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don't even know it's happening. But," she asks, "are they effective writing?"

Far more difficult, Hood notes, is to find a fresh way to evoke an emotion. She encourages writers to be meticulous in fresh description of emotions, to search for the description that jumps out at readers, fits perfectly, and stays with them long after the story has ended.

SETTING
The setting of a story can help suggest emotion, either as props for demonstrating emotion, or as a backdrop to create a mood.

In The Anatomy of Story, John Truby says, "The process of translating the story line into a physical story world, which then elicits certain emotions in the audience, is a difficult one. That's because you are really speaking two languages-one of words, the other of images-and matching them exactly over the course of the story."

An example of using a prop to suggest emotion: As Cisco approached the livery stable, he pulled the tin star off his shirt and slipped it into his pocket.

An example of using setting to suggest a mood or to enhance it: As Cisco approached the livery stable, thunder rumbled in the distance.

SELECTION OF TECHNIQUE Just because a writer's emotion-stimulating toolbox contains many tools, doesn't mean he should use all of them for every task.

According to Ann Hood, sometimes not saying what is felt makes the emotion seem even stronger than dialogue. And also, "Don't fall into the trap of stating the emotion you want the reader to see, then forcing your character to act in a predictable way."

Sometimes what is left out of a story is just as important as what is put in. Orson Scott Card provides a specific example ". . . if your characters cry, your readers won't have to; if your characters have good reason to cry, and don't, your readers will do that weeping."

CHOICE OF EMOTION Even a partial list of emotions includes many choices:
Repulsion, terror, ecstasy, passion, love, hate, desire, fear, anger, disgust, spite, forgiveness, annoyance, peevishness.

With so many alternatives, which emotion should a writer choose? It depends, of course, on the context of the story and the writer's objectives. But according to Nancy Kress, there is one emotion that stands out as the most useful in fiction: frustration. Without frustration, there is no plot. Frustration means the character isn't getting what he wants. When in doubt, she says, writers should frustrate their characters. In fiction, the default emotion is frustration.

RANGE OF EMOTION
During the ebb and flow of the story, a character

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