Writing I have one chapter to make my wife cry

[Hads]

That's kinda confusing? What do you mean the protagonist wills it, is the man the protagonist?

No, the protagonist is a 'Game Master' with the ability to influence happenings in the world, but he is completely unaware of this fact. Much like a Game Master for a D&D game would be able to control a world.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

The only way I know to force that kind of reaction is to get them to read it out loud. And even then, it's a crapshoot whether you can actually trigger tears, just generate sadness, or have them laugh at your overblown prose.

 

[Hads]

The only way I know to force that kind of reaction is to get them to read it out loud. And even then, it's a crapshoot whether you can actually trigger tears, just generate sadness, or have them laugh at your overblown prose.

Tears of boredom may be achievable. :)

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Tears of boredom may be achievable. :)

Okay, I'll give you that.

 

[blackcrowcrowd]

No, the protagonist is a 'Game Master' with the ability to influence happenings in the world, but he is completely unaware of this fact. Much like a Game Master for a D&D game would be able to control a world.

Then why should we care if the woman die? It's something that happens basically every day so I don't know if that's gonna bring tears to the table. It's kind of like how I'm WAY more worried about whether I should eat X or Y for dinner than some random guy in some random country getting absolutely smacked by a car to valhalla

 

[Hoshino]

Notice: Make recurring character that is likeable by that person, and at the end. Go all on the angst. This would kinda work, I suppose-nya?

 

[ShrimpShady]

From my experience as a consoomer of media, what works best when you're pressed for time is strong imagery, e.g. a motif. Building up and subverting that motif can elicit a pretty strong emotional reaction

This is an example in a visual medium, but it might be helpful anyway.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Unfortunately to provide motivation to a character I need a specific character to die, also to reveal the reader the impact the main character has on the world, without being too explicit about it.

If you're killing a woman to provide motivation, that could just make her angry. It's been done to death and it's no surprise anymore.

 

[DeepWater]

Tell her you want a divorce. Then you don't even need one chapter.

 

[Zagaroth]

What? 2-3k words to get someone to cry, who is *expecting* you to get them to cry? That's a single chapter to introduce a character, get emotionally invested to a sufficient depth, and then kill them in a way that invoke the proper level of tragedy rather than throwing the reader out of the narrative.

I think that the challenge is incredibly flawed; I can't imagine *any* author pulling that off successfully.

Hmm. At least, if you need to kill the target character. That's what is so heavy handed as to throw one out of the narrative.

However, if the challenge is to get her to cry, I do have an option. Don't kill or even hurt the character, physically at least. Make the character cry. Treat the following as a template:

Scenario: PoV character meets target cute character, probably a young-ish girl, there's some bonding, etc. Narrative focus is on the girl a lot, but the girl has a pet dog that she clearly loves, but the dog should get only a small part of the narrative attention.

As you get close to the end of the chapter, something happens. Let's make it an earthquake for this scenario. Girl is in danger, the PoV character reacts and manages to save the girl, maybe getting a little injured in the process. The danger passes, and everyone is starting to relax. Then the girl asks, "Wait, where's Fluffy?" If you do it just right, both the PoV character and the reader's hearts break watching the little girl's heart break as reality sets in and the dog's body is found.

Note: this can be done with a sentimental object or something as well (such as a stuffed animal), so long as you sell the emotional bond and how it break's the girl's heart.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

Thread is TLDR

but make it a heroic pet that dies then tragically when saving a baby or something... We are too desensitized to human death, but a beloved pet...

Probably your best bet anyways.

 

[LuoirM]

add a dog

 

[Danja]

I plan to introduce and make my reader care about a character and then kill them off. My wife has challenged me to try and get her to cry.

You have no control over someone else's behavior.

Imagine two people riding a rollercoaster. One person is scared to death and wants off in the worst way. The person sitting next to them is screaming, having fun, and eager to ride again.

Different readers can have different responses to the same story. Each reader brings their own life experiences to your story.

 

[Hads]

You have no control over someone else's behavior.

Imagine two people riding a rollercoaster. One person is scared to death and wants off in the worst way. The person sitting next to them is screaming, having fun, and eager to ride again.

Different readers can have different responses to the same story. Each reader brings their own life experiences to your story.

Indeed, I'm looking at the stories that have made her cry in the past, as inspiration.

 

[Hads]

Well, I failed to achieve my goal, she just didn't care enough about the character, I've released the 2 chapters anyhow, it was going to be too big being one chapter.