Yes, Because What If I Wanna Read It. Ever Think About That?

Me right now

currently powering through the absolute worst, terribly written, cringe ass fanfic ive ever read in my entire life simply because the concept is too good

Me: I wish I could spend all my free time writing

Also me: has other hobbies that I take more seriously for some reason so I can’t just write all day because I made commitments

How to Make Your Characters Almost Cry

Tears are powerful, but do you know what's more impactful? The struggle to hold them back. This post is for all your hard-hearted stoic characters who'd never shed a tear before another, and aims to help you make them breakdown realistically.

The Physical Signs of Holding Back Tears

Heavy Eyelids, Heavy Heart Your character's eyelids feel weighted, as if the tears themselves are dragging them down. Their vision blurs—not quite enough to spill over, but enough to remind them of the dam threatening to break.

The Involuntary Sniffle They sniffle, not because their nose is running, but because their body is desperately trying to regulate itself, to suppress the wave of emotion threatening to take over.

Burning Eyes Their eyes sting from the effort of restraint, from the battle between pride and vulnerability. If they try too hard to hold back, the whites of their eyes start turning red, a telltale sign of the tears they've refused to let go.

The Trembling Lips Like a child struggling not to cry, their lips quiver. The shame of it fuels their determination to stay composed, leading them to clench their fists, grip their sleeves, or dig their nails into the nearest surface—anything to regain control.

The Fear of Blinking Closing their eyes means surrender. The second their lashes meet, the memories, the pain, the heartbreak will surge forward, and the tears will follow. So they force themselves to keep staring—at the floor, at a blank wall, at anything that won’t remind them of why they’re breaking.

The Coping Mechanisms: Pretending It’s Fine

A Steady Gaze & A Deep Breath To mask the turmoil, they focus on a neutral object, inhale slowly, and steel themselves. If they can get through this one breath, they can get through the next.

Turning Away to Swipe at Their Eyes When they do need to wipe their eyes, they do it quickly, casually, as if brushing off a speck of dust rather than wiping away the proof of their emotions.

Masking the Pain with a Different Emotion Anger, sarcasm, even laughter—any strong emotion can serve as a shield. A snappy response, a bitter chuckle, a sharp inhale—each is a carefully chosen defence against vulnerability.

Why This Matters

Letting your character fight their tears instead of immediately breaking down makes the scene hit harder. It shows their internal struggle, their resistance, and their need to stay composed even when they’re crumbling.

This is written based off of personal experience as someone who goes through this cycle a lot (emotional vulnerability who?) and some inspo from other books/articles

writing badly and cringily is actually an essential part of the writing process, both in terms of individual projects and in gaining voice and confidence as a writer in the long term. there is no way around the cringe. there's no way around the work.

hey jana, what could be some reasons that may hold the main character back from confessing to the person they've harbored feelings for? thank you :)

Hi :)

Here are your reasons:

Reasons for holding back from a confession

believing the feelings are not reciprocated

fearing that this would change their relationship negatively

not being ready to be in a relationship

fearing that they would not work out as a couple despite their attraction to and love for each other

fearing negative outside consequences

the other being in a relationship and not wanting to interfere with that

knowing that their friend is also interested in that person

knowing that they are an ex-partner of a friend

not being able to really express their feelings well in general, especially with actual words

Have fun with them!

- Jana

So my health, both mentally and physically, is a hot mess. But at least I’ve been writing

actually I love using my disability as a crutch and an excuse and I think all disabled people should be allowed to do it as much as we want

Nothing frustrates more than the realization that the world behind your eyes will never look back at you like a mirror from the page. But the frustration dissipates when you realize that if you fill the entire page so airtight with your world, then there would be no room for the reader.

Writing a fanfic sometimes feels like having a plan...only for that plan to magically transform into a slice of cake. Now you have to bake the rest of the cake because you can't just serve a single slice whilst random cake slices of unidentified origin rain down from the sky tempting you like some kind of cake demon.

Of course my insomnia struck full force right when ao3 is scheduled to go down for maintenance :(