and feel the character’s anger.

These descriptions add depth to the narrative and help readers fully grasp the intensity of the emotion.

5. Describe the Angry Character’s Thoughts

Anger is a complex emotion often accompanied by a barrage of thoughts. To effectively convey anger in writing, delve into the character’s thought process.

Are they ruminating on past injustices? Are they struggling to find the right words to express their anger? Are they wrestling with conflicting feelings? These internal dialogues provide insight into the characters’ emotional state, motivations, and how they plan to deal with their anger.

The reader is privy to the character’s inner world by describing the character’s thoughts. Are they plotting revenge, seeking justice, or merely venting their frustrations internally? The character’s thought process can vary widely based on their personality, experiences, and the circumstances that triggered their anger.

This insight helps readers relate to the character more deeply, enhancing their engagement with the story.

6. Explain How Other Characters React to the Anger

In storytelling, it’s not just the angry character’s response that matters; it’s also how others react to their anger. When one character is angry, it can create a chain reaction of emotions and actions in those around them.

Describe how people respond to the character’s anger – do they back away, try to defuse the situation, or challenge the character further?

The reactions of other characters can provide valuable context and contrast, revealing the impact of the anger on relationships and the overall story. Do they empathize with the character’s anger or see it as an overreaction?

These responses create tension and dynamics that add depth to the narrative, offering readers a more comprehensive understanding of the character’s anger and consequences. This enriches the story and keeps readers engaged by highlighting the ripple effect of the character’s anger on the plot and other characters.

7. Use a Sharp and Staccato Sentence Structure

The choice of sentence structure can significantly influence how anger is conveyed in writing. A sharp sentence structure involves short, abrupt sentences that mimic the quick, intense bursts of emotion often associated with anger.

This technique creates a sense of urgency, tension, and impatience in the reader. It mirrors the character’s racing thoughts and difficulty controlling their emotions.

For instance, instead of using long, flowing sentences, opt for sentences that are succinct and to the point. These can replicate the character’s clipped speech and the abruptness of their reactions.

This technique effectively mirrors the character’s emotional state, allowing readers to experience the raw, unfiltered anger.

The sharp and staccato sentence structure is a powerful tool for capturing the character’s emotions. It can be used in their dialogue, internal monologues, and descriptions of their actions. It’s a way to immerse readers in the character’s emotional turmoil and make the narrative more engaging and dynamic.

8. Articulate Inner Turmoil Through Character Isolation

Anger often brings with it a sense of isolation. When a character is angry, they may withdraw emotionally, creating a barrier between themselves and others. To effectively convey this in writing, describe the character’s actions and thought processes that signify their isolation.

For instance, you can depict the character’s tendency to distance themselves from friends and loved ones during anger. Their choice to brood alone, the reluctance to share their thoughts and feelings, or even their physical withdrawal from social situations can communicate their emotional isolation.

Furthermore, you can articulate the character’s internal struggle to bridge the gap between their anger and desire for connection. This internal conflict provides depth to the character’s experience as they grapple with their anger while longing for understanding and reconciliation.

By emphasizing the character’s isolation, you give readers a window into their inner turmoil, allowing them to connect with the character on a deeper level. Readers can empathize with the character’s struggle to balance their anger and need for connection, making the emotional journey more relatable and engaging.

9. Add Sarcasm to Demonstrate Passive-Aggressive Anger

Sarcasm is a powerful literary device that effectively conveys passive-aggressive anger in writing. When a character uses sarcasm, they say one thing while implying the opposite, often with mockery or contempt.

This can be a subtle way to express anger without directly addressing it. To use sarcasm effectively, consider the character’s tone, choice of words, and the context in which it is employed.

Sarcastic comments can reveal the character’s frustration or annoyance while maintaining a façade of humor or indifference. It’s a means of venting anger indirectly, making it a valuable tool for characters who may not want to confront or express their anger openly. However, remember that sarcasm should be carefully balanced; too much can make the character appear insincere or overly bitter.

This technique adds depth to your character and their interactions, allowing readers to decipher the underlying anger and the dynamics at play. It’s a subtle way to show that the character is not just upset but also skilled in passive-aggressive communication.

10. Refrain from Using Emotion-Describing Adjectives

A common pitfall in describing emotions in writing is relying too heavily on adjectives to label the character’s feelings directly. While this approach can be helpful in moderation, it often leads to telling rather than showing.

To convey anger effectively, it’s crucial to avoid simply stating that the character is “angry,” “furious,” or “irritated.” Instead, show the anger through the character’s actions, thoughts, and dialogue.

For example, rather than saying, “She was angry,” you could describe the character clenching her fists, her face flushing, and her voice rising in sharp, accusatory tones during a heated argument. Allowing the character’s behavior and expressions to convey anger engages the reader’s senses and imagination, making the emotion more vivid and relatable.

Refraining from emotion-describing adjectives encourages you to use more nuanced and evocative language, which can paint a richer and more immersive emotional landscape. It forces you to delve deeper into your character’s perspective and unique anger experience, making the narrative more engaging and authentic.

Throughout this blog, we’ve explored how to describe anger in writing so you can manage the angry emotions constructively .

Describing the character’s physiological reactions, such as racing hearts or clenched fists, makes the emotion tangible and relatable. Diving into the character’s thoughts and emotions provides insight into their emotional journey, fostering a deeper connection with readers.

Equally important is how other characters react to anger, creating tension, dynamics, and consequences. Using a sharp and staccato sentence structure in moments of anger creates urgency and tension.

Employing sarcasm allows characters to express passive-aggressive anger indirectly, adding depth. Lastly, refraining from emotion-describing adjectives and showing anger through actions, thoughts, and dialogue makes the emotion vivid and immersive.

By incorporating these techniques, you can create characters and narratives that resonate deeply with your readers, providing a nuanced understanding of the intricate emotion of anger. The key to effective anger portrayal in writing lies in subtlety, context, and the unique characteristics of your characters and their stories.

Dr. Carlos Todd PhD LCMHC specializes in anger management, family conflict resolution, marital and premarital conflict resolution. His extensive knowledge in the field of anger management may enable you to use his tested methods to deal with your anger issues.

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How to Express Anger in Writing

Last Updated: April 30, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 132,485 times.

You can't write a great story without emotion and anger can be one of the most powerful emotions people have. What makes a character angry and how they deal with that anger tells your readers a lot about that character. To make it compelling, though, you can't just have a character say "I'm angry." They need to show that anger through action that advances the plot. Here, we've gathered some ideas you can use to express anger in your writing.

Show the angry character's behavior.

• For example, you might write: "Mia slammed the phone down on the table and stormed out of the room." While your character hasn't involved anyone else, it's pretty obvious from her behavior that she's angry.
• For a more confrontational scene, you might write: "Kale stepped toward Micah, glaring at him. Before Micah could react, Kale shoved him backward, screaming, 'How could you do that?'"

Describe the character's facial expression.

• For example, you might write: "Alex's nostrils flared as he stared at Jenna. He couldn't believe she'd taken Michael to the game without asking him first."
• Here are some other phrases: "hostile glare," "face contorted with rage," "bared teeth," "curled lip," "clenched jaw."
• Eyes are often considered containers or gateways to emotional expression, so you can also show anger just by describing the character's eyes. [3] X Research source For example, you might write, "Jenna's eyes hardened and narrowed into slits as she watched Tara enter arm-in-arm with her ex-girlfriend, Mia."

Add angry body language.

• For example, you might write: "Brooklyn stood, their fists clenched by their sides, and rolled their shoulders back, glaring at Trinity. 'Care to say that again?'"
• Other angry body language includes wild gestures, pointing at or grabbing another character, pacing rapidly, or tensing their muscles.

Include physical side effects triggered by anger.

• For example, you might write: "Sara's heart raced in her chest as she looked at her phone. She willed her hand to stop shaking as she slowly read the text again."
• Other physical effects of anger include pulsing or throbbing veins, a flushed face or neck, a dry mouth, or breathlessness.

Report the angry character's thoughts.

• For example, you might write: "The room felt like it was closing in around me. In my mind, I was growing larger and larger, expanding with rage. If I didn't do something, fast, to get myself under control, I'd explode and take out everyone and everything around me."
• This can also work in a third-person narrative if your narrator is omniscient. For example, you might write: "Kieran gripped the glass in his hand. His first thought was to throw it to the floor and smash it, but he knew if he did that, he wouldn't stop until every glass in the cupboard was in shards."

Describe how other characters react to the anger.

• For example, you might write: "Mara looked away from Sean and slumped in her chair, crossing her arms across her chest. The more he fumed, the smaller she made herself."
• You might also have another character attempt to calm or restrain the angry character. They might say something like, "Hey, easy man—no need to get worked up," or "There are more important things—just let it go."
• For yet another option, have a character throw out an obvious (and awkward) distraction or attempt to change the subject. Make it clear in your narration that they're trying to divert attention from either the angry character or the source of the anger.

Use an abrupt, staccato sentence structure.

• For example, you might write: "Ronan made his way across the dance floor with eyes shooting lasers. The walls. The speakers. The lights. The DJ. Smiles crashed and laughter died. Only Josh and Sam danced on, oblivious."
• Go for short, harsh-sounding words like "smash," "crash," "halt," "force," "blast," or "slam."

Express inner turmoil by having a character isolate themselves.

• For example, you might write: "Kairi sat in the dark, ignoring her mother's calls to come eat dinner. She continued to cut the photos into strips and hold them in the candle's flame, oblivious to the pain in her fingertips as she destroyed all evidence of her former friendship."
• Your character might be angry at themselves more than anyone else. They might also be mad at a situation but blame themselves for that situation. In those scenarios, they're more likely to take that anger out on themselves than on someone else.
• Other ways a character might take anger out on themselves include isolating themselves from others, refusing comfort from others, or hurting themselves.

Use sarcasm to show passive-aggressive anger.

• For example, you might write: "'Hey, dinner's ready. Thanks for all your help,' Hermione said, rolling her eyes. After 4 hours in the kitchen, the least they could do is eat."
• Another good way to convey sarcasm is to have your angry character say the opposite of what would be expected. For example, if someone lets a door close in your angry character's face, they might say "Thanks for holding the door for me, I appreciate it!"
• Using over-the-top adjectives is another way to convey sarcasm. For example, suppose you have a character who tries to distract your angry character by asking if they've seen a film that was recently released. Your angry character might reply, "Yes, and it was glorious. Now, can we get back to what happened in the kitchen?"

Avoid adjectives that describe emotions.

• For example, instead of writing "Even though it had been 5 years, John was still angry at Susan," you might write "Even though it had been 5 years, John's face still burned when he thought of Susan's betrayal."

Expert Q&A

• What triggers anger? Keep these triggers specific and consistent for each character to make your characters more realistic. [10] X Trustworthy Source American Psychological Association Leading scientific and professional organization of licensed psychologists Go to source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Try keeping a journal to document your own emotional experiences. It can help you describe your characters' feelings in a more realistic way. [11] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Avoid clichés. A phrase that's been overused to show anger won't have the impact a more original phrase would. Thanks Helpful 7 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/anger-how-it-affects-people
• ↑ https://psychcentral.com/blog/everyday-creativity/2016/09/5-ways-to-process-your-emotions-through-writing
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/rethinking-men/202207/how-the-eyes-express-emotions-and-bodily-states
• ↑ https://positivepsychology.com/express-emotions/
• ↑ https://positivepsychology.com/express-feelings/
• ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3830620/
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/passive-aggression
• ↑ https://www.apa.org/topics/anger/understanding
• ↑ https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-journaling/

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How to Describe Anger in a Character

By Isobel Coughlan

In this post, we explain how to describe anger in a character through 10 words. Scroll down to learn more!

A type of anger that is strong and tough to control .

“The villain raged through the streets, destroying cars and buildings as he passed by.”

“The witch screamed with rage when she realized her plans had been ruined.”

How it Adds Description

You can use “rage” to show that your character is experiencing strong anger that they’re finding difficult to control. This is often applied to villains, as they tend to have evil or uncontrollable personalities. If a villainous character is “raging,” most other characters will likely fear them and try to stay away from their emotional outbursts.

2. Irritated

Someone who is angered or provoked.

“The hero became irritated when no one would listen to him. But he ignored his frustration and continued doing good.”

“She felt irritation rising inside her when she heard her enemy was cooking up a new plan.”

“Irritated” describes a lesser form of anger, which is often seen in moral or good characters — for example, protagonists. Heroes or good guys might become “irritated” when plot events don’t go their way, but due to their principles, they know better than to unleash violent anger on other innocent characters.

When someone or somewhere is extremely quiet .

“The man was silent with anger, but his friends could see his blood was boiling.”

“After being publicly humiliated, Todd was silent with anger. He started planning his revenge instantly.”

The word “silent” shows that a character is so angry that they’re wordless. This is most common in characters who are cold and calculating, and these characters are typically antagonists. Characters who go “silent” with rage may avoid dramatic confrontations but aren’t afraid to take revenge via clever plans.

Someone who is disappointed and angry.

“She was never outwardly angry, but her friends noticed her bitter actions.”

“Anna’s bitter actions annoyed her co-workers, and soon they were ignoring her in the lunchroom.”

If you want to show a resentful character is angry, “bitter” could be an apt word to use. “Bitter” shows that the character feels like they’ve been treated unfairly, and thus they’re acting out towards others in minor ways. Self-centered characters tend to be “bitter,” especially when they believe they’re the victim all the time.

Someone who is aggressive and unfriendly.

“The new boss was hostile to his employees once he found out they didn’t like his new ideas.”

“Chad was extremely hostile to everyone after receiving his test results.”

“Hostile” describes how a character acts towards others when angry. This aggressive behavior is prominent in characters with a short fuse, and they’re most likely antagonists. Other characters likely dislike them due to their “hostile” nature, and this gets worse when they’re provoked or angry.

6. Exasperated

Someone who is angry or frustrated due to another’s actions.

“The wizard was exasperated after the elves asked him to repeat his spell for the fifth time.”

“Shelley tried not to look exasperated , but after a long day of dealing with other people’s mistakes, it was tough to hide her anger.”

Characters who are very good and well-meaning are likely to show their anger through “exasperation.” This means they’re angry due to external factors, and for a good protagonist, this is often due to helping others. Moral characters will try to hide their “exasperated” feelings so as not to hurt others, but sometimes they slip out — especially in high-pressure situations.

Someone extremely angry.

“Captain Hook looked at the peaceful island and became furious . He wanted to own it all.”

“The grand high witch was furious when she saw the children playing freely.”

If you want to highlight an antagonist’s extreme anger, you can describe them as “furious.” This adjective shows that their emotions are intense, and they’re not scared of showing them. Some antagonists and villains might use their anger and “fury” to scare subordinates into submission or to terrorize their enemies.

8. Distressed

Someone that’s upset or emotional due to anger.

“Emma was so furious, all she could do was cry. She hasn’t felt this distressed since her college application was rejected.”

“Alice looked around at all the other beauty queens, and distress seized her. She was fighting to hold back the tears.

Sometimes a character can become so angry or frustrated that they become “distressed” or emotional. This is more common in feminine or female characters, as they tend to be more in touch with their emotions and allow themselves to experience their feelings. You can also use “distressed” to show your character’s anger is overwhelming them.

To be slightly annoyed or angry.

“The young boy was miffed at the other children when they didn’t let him play hopscotch.”

“Though she had signed up for an internship, Ellie was still miffed that she didn’t get paid.”

If you want to show that a character is only slightly annoyed or angry, “miffed” is a good word to use. This shows that the character isn’t experiencing strong emotions but also isn’t happy with the situation. Being “miffed” is more common for sensitive characters, as they may take other people’s actions to heart.

10. Offended

Someone upset, angered, or hurt by someone else’s actions.

“The prince was offended by the sight of the lowly peasants, and he screwed his face up when they got too close.”

“Samantha refused to chat with her workers and was offended they thought she was their equal.”

To describe a nasty character’s anger, “offended” can help. “Offended” describes anger fueled by insecurity or hurt, and nasty characters might feel offended for seemingly insignificant reasons. The cause of the offense might even fuel the nasty character’s antagonistic motivations, giving the reader a glimpse into their nature.

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

Reader – writer – curated resources – & more, master list of ways to describe anger…, by bryn donovan.

Sometimes I think of things I wish I’d added to my Master Lists for Writers book. I’ll probably release a new edition someday, but in the meantime, I just put them on the blog.

When i was writing the phoenix codex, i sometimes took way too much time thinking about how to describe anger or other emotions. if my main character, cassie, got angry enough, wild animals attacked whoever pissed her off, so she became very aware of how her anger feels., even when you’re just looking for a few words or a phrase, you can get bogged down. with that in mind, here are ways to say someone felt angry in a more vivid way than “he felt angry.”, here’s something i can’t stress enough, though. usually, you don’t need to do this at all there are a lot of ways to show someone is angry., see the full list here, if you enjoyed this article, why not share it with all your friends, online connections and groups - go on - you know you want to, one thought on “ master list of ways to describe anger… ”.

Reblogged this on Plaisted Publishing House and commented: A great list to look at

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How do I portray irrational anger in first person?

Characters (and people) get angry at all sorts of things that might not make sense to the outside observer: Marty McFly and the word "chicken," words that are terrible slurs to one population but totally normal to others, overreactions due to mental illnesses, etc.

I feel like I have a relatively good grasp of how to portray anger in third person, rational or irrational. Readers are used to other people reacting differently than they would, as long as the character is consistent. However, if the writing is in first-person it seems that I need to take the reader.on the same journey of becoming angry.

How do I show the internal monologue of a character becoming angry? How completely do I need to evoke the same anger in the reader that the character feels?

Edit: @Rand Al'Thor, @Galastel, and @wordsworth all have excellent answers, but I chose @Stilez 's answer because the examples made everything more clear to me. Even though the trigger is irrational, the narrator's justification sounds like something a character would say for rational anger as well.

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• You wanted internal dialogue, so I ll just comment: Outside actions are a possibility as well, slam the door, the fist on the table, throw something etc. –  Hobbamok Commented Aug 29, 2019 at 9:32
• Definitely not an expert on this kind of writing (so just a comment), but I'd probably try switching to describing feelings and the kind of things that were said rather than the exact words, as that seems to mesh well with my experience of being angry causing me not to pay as much attention as I should to exactly what I'm saying. –  T.E.D. Commented Aug 29, 2019 at 15:06
• 1 I was fascinated about how SK wrote Cujo this way... I felt he did an great job of showing you the inside of the dog's head as he became more and more irrational due to the rabies--and he did it from the dog's point of view. Of course I haven't read that in decades... –  Bill K Commented Aug 29, 2019 at 21:05
• As to his creative process: "Stephen King was in an alcoholic stupor while writing this unrelenting novel about a rabid dog – and in the process produced one of literature's bluntest metaphors for addiction". There's one novel, Cujo, that I barely remember writing at all. I don't say that with pride or shame, only with a vague sense of sorrow and loss. I like that book. I wish I could remember enjoying the good parts as I put them down on the page. – Stephen King, On Writing –  smci Commented Aug 29, 2019 at 21:45

16 Answers 16

Ask yourself (or inquire) what such a person is experiencing .

It could be "I remember shaking, and then the next thing I knew was...", and they know how they felt (hot, exhausted?) and are told by others what they did.

Could be they had thoughts that they ended up accepting. ("I just had to win. To prove to him that the only sensible way to.drink coffee was by holding the cup not the handle. To smash that stupid coffee drinking look off his face. To rip his Starbucks coffee from his Starbucks face. To smash until he'd never drink coffee the wrong way again. I heard a yell. My own roar of rage. His face. His broken cup, flying midair.")

Could be in retrospect, what they learn afterwards.

Could be what its associated with, a bad memory. ("That laugh. Same laugh as Simon. Bully. Abuser. Hate him. Kill him. Make him bleed for all his did to me. Sister. All of us. Voices. Cacophony. Crescendo. Eyes. Narrow. Pounding.")

But mainly, using words that show sharp extreme emotion, show what they experience. Not always necessary to explain. Irrational rage might have reasons, but the big part is the experience .

• 4 That Starbucks example is brilliant. –  TMuffin Commented Aug 29, 2019 at 1:36

To the person experiencing anger, it won't appear irrational. To them, there's a very good reason why they're angry, why they're infuriated. What you need is to show the reason .

Now, the reason might not be what's right in front of them right now, causing the anger to appear irrational to the outsider. It might be that this last event is just the last straw, it might be that for whatever reason your character sees an event as bigger than it really is, it might be that the reason resonates with some inner fear or insecurity the character carries. But whatever it is, the reason exists.

It might be that later the character might consent they've overreacted, or vented their anger at the messenger rather than the person they were truly angry with, or something similar. But they would never say there was no reason for them to get angry in the first place. (Unless it was all over a misunderstanding, in which case it's still not irrational.)

So, if you're portraying anger in first person, it's not irrational anymore.

As for internal monologue, once the anger is not irrational, but understandable, @Amadeus is right, anger is an emotion - not a thought. You don't need much by way of internal monologue. And you don't need to evoke the same anger in the reader. The reader needs to understand it, but not necessarily feel it.

• 5 " if you're portraying anger in first person, it's not irrational anymore " - I don't agree with this part. It's not irrational to the character, so you can't describe it as irrational, but you can still have them do things that anyone else would realise are irrational. If that creates a distance between the character and the reader, so be it - such a distance can even be used as a literary device itself! I've posted my own answer from a different angle :-) –  Rand al'Thor Commented Aug 28, 2019 at 16:52
• 2 I don't think it's unusual for someone to realize that their own anger is irrational -- especially in retrospect (which first-person perspective usually is), but sometimes even in the moment. Logic doesn't always dictate emotions. –  ruakh Commented Aug 29, 2019 at 22:00

Well, you can try using short words to display bouts of rage, using really simple words in the speech with a slurry of verbs scattered intermittently. You can also emphasize repetition because people who are angry often can't forget about the past and think the same things over and over again.

For example, you can say something like

"I remember being on the fence. One day. One evening. One backyard. I was on the fence in the morning. And that was all I thought about as I reached out for my bag, slinging it over my shoulder. It was over my shoulder, all right; it was secure. I could only picture the fence standing in the way of my shoulder as I parted glances at passersby."

I have no idea what I wrote, but the usage of simple words and thoughts of the past repeating over again (try to add some variation though) can be indicative of anger.

You can also ask a lot of questions to demonstrate impatience such as, "Where were the service workers that should have helped me by now?"

• 2 Nice use of rhythm! There is something to remember here. –  laancelot Commented Aug 28, 2019 at 11:22

A trick I have learned and have been practicing recently is to stop every now and then and observe myself living in the moment instead of just living it. Its hard to do, but gets easier as you practice.

When you are in a moment where you are angry, try to stop and take note of what your own inner dialogue is. What are you thinking? What do you wish you could say, but are holding back? What is happening to you physically? Do you grit you teeth or get a headache? Are you being rational? Use this information to enhance your characters inner monologue.

Use short sentences to evoke impatience. Don't forget to include the physical reactions we have when we are angry. You can also include past experiences that trigger anger or make it worse.

Personally, I don't think there IS an internal monologue; irrational anger is all feeling and emotion, perhaps single words, and I would describe those, not try to transcribe those thoughts. The dialogue that goes with these feelings is primitive at best, and cannot capture the depth of feeling associated.

I've seen that tried, and it comes off flat to me. Describe the feelings, in first person describe the feelings you are having at that time. The irrationally angry person wants to break something, hurt someone, force the world into compliance, their imaginings are about doing something, beating somebody to a pulp.

Internal dialogue of actual thoughts cannot capture the rage they are feeling. I'd just go with "I felt like xxx" and "I wanted to xxxx" etc.

Naturally, this is a great opportunity for "show, don't tell" . You can't describe a first-person narrator's actions as irrational; you need to show somehow that they're irrational. So, how to do that? I'm going to offer a couple of counterpoints to Galastel's answer which argues that it's not irrational from the narrator's viewpoint.

Omit things that the character should be aware of. Irrational anger often involves blindness to any consideration except what's making you angry. If you show them acting in a way that ignores obvious consequences, for instance, then you don't have to actually mention those consequences - any reader who's not blinded by rage will see them, AND see that the character is not seeing them.

Think of, for example, someone who loses a computer game and smashes their computer in rage. They're not thinking of the value of the computer, the cost of replacing it. They're not getting things in proportion. If you can show your character acting in a way which is clearly out of proportion to what actually triggered their anger, then you don't need to say so.

Create an unexpected distance from the character. This suggestion might be somewhat out of left field, but if done well, it could work as a shocking way to drive home the irrationality of the emotion. Your readers are used to identifying with this character, expecting to continue being able to do so. Make the character suddenly more distant, less identifiable - shock your readers into feeling a distance from them which emphasises that they're going overboard.

I'm not sure of good suggestions for how to do this, but it's at least a new way of approaching the problem. If you usually show this character's thoughts explicitly, you could stop doing that: just describing their actions might even fit well with the numb thoughtlessness of someone consumed by rage. As a nuclear option (and this is really frame-challenging your question), you could even consider switching briefly to third-person narration to accentuate that "distance". A surprising amount can be done to affect the mood of a piece of writing by simple things such as changing tense or narrator.

An example which keeps coming to mind is towards the very end of the book Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix . It's not first-person narration, but we see the main (essentially only) viewpoint character completely losing it, screaming and smashing things, in response to a traumatic event. You might be able to pick up some ideas just from reading that chapter.

On illustrating the anger via the character's internal monologue:

There are many good suggestions here already! I particularly like @Rand 'alThor's point about the tunnel vision one might experience during extreme anger-- your character will react to the trigger out of proportion to normal considerations for the situation, the consequences, the bystanders, etc. Here are some others I think are key:

• Help us feel the rage. The character's physiological responses can be felt; try to phrase it as a visceral, specific experience rather than a more generic description of the symptoms. ("I could feel my face heating up so much my cheeks began to tingle, and acrid saliva pooled beneath my tongue." vs. "I was getting so angry my face turned red and I was spitting mad.") Look for descriptions of the sensations one might experience with a "fight" response (as opposed to "flight").
• Establish a feedback loop. If the anger is irrational, something about it must be out of proportion to the problem. Why does this happen to your character? A logical, removed view on the situation won't work, so allow the logic to be lost in favor of swirling emotion. Let your narrator's mind loop back to the same outrage over and over, feeding the anger as though a new insult had actually been delivered each time. Or have the latest trivial problem trigger feelings of anger and frustration about prior or ongoing problems, and conflate them in the character's mind.
• Feelings of frustration are often important to an uncontrolled angry response, though I think there is some rationality to them. If your character can't fix the problem or vent, the problems will fester as frustration with the situation. You can indicate this in passing with some brief introspective searching for an answer, or rhetorical but unconstructive questions like "WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?" But this is only a stepping stone to the angry outburst.
• Move to action. As the pressure valve hits critical, the self-analysis needs to drop away. (Hulk smash!) If your character lashes out physically, they aren't processing anymore-- give us the action in short, violent bursts of declarative statements. Use the rhythm and texture of your words to evoke the events. Percussive consonants can be aggressive, particularly on stressed syllables. (Think about all the best swear words.) If your character makes repeated gestures like punching or bashing their head into the wall, echo it with the meter of your words: ("I slammed my bedroom door to get away from that two-timing, smarmy asshole, but there the bastard was again, now smirking at me from his glossy movie poster! Argh, I could not get away from him!" [build up to it, and then...] "I punch ed his stup id ly ing face , hard , hard er, until the veneer of the cheap door splintered and my knuckles were scraped bloody.") Note that this is a way to interweave narration and the internal monologue-- you learn the actions that have been taken, but they're punctuated by the character's thoughts (in my example, "stupid lying face" is the monologue happening simultaneously with "punching," hard and harder). This is a way of handling "close" narration , when you are very much in the character's head-- which is what first-person narration tries to maintain throughout.

On manipulating the reader's emotions:

I don't think you need to make the reader experience the anger the same way the character does. Most readers are unlikely to get very angry unless the injury to the character is a triggering topic for a given reader. But you can get them invested in the outcome of the anger and thereby build tension. Give the scene and the players in it stakes that the reader will care about. Does the irrational outburst damage a key relationship? Does it close a possible opportunity or plot pathway for the story? Use dramatic irony to your advantage by making the reader dread the escalation and its consequences even as it's happening.

Here's another aspect of irrational anger to consider:

When you are dealing with a first-person narration and the POV character is being irrational, you have an unreliable narrator , i.e., a character whose point of view proves to the reader to be untrustworthy.

Even if your character usually provides a reliable perspective on their story, they might have moments where they slip into a less balanced viewpoint; a bout of irrational anger would be the perfect place to nudge the reader away from implicitly believing your character's narration and instead guide them toward a realization or a reminder that the reader is only getting one side of the story. If you want to avoid that you'll have to provide at least a significant trigger for the anger, even if it doesn't really justify all of that rage.

This article has a lot of useful information on writing and capitalizing on an unreliable narrator: What is an unreliable narrator?

I would suggest the following:

• Uncontrollable bad thoughts about the object of anger, particularly ones that are not rational.
• A sense of disassociation, where the narrator seems to be observing himself or herself from the outside --and is perhaps surprised by his/her own actions (or feels not able to control them).
• Physical sensations such as heat, tightness, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, etc.

• +1 for dissociation - someone experiencing irrational anger still has a rational part, often stuck inside, witnessing the tantrum and unable to break in. –  gowenfawr Commented Aug 30, 2019 at 21:12

Sounds like you have never met people with irrational rage. If you have met one, you will never have this problem again. =)

They are all the same... I know at least 3 people with irrational anger and rage issues.

They scream a lot.

Their arguments make no sense. It is usually all about them, and how everyone has wronged them. (short phrases or long phrases, makes no matter. Whatever they are saying only makes sense to them.)

They repeat themselves a lot.

They often tell you how angry they are, JUST in case you can't figure out from their irrational yelling. Because they really want you to know.

They are super self indulgent. They plead with whoever is listening to understand how they have been wronged, when they want to take a breather from the rants.

Most importantly, they will NOT BE INTERRUPTED. They are a volcano, blowing up. There is no stopping them. if someone tries to interrupt, the rage is redirected at the interruptor. Because they just want to engage, engage anyone, anything.

And it doesn't really matter if it is 3rd person or 1st person. if you know what makes an angry person .. you can describe it.

• There are definitely some good points here. I'm also amused, because not only have I met people with irrational rage issues (doesn't every little kid have them at some point), but I have irrational rage sometimes and you would never know it if we met in person. Yet clearly I'm still stuck on actually writing it –  TMuffin Commented Aug 29, 2019 at 1:35

There are several options. Others have hit on some really good ones, but here's a few more:

One, use short, emotionally-heavy words with (im)proper inflection.

Two, you could break the scene down into connected vignettes or a montage, as the adrenaline surge of strong emotion can distort our perception of time.

Three, as an extreme, you could even break into first person describing third person, as people in stressful or violent situations sometimes feel 'disconnected' and as if they're watching themself act.

None of the other answers really acknowledge this, but several can work alongside it:

Sometimes irrational anger does not have a target. The person is angry without reason, and is seeking something to blame for their anger.

You could even write this experience in a similar way to rational anger... except that the target is constantly changing, unknown, elusive.

There will also probably be a good deal of frustration to go along with this: frustration at not being able to find the source of the anger, frustration at others for not also being angry (because if they were angry too, it surely would be at the thing making you angry), and even frustration at oneself for being angry in the first place.

On another note, from personal experience (other emotions too, not necessarily anger), I am sometimes aware that my emotions are irrational, but that knowledge does not help me change how I feel, at least in the short term, and in some cases may even exacerbate the situation.

Just to add a point related to @Galastel's answer, you can show the character is being irrational by having them defend themselves (in the narrative, dialogue or both) in a way that is, on your part as the author (but not the character's), deliberately bad. Bad how? Here are some options:

• Their reasons for their feelings are all over the place. This works especially well if they're not given together (provided the anger lasts long enough), since then it seems more like they can't keep their story straight, rather than their having several justifications that support each other. They may even make inconsistent claims about the consequences for the world of whatever they're angry about. Is their issue with its effects on them, someone they care about, or someone they frankly don't care about?
• It seems like they don't know what they're really angry about, even if they think they do. People often express anger to try to solve a problem, but do they have the wrong problem ?
• Someone in-universe is liable to disagree with their I'm-in-the-right-about-this attitude, in which case there may be an argument about that. Of course, that can also happen when the anger's rational, so how do you show the difference? Have the other person make better arguments. Just switch to temporarily writing them as more sympathetic. How you do this is down to you. You might find it helps to write it in third person, then redraft to reinstate the usual narrator, but with as little of their internal monologue as possible. (Or, if it must come back, compose it of snippets that could have been dialogue, preferably the petulant kind.)
• Related to that last point, sometimes you have two characters up against each other who are both angry, but they want different things to come from their anger. It might take the reader a while to work out who you intended as "right", or it might not. Any argument Mainwaring has with Hodges in Dad's Army is an excellent example of this. Often they're as bad as each other, but often they're decidedly not. Have a look at some clips to get a feel for how you make one angry person look like they're coming from a position more grounded in the facts than the other does. (With that pair of characters, it could be either one who's more "grounded" in that sense, depending on the episode. It was a great dynamic.)

How do you behave when agitated? What do you do. Which little things are done differently? Too much force is used to close a door, answers to people are entirely shorter than they deserve to be, judgements are made too quickly and likely in error. Their temper is simply going off without significant justification and will then begin to spiral out of control.

And Yes, they can be absolutely aware of the irrationality of their own actions. Being aware they they're doing these things will almost certainly feed into them being angry. Everything piling up until they're a ticking bomb waiting to go off with the next thing that goes wrong, or the next thing they imagine goes wrong.

Because even being aware you're irrationally angry doesn't stop you from acting on it. You're angry, in a non rational way, it's going to test your self control. Have your character act rashly and attempt to stop themselves as soon as they realize what they're doing, their impulse control will be reduced considerably.

Further, aware or not of being irraitonal, they'll almost certainly regret what they did while angry. Which feeds into a cycle of regret and self incrimination that can easily keep someone upset. In addition to whatever is happening, have them argue with themselves over their own actions, demanding justification of what they just did. It's a great way to make yourself angrier.

Often times anger is part of a self feeding cycle that people let tear themselves apart. Write someone coming apart at the seams and destroying their life or simply making a situation worse through rash actions they cannot justify even to themselves. Then you have irrational anger.

I think the answer actually depends on the nature of the first-person narrative. Is the narrator looking back on these events in a self-aware fashion? That is, is this person now aware that they were irrational? Or do they still think their anger was reasonable, even though it wasn't? Or are they intentionally avoiding comment, just describing the events and the emotions they felt in that moment?

Or, alternatively, is it written in the present tense, as is sometimes done? That allows the narrator to feel the emotions while describing them.

I think having a handle on which of these options is in play will help you decide what to do.

Sometimes the character herself doesn't realize her irrationality until later. There's a story in Larry Niven's "Magic Goes Away" universe where they're possessed by a god that devours love and madness, leaving cold rationality behind. They do perfectly reasonable things in the face of character-defining struggles, and don't realize it's out of their own characters until later.

One of the other answers mentions "Uncontrollable bad thoughts about the object of anger, particularly ones that are not rational". I'd expand on this to put in the suggestion of simple, unreasoning repetition. (E.g. "Damn him. He's wrong. He's wrong. He'd wrong. He's wrong.") It would signify the weakness of a character's reasoning that they can't expand a thought with logical justification, and just have to loop back on the assertion as if to establish their correctness by simple insistence.

You could also vary the wording without real expansion ("What does he know? He doesn't know what he's talking about. He's an ignoramous. He has no clue." etc.); the shallowness of the variation would make it clear to the reader that that the character is unwilling to plumb the source of their contempt or hatred to any real depth. In my examples I deliberately left out exclamation points, in order to hint at a certain fearful self-doubt, but it could possibly build up to exclamation point punctuation. This repetition could be sprinkled through multiple paragraphs, maybe even as awkward self-interruptions of other thoughts.

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Let’s Write Anger

Friends. Writing is difficult. Especially emotions, which are pivotal in crafting realistic characters.

At first, we write super interesting actions for our cast. But then, we slip into easy repetition. He gave a look. She nodded. They shrugged. Or unforgivable redundancies like ‘he glared at her angrily’.

The worst part is that we don’t even notice how often our characters repeat actions until a beta reader or editor points it out. Fabulous, right?

Keeping it real and compelling reaction-wise isn’t always simple.

While the internet is littered with posts on writing emotions, they aren’t always comprehensive. Some of them are no more than little teasers for the author’s emotion dictionaries, for sale on Amazon. Free resources are scarce and, honestly, as an indie writer myself, I know that funds can be scarce too.

I’m not working on my novel right now, but I don’t want to stop improving my writing. So, I’ve been researching emotions and plan to do a series of posts on different ways to show them in writing.

Let’s do this.

Anger in Body Language

• Actions that make someone seem larger (usually characters with the fight instinct). Puffed out chest, chin lifted, hands on hips, arms raised, feet spread apart, coming to full height, shoulders straightened.
• Other characters will make themselves smaller (those with the flight instinct). Crossed arms, ankles or legs, shoulders slumping, retreating, tucking the chin to look or glare upwards at the other character.
• Characters with the fawning instinct or otherwise submissive characters may constantly apologise, take the blame for the other party’s anger (even if they’re not guilty) or criticise themselves during the argument. Anything to make it stop. They may even let the other person physically hurt them if they believe it would help.
• Characters might also go rigid or seem not to react at all (those with the freeze instinct).
• Stoic characters or characters who become quiet when angry can also seem to freeze, or they’ll tightly control their movements.
• Some characters will become reckless in anger. Large, rapid movements–the angrier the wilder.
• Some will seem to relax when angry, which is a mocking action that translates to ‘you can’t hurt me, bring it on’ and will probably fuel the other party’s rage (unless they’re also the relaxed-angry or quiet-angry type).
• Some characters will cry, so lots of flicking or wiping away tears with jerky movements or sobs.
• Fists on hips, crossed arms ending in fists, or balled fists by the sides.
• Punching or kicking objects or walls, the air or other characters. Slamming doors, throwing, or smashing things.
• Raised hands.
• Flat hands cutting through the air or slapping things or characters.
• Rubbing temples, the neck, or hands running through hair.
• Grabbing hands: objects, clothing, or hair (their own or another character’s).
• Pointing or shaking fingers. Jabbing or pressing a finger to another character’s chest, or flicking the other character.
• Fingers spread like claws.
• Palms held forward in a ‘stop’ sign.
• Covering their mouth, especially in disbelieving anger, or when the character is trying not to say something.
• Advancing or invading personal space.
• Characters may show compulsive behaviour, like cleaning, tidying, or checking things to calm the anxiety that comes with anger.
• Some people become clumsier when angry, so knocking things over by accident as they retreat, for example.
• Nonchalance. Continuing to do something mundane to annoy the other character, not giving them full attention, shrugging at them, looking at them over the shoulder, and waving their words away.
• Tensed muscles.
• Surging adrenaline can lead to fidgeting (flight instinct kicking in), or sweat.
• Mocking actions, like sarcastic laughter, rude hand signs (which totally depend on the character’s nationality, since a rude sign in one country won’t necessarily be rude in another), pointing at the crotch, turning on another character or stepping closer (which are also ‘bring it on’ kinds of actions).

Anger in Speech

• Spitting when speaking, shouting, or mumbling. Hissing through teeth.
• Repetitions of the same phrases. Many people lose the ability to articulate well when angry, while others speak more concisely. Also, timid characters may be braver when angry, so they’ll say things they wouldn’t normally admit.
• Not allowing the other person to speak, interrupting them.
• Belittling and provoking phrases, playing on the other party’s weakness.
• Sarcasm and sarcastic jokes.
• Threats and accusations.

Anger in Expressions

• Any kind of refusal to look away, usually with glares. Others will avoid eye contact, especially those who are submissive or disbelieving.
• A surge of adrenaline can cause pupils to dilate.
• Gaining colour, especially in the face or neck. Other characters lose colour, usually those who are stoic or quiet-angry.
• Bulging veins, especially in the neck and face.
• Sneers, lips pursed or pressed into thin lines, corners of the mouth pointing downward, showing of teeth.
• Some people will also bite down on their lip, tongue or cheeks, as if to contain what they were going to say.
• Gaping or open-mouthed groaning.
• Eyes widening, bulging, or squinting.
• Clenched jaw.
• Eyebrows pulling together or raising.
• Upturned or crinkled nose.
• For stoic characters, micro reactions are the key since they won’t show any big emotions (except in extreme cases). Twitching eyebrows or mouth corners, blinking, sniffing, or snorting.
• Mocking smiles.
• Children will show the inside of their lower lip and puff out their cheeks.
• Shifting the lower jaw forward.

What Anger Feels Like

• Fast, shallow breathing.
• Heart beating fast.
• Pain between temples.
• Eyes pulsing.
• Ears ringing.
• Stomach stiffening.
• Feeling like heartburn in the throat and diaphragm.
• Feeling hot or cold.
• Feeling nauseated or dizzy.
• Vision swimming or going black/red around the edges.
• The urge to hurt someone or themselves.
• Tight muscles.
• Teeth may hurt with clenching jaw.
• Blood rushing to head.
• Goosebumps.
• The urge to scream or being unable to talk.
• Thick tongue.
• Hoarseness or cracking voice.
• Being unable to move.
• Pent up energy and the need to do physical things, like run or destroy.

Now, folks, it’s time to write some conflict. 🙂 Please feel free to comment if you have any more angry actions to add to the list. You can find all of the posts in the writing emotions series here .

Until next time.

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One response to “Let’s Write Anger”

[…] and moral input. Because the sensations and reactions of self-disgust are so close to those of anger or sadness, I’d suggest checking out the posts I dedicated to those […]

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Cheat Sheets For Writing Body Language

What is body language and how do you use it when you write? Use these cheat sheets to help you with your body language descriptions.

What Is Body Language?

People react to situations with micro-expressions, hand gestures, and posture. Most of us are not even aware of them. However, what we do with our body language has a huge impact on other people and how they interpret and perceive us.

‘Even when they don’t express their thoughts verbally, most people constantly throw off clues to what they’re thinking and feeling. Non-verbal messages communicated through the sender’s body movements, facial expressions, vocal tone and volume, and other clues are collectively known as body language.’ ( Psychology Today )

Body language happens when we are doing something. We could be sitting, standing, or walking. We could be talking or thinking . Body language is often an involuntary reaction to something perceived by one of the five senses .

How To Use It In Writing

Using body language is one of the best ways to show and not tell when we write.

This is why we are always told to use body language in our writing. Sometimes, it’s easier said than written. So, I created these cheat sheets to help you show a character’s state of mind through their body language.

When you are completing your character biographies , be sure to include how your main characters move and talk. This is especially important for your protagonist , antagonist , confidant , and love interest . They are the characters that hold the story together and they should be as well-rounded and believable as possible.

The Top Five Tips For Using Body Language

• Use body language to add depth to dialogue .
• Use it because more than 50% of human communication is non-verbal.
• Use it to show how your character’s emotions affect their actions.
• Use it to help you show rather than tell your reader everything.
• Use it in moderation. If overused, it can slow your story down.

TIP: Use our Character Creation Kit  to create great characters for your stories.

Use this list to help you with your body language descriptions. It will help you to translate emotions and thoughts into written body language.

Obviously, a character may exhibit a number of these behaviours. For example, they may be shocked and angry, or shocked and happy.

Use these combinations as needed.

Use our  Character Creation Kit  to create great characters for your stories.

If you enjoyed this, read:

• The 17 Most Popular Genres In Fiction – And Why They Matter
• How To Write A One-Page Synopsis
• 123 Ideas For Character Flaws – A Writer’s Resource
• The 7 Critical Elements Of A Great Book
• All About Parts Of Speech
• Punctuation For Beginners
• 5 Incredibly Simple Ways to Help Writers Show and Not Tell
• 5  Instances When You Need To Tell (And Not Show)
• The 4 Main Characters As Literary Devices
• 106 Ways To Describe Sounds

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Top Tip : Find out more about our workbooks and online courses in our shop .

• Body Language , Creating Characters , Show Don't Tell , Writing Tips from Amanda Patterson

53 thoughts on “Cheat Sheets For Writing Body Language”

Wow….that’s probably one of the most useful lists I’ve ever seen…thanks!

Very useful…simply superb. Will be handy for me when I sit down to write next time.

A mullion trillion thanks for this incredibly useful page of “show” instead of telling. Thank you xx

I would have liked to pin this on pint rest 🙁

This is the best of the “show” lists I have either made or found. Superb.

Love, love, love these! Thanks for compiling them. I’m going to share them and put them in a file to resource. Michelle Random Writing Rants

This is very useful.

Its really helpful….

great post really!!! thanks for sharing

This is one of the most helpful writer’s guide posts I have ever seen. It is so hard not to write “He looked at her in awe”, but think about the specific body language in that situation. It also helps think about the traits a character can have… Every person is different so one can even put individuality into the writing by giving certain characters characteristic emotional expressions.

Thank you so much for sharing this!!

Thank you, Kimberley.

I know I’ll be referring back to this list often. Thank you so much for sharing.

Thank you, Melissa.

Perhaps this is the best way to hone up the writing skills of one’s own and I should be very thankful to you for helping the writers through this .

This is dangerous if astute advice. Anything that aids progress writing is useful, but anything that aids progress stops you thinking – and it is only by thinking that he universe opens a portal and pours out something original.

Great information not only for writing but observation of these behaviors in action. As a school counselor I am interested in non-verbal cues from others.

Great work! high degree of observation! really impressed.

This is great. There is one word that comes up SO OFTEN that it is distracting to me as a reader and that is “gaze.” People are gazing at things, at each other, they’re gazing all over the place. One time I counted the number of times “gaze” was used in a book and found an instance of 5 times in 4 consecutive pages. But another book used “gaze” 5 times in 4 consecutive PARAGRAPHS. Why the editors don’t catch this is beyond me. My favorite “gaze” quote from a book is, “Her brown gaze settled upon the distant mountains.” That didn’t make me think of her brown eyes. My first thought was that she was seeing smog! Is it strange to say a color with “gaze”? I’ve also seen something like, “His blue gaze swung up.” (the man was driving at the time) It sounds strange to me, but maybe that’s just me. The book with the distant mountains sentence used “gaze” heavily from the second page all the way to the second to the last paragraph! It was painful to read. I got rid of the book.

Very helpful to have this all in one place! Thanks!!!

Thank you! This is great! 🙂

Thank you for this post. It’s very helpful.

This is a good list. But I believe we can always be a little more creative in mixing them up to denote various degrees and subtleties in an emotion.

Yes, Ayan. As it says in the post: ‘Obviously, a character may exhibit a number of these behaviours. For example, he may be shocked and angry, or shocked and happy. Use these combinations as needed.’

These cheat sheets are worth their weight in gold! Thank you for taking the time to put them together.

AWESOME! I was just speaking with a friend who mentioned I needed to do this a little more. Thank you so much.

such an amazingly helpful post! Thank you!

Thank you. We’re glad you find this useful.

Melody, Would have ditched that book too. That’s just bad writing.

Please send me any further articles you put out. This one is very helpful. It makes us aware of the use of each movement as a symbol of inner thought. Thanks

This is the most helpful article I have read about telling vs. Showing. Thank you.

Thank you, Wendy.

Thanks for this really usefull I find that I use the same emotions over and over.

Thank you! This is an excellent reference for a desirable result.

“Excellent list,” she said, rubbing her hands together and grinning. ; ) Thank you!

Thank you, Melissa! I love it!!

Excellent!!

I read this very useful and generous article on stumbleupon.com Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me!

Thank you for the positive feedback. I’m pleased that this helps.

Thank you for this :))

Thanks for the helpful post! Great resource for the scripts I’m co-writing.

Simply superb compilation ! No more adjectives.

Thank you! We’re glad that you find these lists helpful.

Very useful! Thank you so much!

What a succinct and useful list!

“Unfortunately,” (pause, lips pursed indicating deliberation and thought) “these are almost” (stress on final word, downward tilt of the head with slight inclination to the left as the speaker maintains gaze on listener indicating mock-serious intent) “entirely” (extra stress on this word, head lifts and turns full-on indicating intent) “cliché” (jaw firms, slight downward shift of the brow, eyes narrow indicating mild annoyance.) “Sorry” (head lifts, jaw pushes out, eyebrows raised indicating belligerence and complete lack of genuine apology).

quite informative, and precise. thanks.

i’m highly grateful to you, thanks a lot n million, may god bless you a long and happy life

This is so useful! Thank you, thank you very much!

OMG! I impressed to read it. Really, you are doing good job.

Very informative thanks!

I need something different for pleading. and it’s not on the list. Why is the emotion I want not almost never on the lists? xP (Arg)

Comments are closed.

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WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

3 Steps to Taking Your Character Further and Deeper With…Anger?

July 15, 2014 by ANGELA ACKERMAN

We all know how hard it is to write emotion: understanding what a character is feeling exactly, and to what degree, and then showing it to readers. And of course, that’s just the tip of the challenge. What makes it truly difficult is that whatever body language, thoughts and actions we use MUST be ones that fit each individual’s personality seamlessly.

Emotional description is not one size fits all. This means that while Kara might throw a mug at the head of her deadbeat husband as he wanders in at six am loaded to the gills, Barbara will not. Her anger is a slow simmer that lasts, displayed through burnt toast and undercooked eggs, of phone messages that are not passed on, of leaving the gas tank near empty at every opportunity.

M J Bush is with us today, shedding insight on one of the most volatile emotions of them all: ANGER. On the outside, it seems like such a cardinal, easily identifiable emotion, but there are many forms it can take. Which is right for your character?

The page was crawling with them. Characters of every stripe had gathered to mutiny:

“We’re angry! And you’re not getting our anger right! It’s an outrage!”

“I’d never sulk like that!”

“I’m far more refined than that display.”

“Come down here and I’ll show you the punch I’d throw!”

Do you ever fear being that author, the one getting emotions so wrong on the page that your characters actually come alive and mutiny?

I’m going to be frank for a moment. When I started researching this article, I thought it would be fairly easy to categorize what types of anger came most often to different personalities. I even had some ideas already drawn up.

The idea was to help us write our characters more convincingly. You can show the typical reaction in your character to establish consistency, and then push them into another type of anger that would be just as human, just as true, but showing a different facet of their personality.

But the sheer number of nuances makes that categorization impossible unless I write a book on it. So instead, I’ll try to enable you to figure things out.

Step One: When your character is angry, how does it usually manifest? Here’s a short list of possibilities:

Controlling

Exasperated

Indignation

Mean/vicious

Remember, it’s nuances we’re looking for here. Every word has its own meaning. Ire is tightly controlled. Rage is out of control. Cranky is a passing mood based on self; grouchy is a bit more lasting and focused on others.

It’s fine to have a few “normal” types of anger. Your character should have multiple facets.

Step Two: Now, how can you push them to react with a different anger? What would take them further? What would make a certified hothead react with sullenness or barely registered annoyance?

It’s a hard-hitting tactic to make your readers rally behind a character or commiserate with him. Consider this line from The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss:

There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.

The contrast between the normal gentleness and the fear-inducing anger is memorable. It can make a reader want to cheer for him standing up to whatever outrage forced him to abandon his gentleness.

For another example, consider a sensitive soul that has long used irritability to protect and isolate himself. Vex him with a puzzle, a character he can’t understand, especially if he’s used to labeling people, and he’ll have to move out of his isolated comfort zone to interact.

The bottom line is this: get your character to act “out of character” in a way that isn’t actually out of character when the motives are examined. It’s good for the story and the characterization.

Step Three: Figure out how he’ll react after the anger has faded. Or if it does at all.

How does it change him, even if he doesn’t stay angry? What emotions does he go through? How do the other characters react? How does it change the relationships?

Does he learn a lesson, or something about himself?

Anger Tells a Story All its Own. Go Use It.

Don’t worry about your characters staging a mutiny. Just make sure you give them solid reasons to act the way they do, and then have them react to how they acted.

You’ve got a good head on your shoulders. You can do this. Here are the steps once more:

Identify his normal anger.

Figure out how to push him beyond that.

And show him reacting to that difference.

It goes for guys and girls, protagonists, antagonists, and supporting characters. You can apply it to any character the story calls for.

Because that’s what it’s all about:

Your story.

MJ Bush is The Analytical Creative. Her writing advice steps back to take in the whole picture, then dives in to grab the pearls of usable detail. She’s the founder of Writingeekery.com and a full time fiction coach, editor, and writer.

P.S. Take the first step (it’s an easy one!) and tell us what your character’s typical anger is in a comment.

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers , a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

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Reader Interactions

June 12, 2020 at 8:21 pm

In a raging family, my character shows anger by being cold and whining. Then the war comes, and her body becomes a weapon, focused and out of control at once.

August 3, 2014 at 5:48 pm

Just took your advice in the story I’m writing and not only has it really worked, it has moved the plot along nicely too! Thanks very much.

July 22, 2014 at 2:56 pm

I love this post. One of my critique partners asked if my MC ever got angry. I guess I was a little afraid of using that. This is really helpful to me. Thanks! I’ll be posting the link on my blog.

July 18, 2014 at 10:39 pm

My current MC has had a lot of time to learn to hide her emotions (she’s around six hundred years old). Oddly enough she doesn’t seem inclined to hide them very often unless it’s around her former friends (whom she hates, but doesn’t see any way to do away with them) or if the topic is her family (many of whom were slaughtered by said former friends, part of the reason for the hatred). Her former best friend brings out the anger in her the quickest, but hasn’t the slightest clue that my MC hates her (she’s extremely self obsorbed). She keeps things buried and she plots, looking for ways to make things happen her way.

The former best friend, on the other hand, is very easy with her emotions. She didn’t kill the MC’s family, because she hated her. She did it because she wanted to control things (a lot of other people connected to a certain group have lived or died because she decided it would be so). She’s been working toward a goal to rescue her former lover who dumped her (because she was starting to freak him out) in order to kill him. She does not ever let grudges go until she considers them paid, but you know if she’s mad at you.

July 17, 2014 at 5:40 pm

Love this post. I am trying to put flesh on the bones of my characters.

I adore this quote and will now look deeper into my shy, gentle hero and hopefully manage to put fear into the characters around him when he gets angry. Although he is only thirteen. i have a challenge ahead of me.

July 18, 2014 at 6:20 pm

I’m sure you’ll do fine, Kath. You’re aware of the challenge, and that’s half the battle in improving. 🙂

July 16, 2014 at 6:13 am

Marvelous. One of the most fun challenges with my current MC is that he is so tightly-wound and driven, plus with a level of remove so that you never read how he thinks or feels, thus his anger (which is not uncommon) must be seen through cracks and glimpses to others (every scene with him needs a narrator). Right at this very moment, the start of the sequel to the current tale, he is just landed in a new country and already under arrest through misunderstanding of his motives and general distrust. I’m taking the tale through an interrogation wherein a lord who has never met him before begins to sense this slow, titanic burn of anger, to which the narrator feels he has no right. Slow going, but fun.

July 16, 2014 at 7:36 pm

Hey Will, I remember you telling me about him in an email. 🙂

So do you have plans to push him beyond the norm once you’ve established it?

July 17, 2014 at 5:38 am

:: grins :: Solemn Judgement does what he wants, MJ, I just watch. But yes, he’s already shown what he’s capable of when pushed past his “norm”, a kind of righteous simmer. It’s not yet clear to the world or him, that there is nothing he cannot do…

July 16, 2014 at 1:00 am

Yes, wonderful, thought-provoking post. My MC swallows her anger until she can’t hold it in any longer, then explodes. Explosion is followed by shame and apologies. As she grows, she learns to express her anger closer to the cause, thereby bypassing the need for explosion.

Oh, and if she’s very angry at someone, she’ll frequently retreat into a “glass box” – almost like an “out of this world” experience. It’s a shock reaction to the fact that she’s angry and expects to be punished for being angry. This is also changed as she learns to express anger rather than let it build.

July 16, 2014 at 7:33 pm

It sounds like you’ve done your homework, Judith. That sounds like a really good mix for a series, to give time for each reaction to come out without rushing the pacing. Yum. 🙂

July 15, 2014 at 6:55 pm

I try and remember that every reaction would come about different from each of my characters. This helps me identify them better and pushes me to dig deeper when I write. Thanks for the tips!!

July 16, 2014 at 7:30 pm

Traci, you’re so right. Each character having a distinct pattern is part of what makes readers “get” them, too. Then of course, breaking the pattern believably allows the character to grow while keeping things interesting. Thanks for commenting!

July 15, 2014 at 5:53 pm

Awesome. A timely post. I’m actually writing a out of character arc in the sequel to Into the Realm . In Rise of the Dark Walker , my main character, Carter, has gone from snarking, and explosive temper, to neck lifts, and intimating torture to find his love who’s been abducted.

July 16, 2014 at 7:27 pm

Perfect, Robert. Thanks for commenting with that example. 🙂

July 15, 2014 at 5:41 pm

I’m a non-fiction author, but I use the concept of personal story arcs in my work in personal development. I absolutely love MJ’s work for that. She’s great at showing the logical progression of behavior and story and making sense of complicated nuances.

I could trace a particularly bizarre true-story with a “character” I know right through this post. In a basic way the character began with very frequent, but lesser expressions of anger, like irritability. When the anger was questioned, sometimes the response was to back-peddle—until the next time. Other times, the response was to ramp up the anger in an attempt to avoid being questioned about the lack of integrity shown through the anger. Over time, consistent challenges to integrity were met with progressively amplified expressions of anger, until there was a loss of rational thought. It was a form of insanity.

You see… there’s a reason it’s called “madness.”

Thanks for the great post, MJ. And thanks Angela for hosting great material like this.

July 16, 2014 at 7:26 pm

Thank you for sharing that, Susan. It’s so concrete and detailed that I’m sure anyone reading it will get some insight or inspiration from it. I know I did. 🙂

July 16, 2014 at 8:00 pm

Well, now you know why I dig your work so much. 🙂

July 18, 2014 at 6:14 pm

Aw, thanks Susan. 🙂

July 15, 2014 at 5:24 pm

Thank you so much for this insightful article! It’s given me some food for thought about a particular scene I’m currently working on.

July 16, 2014 at 7:23 pm

I love it when the timing is that good! May the scene turn out well, Marsar.

July 15, 2014 at 4:41 pm

What a great topic. In my book, the mc usually stays silent when she’s angry. But when pushed, and when someone she loves is in real danger, she’s no longer silent. I definitely had to show the “why” her reactions changed. I think I did that in draft # gazillion.

July 16, 2014 at 7:22 pm

Great example, Julie! And you’re right, it can be hard to get right. 🙂

July 15, 2014 at 3:38 pm

MJ, just as in your previous guest post here, this is a wonderful take/insight on how to approach this! Thank you 😀

July 16, 2014 at 7:20 pm

Thanks, Donna Marie. I’ll do my best to keep delivering. 🙂

July 15, 2014 at 12:13 pm

Great points. Thanks for making me delve deeper into my characters. A blog to save, for sure!

July 15, 2014 at 2:07 pm

Thanks, Carol. If you were to look at just one character, what would be the typical anger? Would you share? 🙂

July 15, 2014 at 9:59 am

To the point! Thanks for getting me to think about anger again. And three steps are about as many as I can hold in my head at one time. HAH!

July 15, 2014 at 2:04 pm

Thanks, Shutta. Come back and update us with what you do with them, eh? 🙂

July 15, 2014 at 9:31 am

Ooooh, one of the chapters I worked on this past weekend showed my MC when she was angry! This article was a nice coincidence for that reason. Thanks for another well-written, informative article, MJ!

My protagonist’s typical anger…. When she’s forced to be in the presence of the character who’s angered her, she keeps her thoughts and opinions (usually scathing or vindictive ones) about that character or their situation to herself. Her body language and tone of voice give her true feelings away, though. Otherwise, she tries to avoid the other character and opts for the silent treatment – once again making it obvious that she’s not happy about something.

A specific situation toward the end of the story takes the protagonist’s anger one step further. She learns of a secret that one of the other characters has kept from her – and when she learns that secret, her emotions explode. She yells, refuses to listen to reason, even threatens violence against the person. It’s all part of her arc as she learns how to be a more forgiving person and to let go of her painful past, which is the underlying reason for her volatility and vengefulness.

July 15, 2014 at 2:03 pm

Wonderful, Sara! It sounds like you have a great arc on your hands. 🙂

July 15, 2014 at 9:14 am

Although none of my characters in ANGRY ENOUGH TO KILL (to be released in November) cry when they get angry, I do. Go figure!

I suspect that my character in the next in the series will cry when she’s angry…never thought to use that when I was developing her character, but your article really hit the nail on the head for me. An “eureka” moment!

P.S. Website being updated.

July 15, 2014 at 2:01 pm

Sheryl, that’s a perfect example. What do you think you’ll use to take her that far? If that’s a surprise, I won’t pry. 😉

July 18, 2014 at 10:27 pm

Crying when angry is exactly how I react to anger. I think I was in fifth or sixth grade when I realized that. When I am able to realize that I’m crying despite not being sad, I have to try and extract myself from the situation before I say or do something I regret. Although once I am aware that I’m in this state it’s a whole lot easier to watch my tongue (but my thoughts get pretty scathing), so that helps. It’s nice in a way to have such a “defenseless” physical cue. People read it wrong and I can try and take back control of my situation.

July 15, 2014 at 7:08 am

Thank you for having me again, Angela. You too, Becca. 🙂

[…] all causes she or he may repress what’s happening inside them.” See additionally Angela on Taking Your Character Further and Deeper with…Anger? and Character Skills & Talents: […]

[…] MJ Bush guest posts on Writers Helping Writers. Three steps to deepening your character with anger. […]

[…] Martina Boone wonders if readers give more leeway to unlikeable male characters than to unlikeable female characters, and MJ Bush gives us 3 steps to taking our character further and deeper with anger. […]

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Writing anger well?

Emotion is one of those things that makes or breaks a piece of writing, in my opinion. I've a bit of experience in the past of writing it from a third person perspective. Enter my new project. It's first person. And I'm trying to write a protagonist that isn't your typical "nothing phases me" kinda hero. He tries to do the good thing. But he's impulsive, emotional and loud. He's meant to have a quick fuse, but I'm struggling to write scenes where he's angry or hurt. I would like him to blow up, while still being likable. So I was wondering if any of you had advice on writing anger (any sort of anger, doesn't have to be specific to this character)? Or have you written or read any work that just personifies good angry writing? Any help would be amazing!

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Writing Through Anger 18

Anger is a negative emotion —that’s what we’ve been taught and what our culture believes. But is it true? Is anger “bad”?

Years ago, in the midst of divorce, I came to the surprising realization that I had been angry for a very, very long time. Because I had considered anger an “unacceptable” emotion, I had denied and repressed it. Acknowledging my anger allowed me to write about it, and writing about it helped me to understand that my anger was a protective mechanism, and that I could use the energy of that anger to change my life for the better. As a result of that experience, I’ve learned to be grateful for my anger. It has become, for me, a red flag signaling that some fundamental need is not being met.

When you consider that anger is often a response to emotional or physical pain, and also consider  possible secondary emotions, such as depression, anguish, sadness, fear, and desperation, anger begins to seem like a positive response. Anger, as opposed to depression, is full of energy—your pulse quickens, your body heats up, and you want to do something, anything. When all that energy is directed positively, good things can come of it. It’s the unbridled, undisciplined anger energy that causes the problems we associate with this emotion. That’s why we talk about dealing with , letting go of , and managing anger.

Although there are various degrees of anger, as I see it, there are basically two kinds: the quick, in the moment response, that makes you want to scream or yell or hit something, barely containing the frustrated energy in your body; then there’s the long, slow boil, a deeper anger born of repeated pain. This second form of anger, when it goes unrecognized and unexpressed, can become toxic, causing health and relationship problems and eventually escalating to rage. Both types of anger can be destructive, or—yes, even the slow-boil kind—can have positive, constructive outcomes.

But how do we move to the constructive side of anger? Writing about anger is one of the most effective ways to understand, express, learn from, and take positive action by guiding your anger. Through writing, you process the reasons for your anger. Once you know why you’re angry, you have more control: you can examine your responses and choose different ones. You can learn from your anger and take positive action to protect yourself from further disappointment or harm. Anger, as in my experience, becomes an emotion that wakes you up and makes you pay attention to yourself.

It’s difficult to write when you’re in the throes of immediate anger, so I advise waiting until you can sit still. Then, while you’re still feeling the anger, bring it to the page. Here are a few writing prompts to help you get started.

• Express your anger: put on paper every negative thought, wish, and destructive impulse. Write about wishing your ex would jump off a cliff or get into a car accident; write out those murder fantasies; scrawl all the names you’d like to call that coworker or situation. Slash the pencil across the page. It’s okay. No one will see what you write, and you can always shred it when you’re done. Write until you feel the anger seeping out through your fingers onto the page. Until you’re exhausted or, better yet, you can laugh at yourself, just a little. –
• What are you angry about? What happened to hurt you? Was it an act by someone else? A situation out of your control? Freewrite for ten minutes, beginning with, “I’m angry because …” –
• What does your anger tell you about your life? What does it tell you about yourself? –
• Write a conversation with your anger. Ask it why it exists and what positive action it wants you to take to feel better. –
• Write several concrete steps you can take, along with how you will accomplish them. How can you respond differently or what do you need to do to protect yourself from being hurt again? For example, if, after writing, you decide your response was due to something that happened long ago—in other words, the recent behavior or event didn’t actually cause, but triggered your anger—you may decide to spend several sessions writing about the original event, or you may decide to seek therapy. If you decide that you need to remove yourself from a harmful situation, write down the actions you need to take. –
• Freewrite for ten minutes about all the ways your anger empowers you to change your life, beginning with, “My anger empowers me to …”

The bottom line? Anger can be a negative, destructive emotion, but it doesn’t need to be. When you use writing to process and learn about your anger, you’ll have the power to choose what you want to do with it.

What do you do with yours?

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18 thoughts on “ Writing Through Anger ”

Oh Wow! Was this a good post about a somewhat “taboo” subject. Being raised to be rather positive, classy, do for others. I found I can get pretty pivved at times. Usually some internal expectation wasn’t being met. Once I go into, thru and accept my anger…then I can see what exactly I expected….Sometimes what I think I expected and what truly upset me are two different things. Anger is a tool for learning….this I know! Wonderful post 😀

Thanks, Eden. Your experience of learning from and growing through your anger through acceptance of it is exactly what I’m talking about. 🙂

Excellent topic, indeed! I have ripped through (literally) quite a few pages in my time trying to “scream” out my anger in written form (so grateful I also have music to use). One thing I’ve observed, especially in my work, is that anger is sometimes a response to feeling powerless. I wonder if getting angry and acting in some way provides, perhaps, a felt sense of “yes I can/am/do” that a person may not otherwise experience or be able to call to mind.

Hi Roia, thanks for your comment and the reminder that anger is a positive response to a feeling of helplessness, because it can propel us to positive action, rather than accepting the helplessness. Anger is our way of taking emotional control of the situation and of not allowing ourselves to become a victim.

I think that when I am feeling powerless in a situation, that anger is a (possibly) subconscious act where you can control something-your emotions. I forgive easily and get over my anger quickly, but can often be very impulsive in my speech in the moment, saying hurtful things. Writing really helps me, and in the heat of the moment going on a walk always helps. Asking why am I angry? What am I angry about? How will being angry change the situation? Being angry usually results in negative feedback. Thank u for this article WritingThroughLife!

Rena, I agree that anger is a way of taking control when we feel helpless. In this way, it can be a positive reaction to feeling helpless. Understanding the core of our anger then helps us take action. Thank you for joining the discussion!

Whew!! I know this one. Back when I had my natural hair color, which was red…I had a reputation in my family for being quick tempered. However, between my mother and the nuns at school, I learned to repress my temper. Unfortunate that our mothers and teachers helped us learn how to repress our power. They learned the same lessons.

As most of us girls, I’ve spent many years trying to come to terms with myself and all the repressions and pains underneath my anger. I believe that if we had been taught to ‘manage and express’ our anger in healthy ways as little girls…then we would be more immediately in touch with our innate power as women now. A lesson I had to mostly teach myself. Now with white hair, also my natural color, I get at what is underneath, behind, or wherever my anger is rooted and I get it on paper then out in the open as soon as I can. Amazingly, my healthy, constructive creativity bursts forth. I feel liberated.

Is the world that afraid of us? Anger, well directed, can be an astounding and transformative power. Better than wars.

Well said, Linda! — “Anger, well directed, can be an astounding and transformative power.” If we all encouraged our children to look beneath their anger (quick tempers, included) to figure out why they’re angry and how they can help themselves meet their own needs, we’d raise a generation of people who take responsibility for their own emotions and don’t blame others. A generation of people who know how to communicate.

Better than wars, indeed.

I remember screaming at my son, Chase, when I was angry. It was very frustrating dealing with him because of his autism. Then one day I decided I was going to keep a journal and write when I was angry. I found out I wasn’t really angry with him. I was angry at his autism. What an aha moment! I screamed because I felt powerless. Eventually we were able to get help for him with behavoir therapy.

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Thank you for this refreshing take on anger. I feel I will be returning to this post again and again. 👍🏻😊

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Luv you Amber. this came in just at the right moment – am writing a memoir and didn’t realize how big a part anger played in it because of childhood upbringing.

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I have been in a constant battle with anger all my life, but this past year, due to some events, it’s been really horrible! I find myself thinking about what happened throughout every day and it is overwhelming! I am going to give this a try, because it has got to end. I cannot do this any longer. I need help, and am willing to try different ways until I finally get through this! Thank you for this article and God bless! 💙

I’ve actually done this a couple of times (though not with the thoroughness described here), mainly because I write to sort out my thoughts. But I’ve also wondered if this was a destructive, self-perpetuating activity given that it churns up all of the emotions that I experienced at the time of a given event or over a period of months or years. It’s been said that anger isn’t a one-time event but a factory, and by that token reliving an experience through writing could merely give further life to the anger it produced. There’s also a lot of disdain out there for the perceived “woe is me” mindset, in which people are expected to suck it up, get over themselves and get on with life. But I’m finding here and elsewhere that writing out my anger – each time I felt betrayed, gaslighted, dumped on or belittled – can indeed be therapeutic and a constructive outlet. However one thing writing can’t do is to go back in time and say the things I should have said in the moment, to stand up for myself, set boundaries and walk away with dignity – things I seem ill-equipped to do as I need time to process and the moment passes before I can formulate a timely, verbal response. And given the small likelihood of these situations arising again (given my stage of life and the presumption that most of my peers have grown up by now), I wonder about being able to put anything I might learn through writing to use in the future. Still, being able to vent to the universe gives at least a tiny sense of justice that may be the only comfort I can hope for.

Terry, thank you for your thoughts on writing on anger. I was traveling off the grid for a while and unable to respond until now. I agree with all that you’ve said. You can’t go back in time, but you can rewrite the event, including all the ways you wished you had responded. Rewriting the past in this way, though fictional, can be therapeutic and assist with the healing process.

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Writing FAQ

When writing, should i describe a scream instead of having the character yell out “ahhhh”.

June 2, 2022

Asked by: Lisa Love

“Ahhhh” could be an expression of surprise, or a reaction to something cute . “Aarrgghh” is more unambiguously a scream, thought could also be read as a grunt of frustration. More A’s would make it sound more like a scream, but it could also be a pirate just thinking aloud.

How would you describe a scream in writing?

You can describe the tone as hysterical, angry, manic, panicked, an indignant roar, a savage scream … and a million other variations that would be impossible to express merely by using capital letters.

How do you show a Character is yelling in writing?

Simply removing the parenthetical and adding an exclamation point is all you need to indicate someone’s yelling a line.

How do you express scream in words?

What is a deep scream called.

shriek . The definition of a shriek is a high-pitched scream or cry often made when angry, scared or in pain.

Is screaming an onomatopoeia?

An onomatopoeia is a word that imitates the sound which they spell. The word ‘scream’ is not an onomatopoeia . If you say it aloud, it doesn’t sound like someone screaming.

What does a shriek sound like?

a loud, sharp, shrill cry . a loud, high sound of laughter. any loud, shrill sound, as of a whistle.

How do you describe anger in creative writing?

Here are some other phrases: “hostile glare,” “face contorted with rage,” “bared teeth,” “curled lip,” “clenched jaw.” Eyes are often considered containers or gateways to emotional expression, so you can also show anger just by describing the character’s eyes.

Which word means nearly the same as scream?

cry, howl, screech, shriek, wail, yelp, hoot, laugh, blare, holler, roar, shout, squeal, yell, card, character, comedian, comedienne, comic, entertainer.

Is there different types of screams?

And in a new study, researchers at the University of Zurich classify the different types of screams humans can perceive in other humans. The results, published Tuesday in PloS Biology, offer a surprising find: Humans produce six different types of recognizable screams .

How can a girl scream?

There's different different sounds you can make with that just by the way you move your mouth. And the way you open your throat. But you're always breathing from your diaphragm.

What are the synonyms for scream?

synonyms for scream

How do you use scream in a sentence?

Scream sentence example

• She tried to scream , but no sound came out. …
• It was the scream of a soul dying. …
• He heard a gurgled scream and looked up. …
• His scream was inhuman even to his ears. …
• She wanted to scream , cry, or flee. …
• Her scream caused both men to cover their ears.

What is the grammatical term for a loud shriek?

shriek in American English (ʃrik ) verb intransitive. 1. to make a loud, sharp, piercing cry or sound, as certain animals, or a person in terror, pain, or laughter; screech . verb transitive.

Are scream and yell synonyms?

Synonyms & Antonyms of yell

What can I write instead of yelled?

Synonyms & Antonyms of yelled

Is yell informal?

1. scream, shout, cry out, howl, call out, wail, shriek, screech, squeal, bawl, holler ( informal ), yelp, call at the top of your voice He was out there shouting and yelling.

What is a synonym for raising voice?

Compare Synonyms. assert oneself . shout. speak out.

How do you describe a raised voice?

raise voice

What is a raised voice?

To speak or shout loudly, especially out of anger .

Is yell a verb or adjective?

Definition of yell (Entry 1 of 2) intransitive verb . 1 : to utter a loud cry, scream, or shout. 2 : to give a cheer usually in unison. transitive verb.

What is the adjective of yell?

cried, screamed, shouted, screeched, shrieked, bawled, bellowed, hollered, howled, roared, called, yelped, bayed, squealed, squawked, thundered, vociferated, whooped, crew, crowed, exclaimed, hailed, yowled, belled, cooeed, growled, hallooed, hissed, holloed, hooted, sang, sung, ululated, yawped, barked, cackled, …

Is yell an action verb?

Physical action verbs Here are examples of action verbs that refer to physical actions: ask, bend, climb, drive, eat, frolic, go, hang, inch, jiggle, kick, leap, mumble, nod, open, pull, quake, run, swim, tumble, unlock, vibrate, walk, yell, zip.

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Master List of Ways to Describe Fear

People have been asking me for this list for such a long time! If you write horror, suspense, mystery, or any kind of fiction with a scary scenes, you need to know how to describe fear.

This list can get you started. It’s a lot of phrases describing fear, including physical reactions, physical sensations, facial expressions, and other words you can use in your novel or in other creative writing.

I’ve included some that can work for uneasiness or anxiety, but most of these are for real terror. You can alter them to fit your sentence or your story, and they’ll likely inspire you to come up with your own descriptions.

Bookmark or pin this page for your reference—it might save you a lot of time in the future. I’ll probably add to it now and again!

fear paralyzed him

his terror mounted with every step

she fought a rising panic

fear tormented her

her heart was uneasy

her heart leaped into her throat

his heart hammered in his chest

his heart pounded

terror stabbed his heart

his heart jumped

her heart lurched

a fear that almost unmanned him

his body shook with fear

she trembled inside

he suppressed a shiver

panic surged through him

her fear spiked

he was in a complete state of panic

she could feel nothing but blind terror

his legs were wobbly with fear

she sweated with fear

his hands were cold and clammy

she was weighed down by dread

dread twisted in her gut

his stomach clenched

fear fluttered in her stomach

her belly cramped

he felt like he might throw up

she was sick with fear

she was frightened down to the soles of her shoes

he was icy with panic

her body went cold with dread

raw panic was in her voice

her voice was thick with fear

his voice was edged with fear

terror thundered down on him

fear caught her in its jaws

fear clawed up her throat

terror sealed her throat

fear gripped her throat

his throat tightened

then she knew real terror was

he was frantic with fear

she was half mad with terror

the color drained from her face

his face was ashen

she blanched

dread gnawed at his insides

dread had been growing in him all day

fresh terror reared up within her

fear choked him

terror stole her words

he was mute with horror

her voice was numb with shock

his voice was shrill with terror

her defiant words masked her fear

her body felt numb

his blood froze in his veins

terror coursed through her veins

fear throbbed inside her

his panic fueled him

adrenaline pumped through his body

adrenaline crashed through her

fear pulsed through him

her scalp prickled

the hairs on the back of her neck stood up

his mouth went dry

his bones turned to jelly

her bones turned to water

she froze with horror

he didn’t dare to move

terror struck her

he was too frightened to lift her head

she was too frightened to scream

his mouth was open in a silent scream

he cringed with fear

she cowered

he shrank back in fear

she flinched

a bolt of panic hit her

terror streaked through him

her terror swelled

his panic increased

anxiety eclipsed his thoughts

panic flared in her eyes

his eyes were wild with terror

her eyes darted from left to right

she feared to close her eyes

he lay awake in a haze of fear

she walked on in a fog of fear

his eyes widened with alarm

she tried to hide her fear

he struggled to conceal his shock

fear crept up her spine

fear trickled down her spine

panic seized his brain

she felt a flash of terror

fear took hold of him

fear flooded through her being

she ordered a drink to drown the panic

he arranged and re-arranged the items on his desk

a nameless dread engulfed him

I bet you came up with other ideas as you were reading!

For more writing lists, check out my book Master Lists for Writers , if you don’t have it yet! A lot of writers use it to make writing go faster, especially when it comes to descriptions.

And if you’re not following the blog already, sign up below—I share lots of writing resources. Thanks so much for reading, and happy writing!

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30 thoughts on “ master list of ways to describe fear ”.

Thank you, Bryn. I can certainly use this list as I go through and clean up my novel. There are some places that need a stronger element of fear.

Hi Bonnie! So glad this was coming at the right time! 🙂

Love the book and the above list! Thank you for taking the time to compile all of it. So appreciated!

Oh thank you! I’m so glad you like it!

I just love your lists. I often refer to them when I’m stuck. That book is right next to the dictionary and thesaurus when I write.

I’m so glad you like them, Erin! I’m honored. 🙂

I was searching for the perfect list to describe fear. I stumbled across your blog and I am glad that I did, you literally saved my butt out there!!? I got an A* because of you ! Thankyou!!❤❤

Aww, I’m so glad to hear this! 🙂

Thanks for compiling this list. Much needed.

Aw thanks, Ezekiel! So glad you like it!

What a terrifying, fantastical list. Thank you, Bryn

Haha, thanks, Bryan! When I read back over it, I did feel a little creeped out. 🙂

I have a scene coming up that this will be perfect for. Thank you for sharing. Bookmarking now!

Hi Sarah! So glad it’ll be useful! Sounds like you have an exciting scene coming up 🙂

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This is a great list! Thank you, Bryn.

Wow! When I read it, I was SO / COMPLETELY creeped out!???

Ha! You know what, when I make these lists, I always start feeling the emotions, too!

I’m thankful for your help. It is great to see these lists. Many blessings ❤️

I have been a bibliophile since long, but never before did I read so many blogs in a sequence. I am really amazed to have found them.Thanks a ton . Superb work .

You saved my life ! Thank you a lot ???

So glad to hear that! Happy writing 🙂

Thanks… It’s good to know tath someone is making life easier for those interested in writing.

ohhh ,how grateful i am for this list it will come in handy so thankyou

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Thank you so much for this list! It is exactly what I was looking for. I ordered the book 🙂

Thanks for ordering the book, Laila. I hope you like it! And glad this list worked for you!

This is an amazing list. I saw in your other comment that you have a book…?

I wanted to tell you that I often return to this page when I am stumped coming up with a way to write some specific reaction. Sometimes I just use one of the ideas you offer directly, and other times something here gives me an idea I riff off of to create something new. Thank you so much for compiling this list!

I riffed this time (last line): “Still feeling the sadness of Manzoa’s fate and wondering what this place was and why he was here, Goff cautiously walked over to the desk. A quill still wet with thick black ink rested next to a sheet of parchment filled with writing in a language he couldn’t read. Crude drawings made with heavy strokes were set within the words. Some of them were disturbing — a bleeding hand cut open with a knife and a person floating lifeless below a ghoul with black eyes poised to attack. He stared at the words, hoping that just like when he traveled back in time to Monstraxen, he would be able to understand them. As he stared, the ink on the page disappeared like water soaking into a sponge. A spider of panic crawled up his spine.”

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