There is nothing more powerful than hearing words of admiration and respect from others. It makes us feel like we’ve accomplished something valuable. When we write, we often have a chance to impress others with our talent and prove that we can be an asset to the team. However, sometimes this comes with a price. We might end up putting ourselves in compromising situations or fall prey to our own ego. It’s never easy dealing with criticism, especially when it comes from people who mean well but lack understanding of how vulnerable we can feel when it comes to comparing ourselves to others.
To help writers avoid this, it’s important to know how to describe embarrassment in creative writing. An understanding of this can help us pinpoint where we went wrong and how we can correct it. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the most essential ingredients for a creative writing piece that will make your readers laugh and cry simultaneously.
The Humor Element
One of the most important things to keep in mind if you want to write an embarrassing story is to make sure that your readers find it funny. If they don’t, then you’ve failed. This is not to say that you should write a sob story, because that might very well be the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever written. Sometimes life just isn’t fair and it’s nice to be able to laugh at it. If you want to describe an embarrassing moment, you’ll need to start by establishing what your readers know about the subject. This could be something as simple as the fact that you’re a rookie tennis player and someone just commented on how bad your serve is. It depends on the story you want to tell. As a general rule, the more detail you provide, the better. This will help your readers picture the event as if it happened to someone else. It will make it more relatable.
The Drama Element
Another crucial ingredient for an amazing story is good old fashioned drama. If you’ve ever seen a soap opera, you know what we’re talking about. Those are always hilarious because they’re so unrealistic. When you’re watching television or reading a novel, you’d almost always expect something dramatic to happen. It adds a little spice to the story when things don’t go according to plan and it’s not always because the plot requires it. The best way to make your readers sympathize with you is by giving them a reason to be upset or offended by what’s happening. It can be fun to get angry or sad about something, but you must have a reason for it. In the case of an embarrassing moment, you might want to write about something that happened at a particularly awkward social gathering. This could be where you met the person who ruined your life forever or it could be something as simple as a bad decision you made that went viral. It’s all about the choice you make. As a writer, you can choose to make a comment on anything and everything, good or bad. It’s up to you. It could be a short story written for fun or it could be the basis for a novel. It’s all about what you want to do with it. If you decide to publish it, then that’s your prerogative. If you don’t want to, then that’s perfectly fine too. The choice is entirely up to you. You could always write a scathing blog post about someone’s decision to leave the Democratic party or you could decide to set a fire at a restaurant and write an action-adventure story about it. It’s all about what you want to do with your writing.
The Action Or Description Of The Event
Now that you’ve got the humor and drama element down, it’s time to put them into practice. This is where you’ll need to provide your readers with some sense of what happened. If you don’t want to write a straight play or a novel about your topic, then you can always choose to describe the event in some detail. It’s important to give your readers as much information as possible here. If you want to write an action story, then go for it. If you want to write a more realistic account, then make sure you include everything from where you were to how you felt during the moment. It’s all about how you want to remember it. Sometimes we don’t like to think about the events that define us. It can be embarrassing to look back on some of those events and it can be hard to explain what happened without using embarrassing words. Hopefully, this will help you understand where you went wrong and how you can correct it.
The Setting
Setting is important too. You don’t want to have your readers wandering around wherever you happen to be standing when the event occurs. If you’re out shopping and your female readership experiences a sudden urge to compare shopping carts with your male readership, you’ll want to provide them with a setting. This would be something like this
- I was at the mall
- It was a very cool day
- I was there with my girlfriend
- And we were looking for jeans
- When out of the blue, my girlfriend decides to go for an orange soda instead of a coke
- I didn’t realize what had happened until we got to the register
- And I asked her why she had chosen that particular drink
- She said it was because she saw someone drink it at lunch and she thought it would taste good
- I had no idea what she was talking about
- I hate oranges, they’re tasteless
- She started laughing and couldn’t stop
- I felt like an idiot
- I asked her if she was mocking me
- She said she didn’t even know what mocking was
- I wished I had walked away before this had happened
- But I was still in shock
- Then I felt really bad
- What kind of a boyfriend am I?
- I wish I could just be there for her
- She looked sad so I decided to leave
- I walked away and didn’t look back
- I hate myself for what I did
You see, when you write about embarrassing moments, you’re providing your readers with a look into your past. They don’t know you, but they do know your history together. This is where you provide the juice for their amusement. If you want to write about something embarrassing, then make sure you have a good reason for it. Also, make sure you include everything that happened. It’s important for your readers to have a clear picture in their head of what happened. If you want to write about something, then make sure you include all the details including the setting. If you don’t want to share what happened, then that’s perfectly fine too. You can always use your own imagination to create a setting for the event. When you do, make sure you do your research and get the details right. This will bring a new and original twist to your story.
The Characters
Characters are an important part of any narrative. They can bring a brand new perspective to an old story or they can make an event more entertaining to read about. In the case of embarrassing moments, your characters can provide your readers with a fresh take on a topic they might feel hesitant to write about. It can be fun to imagine how someone else might react to something that happened to you. When writing about embarrassing moments, make sure you do your research into the people involved. It might not seem like a big deal to you, but to others it could be quite the opposite. One of the best things about this option is that it gives you the opportunity to show a different side of the people involved. It might be an opportunity to show how awkward or silly the situation was. It might even be an excuse to laugh at a situation that would otherwise make you cry. Use your characters to reveal new information about the people involved. It’s all about what you want to do with your character. Sometimes we don’t want to reveal everything about ourselves right away. It’s a slow burn kind of thing. Make sure you think about this when you write your story.