Creating Genuinely Sad/Touching Scenes

I find that this should be a challenge for just about any writer to achieve, that is, actually tapping into genuine emotion. I personally feel like things like crying and feelings of regret or depression remind me that someone is human deep down inside that seemingly impenetrable exterior. I think that making a character who is naturally very resilient and tough in most regards actually cry (that is, so long as it isn't going into narm territory...) would make for a very touching/sad scene indeed. Would anyone know how to set up something like this? As in, make the character very tough and nigh-impenetrable when it comes to grief and the like, but later break down in tears; realistically and believably in context of course.

edited 12th Sep '11 5:29:11 PM by Prometheus136

If you say they're nigh-impenetrable, I would think there probably wouldn't be any one event* that would make them break down, it would probably have to be the cumulative effect of an uninterrupted string of bad things. Having them happen continuously over a period of time helps plausibility—even if they're tough, they're only human, and constant stress and physical exhaustion's going to wear down their mental state.

It'd also help a lot of one or more of the events really strikes home for them—it doesn't even have to be losing a loved one, it could even be stuff like seeing their moral code/ideology fall apart. Nothing exaggerated though, that goes back into narm. I usually find really contrived conga lines funny.

*I would say there are exceptions though, if the event in question is on a large enough scale. What I'm thinking of specifically is the ending of Watchmen, where Rorschach breaks down after half of NYC is destroyed and millions are dead. But even then there's the added factor that he was a chronic death seeker anyway, according to Word of God.

edited 12th Sep '11 5:40:13 PM by Merlo

Well for an example, in my Sci-Fi story, I'm planning on two of the mercenary/assassin team that are sent after these test subjects (they're a team of four, sorta like a SEAL team)dying (they're both under ranking, so that leaves both of the officers by themselves). The second in command (she's fairly tough, mind you) loved both of them like they were her dysfunctional children of sorts, and when the last of them dies; when she's alone and reflecting on her life, she cries a good bit about it. I think that if I do it well it could be very sad. Of course, it's a matter of how it gets to that point.

Want sad scenes? Create interesting characters first.

• The Big Bad kills millions of ibocent people. It sounds pretty bad righ?.... Problem is that no one will care. That's what we like to call a Red Shirt Army. You hear people die everyday in the news abs most people (while they feel bad) don't actually care as much as if someone they knew died.

• The Big Bad kills the protagonist. People would feel bad because they knew the protagonist for do long it feels bad when he is gone.

That's why whenever Marvel or dc kilo some importante character. They get many sells, despite the fact everyone knows they will return.

A character that the audience invested emotionally will feel more than a character we hardly ever knew.

Of course how the sad scene is portrayed is important. But it's only a small part of it.

Intentionally constructing a truly sad scene is a strange thing to do, as the only way that one can initially judge whether or not one has gone about it correctly is to basically make oneself cry.

Which feels really freaking weird, if I do say so myself.

edited 12th Sep '11 5:48:39 PM by JHM

And even that is no guarantee.

Emotionally moving scenes are my nemesis, but Fallen Legend's advice is good.

How exactly is it any more strange than setting up a funny/happy scene? And the reason I want to set it up is because I regard genuine sadness to be a very potent emotion in and of itself (as I myself rarely get sad).

At least as far as my own personal opinions go, I utterly disagree with Fallen Legend.

And that's all I intend to say on that.

At any rate, I have a crippling fear of melodrama/sentimentalism, and am not a sentimental person myself anyway, so I can count the number of times I've tried to write scenes that were meant purely to be sad and/or touching on one hand... one hand missing a few fingers.

edited 12th Sep '11 7:45:16 PM by nrjxll

Thanks!

Everyone has their own opinons I guess

edited 12th Sep '11 8:38:15 PM by FallenLegend

My two cents:

Sadness is often manifested in the difference between audience perception of the "ideal" outcome and the "actual" outcome that the author portrays. The further the actual outcome deviates from this ideal outcome, the more depressing the scene would appear. Character deaths is not the root of touching sadness. Neither is a dark and troubled character backstory. Nor is any portrayal of atrocities.

Let me cite a particular comparison to illustrate.

• Sins Of A Solar Empire have the players exterminate planets on regular basis, mass-murdering millions of soldiers in a matter of seconds, carrying out such atrocities too horrible to mention in the meantime. It is also implied that out there some horrible Eldritch Abomination no one can comprehend will eventually come along and snuff off everyone for their sins. And yet the whole premise of the game is not depressing at all, because the audience kinda sorta expects that to happen. Ergo, the gap between actual scenario and ideal scenario is not wide.

• On the other hand, we have a plethora of Utsuge - I am using Clannad as an example. Even though it is just one person, Kotomi's story (Parents dying in plane crash and still being badass enough to leave her a birthday present that, after a while of traveling the world, somehow still makes it back to her hand) or Nagisa's death each are extremely sad and touching scene. This is because the setting of the story is a slice-of-life, and the "ideal" scenario is one where everyone lives happily (ever after). Hence, the gap between these actual events and the "ideal" scenario is huge. Hence, they are sad.

Of course, there are other determinants, such as how closely the audience relate to the characters and many others, but I think the phenomenon I described above plays no small a role.

edited 12th Sep '11 10:29:14 PM by ArgeusthePaladin

That might be the best explanation I have heard on the subject, yet. I would also add that the reaction to the situation should not exceed its dramatic potential, though this is admittedly YMMV. For example, having a character break down after a serious, horrific Trauma Conga Line is acceptable; having them break down after a paper cut is Narm. Comedy is simply exaggerated tragedy, after all.