Defining the Emotional Experience

Story Marc
Feb 24
4 min read

Updated: Mar 15

Why This Step Matters

Before selecting your story’s Primary Universal Conflict, it’s crucial to step back and define the emotional experience you want to create for the audience. Every great story leaves a strong emotional imprint—your goal is to decide what that imprint should be before committing to a conflict structure.

By clarifying the intended emotional experience upfront, every future decision—conflict, character, theme, and pacing—will align to reinforce that emotion. This ensures that your story resonates with the audience in the exact way you intended and prevents tonal inconsistencies that can weaken a narrative.

Furthermore, the emotional experience is what makes a story memorable. Readers may forget the specifics of a plot, but they will always remember how a story made them feel. Whether it’s the adrenaline rush of a high-stakes heist, the quiet sorrow of a tragic romance, or the creeping unease of a psychological thriller, emotion is the core of storytelling.

How to Define Your Story’s Emotional Experience

Step 1: Ask Yourself—What Should the Audience Feel?

Think about the overall emotional journey your story should take the audience on. What is the dominant emotion that lingers after the final page or scene? Are you aiming for intensity, introspection, joy, or dread?

✅ Guiding Question: If someone summarized my story in one sentence, how would they describe how it made them feel?

🚀 Example Responses:

“That story was intense—I felt like I was running for my life the whole time.”
“That was so bittersweet—I didn’t know whether to cry or smile at the end.”
“That made me feel like anything is possible.”
“That was disturbing—I couldn’t stop thinking about it afterward.”
“That was so satisfying—I felt like justice was truly served.”
“That story made me question everything I believed in.”

By pinpointing this dominant emotion, you set a foundation for all other storytelling choices.

Step 2: Choose from the 15 Primary Emotional Experiences

To make this process easier, here is a refined list of 15 primary emotional experiences that cover the full spectrum of storytelling moods and tones. These emotional experiences are universal and can apply across different genres and mediums.

🚀 The 15 Core Emotional Experiences in Storytelling

Exhilaration – Thrilling, high-energy excitement and action (fast chases, intense battles, extreme sports).
Suspense – Tension, anticipation, and the stress of uncertainty (mind games, ticking clocks, deception).
Fear – Pure terror, dread, and survival instincts (horror, life-or-death chases, facing monsters).
Unease – A creeping sense that something is wrong, but you don’t know what (psychological horror, paranoia).
Awe – A sense of wonder, beauty, and reverence (staring at a vast galaxy, experiencing divine power).
Victory – Catharsis from overcoming hardship, winning against the odds (redemption arcs, triumph stories).
Heartbreak – Emotional devastation from loss or regret (romantic tragedies, friendships broken forever).
Despair – Deep hopelessness, existential dread, and futility (nihilism, loss of meaning, unavoidable doom).
Humor – Laughter, absurdity, satire, or lightheartedness (comedies, playful banter, ridiculous situations).
Devotion – Romantic or emotional attachment, deep bonds (passionate love, unconditional loyalty, sacrifice).
Fixation – Lust, obsession, and unhealthy desires (stalkers, destructive infatuation, obsession with revenge).
Betrayal – Shattered trust, gut-punch betrayals (backstabbing, discovering loved ones were never real allies).
Control – Power struggles, manipulation, domination (political games, corruption, fighting for authority).
Revulsion – Disgust, horror at depravity, morbid curiosity (serial killers, grotesque imagery, moral corruption).
Madness – Losing grip on reality, spiraling into insanity or disorder (psychological breakdowns, surreal chaos).

🔍 How to Use This List:

Pick one primary emotional experience that defines the overall tone of your story.
You may have secondary emotional experiences, but one should dominate the narrative.
If your setup doesn’t naturally evoke the intended emotion, adjust the setup before moving to the next step.
Consider combining emotions in unique ways. For instance, Awe can mix with Madness to create something surreal and dreamlike.

Step 3: Ensure the Setup Aligns with the Emotional Experience

Now, review your Story Setup and check if it naturally supports the emotional goal you selected. If it doesn’t, consider tweaking the situation or protagonist before moving forward.

✅ Ask Yourself:

Does my setup already create this feeling?
If not, what elements should I adjust?
What kind of conflict would amplify this emotion the most?
Is the setting contributing to the emotional experience, or should it be altered?

🚀 Example Applications:

Example 1: A Floating City Setup

Who? A young engineer responsible for maintaining a floating city.
What? The city begins to fall from the sky, and they must uncover the cause before it’s too late.
Desired Emotional Experience? A rising sense of dread and urgency (Suspense).
Adjustments? Start with a small problem that escalates, making the protagonist feel increasingly powerless.
Best Conflict Fit? Threatened Existence—since survival is at stake.

Example 2: A Retired Jewel Thief Setup

Who? A former thief trying to live an honest life.
What? Their past catches up when an old partner forces them into one last job.
Desired Emotional Experience? A mix of nostalgia, tension, and moral conflict (Melancholy & Betrayal).
Adjustments? Ensure that the protagonist feels both the thrill and regret of returning to crime.
Best Conflict Fit? Life Unraveled—since their careful new life is collapsing.

Final Takeaways: Why This Step Matters

✅ Prevents the story from feeling “off” later—ensuring all elements align emotionally.

✅ Makes the conflict choice more deliberate—so it’s not just structurally sound but emotionally impactful.

✅ Keeps writing focused—plot and character decisions can always be checked against the intended emotional experience.

✅ Strengthens character arcs—a well-defined emotional goal enhances character motivations and growth.

Optimizing the Story Creation Flow

1️⃣ Story Spark → (Find inspiration from People, Places, Situations, Themes, Objects, or Stories.)

2️⃣ Story Setup → (Who is this about? What situation starts the story?)

3️⃣ Emotional Experience Reflection → (What should the audience feel? Does my setup support that?)

4️⃣ Primary Universal Conflict → (What core struggle defines the story?)