You know that moment when you finish a book and just... sit there?
Not because you're confused or disappointed, but because your soul needs a minute to recover from what just happened. You might cry, you may laugh, or immediately text a few people demanding ~ they read this book RIGHT NOW!
That, my fellow writers, is emotional payoff.
And if you're not creating these moments in your stories, you're serving your readers literary junk food. It might taste okay going down, but it won't satisfy a reader's hunger. And they more than likely won't come back for seconds.
So what exactly is emotional payoff? Why does it matter so much? And how do YOU create these soul-stirring moments that turn casual readers into devoted fans?
Let's dive in. (Bring tissues. We're going deep.)
What Is Emotional Payoff & Why It's So Important?
Emotional payoff is the moment when everything your reader has been emotionally investing in—the hope, fear, anticipation, dread—finally comes to fruition in a way that feels both surprising and inevitable.
But wait... it's not everything your reader has emotionally invested in. It is your CHARACTER'S hopes, fears, anticipation, and dread.
This shows that readers are investing emotionally in what the CHARACTER is experiencing, not just having their own abstract emotions. This makes the definition of "emotional payoff" more precise and actionable for writers.
It's not just plot resolution. Plot tells us what happened. Emotional payoff tells us why WE should care.
WE being the reader. Plus WE being the writer who is creating these stories about characters the reader must care about deeply in order to receive the emotional payoff.
Think about it: you could write a story where the detective catches the killer, the couple gets together, and the kingdom is saved. All the plot boxes are ticked. But if your readers feel nothing when these things happen? Your story has failed the emotional test.
Emotional payoff is the difference between:
- "Oh, okay, they solved the case" versus "YES! Justice at last!"
- "I guess they're together now" versus "I'm sobbing happy tears!"
- "The bad guy lost" versus "That villain got exactly what they deserved!"
It's the emotional interest in your readers' investment.
The what?
Let's discuss a banking analogy that will help you understand Emotional Payoffs a bit more. And more to the point, The Psychology Behind the Payoff as well as The Different Types of Emotional Payoffs. All available in Bingeable Books!