Getting inside a characters head and portraying their emotions has always been a challenge for me. When I do, the prose is always awkward, and a bit repetitive. I've been told this is because I myself lack drama, where my preferred, and most common, mood is that of contented indifference. Thankfully, my MC's (Susyn's) is fairly similar in this respect, the only difference being is her life is a lot more traumatic. But, she's not my only character, and she does have them, everyone does, she just keeps them in check.

Any suggestions?

- Terra

Observe me, your overly dramatic twin sister.

I can't say I'm exactly sure how to give advice on this subject. >.O I'd say the key is to empathize. Sit back for a moment, stick yourself in their shoes, while blocking out the rest of the world. How would you act? Then, how would /they/ act?

Every character reacts to different situations differently. They'll feel different emotions based on circumstances, and it's sometimes hard to pick out exactly /what/ their emotions/reactions will be.

Which is why it's essential to know a character inside and out, from their personality, past, where they grow up, who's around them, etc. All these things will have monumental impact on your character. I highly recommended character fractalling.

Once you've got that down, just empathize.

(Though, I will say, from what I've read of your stuff, I haven't noticed anything particularly awry with your characters...seemed fine to me.)

Hope that helps.

All of the suggestions given about character development are good. Those can help you determine what your characters' emotions are and how they might express them.

But, if you have an idea of what the emotions are and you're just having trouble getting the words to flow... try switching writing styles or mediums.

I suggest this because my writing sometimes flows more smoothly in one medium or another. If I can truly get inside the character's head, I can write a transparent 1st person narrative without issue. If I'm not getting into the character, however, 1st person becomes incredibly hard to write. A more distant 3rd-person might work better, where I just have to observe the character instead of write from inside their head. Sometimes, when I can't get my narrative in any person to flow, switching to screenplay frees things up. Because the narrative of screenplay doesn't have to have as much "flavor," in a sense, it's a very direct process. Instead of worrying about how to make the sentences sound nice, I just describe what's happening bluntly.

You might find that the reverse is true. If you're having trouble describing the character through 3rd person, try 1st person. Write from inside them, let them do the talking, instead of you trying to translate.

I agree with Evening - show, not tell. The narrative doesn't necessarily have to have a lot of drama, but you can imply a wealth of emotion by character's subtle actions.

To get more inside the character's head try developing the character SO MUCH to where you know more about them then they do themselves, try at viewtopic.php?f=36&t=319 . That should help!