Creating a feels/tearjerker scene. Difficult?

[marygold]

Death, betrayal, good byes, feels, just don't describe your scenes because SPOILERS

I'm just wondering if you guys ever start doubting yourself. Do you ever wonder if it will touch the readers, or if it is cliche or too much? How do you knowwhile you're drawing, since people haven't even seen it yet?

More importantly, how do you create the buildup and sequencing to create the effective tearjerker? I'm worried in the future my scenes will either be not enough or too cliche without me even knowing because I'm trying too hard. Chances are it won't even seem natural.

[AnnaLandin]

It certainly will!

Also, the scene I just started positng right now broke my heart, but I'm an overly-emotional comics-auntie about my own characters, so I suspect I might have overreacted when I drew it. ^_^;

Do you ever wonder if it will touch the readers, but is it cliche or too much?

All the time, and not just with the heartbreaking scenes! I doubt myself a lot while I work on my comics - I think it goes with the territory, and isn't something you ever get entirely rid of. Doubting yourself to a certain degree can be good for your comic, because it makes you question stuff and really think about how and why you're doing stuff.

Avoiding clichés is something that gets easier if you read and watch a lot of other people's stories; you start recognising patterns and tropes and clichéd scenes, etc. Some stuff is cliché because it works - and there's no shame in using clichés, as long as you invest a bit of effort and actual feeling into it. The reason why One Piece manages to make me cry isn't because it is narratively original - it's stuffed to the gills with shounen anime tropes - but because it wears its heart on its sleeve and isn't afraid of genuine emotions being invested in those clichés.

More importantly, how do you create the buildup and sequencing to create the effective tearjerker?

Most of my heartbreakers are going to happen later on in the story (unless you count the current scene, which as I said, might only be heartbreaking to me), after the readers have spent a LOT of time getting to know the characters and become invested in them. It's hard to break someone's heart on page one, because at that point, they have no idea who these people are and why they should care. It's easier to break someone's heart by page 100, because by then they know why they should care.

It also helps to build up either a sense of inevitable doom - as in, your characters can't avoid this no matter how hard they struggle - or one where a character's choice is instrumental in changing the outcome of a situation. Say, someone choosing to sacrifice themselves to save their friends - that's heartbreaking, but it's an active choice by the character, rather than a random act. It's something they could have chosen not to do, but they did.

[joannekwan]

Hm, I dunno, usually when I write something like that I think to myself, "Yess, this is perfectly bittersweet!" or "Yess, angst!" as a smile creeps across my face. Then when I present it to the world I get reactions like "omg I'm crying" or "I was not ready for this" or generally "the feeeelllllssss!" I know that whatever I'm doing will strike some sort of chord with the audience, I just can't measure how hard I strike.

I would say that, to write something like this, you must know what makes you yourself feel that way. Study and analyze films, literature, comics, or anything else that gave you the feels.

And it has to come naturally, you can't force an emotional scene just like you can't force a comedic scene. It has to flow from previous scenes and build up to a genuine pay off. For an emotional scene to work, your emotions must be invested in the characters and what they're doing. So give an adequate amount of characterization to your subjects, let the audience see them as real people.

[marygold]

@AnnaLandin your long advice has been screenshotted for future reference
@joannekwan I'll be taking that into consideration

Thanks!

[WakaXO]

If I ever feel doubtful about the sad/emotional scenes I have planned I ask myself; "Is this scene relevant to the over all story I want to tell? Or am I just writing this scene for the shock value?". I think asking this question stops me from writing cliches or making rash decisions.
Though I do plan to kill everyone in my comic off in the end. Just kidding, I will only kill a few of them, BAW Ahahaha! Jk

[heterodont]

usually when I write something like that I think to myself, "Yess, this is perfectly bittersweet!" or "Yess, angst!" as a smile creeps across my face

Honestly I have the same reaction, much to the chagrin of my friend (who I then share said angsty/sad/bittersweet situations to)

Much like what people have said, make the reader care about the character and it's going to be, frankly, quite easy to tug at their heartstrings with it. Also another way that can worsen (sweeten, in my opinion) is show how other characters react to it as well!

And make sure to not oversaturate/bombard the reader with sad event after sad event. It gradually loses its emotional power if your characters are just suffering one event after another to the point it can get grating to your viewer and makes them lose interest. (just like how game of thrones is infamous for constantly killing off characters, it just makes the reader question if they should really bother trying to sympathize for a character if they're going to get killed off sooner or later)

[J.Z.Castillo]

mmmh, idk, I have a tear jerker moment pretty early on... the way I am going about it, since I want people to really feel it, is I am making the friendship/possible love connection between both characters to be really strong and good. These two really care about each other... I want people to see that... and then I wanna rip their hearts out in an explosion of fire and shrapnel lmao!

[keii4ii]

I'm just wondering if you guys ever start doubting yourself. Do you ever wonder if it will touch the readers, or if it is cliche or too much? How do you knowwhile you're drawing, since people haven't even seen it yet?

ALL the time. In fact, "doubting" doesn't even cover it in my case. I suffer from pathological anxiety that makes me think no one will ever care about my main character's pain. It's like having a broken record in your brain... In my brain, there is a broken record repeating "NO ONE WILL EVER CARE." I know it's not true, but I can't stop hearing it.

As for how to make it effective, one good advice I've picked up is that while your readers shouldn't be able to predict the tragic event, they SHOULD be able to predict the character's emotional response to such an event. For example, when character A and B are friends, and B dies in front of A's eyes... Your readers should understand A well enough to see how deeply it would affect them.

This made a lot of sense to me. In my previous comic, I had character X seemingly planning to betray character Y, and it really got to the readers -- because they knew just how much Y loved X. Not everyone liked Y, but everyone could see what an emotional implosion there would be.

So I'm trying to figure out how to establish that for my current comic. Not everyone has to like my main character, but the comic has to portray him well enough for people to understand him. So that when the time comes, people will know how utterly that event will break him even before actually seeing his reaction.

[Kura]

It seems to be different for each particular scene, I'll be writing something thinking it's 'slightly moving I guess but not so bad' only to put my mom or proof reader in tears and have them mad at me for making them cry. While other times what I'm working on is personal to me as well, as it's either based off a situation that I relate to, so it's very hard for me to talk about it. Or because something bad is happening to a character I really like working with, such as a death scene.

Even when not intending to upset my readers they will get upset. For my current project, the main character is basically introduced as someone who is going to die, and the story will be his life before his death. At first readers didn't think too much of it, as it's simply a plot concept that they are being introduced to, but as the story continues and they get to know and grow more attached to the main character that's when they start to get emotional and worry, 'is there a way out of him dying?? I don't want to see him die!!' 'I love seeing updates for this series but even though I'm happy to see an update I'm also scared for Andrew at the same time, even if I know his not going to die in THIS episode, I don't want him to die ;_;' This is also an example of "the readers need to get to know/like your character before they can feel for them" As at this point his fate hasn't changed any worse since the beginning of the story, he's still going to die. The readers just know him more and grown attached to him now.

[jennula]

I have some scenes for my comic in my mind that could potentionally break my heart, but I'm fearing the day I have to draw them - I'm so scared of them getting campy or not match the rest of the comic (but I guess a comic could be both fun adventures and a bit serious/heart breaking). Still, I have a while to figure them out, but it scares me a bit ^^;

[mariusthered]

I know for a fact that there are at least three events coming up in talesfromswipecity that are real tear jerkers. (three of which are people getting killed)

i did one scene Here that i thought would get more comments but alas it failed. the page before showed a boy sneaking into school to take a morning shower and this is the back story of why he had to do that. I wanted to bring attention to the teenagers and kids who have to grow up too quickly due to parent problems such as alcohol and abandonment , both covered here in one foul swoop.

the trick is not to upset readers but to grab and twist emotions so much they dare not miss a single posted page , this is a skill that takes an age to master and a moment to loose.

[zetina]

One Piece was brought up and I'm, like, "the most heartbreaking scenes come from series with incredibly happy characters". The contrast, the desire to see them happy makes it extra sad when shit goes wrong. As for pacing and such I guess it can be tough to tell objectively w/ your own work. I think a slow, calm pace is best since it gives the audience time for the circumstances to sink in and make them really think about it. OH AND I'd add that little moments after the fact of how other characters are affected can add even more sadness. I'm not talking about "everyone's in depression now" but more like characters getting reminded of smth to do with the departed and letting out a bittersweet laugh as they share it w/ someone. Fun fact - the last 22 chapters of Nougami Neuro had me in tears constantly lmao

[marygold]

@heterodont do you know what my journalism teacher did? To teach us about info graphics, he pulled up an info graphic showing EVERY SINGLE death in EVERY SINGLE season. I was about to watch GoT, but now I don't want to.
@keii4ii that's really interesting, I'll keep that in mind, and yes, ignore the voice! If you have readers, then you can be hella sure they DO care
@jennula saaame. Cheers, my friend 🍷
@aronthemason I'm sure there's still room in your comic to make up for it
@zetina ohmygod One Piece. Nooooooo. I don't want to spoiler so I won't yell any names

[PotooGryphon]

I'm just wondering if you guys ever start doubting yourself. Do you ever wonder if it will touch the readers, or if it is cliche or too much? How do you knowwhile you're drawing, since people haven't even seen it yet?

Honestly, no. I haven't doubted or second guessed myself when it comes to emotionally heavy scenes. Not to sound like I'm at master at it or anything like that, however most of mine are based in areas that are incredibly relatable to most people.

For example, I just posted a two page emotional scene on my scene. It starts with a scene of danger as a vicious angry character [Hec Hound] is threatening and yelling at a beloved old wise character [Elder Zorro]. I show Zorro sad and sympathetic towards the Hound despite him looking more and more intensely dangerous, and then I suddenly flip the mood as Zorro takes charge of the scene and it's revealed that all the Hound anger is coming from a place of fear and manipulation. And I end the scene with the Hound begging for help and Zorro saying it'll be up to the Hound to find the forgiveness from within inorder to be released from rage.

A scene like this, I think is deeply relatable to most. Everyone gets scared and angry. A snarling beast is more likely more scared of you than you are of it. And how self help has to start with the person needing help to realize it and seek for help before the healing can begin.

More importantly, how do you create the buildup and sequencing to create the effective tearjerker?

You'll need well developed characters. Think about the very beginning of Pixar's Up. They make you fall in love with Ellie and Carl. You know both of their interests, their goals, dreams, you see them struggle and their hardships, and you see their love for one another which makes it all the more difficult to see Ellie pass. Pixar is pretty much the best at getting audiences to fall in love with a character quickly and setting up that emotional scene flawlessly. You're homework to get good at emotional scenes is to watch LOTS of Pixar, over and over again, and then ask yourself why did this scene make me feel, what emotions is it bring out, and how did this scene achieve it.

[Shiori_Saku]

I've had a couple of really heart wrenching scenes in Star Watcher but I can tell you that, from experience, those scenes would not have gone over as well or elicited the same response from my readers if they didn't feel a connection to the characters involved. Just introducing a character to a story is not enough and this is where I see a lot of new writers/artists go wrong. They tend to do one of two things: Rush or Over Saturate

Rush
When you rush to a characters demise, character building heart change, or dramatic loss, you lose a lot of the characters... character... They don't get the chance to properly get fleshed out sot the readers often lack understanding of their motivations and thoughts. This causes a disconnect from the audience so when they "die heroically" the big scene falls short.
My advice would be to give readers time to get to know a character that YOU (the author) like before you go about running them over with reindeer. Even villains can have character building moments that can get the audience behind them or to feel they they are personally affected by the villains actions.

Over Saturate
When you over saturate your story with death or touching moments there is a chance that it will loose its "edge" and fall short of helping the readers emotionally bond with anyone in particular. This is mostly because there is so much of it going on that those scenes that might have otherwise caused an AWWW!!! moment are just par for the course. Its no longer a special moment just another page. You can also draw out scenes with to much filler or exposition that kind of kill the mood. A lot of story tellers will use the death of a strong roll-model figure to get drive behind their main characters goals but if it happens to often (everyone the character forms an attachment to dies dramatically) or if it becomes 3 pages of the roll-model telling the main character "what he should do" than it loses it feelz and becomes harder to connect or even boring (TO MUCH TEXT KILLS!!!)
My Advice here would be to write characters with meaning but make sure that their support of the story comes first over getting an emotional response from the readers. When the time comes for the bully to realize that his actions are hurting his own soul not just the ones he bullies it needs to have enough substance that it explains the transformation of the character but not so much that it pours his dairy out in front of everyone all at once (this should be done over time, not in one go).

I hope this explanation helps!

[69Michi]

One Piece was brought up and I'm, like, "the most heartbreaking scenes come from series with incredibly happy characters".

I STILL CRY EVERY TIME REWATCHING LITERALLY EVERY HEART-BREAKING SCENE AND I'M NOT EVEN JOKING. And people wonder why I still follow One Piece... It's amazing how a show can pull off both comedy and angst that well I'm not complaining I like torturing myself with feels and cry myself to sleep.

I agree with the slow-pacing in prepare for something big.
SPOILERSPOILERSPOILER)Heck Ace's arc still has me in tear like all that effort Luffy went through and just mmmmmm my heart is not okay with this. (END OF SPOILER)
I'm extremely emotional myself, watching a heart-breaking scene something bad happens to my favorite character can make my heart wrench, but the reaction of other characters to such event is what ultimately breaks me down.

Usually if I write something and then I reread it myself and my heart aches, I know it bounds to have some effect on other people too. I'm not sure how much of a toll it would take, but I know at least it does tuck on your heartstring! The easiest tearjerking buildup I could think of is "misunderstand". Someone misunderstands someone else and when they realize they made a mistake in misunderstanding the other, they no longer had the chance to say their apology and they live with that guilt and regret in their heart. Sort of cliche but always manages to trample over my fragile heart.

[marygold]

@Shiori_Saku helps a lot! Thanks! GoT killing syndrome amirite
@69Erocento the fact that they're probably never going to find One Piece doesn't even bother me anymore 😂 It's too good

[Shiori_Saku]

helps a lot! Thanks! GoT killing syndrome amirite

EXACTLY!!! (I was acturaly going to use Ramsey Bolton and King Joffrey as examples but I didn't know if that would be appropriate given the family friendly nature of TAP... mostly anyway... ><

[zetina]

The easiest tearjerking buildup I could think of is "misunderstand". Someone misunderstands someone else and when they realize they made a mistake in misunderstanding the other, they no longer had the chance to say their apology and they live with that guilt and regret in their heart. Sort of cliche but always manages to trample over my fragile heart.

thinks of Norland's story in One Piece
that friendship had me in tears :') not quite a misunderstanding but the fact they didn't have a chance to learn what happened to the other is so sad.

[scullpanda]

Im working on one which I hope will cause emotion It has to do with bullying and the fact when we turn 18 we are told adults aren't bullied and told to suck it up Its a short story not sure how long yet but deals with death of friends, friends turning into bullies and depression.