What is an Emotion Amplifier?

Since compiling our original Emotion Amplifier ebooklet in 2014, Angela and I have discovered so much about them. They’re way more versatile than we first imagined, and we’re stoked to share what we’ve learned with you in the 2nd edition of The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus.

If you’re a regular at the blog, you’re probably familiar with how these little cattle prods can get a character moving in the right direction. But for some of you, amplifiers are brand new, so I’d like to offer a quick introduction to what they are and what they can do for you and your story.

What is an Emotion Amplifier?

We all know the importance of tapping into our character’s feelings and conveying those clearly to readers. When we do this, readers connect with our characters and become invested in the story. This is how we keep them engaged beyond the first few pages or chapters.

But sometimes our characters don’t want to “go there” emotionally. Maybe they’re resistant to change and have a death grip on the status quo. They might be uncomfortable with certain emotions and will try to hide or repress them. Un-dealt-with trauma may cause them to avoid their feelings. There are a lot of reasons a character might need an extra push to get them out of their emotional comfort zone. And the best way to do this is with an amplifier.

EMOTION AMPLIFIERS are specific states or conditions that influence what the character feels by disrupting their equilibrium and reducing their ability to think critically.

Distraction, bereavement, and exhaustion are examples. Emotionally speaking, these states destabilize the character and nudge them toward poor judgments, bad decisions, and mistakes—all of which result in more friction and increased tension in the story.

Case Study: An Amplifier in Action

Consider Jake, a character who awakens to hot fingers of illness creeping through his body. On the cusp of a long-overdue promotion, he doesn’t dare call in sick, so he showers and heads to work. At the warehouse, he climbs into a forklift and begins his day of moving pallets and loading trucks in the pickup bay. Two guys on his crew haven’t shown up, making the shift even rougher. Everything requires more effort. Jake’s head buzzes. Noises bug him. He feels like he’s moving through molasses, but he’s got to work at double speed. As he rushes back and forth across the floor, he’s growing lightheaded. Where the heck is his foreman, who promised to pitch in?

Can you feel the strain Jake is under and how close his emotions are to the surface? How long until the weight of sickness causes him to snap at a co-worker, make a rash decision, or become so flustered he injures someone?

Amplifiers are an added condition or situational burden that must be coped with on top of everything else. They’re a challenge, conflict, and emotional destabilizer rolled into one, capable of causing physical, emotional, and psychological discomfort. The presence of an amplifier makes it harder for a character to think things through and stay in control of their emotions. And if characters become more volatile or lower their guard because they’re distracted, they’re more likely to miss something important and mess up.

Let’s say Jake’s dulled reflexes cause him to drop a pallet of product, ruining the inventory and creating a safety hazard. He’s reprimanded by his foreman, who never did come to help but has plenty of criticism to hand out. Hot with fever and frustration, Jake goes off about how he’s always the one who shows up, even when he’s sick, but never gets any appreciation. One outburst and a few ill-advised words later, Jake’s hopes for a promotion lie in ruins among the crushed cargo.

Emotion amplifiers, both large and small, are ideal for pushing a character over the edge—and sometimes, that’s exactly what the writer needs to happen. Smart, savvy characters who always make the right choices aren’t very interesting, but characters who blunder, lose control, or forget their filter? Now we’re talking!

The Ultimate Amplifier Resource

Angela and I have been studying amplifiers since we drafted the first copy of The Emotion Thesaurus. At that time, we kept running across things a character could technically feel—cold, hunger, attraction—that weren’t emotions. Eventually, we realized that these were states and conditions that intensified a character’s feelings and pushed them toward bigger reactions. Because they didn’t fit as emotions, we created an ebooklet for them: Emotion Amplifiers, a companion to The Emotion Thesaurus that highlighted 15 of these states.

But as time passed, we discovered many more amplifiers to explore. We also realized that they do much more than alter a character’s emotional state; they also serve as catalysts for conflict and tension, magnify internal dissonance and psychological distress, and even support story structure. Because of their versatility in strengthening both characters and stories, we knew we had to explore them more fully.

So we expanded our little ebooklet into a full-fledged book with 52 amplifiers (see the complete list here!) and a new how-to section that shows writers how to put them to work.

Are you curious? If so, we’ve provided a sample entry for you—a versatile amplifier that every character will encounter at some point in the story. Check it out – we know it will help generate ideas!

If you’d like to dive deeper into what this book covers, go here.