What is an Emotion Amplifier?

Amplifiers are an added condition or situational burden that must be coped with on top of everything else. They’re a challenge, conflict, and emotional destabilizer rolled into one, capable of causing physical, emotional, and psychological discomfort. The presence of an amplifier makes it harder for a character to think things through and stay in control of their emotions. And if characters become more volatile or lower their guard because they’re distracted, they’re more likely to miss something important and mess up.

Let’s say Jake’s dulled reflexes cause him to drop a pallet of product, ruining the inventory and creating a safety hazard. He’s reprimanded by his foreman, who never did come to help but has plenty of criticism to hand out. Hot with fever and frustration, Jake goes off about how he’s always the one who shows up, even when he’s sick, but never gets any appreciation. One outburst and a few ill-advised words later, Jake’s hopes for a promotion lie in ruins among the crushed cargo.

Emotion amplifiers, both large and small, are ideal for pushing a character over the edge—and sometimes, that’s exactly what the writer needs to happen. Smart, savvy characters who always make the right choices aren’t very interesting, but characters who blunder, lose control, or forget their filter? Now we’re talking!

The Ultimate Amplifier Resource

Angela and I have been studying amplifiers since we drafted the first copy of The Emotion Thesaurus. At that time, we kept running across things a character could technically feel—cold, hunger, attraction—that weren’t emotions. Eventually, we realized that these were states and conditions that intensified a character’s feelings and pushed them toward bigger reactions. Because they didn’t fit as emotions, we created an ebooklet for them: Emotion Amplifiers, a companion to The Emotion Thesaurus that highlighted 15 of these states.

But as time went on, we discovered many more amplifiers to be explored. We also realized that they do much more than just alter a character’s emotional state; they also serve as catalysts for conflict and tension, magnify internal dissonance and psychological distress, and even support story structure. Because of their versatility in strengthening both characters and stories, we knew we had to get the word out.

So we’re expanding our little ebooklet into a full-fledged book with 52 amplifiers (see the complete list here!) and a whole new front matter section that shows writers how to put them to work.

Are you curious? If so, we’ve provided a sample entry for you—a really versatile amplifier that every character will encounter at some point in the story.

And keep your eyes peeled over the next few months for more blog posts, writing tips, and instructive content on amplifiers and how to put them to use.

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