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How to Describe Pain in Writing

What’s the worst pain you’ve ever felt? And how would you describe it?

Describing physical pain in writing is a challenge that most writers face at one time or another. A character might have a headache, give birth, or get injured in an accident or a battle. (By the way, if you’re reading this, you might also want to check out my writer’s guide to serious injuries and calamities .)

When I was writing my book The Equinox Stone , I did a lot of thinking about ways to describe pain since my characters get pretty banged up over the course of the book. Near the end (spoilers), one of them has several injuries, and I wrote: “His adrenaline was burning off, leaving him in a symphony of pain, one part of his body screaming, the other parts answering with agony of their own.” I really liked the “symphony of pain” idea.

Since so many writers look for ways to describe pain in creative writing, I figured I should do a master list of words and phrases to use. I’ve also suggested ways that the character can react to the pain, which you could use whether you’re writing from the point of view of the person in pain or the point of view of someone with them. Some of these could probably be adapted to emotional rather than physical pain.

In most cases, you probably won’t use these ways to describe pain verbatim (although you’re certainly welcome to, even with the longer phrases.) You’ll adapt it for the paragraph you’re writing. You might also combine one or two ideas. Like all my master lists, it’ll probably make you think of even more ideas.

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"HOW TO DESCRIBE PAIN IN WRITING: get the list of words and phrases at bryndonovan.com" image of thorns

she braced herself for the pain

a dull ache

a deep ache in his bones

a throbbing ache

his head throbbed

pain filled her head

pain squeezed her head

a jab of pain

a burst of pain

a flash of pain

prickles of pain

a blaze of pain

a stinging pain

a spike of pain

white-hot pain

a sharp pain

a shooting pain

a stabbing pain

a piercing pain

a corrosive pain

a crippling pain

a searing pain

a grating pain

a grinding pain

a drumbeat of pain

pain shot up her leg

pain surged through her body

pain lashed across his lower back

pain ripped through her chest

pain branched across their back like lightning

pain lacerated her shoulder

pain twisted his belly

a cramp seized her foot

pain exploded behind her eyeballs

the pain flared in his leg

a flaming pain in her wrist

a burning pain in her neck

pain coursed through his body

pain like a sharp knife in his gut

pain lanced through him

pain went through her like a sword/spear

blinded with pain

dizzy from the pain

disoriented from the pain

the pain blossomed in his midsection

the pain spread through her bowels

a wave of pain rolled through her

pain crashed through his body

he let out a gasp from the pain

she panted with pain

she hissed with pain

he grimaced in pain

he managed to grin through the pain

he winced at the pain

she cringed at the pain

they strained against the pain

she curled up in pain

he doubled over with agony

she writhed in pain

he moaned in pain

she sucked in a sharp breath at the pain

he howled in pain

she grunted from the pain

he let out a cry of pain

she bit back a cry of pain

she yelped with pain

he let out a shriek of pain

he screeched in pain

she screamed in pain

the pain brought tears to his eyes

he quivered with pain

he was wracked by pain

she trembled from the pain

she was shaking from the torment

she convulsed with pain

his breathing was shallow

the pain took her breath away

they tried to breathe through the pain

she tried to focus on something other than the pain

he clutched his head in agony

she clamped her hand around her stubbed toe

he cradled his wounded arm

he grasped her hand tightly as the pain hit

she gritted her teeth against the pain

he clenched his teeth when the pain hit

his face was drawn with pain

her face was twisted with pain

she stiffened with the pain

he went rigid with agony

her back arched off the bed with the pain

she spoke haltingly from the pain

his voice was tight with pain

her voice was rough with pain

it hurt too much for him to speak

pain like he’d never felt before

the pain robbed her of rational thought

he was out of his mind with pain

she was delirious with pain

he prayed for an end to the suffering

she wished for the release of death

he blacked out from the pain

the pain abated

the pain eased

the drugs softened the pain

the pain faded

the pain diminished

the pain evaporated

the pain dissolved

the pain released her

the pain subsided

the pain dulled

the pain drained out of her body

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Okay, I could do this all day, but I’ll stop it here! Do you have other thoughts about creative ways to describe pain? Let us know in the comments!

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How to Describe Pain in Writing: 45 Best Tips with Examples

Pain is one of the most challenging experiences to convey realistically in a story.

Here is how to describe pain in writing:

Describe pain in writing by using sensory language, emotional context, physical reactions, and impactful metaphors. Detail chronic, extreme, and emotional pain through a character’s experiences, expressions, and their impact on daily life.

In this comprehensive guide, you’ll discover a wide-ranging toolkit to depict pain across various dimensions—physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, chronic, and extreme.

How to Describe Pain in Writing: The Most Powerful Strategies

Close up image of half a woman's face - How to Describe Pain in Writing

Table of Contents

We’ll start with 30 of the best ways to describe pain in writing:

Draw on Personal Experience – When describing pain, recalling personal experiences can be a useful starting point. Remember that time you stubbed your toe on the door? Or when you experienced a heart-wrenching break-up? Example: “The pain was like the moment of biting down on a cracked tooth, an electric jolt of surprise and hurt.”
Sensory Details – Use the five senses to make your descriptions vivid. Incorporate taste, touch, sound, sight, and smell into your writing. Example: “The sharp pain tasted metallic, like a mouthful of pennies.”
Comparisons and Analogies – Similes and metaphors offer powerful tools to illustrate pain. Create a vivid picture in your reader’s mind by comparing pain to something they can easily understand. Example: “The pain struck like a thunderbolt, leaving his senses as shattered as a broken vase.”
Physical Reactions – Highlight how pain affects the character’s physical state, such as changes in posture, facial expressions, or movements. Example: “Her face was taut, twisted as though a marionette string was pulling on her every nerve.”
Use Powerful Adjectives and Verbs – Strong words can emphasize the intensity of emotional pain. Example: “She was swallowed by an abyss of despair, each day was a struggle, each night an agonizing eternity.”
Incorporate Body Language – Show how emotional pain manifests in the character’s body language. Example: “His shoulders slumped, the weight of his grief pulling him down as if he wore a cloak made of lead.”
Describe the Character’s Internal Dialogue – Giving readers a glimpse into the character’s thoughts can effectively communicate emotional pain. Example: “She kept asking herself, ‘Why me?’ as she fought to hold back the tears welling in her eyes.”
Use the Setting to Reflect Emotional Pain – The environment can be an effective tool to mirror the character’s emotional state. Example: “The world outside mirrored his sorrow, the sky gray and weeping, the wind whispering mournful secrets.”
Introduce Flashbacks – Flashbacks can be used to reveal past traumas or painful memories that lead to the character’s current emotional state. Example: “Every time he closed his eyes, he was back there – the shouts, the fear, the moment his world shattered into a thousand pieces.”
Describe the Location of the Pain – Be specific about where the pain is originating. This is how you describe stomach pain or foot pain in writing. Example: “The pain was concentrated in his lower back, as if a knife was wedged between his vertebrae.”
Use Vivid Imagery – Paint a mental picture of what the pain feels like. Example: “It was a searing pain, like hot oil splashed onto his skin.”
Show the Duration of the Pain – Is the pain fleeting, intermittent, or constant? Example: “The pain was an uninvited guest, lingering and unwelcome.”
Use Onomatopoeic Words – Use words that imitate the sound associated with the pain. Example: “His head throbbed with a steady, pounding rhythm.”
Describe the Aftermath of the Pain – What is left when the pain subsides?Example: “After the pain faded, a numbing chill took its place, as if his arm belonged to someone else.”
Reveal the Character’s Coping Mechanism – How does your character deal with pain? This can add another layer of depth to your writing.Example: “He gritted his teeth, pushing through the pain, refusing to let it control him.”
Write about the Intensity of the Pain – Is it a mild discomfort, or is it severe enough to be debilitating? Example: “The pain was so intense, it felt like his veins were filled with molten lead.”
Use Metaphors to Describe the Cause of Pain – Metaphors can be used to describe the cause of the pain, not just the pain itself. Example: “His headache was a relentless drummer, the rhythm echoing through his skull.”
Describe the Pain through Other Characters’ Reactions – Showing the reaction of others can emphasize the severity of the pain. Example: “Upon seeing his pale, sweaty face, she rushed to his side, her own heart aching with worry.”
Incorporate the Character’s Emotional Response to the Pain – The character’s emotional reaction to the pain can help the reader empathize with them. Example: “She clenched her fists, tears welling in her eyes as waves of pain washed over her.”
Describe the Pace of the Pain – Is the pain slow and steady, or quick and sudden? Example: “The pain bloomed slowly, like a rose unfolding its petals, taking over his consciousness one thorn at a time.”
Incorporate Sensations – Use descriptions of heat, cold, tingling, or numbness to describe the pain. Example: “A numbing cold crept up her leg, the frostbite spreading its icy fingers of pain.”
Explain the Pain’s Evolution – Pain can change, escalate, or lessen over time. Example: “What began as a dull ache in his stomach soon intensified, twisting into a relentless cramp.”
Analogize Pain with Weather – Like weather, pain can have periods of escalation and calming. Example: “Her pain was like a storm, surges of hurt punctuated by moments of eerie calm.”
Incorporate Colors – Associating pain with certain colors can help visualize it. Example: “The pain was red-hot, searing through his senses, leaving him breathless.”
Describe the Scale of the Pain – Use a scale or a well-known measuring unit to represent pain. Example: “The pain was an 8 out of 10, almost unbearable.”
Use Hyperbole – An overstatement or exaggeration can sometimes effectively communicate intense pain. Example: “Each heartbeat was a sledgehammer, pounding against his chest.”
Highlight Pain’s Interruption – Pain can interrupt a character’s train of thought or daily activity. Example: “His words were cut short as a jolt of pain lanced through his arm.”
Create Contrast – Use the contrast between physical pain and a previously pain-free state. Example: “Yesterday, he was running freely; today, each breath felt like shards of glass in his lungs.”
Change in Perception – Explain how pain alters the character’s perception or focus. Example: “Pain tunnel-visioned his world, every other sensation paled, it was as though he existed solely as an epicenter of agony.”
Pain through Time Manipulation – Utilize time as a tool to describe pain. “Flash-forwards” or “Flashbacks” of pain can offer a unique perspective. The character could remember a past painful event with intense clarity or anticipate a future painful occurrence with dread, thereby amplifying the emotional impact of the pain experience. Example: “Every throb of his wound was a time machine, transporting him back to the battlefield, the roar of cannons echoing in his ears.”

Here is a good video about how to use your own experirences to describe pain in writing:

How to Describe Mental Pain & Anguish in Writing

Depicting mental pain in writing can lend depth to your characters, showcasing their vulnerabilities, and helping readers empathize with them.

Here’s how to dresribe mental pain in writing:

Exhibit Physical Symptoms of Mental Pain – Often, mental pain manifests itself physically. This could include things like difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite, or sudden weight changes. Example: “His worry was a relentless gnawing in his mind that stole his sleep and left him pacing the quiet house at night.”
Describe the Character’s Emotional Responses – Mental pain often elicits intense emotional responses such as anger, fear, or despair. Show these in your character’s reactions. Example: “His anger was a blazing wildfire, incited by the sparks of his overwhelming guilt.”
Use Metaphors and Similes – Metaphors and similes can help depict the abstract nature of mental pain, making it easier for the reader to understand. Example: “His anxiety was a hungry beast, gnawing at his sanity, bit by bit.”
Illustrate Social Consequences – Mental pain can cause a character to withdraw socially, which you can illustrate in your writing. Example: “He was an island, his pain the vast ocean that isolated him from the rest of the world.”
Use Internal Dialogue – Give readers insight into the character’s thoughts to understand their internal struggle. Example: “In the silence of his room, his thoughts screamed the loudest, a cacophony of self-doubt and regret.”
Describe Coping Mechanisms – How a character deals with mental pain can reveal a lot about their personality and resilience. Example: “He found solace in music, each note a lifeline in the stormy sea of his thoughts.”
Use the Enviroment – Reflect the character’s mental state through the surroundings. Example: “His room, once a sanctuary, felt like a prison now, the walls closing in on him, mirroring his claustrophobic thoughts.”

Consider this list of words to use when writing about mental pain and anguish:

Overwhelmed

Also, this list of phrases might help trigger your creativity when writing about mental pain:

Walls of despair closing in
A storm of sorrow
Drowning in dread
Caught in a whirlwind of worries
Burdened by unbearable regret
A chasm of hopelessness
Haunted by the past
Carrying a weight of guilt
Paralyzed by fear
Lost in a sea of confusion

How to Describe Spiritual Pain in Writing

Spiritual pain can be challenging to portray as it deals with extremely abstract concepts.

Here, we’ll go over tips, words and phrases, and examples of how you can do it.

Tips to Describe Spiritual Pain in Writing

Spiritual pain can be challenging to portray as it deals with abstract concepts like faith, belief, and existential crises.

Establish the Character’s Beliefs – Establish what your character believes in or values to show the source of their spiritual pain.
Show a Crisis of Faith – Spiritual pain can stem from doubt or conflict in the character’s belief system.
Demonstrate Struggles with Morality – Spiritual pain can also be associated with a character grappling with their moral compass.
Describe Inner Conflict – Show the character’s struggle between their spiritual values and the choices they are forced to make.
Use Symbols – Symbols, whether they are objects, people, or locations, can represent spiritual pain.

Words and Phrases to Describe Spiritual Pain in Writing

Here are some evocative words and phrases you can use to convey spiritual pain:

Crisis of faith
Moral quandary
Spiritual conflict
Ethical dilemma
Disconnection from belief
Existential angst
Soul-searching
Spiritual void
Doubts and disbelief
Loss of meaning or purpose

Examples of Describing Spiritual Pain in Writing

Crisis of Faith :Example: “She stared at the once comforting religious icon on her wall, now a mocking reminder of the faith she was losing.”
Struggle with Morality :Example: “He was torn between his duty and his moral compass, each decision felt like a betrayal of his deeply held beliefs.”
Inner Conflict :Example: “A war waged within her, between the doctrines she had been taught and the love she felt.”
Use of Symbols :Example: “The once vibrant church now stood dull and lifeless, much like his faith.”

How to Describe Emotional Pain in Writing

Now let’s move onto describing emotional pain in writing.

Tips to Describe Emotional Pain in Writing

Emotional pain is a profound hurt within one’s psyche that stems from non-physical sources, such as feelings of loss, rejection, or despair.

Demonstrate Rather Than Declare – Instead of telling readers that the character is feeling emotional pain, show them through the character’s actions, dialogue, and thoughts.
Use Figurative Language – These can help express the intensity and nature of emotional pain more vividly.
Use Sensory Descriptions – Detail how emotional pain might influence the character’s sensory perceptions.
Past Memories Recollection -These can help show the source of emotional pain and its ongoing impact.
Portray through Other Characters – Other characters’ reactions can give readers clues about the protagonist’s emotional pain.

Words and Phrases to Describe Emotional Pain in Writing

Choosing the right words and phrases can effectively communicate the depth of emotional pain.

Here are some you can use:

Overwhelmed by sorrow
Shattered spirit
Suffering silently
Emotional torment
Crushed dreams
Inner demons
Emotional scars
Weight of the world
Drowning in despair

Examples of Describing Emotional Pain in Writing

Her eyes, usually bright with curiosity, were dull, staring blankly at the world that had lost its color.
His heart was a broken mirror, reflecting the fragments of his shattered dreams.
Even the food tasted gray, every bite a reminder of her loss.
His mind was a broken record, repeating the haunting memory of her goodbye.
His friends noticed the change – the laughter that didn’t quite reach his eyes, the jokes that seemed forced.

How to Describe Chronic Pain

Chronic pain, the relentless specter haunting a person’s body, profoundly affects the rhythm of life.

Unlike acute pain, it isn’t a temporary phase that subsides after an injury heals. Instead, it lingers, becoming a persistent part of the character’s existence.

When describing chronic pain, talk about:

Sleep interference
Emotional toll
Impaired concentration
Physical limitations

For those living with chronic pain, a night of restful sleep can seem like a distant memory.

You could write, “Her nights were a symphony of restlessness, each hour punctuated by the harsh notes of pain.” This signals the reader to the constant interruptions in her sleep due to pain.

Chronic pain doesn’t merely manifest physically.

It takes an emotional toll. It can lead to feelings of despair, frustration, and sadness.

A character with chronic pain might be described as battling not just physical discomfort but also a daily war against the encroaching shadows of depression.

Additionally, the concentration required for everyday tasks might be constantly sabotaged by chronic pain.

It’s like a persistent fog clouding the mind, making it hard to focus on anything else.

For instance, “Her thoughts were marred by the gnawing pain, a foggy haze that turned the world around her into an indistinct blur.”

Finally, chronic pain brings with it physical limitations.

It can turn the simplest tasks into insurmountable challenges, reducing a once agile character to a crippled version of their former self.

How to Describe Extreme Pain

Extreme pain, in contrast, is a sudden, overwhelming force, often experienced as a reaction to severe injury or intense situations.

It’s not just about describing the physical sensation but conveying the intensity that dominates the character’s entire world.

Extreme pain can affect speech, reduce eloquent sentences to strangled gasps and stuttered syllables.

It’s the kind of agony that steals breath, grips the vocal cords, and leaves only the raw, primal sounds of suffering.

The immediacy of the reaction to extreme pain is also crucial to capture.

It’s an instinctive recoil, a swift withdrawal from the source of torment. It’s like a lightning bolt of agony that knocks the air out of the lungs and brings the character to their knees.

Finally, consider the sensory impact of extreme pain.

It can blur vision, turn the world into a swirling maelix of incomprehensible shapes, or even cause temporary blindness.

A searing pain might be described as a blinding white light, obliterating everything else in its wake.

How to Describe a Painful Expression

Painful expressions are invaluable tools in a writer’s arsenal to quickly communicate a character’s suffering without explicitly stating it.

When we describe a character’s painful expression, we focus on visible signs of discomfort, painting a vivid picture in the reader’s mind.

Consider changes in color.

Pain can drain the warmth from the skin, leaving the character ghostly pale. Alternatively, it can flush the cheeks, eyes bright and feverish.

You might write about how her once rosy cheeks turned ashen, a stark canvas that highlighted her suffering.

Tears are another potent symbol of pain.

They can fill the eyes, spill down the cheeks, or simply make the eyes glassy and bright.

Describing the sheen of unshed tears in a character’s eyes can be a powerful indicator of their silent suffering.

Finally, pay attention to the tightening of features.

Pain can twist the most serene face into a mask of distress, hardening soft lines into rigid edges. A character’s beautiful face can transform into a grimace, a silent testament to the pain coursing through them.

Metaphors to Describe Pain

Using metaphors to describe pain allows for creativity, adding richness and depth to your descriptions.

Here are 20 metaphors to inspire your writing:

“Pain was the thief in the night, stealthily robbing him of peace.”
“Her agony was an iceberg, a vast expanse of suffering hidden beneath the surface.”
“His torment was a symphony, a heartbreaking melody of sorrow and despair.”
“Pain was the storm, unrelenting and fierce, leaving devastation in its wake.”
“Her anguish was a twisted maze, each turn amplifying her despair.”
“His pain was a puppeteer, pulling on the strings of his endurance.”
“The agony was a river, a ceaseless flow of torment wearing away at her resolve.”
“His suffering was a fortress, impenetrable and cold, locking him away from the world.”
“Pain was the flame, licking at her insides, consuming her piece by piece.”
“Her torment was a siren song, a haunting melody that drew empathy from the hardest of hearts.”
“His pain was an echo, a constant reminder of the injury that caused it.”
“The agony was a ravenous beast, gnawing at her insides with relentless hunger.”
“Her pain was a monsoon, unpredictable and overwhelming, drenching her soul.”
“His suffering was an open book, each chapter inked with his resilience.”
“Pain was a winter, freezing her joy, her hope, her life in its icy grip.”
“Her agony was a quilt, a patchwork of hurt that covered her existence.”
“His torment was an echo, a constant reminder of the injury that caused it.”
“The pain was a labyrinth, a complex web of suffering with no clear exit.”
“Her anguish was a shadow, a dark presence that loomed over her joy.”
“Pain was the artist, using her body as a canvas to paint a masterpiece of suffering.”

Final Thoughts: How to Describe Pain in Writing

The effective description of pain can profoundly impact how your readers connect with your characters.

When learning how to describe pain in writing, strive for a balance between direct description and metaphor, physical and emotional aspects. This balance will help you to fully convey the complexity of pain in your narrative.

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Stabbed or Scratched: How to Describe Pain in Writing

Think about the worst pain you’ve ever experienced. How would you have described it when you were in the moment? What did it feel like? Did it have a color and texture? Maybe even a sound or a smell? Did it make you perceive your world in different ways? Did you notice what was going on around you?

Chances are, if you were in enough pain, you probably didn’t notice much beyond, “Wow, this hurts.” It might be after the fact when you start to think more about how pain affects the body and the mind. Although the weird thing about pain is the body is designed to forget it—otherwise no one would ever have more than one child–so it can be hard to recall what exactly it felt like.

Incidentally, my worst pain was probably giving birth to my son. The epidural had worn off, and it was too late to do anything about it. He was coming, and it was time to push. All I can remember are bright lights, screaming (not sure if that was me or my husband), and a lot of people surrounding me because things weren’t going very well and my little guy was stuck.

If I had to give it a color, it would have been white or light blue for the lights and uniforms of the medical personnel. If I were giving it a texture, I would say it was smooth, simply because everything was just passing me by like I was sliding through a tunnel until that moment of absolute relief when the worst of it ended with a healthy baby boy placed in my arms.

When it comes to writing about the pain your characters experience, you need to walk a fine line between taking your reader along to feel that pain without beating them over the head with it (which would also be painful).

With all that in mind, let’s talk about how to describe pain in your writing. In this article, we’ll go over:

Challenges of writing pain
Tips for writing about pain
A list of pain descriptions you can use in your writing

Challenges of Writing Pain

Of course, one of the challenges of writing about pain is that everyone experiences it differently. What might feel like off the charts pain for one person might just be another day in the life of someone who lives with a chronic illness. A splitting migraine for you might feel like a normal headache to your neighbor.

We also express pain in different ways. Some people try to suppress it and pretend they’re absolutely fine, while others will make sure you know about every single ache and stitch they’re experiencing. Multiple times. And of course, there are the majority of people who will fall somewhere in between.

The other challenge with writing pain is that it can feel like a real drag to read paragraphs of how much something hurts.

Consider the following paragraph…

“She dragged herself up as needle-sharp bolts shot through her shoulder, her teeth clenching so hard her jaw ached. Her body trembled and sweat dripped down her forehead as she groaned. When she inhaled, another flash of pain had her seeing double as her head throbbed and her arm felt like it had been cut in two. She stumbled, clutching her flaring limb as her vision went dark and waves of agony seared through her body.”

OKAY, enough already.

She hurts, we get it.

You can see from that paragraph how easy it is to go from describing pain in your character to inflicting pain on your reader. It’s a fine line that, like anything, you can get better at with practice.

Tips for Writing About Pain

And of course, to help you out, we’ve got some tips to make it even easier to learn the intricacies of writing about pain.

Consider the pain level

Not all pain is created equal and some will impact your life in large ways, while others will be nothing more than a minor inconvenience. You can divide your character’s pain into four categories:

Mild/minor/low: This is the kind of pain that is a little annoying but doesn’t hamper you. A mild headache or a sore muscle. Use words like pinch, sting, stiff, sore.
Moderate/medium: This is a higher level of pain that doesn’t debilitate but still distracts your character from a task or breaks their concentration. Here, you might use words like ache, throb, or flare.
Severe/high: This is a type of pain that prevents your character from doing pretty much anything. It’s the kind of pain that will have them laid up in bed. Consider words like anguish, stabbing, or torturous.
Obliterating/extreme: This, of course, is the kind of pain that will have your hero writhing on the ground, unable to think of anything else, even pushing away thoughts of how to actually stop it. Think of words like shredding, twisting, knifing, or ripping. Ouch.

You can also consider the injury and what kinds of pain would result, such as:

Getting stuck with a pointed object like a sword or tree branch: pricking, drilling, penetrating, stabbing, piercing
Getting cut with an object like a blade or knife: slicing, cutting, lacerating, sharp
Having something tear like a muscle or a joint: pulling, wrenching, tearing
Getting crushed by something heavy like a stone or piece of a crumbling building: pressing, crushing, tight, squeezing, heavy
Getting whipped or lashed by magic or a whip: whipping, searing, lashing, lacerating
Getting burned by cold or hot things like fire or ice: scalding, burning, aching, tingling, freezing, numbing, scalding
Getting attacked by some kind of magic or curse: cruel, vicious, torturing, twisting, writhing

Less is sometimes more

Remember above when we talked about how it can be a drag to read endless paragraphs about how much your character hurts? With that thought in mind, keep your descriptions tight and resist the urge to wax on for too long about it.

Conversely, if your character just got shot or got a knife in the gut, don’t forget about the pain a moment later. A serious injury doesn’t just magically disappear (unless you’ve created your world that way) just because the action is picking up. Sprinkle in gentle reminders that the injury is still present and affecting your character’s ability to get to their goal.

After the fact, don’t forget to also allude to it from time to time as they’re recovering. If they’ve been seriously injured, then they’re bound to feel pain as they heal, too. But as we’ve mentioned, keep it brief and treat it with a light hand. Just a mention here or there to weave it into the details with the rest of your story.

Show, don’t tell

Oh man, not this again. But yes, with pain, this rule is even more important. Don’t tell us it hurts. Tell us what it feels like. If your character has just been stabbed, talk about how it feels like an iron hot poker has just been shoved through their gut. If they’re being crushed by a heavy object, talk about how they’re having trouble breathing. If they’re being tortured, talk about the way they’re trying to detach from the pain and send their mind into protection mode.

Give your pain consequences

There should be a consequence for the pain, otherwise what’s the point of hurting your character? (There is one exception to this that I’ll talk about in a minute.) Think about what the pain prevents them from doing. If they’ve been stabbed, can they rescue the handsome prince from the tower?

Think about how much you want pain to play a role in your story. Do you want your reader to believe your character might not make it? Using pain as a plot device is an effective way to drive up the stakes and is a great way to show that “end of the world” moment for your down-on-their luck character.

Give your character chronic pain

Chronic pain is something many people live with and yet, we don’t tend to see it represented that often in books. Chronic pain can come in the form of a disease or disability, or something like chronic migraines. How you choose to portray that pain and what you do with it is up to you.

I mentioned above that not all pain needs to serve a purpose, and this is where chronic pain comes in. It doesn’t need to stop the character from doing anything, but it can be used to show how it affects their life, simply because that’s how people sometimes live. And it definitely doesn’t need to be “cured.” In real life, it rarely is, so for a character to simply exist with this as a part of their day to day is perfectly fine.

In fact, the trope of “healing a disability” is one that’s fallen out of favor and can actually be considered problematic. If you do choose to write about chronic pain or disability, be sure to get yourself a sensitivity reader to ensure you aren’t leaning into negative stereotypes or harmful tropes.

Research your ailments

Pain is one of those things you want to get right. While you can get away with a lot in fiction, especially if you write speculative fiction, pain and injury are pretty universal ideas.

If one of your characters gets shot or knifed in the stomach in one scene and they’re making dinner plans and heading to the gym in the next, your readers are going to give you the side eye.

Yes, it’s fiction and the pain tolerances of fictional characters can be different from real life people, but within limits.

If you’re writing a fantasy creature that heals quickly, that might be one way to overcome an extreme injury. Or maybe you’re writing a thriller with a Jack Ryan-type hero who would never let a little bullet wound get in his way.

But for most, breathing, living characters, getting their arm nearly hacked off is going to take them down. Make sure you’re exercising realistic limits of pain tolerance.

The blog Script Medic is a great place to start where a medical professional breaks down various injuries for writers. It’s a great way to get information without filling your search history with things the FBI might investigate you for.

Pain Descriptions

Here are some words and phrases to help you describe pain in writing. Obviously, this isn’t an exhaustive list, but this should help get you started:

A pale complexion
Arching of the back
Avoiding others
Begging to die
Biting a bottom lip
Blacking out
Blotchy skin
Blurred vision
Body going into shock
Calling for help or aid
Clenched hands and limbs
Clenching or grinding of teeth
Dark hollows under the eyes
Darkness in the corner of vision
Dragging one foot
Drinking excessive alcohol
Drooping eyelids
Eyes squeezed shut
Flinching at contact
Gingerly moving about
Glassed over eyes
Gripping another person for help
Haggard expression
Hands gripping clothing
Hanging on to the wall or furniture for support
Hunched shoulders
Hyperventilation
Impatient gestures
Limp arms, legs, hands, or fingers
Looking away
Mouth hanging open
Nostrils flaring
Praying to gods of deities
Repeating oneself
Rocking or swaying back and forth
Rubbing areas of pain
Sawing breaths
Short, panting breaths
Shuddering breaths
Standing still
Starbursts or floaties in the eyes
Stilted gait
Sweat on the brow
Taking medication
Tapping the foot
Taste of blood or copper in mouth
Tears or wet eyes
Tentative steps
Tight muscles and limbs
Walking stiffly
Watering eyes

By now, you’re hopefully a bonafide expert on the art of writing pain. As with anything, make sure you’re reading lots of books where pain is described. It can help you see what works and, maybe more importantly, what doesn’t. If you’re reading a book and the character’s pain is starting to feel like a drag, then that’s a good sign the author has taken it too far.

But if you find yourself aware of the pain, but not distracted by it, then that’s a sign they’ve done their job well.

If you found this article useful, be sure to visit our growing database of articles at DabbleU . We’re adding new ones every week to help you become your best writing self. We even make it super easy for you and send you all our latest tips, advice, and tricks when you sign up for our weekly newsletter .

Nisha J Tuli is a YA and adult fantasy and romance author who specializes in glitter-strewn settings and angst-filled kissing scenes. Give her a feisty heroine, a windswept castle, and a dash of true love and she’ll be lost in the pages forever. When Nisha isn’t writing, it’s probably because one of her two kids needs something (but she loves them anyway). After they’re finally asleep, she can be found curled up with her Kobo or knitting sweaters and scarves, perfect for surviving a Canadian winter.

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How to Write About Pain in Fiction

Read our guide on how to write about pain in fiction and how it may help you to leverage pain to add depth to your story, differentiate among characters and propel your plot forward.

When your character experiences emotional, psychological or physical pain, conveying that pain to your readers takes a talented writer. You communicate what the character is experiencing in a way that readers regard as credible and integral to the story. Help your readers empathize with your character’s pain.

When engaged in fiction writing, how can you describe or write about pain accurately? Pain is a part of life, so many writers can use their own experience. Ernest Hemingway had this: “Write hard and clear about what hurts.” Of course, Hemingway had his own unique style of writing. Not every pain should be blatantly described; as you’ll see from the following article, there are different ways of writing about pain. If you’re interested in this topic, you’ll love our guide on how to write a backstory .

Understanding Pain

Step 1: show, don’t tell, self-inflicted pain, step 2: use sensory details to describe physical pain, step 3: choose the right words to convey the intensity of the pain, step 4: consider the character’s perspective and personality, step 5: convey emotional pain through actions and dialogue, step 6: balance internal and external reactions to emotional pain, step 7: use metaphors and symbolism to convey emotional pain, levels of pain, what happens when the pain gets too much, the bell jar, the fault in our stars, how to describe pain in writing.

Ideally, you would want to have experienced either the same type of pain as your character or similar pain. Past experience will inform how you approach and choose to convey the task.

Regardless of the circumstances your character finds themselves in, bear in mind that there are three types of pain: physical, emotional, and psychological, and they are not mutually exclusive. A person may experience one, two or all three simultaneously or in succession.

A great example of this is Emily Blunt’s character in the screenplay for A Quiet Place, Part II . Evelyn Abbott, played by Emily Blunt, is simultaneously experiencing the pain of childbirth (physical), the pain of not having a partner to help her (emotional), and the fear of giving birth in a dangerous environment (psychological).

How to Accurately Describe Pain in Writing

Writers should have at least a modicum of intuitiveness. You must know how a particular pain feels to describe it accurately. But what if you’re lucky and never had the same pain as your character? In that case, you should research to find out what it’s like.

Watching documentaries about real-life traumas can help. For instance, the Netflix documentary “The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari” details the horrific events that unfolded when cruise passengers got caught up in a volcano that erupted while they were sightseeing. The victims describe in detail what it felt like. Be sure to source real-life events, not works of fiction, because you want unfiltered depictions, not descriptions that have been watered down or put through someone else’s perspective that didn’t go through it.

Instead of saying things outright, you can depict pain by the character’s reaction. For example, if a character breaks a bone playing soccer:

Telling: The pain seared into his femur and traveled up his leg like a bolt of lightning.
Showing: He fell instantly onto the pitch, grasping his leg and writhing, his face contorted as a terrifying scream erupted from his lungs.

Writing about self-inflicted pain takes courage and sensitivity. There are many reasons why a character might inflict pain upon themselves:

returning to a place that triggers painful emotions
trying to win back a lover who keeps rejecting them
going back to a physically abusive spouse
drowning sorrows in alcohol/drugs

Write while keeping in mind how you want your reader to perceive the character. For example, in the book “Living Las Vegas” by John O’Brien, the character Ben drives to Vegas to drink himself to death. Do you want your readers to condemn your character for being weak enough to end their own life? Or do you want them to feel pity for your character, who has lost all sense of self-worth?

It’s all about how you want your readers to perceive your character.

Use sensory details to describe physical pain

Sensory details can evoke understanding in your readers. Use all the senses when possible. Consider this example:

“A strange taste of iron filled his mouth. He hadn’t known the taste of blood before, but he knew he would never forget. His vision blurry, he struggled to remain standing as the room swirled before his eyes, the stench of sweat permeating his nostrils. The crown cheered, but not for him. His knees buckled and he heard the snap of his ankle before the angry pain jettisoned through his bone.”

In the example above, notice the words; “swirled, permeating, buckled, angry, jettisoned.” These are words not necessarily tied to the description of pain, yet when used in this way, they are striking and apropos.

Don’t limit yourself to common “pain” words like “hurt, aching, tender, sore, bruised,” etc. Instead, get creative and source strong words that can be repurposed to get your readers to sense what your character is feeling.

Try different ways to give pain to your character. For instance, your character could have chronic pain that might move the story along or play a dramatic role. Consider using pain as a background to the action. Does the character rub his arthritic hands at the end of the day? Maybe the arthritic pain grips him just as he needs to pull the trigger on a bad guy, allowing the villain to escape.

You could show strength in your character by letting readers in on his old army injury, show how he works through the pain each day, yet his colleagues don’t know of his suffering.

Convey emotional pain through actions and dialogue

Don’t be obvious when writing about emotional pain. Use actions and dialogue instead of using sentences like, “She felt betrayed.” or “She cried herself to sleep.”

Instead, what about: “She stared into his eyes and knew he was lying.” or “She lay in a fetal position on the bed; wet, wadded tissues carpeting the floor.”

Think about how people often hide their emotional pain. Most of us don’t walk around weeping in public. You could try writing about emotional pain using a technique called juxtaposition:

“It was Saturday. Laundry day. An hour had passed. She sat motionless in front of the dryer, watching her baby’s tiny clothes tumble around behind the glass bubble in the door while she gently held one stray, tiny sock in her lap, a smattering of dried blood marring the pink polka dot pattern.”

A metaphor is a way to describe one thing in terms of something else. Common metaphors relating to pain include:

“His sharp words felt like a knife through my heart.”

“The betrayal was like being stabbed in the back.”

Symbolism is a powerful way to write about emotional pain, too.

“She gripped the scissors with bare white knuckles, listening intently to her accuser.”

When using metaphors and symbolism in this way, be careful to avoid cliches.

Tips For Writing About Psychological Pain

Psychological pain should take a mental and emotional toll on your character, as it would in real life. psychological pain can drive a person to madness if not addressed correctly. It wouldn’t make sense for a mother to have her child wrenched from her arms without some appropriate reaction. She would react instantly, and the repercussions of what happened should reverberate when she is still kept from her child days later.

Flashbacks are a technique to show psychological pain. Just quick little “scenes” interwoven in the narrative can convey deep psychological pain. Other narrative techniques include passing comments or actions from strangers. In the example above, the mother could be in a busy mall, overhearing another woman scolding her child for wandering off. “Stay by my side, I don’t want you to get lost!” The reader will know how much this triggers your character.

Balancing your character’s internal and external reactions to psychological pain is important. They may struggle internally, which you can show by their actions. But if they’re getting a release from pain inwardly, then their outward struggle would be lessened, and vice versa.

Pain levels range from mild to moderate to severe, whether you’re writing about emotional, physical or psychological pain. You may need to use nuance to write about mild pain and strong language to convey severe pain.

Mild pain: The vaccine jab was over before it started; nothing more than a pinprick sensation.
Moderate pain: It felt odd to pack up her belongings, like putting her in a box to be forgotten on a shelf.
Severe pain: He braced himself against the door frame and whispered. It was all he could manage as he slid down the wall, trying to hold his insides from slipping out through the gaping wound.

You can show the pain levels and kind of pain by how your character reacts. How do your characters react when the pain gets to be too much? Giving your characters different pain tolerances is a good way to differentiate them from others. For example, a Jack Reacher-type hero may be strong and smart enough to treat a gunshot after a fight scene and then take down a villain. However, it’d be unrealistic to expect the same from a child or elderly person.

Your characters will have different pain thresholds, like people do in real life. You could play one character off another. One character could collapse under psychological pain while the other one holds strong.

Examples From Famous Literary Works

In the post-apocalyptic book “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy, a father and his son traverse a dystopian terrain where lawlessness and dangers lie everywhere. To demonstrate the psychological pain, McCarthy paints a picture of the landscape:

“On the far side of the river valley the road passed through a stark black burn. Charred and limbless trunks of trees stretching away on every side. Ash moving over the road and the sagging hands of blind wire strung from the blackened lightpoles whining thinly in the wind…Everything as it once had been save faded and weathered.” The Road , Cormac McCarthy

Sylvia Plath famously wrote of her own psychological pain, eventually deciding to end her own life. In “The Bell Jar,” Plath uses a metaphor to describe her painful feelings:

“Girls like that make me sick. I’m so jealous I can’t speak. Nineteen years, and I hadn’t been out of New England except for this trip to New York. It was my first big chance, but here I was, sitting back and letting it run through my fingers like so much water.” The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath

The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green, is a bittersweet tale of love, pain and loss. Green writes about pain and suffering with great empathy and sensitivity, without even mentioning the pain:

“It was a long list. The world contains a lot of dead people. And while Patrick droned on, reading the list from a sheet of paper because it was too long to memorize, I kept my eyes closed, trying to think prayerfully but mostly imagining the day when my name would find its way onto that list, all the way at the end when everyone had stopped listening.” The Fault in Our Stars, John Green

Looking for more? Check out our guide on how to write a good introduction for an essay !

Kate has been writing since she was 10 years old, tapping away on an old typewriter in her childhood bedroom. Today, Kate is a seasoned freelance writer with over 10 years of experience writing for print and online media. She’s an avid reader and believes in the power of words to transport readers to new worlds, and inspire and nurture creativity. Kate is also a published author and is currently working on her next project.

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How to Show, Not Tell Pain

by Fija Callaghan

Pain is an unfortunate reality of human existence. So is experiencing, overcoming, inflicting, dreading, anticipating, and remembering it. But how do we effectively show these things in our writing?

Pain isn’t just one emotion; it can show up in many different ways

It’s odd that something so universal is riddled with so many pitfalls for the emerging writer. When you explain a character’s pain in your novel or short story, you risk bogging down the narrative with cumbersome exposition, stretching your story’s credibility, or alienating your reader.

In this article, we’ll show you some helpful tips for how to show and describe pain authentically and smoothly in your writing (with some good examples from literature, too!).

What does “show not tell” mean?

“Show, don’t tell” is a rule we hear a lot as writers. It means that instead of explaining something that’s happening, as if you were reciting a witness statement, it’s best to try and find visceral, engaging ways to illustrate what’s happening.

For example, telling the reader “her body hurt,” consider describing the way “her body dragged heavily with each step, the skin on one side a mottled canvas of red, irritated skin and green and purple bruises.”

At no point did we use words like “pain” or “hurt,” but as the reader you can imagine the character’s suffering clearly and distinctly.

Telling pain: “His toes hurt.” Showing pain: “He leaned on his heels to keep his weight off his raw toes.”

Avoiding “telling” things to your reader as much as possible allows them to experience sensations—positive and negative—right beside your characters. This helps them feel more engaged with the story.

Physical pain vs. emotional pain

Your characters will probably experience both physical suffering and emotional distress at some point during your story. It may surprise you to know that the brain often processes emotional and physical pain in very similar ways.

For example, anxiety and heartache can lead to sharp chest and muscle pain, rawness in the throat, and difficulty breathing.

Despite what well-meaning friends might have you think, this isn’t just an illusory sensation; in extreme cases, emotional pain can even lead to a real heart attack—this is called stress cardiomyopathy, or “broken heart syndrome.”

When you’re writing about difficult emotions, consider the ways they might manifest in your characters’ bodies.

Sometimes, heartache can manifest as physical pain.

Likewise, physical pain has an adverse effect on our emotional state, too. Think about the emotional reactions your characters might have to physical suffering. If our bodies are damaged, we’ll probably be in a bad mood and may have trouble concentrating or remembering things.

Exploring the mental and emotional effects of physical pain can help you “show, not tell” the full scope of your character’s hurt.

Three levels of pain your characters may experience

A character’s pain isn’t a one-size-fits-all prescription. When you’re writing pain in a story, it’s important to consider the different types of experiences your characters may have.

We all experience mild pain at some point in our lives; it’s likely to be a common occurrence among your cast of characters. Mild pain includes things like aching backs, tired limbs, a fuzzy hangover headache, a cut that’s part way healed (we’ll look a bit more at healing processes below), or a sore throat.

These sorts of pains are present enough to be distracting—you don’t forget about them very easily—but they don’t inhibit you too much as you go about your day-to-day life.

In a story, you might use words like blunt pain or a dull, nauseating pain.

Mild pain might include: A tension headache; A dull, sciatic ache; A small flesh wound

Mild pain can be from a physical stimulus—like stubbing your toe—a mental stimulus—like developing a headache after a stressful exam—or a combination of both mental and physical.

Showing the way mild pain and physical discomfort play a role in your character’s day is a good way of inviting the reader into their physicality.

Here’s an example of mild physical pain buffered by emotional pain from The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue , by V.E. Schwab:

The bottle slips through his fingers, shatters on the sidewalk, and he should leave it there, but he doesn’t. He reaches to pick it up, but he loses his balance. His hand comes down on broken glass as he pushed himself back up. It hurts, of course it hurts, but the pain is dampened a little by the vodka, by the wall of grief, by his ruined heart, by everything else.

Here the narrator experiences the sharp pain of cutting glass, but it feels like a mild annoyance under all the emotional turmoil.

Moderate physical pain is the next level on the pain scale, and this is the sort of discomfort that becomes a physical handicap.

If your legs are in moderate pain, you’ll probably have difficulty walking from one side of the room to another; if you have moderate chest pain, it will likely become more challenging to take deep breaths.

Moderate pain doesn’t stop a person from being active, but it will present a greater obstacle and make the activity more challenging.

Moderate pain includes: Non-life threatening injuries; Migraine headaches; severe pain partly healed.

While mental and emotional stimuli can exacerbate moderate pain—make it even more obtrusive and difficult to deal with—it usually comes from an external, physical source.

Here’s an example of moderate pain described in Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz:

I spent three days at the University College Hospital on the Euston Road, which actually didn’t feel nearly long enough after what I’d been through. But that’s how it is these days: the marvels of modern science and all that.… I couldn’t stop coughing and I hated it. My eyes still hadn’t cleared up. This was fairly common after a head injury but the doctors had warned me that the damage might be more permanent.

Rather than lamenting her suffering, the narrator takes an objective approach to showing the circumstances around her pain. The first line implies the severity of the experience without putting pain front and center.

The details show the reader that while the discomfort is still debilitating, the protagonist is able to manage the motions of their day.

Extreme pain is the one we tend to read about most often, but encounter least often in real life. This level of pain becomes a handicap and prevents the character from taking all the actions they normally would.

For example, someone experiencing a severe headache (rather than a moderate one) might not be able to see or hear clearly; someone experiencing severe bodily pain might not be able to use one or more of their body parts—for instance, not being able to use their arm after it was recently broken.

In a story, this might be described as a stabbing pain or a searing pain, rather than a dull ache.

Severe pain includes: Injuries that are life threatening; Violent injuries concentrated in one place

Here’s an example of severe pain being inflicted in If We Were Villains , by M.L. Rio:

The pommel and guard cracked across my face, white-hot stars burst through my field of vision, and pain hit me like a battering ram. Camilo and one of the soldiers shouted at the same time. The rapier slipped loose from my fingers and cracked down beside me as I fell backward onto my elbows, blood gushing from my nose like someone had turned on a faucet.

Notice how the moment begins with a wide lens—the physicality of the action—and then slowly moves closer to the character’s own feelings. Instead of saying “I was in blinding agony,” the narrator describes his movements with a specificity that shows the reader what they must be going through.

Although it can be tempting to put your heroes in severe pain all the time, remember that your readers can become desensitised to these moments if you lean into them too often.

If your hero is constantly getting stabbed and slashed and getting various limbs torn apart by beasties, at some point the reader is going to feel their will to care evaporate; the pain no longer feels important.

To get the greatest impact when you describe pain in your writing, think of the 3—2-1 rule: For each character, show mild pain three times throughout the story, moderate pain twice, and severe pain just once. This will make your scenes feel more realistic and engaging to the reader.

Tips for showing pain in your story

Now that we understand a bit more about the pain thresholds you might explore in a story, here are a few tips to take your writing to the next level.

Turn your character’s pain into an obstacle

The moment a character is hurt isn’t just a singular experience; it impacts their movements, abilities, and choices for the near to semi-distant future. To write pain convincingly, show how your character needs to navigate life through and around it.

Being injured presents unique challenges.

In the above example from When We Were Villains , the protagonist has to deal with the effects of his pain for weeks afterward. In one moment, he says:

A sneeze began to form under the splint on my nose, and for a moment I didn’t dare breathe, afraid of how much it would hurt.

This shows the reader how his pain is a constant obstacle that he’s having to account for as he moves through the plot.

Other examples might be showing how they learn to rely on their non-dominant hand; how they use their environment in new ways for balance or mobility; or how they learn to pay more attention to other senses if one of their senses has become impaired.

Being in pain is a little bit like having a rather unpleasant pet. Slowly, you learn how to predict its moods and ways to accommodate for its presence.

Give the pain its own character arc

Pain, even chronic pain, is not constant. There will be moments when it feels horrific and moments where it feels more manageable.

If your protagonist’s pain is inflicted through some external source, such as an injury, the character arc of the suffering will probably be fairly linear—worst at the onset, and then slowly better over time.

However, there may be moments during the healing process where the body doesn’t have the energy to fight off the pain, or when certain medications have worn off, or when some external experience triggers the pain back into being—such as accidentally putting pressure on a flesh wound.

In this case you might say your protagonist “felt fresh pain sear before settling into a dull throb.” When you describe pain as more than one static sensation, you show your reader the way it becomes a living, breathing thing.

If your protagonist has been hurt in a bar fight or car accident, they’ll feel the effects long after.

Some characters may even experience a “phantom pain,” which is where the body psychosomatically remembers an injury even after it’s healed. This is common in traumatic injuries such as what a soldier may have experienced in a war.

Sometimes phantom pains can become enmeshed in personal folklore, like when a former soldier claims his right shoulder hurts just before it rains.

If your character’s pain is chronic or the result of an illness, it will probably fall into a pattern of ebbing and flowing. To bring your characters’ pain to life, remember to let them experience all the different ways this pain manifests itself throughout the story.

Treat your characters as human

Remember to acknowledge the natural limitations your characters have as people. If your Bond-like hero is constantly getting shot, beaten, and broken and still manages to leap onto a car two stories below and walk away, you’re going to lose your audience.

If your characters’ injuries aren’t having a real, measurable impact, they become nothing more than costumes.

Your character needs to have limits, or there’s nothing at stake.

This is true even for characters that aren’t technically human, or human in the way we understand—such as mythical creatures or superheroes. Their limitations may be different than ours, but they will still have a breaking point.

It’s up to you as the writer to determine where that is, keep it consistent, and then show what happens when your character is pushed across it.

Even if your characters are all the same species, you may discover that they don’t all experience or feel pain in the same way. For instance, gender can play a role in the way a character suffers and how much pain they can endure. Women are biologically known to be more pain tolerant due to childbirth and menstruation, while men are more often put in physically stressful environments.

Different professions can also impact a character’s relationship with pain, both in themselves and others.

Ask questions like: “How has this character experienced pain before?” ; “How long does it take them to regain consciousness?” ; “What’s at stake?”

When crafting your cast of characters, remember to not only define their limitations, but to define the limitations of each one as an individual.

Find the right words to show, don’t tell pain in a story

Every good story has at least one scene where a character is hurt—whether that’s physically, emotionally, or some blend of the two. When you learn how to write pain convincingly and authentically, you make your story feel that much more immersive and intimate to the reader.

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How to Express Pain in Writing

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Expressing pain in writing can be a powerful tool for writers to connect with readers on a deep emotional level. Whether it’s physical or emotional pain, writing about it can help readers understand and empathize with the experiences of others. However, expressing pain in writing can be a challenging task, as it requires the writer to tap into their own emotions and convey them in a way that resonates with readers.

In this article, readers will find 45 impactful tips with examples on how to effectively express pain in writing. These tips cover a wide range of topics, from using sensory details to create a vivid picture of pain, to using metaphors and similes to convey the intensity of the experience. The article also explores the importance of balancing the expression of pain with other emotions, such as hope and resilience, to create a more nuanced and authentic portrayal of the human experience.

Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just starting, this article offers valuable insights and practical advice on how to express pain in writing in a way that is both impactful and authentic. By following these tips and examples , writers can create powerful and moving stories that resonate with readers and leave a lasting impression.

Understanding Pain in Writing

Pain is an essential element of writing that can evoke emotions and create a connection between the reader and the characters. It is a powerful tool that can be used to convey a range of emotions, from anguish to joy. Understanding the role of pain in narrative, the types of pain, and pain tolerance and perception can help writers create impactful stories that resonate with readers.

The Role of Pain in Narrative

Pain can be used to drive the plot, develop characters, and evoke emotions. It can be physical or emotional and can be experienced by the protagonist or other characters . Pain can be used to create conflict and tension, to reveal character flaws and strengths, and to show character growth.

Types of Pain: Physical and Emotional

Physical pain is a sensation that is felt in the body and can range from mild discomfort to severe agony. It can be caused by injury, illness, or chronic conditions. Emotional pain is a feeling that is experienced in response to a situation or event. It can be caused by loss, rejection, or trauma.

Pain Tolerance and Perception

Pain tolerance and perception vary from person to person and can be influenced by factors such as age, gender, and culture. Some people have a higher pain tolerance than others, while others are more sensitive to pain. Perception of pain can also be influenced by psychological factors such as depression or anxiety.

In summary, pain is a crucial element of writing that can be used to create emotional connections with readers. Understanding the role of pain in narrative, the types of pain, and pain tolerance and perception can help writers create impactful stories that resonate with readers.

Describing Pain Through Language

When it comes to writing about pain, one of the most important things is to be able to describe it in a way that is both vivid and accurate. This can be a challenging task, as pain is a complex sensation that can be difficult to put into words. However, with the right approach, it is possible to create powerful and impactful descriptions that will resonate with readers.

The Vocabulary of Pain

One of the keys to describing pain effectively is to have a strong vocabulary of words that can be used to convey different sensations. Some common words that are often used to describe pain include:

By using these words, writers can create descriptions that are more specific and nuanced, allowing readers to better understand the nature of the pain being experienced.

Metaphors and Similes for Pain

Another effective technique for describing pain is to use metaphors and similes. These can help to create vivid imagery that can make the pain feel more real and immediate. For example, a writer might describe a headache as feeling like “a thousand tiny hammers pounding against the skull,” or a burn as feeling like “molten lava flowing beneath the skin.”

When using metaphors and similes, it is important to choose ones that are appropriate and accurate. Overly dramatic or exaggerated comparisons can come across as insincere or melodramatic, so it is important to strike the right balance.

Using Dialogue to Convey Pain

Finally, one powerful way to convey pain in writing is to use dialogue. By having characters express their pain through their words and actions, writers can create a sense of empathy and connection with readers. For example, a character might groan, clutch at their chest, or struggle to speak due to the intensity of their pain.

When using dialogue to convey pain, it is important to be realistic and avoid cliches. Pain is a complex and individual experience, so it is important to create characters who feel authentic and unique.

Overall, describing pain in writing requires a combination of creativity, sensitivity, and attention to detail. By using the right vocabulary, metaphors, and dialogue, writers can create descriptions that are both impactful and accurate, helping readers to better understand and connect with the characters and situations being described.

Expressing Pain in Characters

When it comes to writing about pain, it’s important to create characters that readers can empathize with. This means that their reactions to pain should be realistic and relatable. Here are some tips on how to express pain in characters effectively.

Character Reactions to Pain

One way to show pain in characters is through their reactions. This can include physical reactions such as crying, screaming, or clutching a body part. It can also include emotional reactions such as anger, fear, or sadness.

To make these reactions even more impactful, consider using sensory details. For example, instead of simply saying that a character is crying, describe the tears streaming down their face or the way their shoulders shake with sobs.

Internal Thoughts and Pain

Another way to express pain in characters is through their internal thoughts. This can include their thoughts about the pain itself, as well as their thoughts about what caused the pain.

To make these thoughts more impactful, consider using italicized text. This will set them apart from the rest of the text and make them stand out to the reader.

Physical Responses and Manifestations

Finally, physical responses and manifestations can also be used to express pain in characters. This can include things like sweating, shaking, or feeling nauseous.

To make these physical responses even more impactful, consider using a table to list them out. This will make it easier for readers to visualize the character’s physical state and understand the severity of their pain.

In conclusion, expressing pain in characters requires a combination of realistic reactions, internal thoughts, and physical manifestations. By using sensory details, italicized text, and tables, writers can create characters that readers can truly empathize with.

The Intensity Spectrum of Pain

When it comes to expressing pain in writing, one of the most important considerations is the intensity of the pain being described. Pain can range from mild discomfort to severe and debilitating agony, and the way it is described will vary depending on its intensity.

Mild to Moderate Pain Descriptions

Mild to moderate pain is typically described using words and phrases that convey a sense of discomfort or irritation. Examples of mild to moderate pain descriptions might include:

A dull ache
A nagging pain

These descriptions are often accompanied by sensory details, such as the location of the pain and any sensations that accompany it. For example, a writer might describe a dull ache in their lower back that feels like a tight band around their waist.

Severe and Obliterating Pain Depictions

Severe and obliterating pain, on the other hand, is typically described using more intense and visceral language. Writers might use words like “excruciating,” “agonizing,” or “unbearable” to convey the intensity of the pain. Examples of severe and obliterating pain depictions might include:

A searing pain
A stabbing pain
A crushing pain
A burning pain
A throbbing pain

These descriptions often include sensory details as well, such as the way the pain radiates through the body or the way it feels like a hot poker being driven into the affected area.

Overall, understanding the intensity spectrum of pain is crucial for writers who want to convey pain effectively in their writing. By using the right words and phrases, and by including sensory details that help readers understand the nature of the pain, writers can create powerful and impactful descriptions that resonate with their audience.

Techniques for Impactful Pain Description

When writing about pain, it is important to use techniques that will allow the reader to fully experience the emotions and physical sensations of the character. Here are some techniques that can help create impactful pain description:

Show, Don’t Tell

One of the most important techniques for impactful pain description is to show rather than tell. Instead of simply stating that a character is in pain, describe the physical sensations and emotions that they are experiencing. For example, instead of saying “he was in pain,” describe the throbbing ache in his head or the way his stomach twisted into knots.

Pacing and Timing in Pain Depiction

Pacing and timing are also important when it comes to describing pain. It is important to give the reader time to fully experience the pain and its effects on the character. This can be done by slowing down the pacing of the scene and allowing the character to fully experience the pain. Additionally, timing can be used to create tension and suspense, such as when a character is injured and the pain slowly begins to set in.

Balancing Pain Description with Action

While pain description is important, it is also important to balance it with action. Too much focus on pain can slow down the pacing of the scene and make it feel stagnant. By balancing pain description with action, the scene remains dynamic and engaging. For example, instead of simply describing the pain of a character who has been injured, show them taking action to address the injury, such as bandaging a wound or seeking medical attention.

Using these techniques can help create a clear and impactful pain description that fully immerses the reader in the emotions and physical sensations of the character.

Examples of Pain Expression in Literature

Expressing pain in writing can be a powerful tool for connecting with readers and evoking emotions. In literature, authors have used various techniques to convey pain, from vivid descriptions of physical suffering to subtle hints at emotional turmoil. Here are some examples of pain expression in classic and contemporary literature.

Classic Literature Examples

Classic literature is a treasure trove of pain expression, with authors using elaborate language and metaphors to convey the depths of human suffering. One classic example is Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights”, which features a cast of characters plagued by physical and emotional pain. The novel’s protagonist, Heathcliff, is described as having a “black frosty winter morning” of a soul, indicating his deep pain and bitterness.

Another classic work that explores pain is Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”. The novel’s protagonist, Raskolnikov, is tormented by guilt and inner turmoil after committing a murder. Dostoevsky uses long, introspective paragraphs to delve into Raskolnikov’s psyche, conveying his pain and mental anguish.

Contemporary Writing Samples

Contemporary literature also offers a wealth of examples of pain expression, with authors using more modern and experimental techniques to convey the complexities of human suffering. One such example is Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”, which explores the pain of slavery and its lingering effects on the human psyche. Morrison uses magical realism and fragmented sentences to convey the trauma experienced by the novel’s characters.

Another contemporary work that deals with pain is Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner”. The novel follows the story of Amir, a young boy in Afghanistan who is haunted by guilt and shame after betraying his best friend. Hosseini uses vivid descriptions of physical pain, such as the pain of a broken leg, to convey the emotional pain experienced by the novel’s characters.

In conclusion, pain expression is a powerful tool in literature, with authors using various techniques to convey the depths of human suffering. From classic works to contemporary novels, pain expression is a common theme that resonates with readers and evokes strong emotions.

Challenges in Writing About Pain

Expressing pain in writing can be a challenging task for any writer. It requires a delicate balance of describing the physical sensations while also conveying the emotional impact of the experience. In this section, we will explore some of the challenges that writers face when writing about pain.

Avoiding Cliches in Pain Description

One of the biggest challenges when writing about pain is avoiding the use of cliches. Phrases such as “sharp as a knife” or “burning like fire” have been used so often that they have lost their impact. To create a more impactful description of pain, writers should try to use unique and specific language that accurately conveys the experience.

Ensuring Emotional Resonance

Another challenge when writing about pain is ensuring that the writing has emotional resonance with the reader. Simply describing the physical sensations of pain may not be enough to create an emotional connection with the reader. Writers should strive to convey the emotional impact of the experience by describing the character’s thoughts, feelings, and reactions.

Maintaining Reader Engagement

Finally, writers must also ensure that their writing maintains reader engagement. Describing pain can be a difficult and uncomfortable experience for the reader, and if the writing becomes too overwhelming, the reader may lose interest. To maintain engagement, writers should consider breaking up the descriptions of pain with action, dialogue, or other elements that keep the story moving forward.

In conclusion, writing about pain is a challenging but valuable skill for any writer to learn. By avoiding cliches, ensuring emotional resonance, and maintaining reader engagement, writers can create impactful descriptions of pain that resonate with readers.

Healing and Recovery in Narrative

Narratives that deal with pain and suffering often include themes of healing and recovery. These themes are essential for readers who are looking for hope and inspiration. Authors can use their writing to create a sense of hope and optimism for their readers, even in the darkest of situations.

One way to convey healing and recovery in narrative is through the use of character development. As the protagonist overcomes obstacles and begins to heal, the reader can see the progress and growth in the character. This growth can be shown through a change in behavior, attitude, or perspective. For example, a character who was once pessimistic and hopeless may become more optimistic as they begin to heal.

Another way to convey healing and recovery is through the use of symbolism. Symbolism can be a powerful tool in storytelling, as it can represent abstract ideas and emotions. For example, a character who is struggling to heal may be surrounded by darkness and shadows, while a character who has overcome their pain may be surrounded by light and warmth.

Finally, authors can use language and imagery to convey healing and recovery. Descriptions of nature, such as blooming flowers or a sunrise, can symbolize new beginnings and hope. Metaphors and similes can also be used to describe the healing process, such as a wound that slowly begins to heal over time.

In conclusion, healing and recovery are important themes in narratives that deal with pain and suffering. Authors can use character development, symbolism, and language to convey these themes to their readers. By doing so, they can create a sense of hope and optimism, even in the darkest of situations.

Tips for Practicing Pain Description

When it comes to writing about pain, it can be challenging to find the right words to convey the intensity and complexity of the experience. However, with practice and some helpful tips, writers can improve their ability to describe pain in a way that is impactful and authentic. Here are some tips for practicing pain description:

Writing Exercises for Pain Depiction

Use sensory details: One of the most effective ways to describe pain is by using sensory details. Encourage writers to think about the physical sensations they experience during pain, such as throbbing, burning, or aching. Encourage them to describe the location of the pain, the temperature, and any other physical sensations they may feel.

Experiment with metaphors and similes: Comparing pain to familiar objects or experiences can help readers understand the intensity of the experience. Encourage writers to experiment with metaphors and similes, but caution them against using cliches or overused comparisons.

Write in the present tense: Writing about pain in the present tense can help readers feel as if they are experiencing the pain alongside the character. Encourage writers to use present tense verbs and to describe the pain as it is happening.

Feedback and Revision Strategies

Get feedback from beta readers: After writing about pain, it can be helpful to get feedback from beta readers. Encourage writers to ask their beta readers if the pain description was clear and impactful. Beta readers may also be able to offer suggestions for improvement.

Revise for clarity and impact: Once writers receive feedback, encourage them to revise their pain description for clarity and impact. Encourage writers to remove any unnecessary words or details and to focus on the most important aspects of the pain experience.

Read widely: Reading widely can help writers improve their ability to describe pain. Encourage writers to read books and articles that feature vivid descriptions of pain. Encourage them to take note of the techniques the authors use and to experiment with those techniques in their own writing.

By incorporating these tips and strategies, writers can improve their ability to describe pain in a way that is impactful and authentic. With practice and feedback, writers can create pain descriptions that resonate with readers and help them understand the complexity of the experience.

In conclusion, expressing pain in writing can be a powerful tool for writers to connect with their readers and convey deep emotions. By using impactful language, vivid imagery, and relatable experiences, writers can create a powerful and moving piece that resonates with readers.

Throughout this article, we have explored 45 tips and examples for expressing pain in writing. These tips include using sensory details, showing instead of telling, and using metaphors and similes to convey emotions. We have also looked at examples from literature, poetry, and personal essays to illustrate how these techniques can be used effectively.

Ultimately, the key to expressing pain in writing is to be authentic and honest. Readers can sense when a writer is not being genuine, and this can undermine the impact of the writing. By being true to oneself and one’s experiences, writers can create a powerful connection with their readers and make a lasting impact.

Overall, expressing pain in writing is not an easy task, but it is a worthwhile one. By using these tips and techniques, writers can create works that are both impactful and meaningful to readers. Whether it is through fiction, poetry, or personal essays, expressing pain in writing can be a powerful way to connect with readers and convey deep emotions.

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How to Describe Pain in Writing: A Guide for Writers

By Happy Sharer

Introduction

Pain is an experience that everyone has felt in some form or another, but it can be incredibly difficult to accurately put into words. It is a sensory experience that is both physical and emotional, and it can range from mild discomfort to intense agony. As a writer, it is important to know how to effectively and accurately depict pain in your writing. This guide will provide an overview of the issues involved in describing pain as well as tips and examples on how to do so.

Use Emotive Language

One of the best ways to give readers a sense of the pain your characters are feeling is to use emotive language. These are words and phrases that evoke an emotional response in readers, such as “searing” or “agonizing.” You can also use words like “throbbing” or “aching” to give readers a more tangible sense of the physical sensation of pain.

When using emotive language, it is important to avoid over-exaggerating the pain. If you are too heavy-handed with your descriptions, readers may become disengaged or even begin to question the realism of your story. Instead, focus on finding words that accurately portray the intensity of the pain without being overly dramatic.

Describe the Physical Sensations

When attempting to accurately convey the experience of pain in writing, it is important to include descriptive details about the physical sensations involved. Pain can manifest itself as a dull ache, sharp stabbing, throbbing, burning, etc., and it is important to include these details in order to accurately portray the experience.

When describing physical sensations, try to use vivid and specific language. For example, instead of simply saying “the pain was intense” try something like “the pain was a searing, white-hot burn that seemed to spread throughout her entire body.” This type of description will help readers to better understand the experience of pain and connect with the character.

Include Metaphors and Similes

Metaphors and similes can be incredibly useful when attempting to describe pain in writing. They can help to create vivid imagery and evoke powerful emotions in readers. For example, instead of simply saying “the pain was unbearable” you could say something like “the pain was like a thousand hot needles piercing her skin.”

When using metaphors and similes, it is important to make sure they are relevant and appropriate for the specific situation. Avoid clichés and generic comparisons, and instead focus on finding creative and unique ways to accurately portray the pain.

Compare Pain to Other Experiences

Another effective way to describe pain in writing is to compare it to other experiences. This can help to give readers a better understanding of the intensity of the pain and the impact it has on the character. For example, instead of simply saying “the pain was overwhelming” you could say “the pain was like being hit by a truck.”

It is important to be careful when making comparisons, as they can easily become cheesy or unrealistic. Make sure to choose comparisons that are meaningful and relevant to the specific situation.

Demonstrate with Dialogue

When attempting to depict pain in writing, it is important to remember that dialogue can be a powerful tool. Characters’ reactions to pain can often be just as revealing as the physical sensations themselves.

When writing dialogue to demonstrate pain, it is important to remember that it should reflect the character’s individual personality. For example, a tough and stoic character might respond to pain with gritted teeth and one-word responses, while a more emotional character might be more vocal and expressive.

Show the Impact on a Character

Pain is not only a physical sensation, but it can also have a profound impact on a character’s emotional state. When attempting to accurately portray pain in writing, it is important to show the impact it has on the character. This can be done through the character’s dialogue, facial expressions, body language, etc.

For example, a character who is experiencing intense pain might become angry, frustrated, or overwhelmed. Showing the character’s emotional response to the pain can help readers to better understand the experience and connect with the character.

Portray Through Setting Details

In addition to the character’s emotional response, setting details can also be used to effectively depict pain in writing. Details about the environment, such as temperature, lighting, sound, etc., can all be used to enhance the experience of pain for readers.

For example, if a character is experiencing a sharp and intense pain, you might include details about the bright sunlight streaming through the windows or the loud noises of the city outside. These types of details will help to bring the scene to life and make it more vivid and realistic for readers.

Pain is a complex experience that can be difficult to accurately portray in writing. However, by utilizing emotive language, physical sensations, metaphors and similes, comparisons, dialogue, character development, and setting details, writers can effectively and realistically depict pain in their stories. Hopefully this guide has provided helpful tips and examples on how to do so.

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Hi, I'm Happy Sharer and I love sharing interesting and useful knowledge with others. I have a passion for learning and enjoy explaining complex concepts in a simple way.

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Awesome Resources for Creative Writing: How to Describe Pain

March 29, 2016 By Andy Peloquin

Become an Epic Storyteller

How to Write Pain. Effectively.

Pain. Physical pain. It absolutely sucks. Straight up, especially if it’s something chronic that you deal with on a daily basis…but when it comes to your character’s physical pain-either acute or chronic-how do you write pain? More importantly, how do you accurately convey what your characters are experiencing at the given moment of said pain? Our goals as writers are to immerse our readers into the lives of our characters to the point where they can feel and imagine what they’re going through. I want to walk you through how to effectively write the physical pain of your characters in a way that rips your reader’s hearts out and makes them beg for it to be over with.

Pain isn’t just in the body

Chronic pain is especially tormenting..

How the Body Experiences Pain

Secondly but no less importantly; pain is subjective. Every person feels the exact same injury differently. Tolerance to pain, physical strength, health, body type, and other factors are a determining factor in how a person experiences pain. A weak minded person can feel an injury in a way they would describe as a level 10/10 on a pain scale. When really it’s probably more like a 6/10. Most of it is a mental game. Like I’ve said, so bear that in mind when writing your specific characters. If you have a mentally strong character and they get hurt-they’d most likely have a better tolerance for pain and therefore able to more adequately handle more severe injuries. Versus, for example, another character who’s mental strength is that of a kitchen mouse may not be able to handle something major. Those characters will lose their heads.

Analyzing and knowing your characters is crucial to determine where they fall on this spectrum.

Now, what does pain feel like, you ask? Elaine Scarry talked about how pain was inexplicably difficult to explain. “Not only is physical pain enormously difficult to describe in words-” she says. “-it also actively destroys language, reducing sufferers in the most extreme instance to an inarticulate state of cries and moans.” And Virginia Wolf once noted, “language runs dry” when it comes to describing pain to someone else. Which, isn’t good news for me, the person trying to describe to you exactly how to write and convey it to an audience. Words like throbbing, stabbing, burning, etc, are useless because there’s a disconnect between the character experiencing the pain and the person reading about it.

The challenge is bringing these things together so that the reader can be immersed to the point where they can practically feel the pain themselves. Well, how do you do that? If it’s nearly impossible to find the words to accurately depict pain, yet you are required to write something that’ll engage your readers well…what do you do

How to accurately describe pain-when pain is indescribable

My personal take on this phenomenon is actually quite simple. You don’t need to go get hit by a bus and live the rest of your life in agony to be a good writer of pain. We’re all connected as human beings. We all practically go through similar things, give or take the extremes. Not everyone is assaulted and not everyone becomes a rock star, but we’ve all experienced what it’s like to fall and scrape our knee. Perhaps broken a bone or accidentally stubbed our toes on that dang coffee table. Therefore, if we’ve all experienced pain in some (and often multiple times in a lifetime) point in our lives, why do we struggle so much to share this experience in the written word? I think because most writers write pain in the sense of a descriptive word like adjectives and verbs. “It burns, it throbs. Her face was stung with heat from the slap”. Writers use descriptive words to convey it like “throbbing, burning, stinging” type words. Which isn’t wrong per-say, but you’re going to have that disconnection with your audience and herein lies the problem.

Your goal is to describe the pain-that’s a given. Do that, and do it descriptively. Similarly, you should be concentrating your energy on connecting the pain to something more. Remember when we talked about how pain isn’t just in the body? Therefore, in my opinion, this is where your pain-telling skills are really going to shine.

“ Connecting the pain to a strong emotional response in your character is key to convincingly express pain.”

Does this pain have a specific place in your story? Like any other element of story-it has to be relevant to it or else it shouldn’t be there in the first place. Is this pain preventing your character from achieving their goal? Can it become such an obstacle that they believe it will stop them dead in their tracks? How is the pain so debilitating that they may not be able to go on and stop the big-baddy from destroying the world? Creating pain has to add something to the story!

In “The Fault In Our Stars” by John Green , Hazel’s and Gus’s pain from having cancer is at the center of the story, but it isn’t really about their pain, is it? Furthermore, it has a purpose to be there! It’s integrated into the plot. Not just floating there because Green was being lazy and needed something to drive the plot forward because the middle was slow. No. It was put there for a reason. Then, once you’ve found its purpose-tie in a strong emotional response to it. Connecting the pain to a strong emotional response in your character is key to convincingly express that pain. Consider how ashamed you’d think your character may feel if their pain is the sole reason they’re unable to complete a very important task? What if that pain slowed them down and someone they loved died because they arrived too late due to that pain? Contemplate how would they feel if they woke up one day having to face the fact that perhaps they’d die a painful, horrible death? Or even worse, be living with chronic pain for the rest of their lives?

“You don’t get to choose if you get hurt in this world…but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices.” John Green-The Fault in Our Stars

One of the reasons why “The Fault In Our Stars” worked so well was because it wasn’t purely about the physical pain of cancer. Cancer and the many forms it takes doesn’t solely affect only the person who has cancer; but those around them as well. The psychological toll that the pain is causing is more important than how the pain physically feels. Maybe every reader doesn’t know how it feels to have cancer, but they do know how it feels to fail at something important. Being helpless to save someone you love. Having that loved one taken from you. Tie the two together, and you’ll be golden. Your readers will be heartbroken, and that is your job. Readers don’t want to be comfortable, they want to be shook awake.

So, here’s what we’ve Learned About How to Write Pain

The pain doesn’t JUST reside in the body. The brain and the mind suffer just as much (if not more) than the body does.
Painful experiences in general is a difficult concept to describe in words. Use what you know people can relate to in order to convey the way pain feels.
Find a meaningful purpose for the pain to be in your story. Don’t just throw in a knife wound because your plot is lacking excitement. It’s a cheap trick and your readers will know what you’re doing. SO JUST DON’T DO IT OR I’LL FIND YOU.
Link the relevant pain with strong and negative emotions. Show how that pain is spreading out into the lives of your characters and making everything worse for them. You gave the pain a purpose-so now make it work.

The ultimate goal when writing physical pain: To make your readers feel it too.

Great!! Sincerely hope this helped you guys. Never thought of pain in my story at all before writing this blog, but after thinking about it and developing this concept I really feel like it can help writers out there. Living with multiple chronic issues has given me a unique perspective on this topic. Feels like I am the perfect writer for this blog specificity. Leave a comment down below about what you think pain can do for your stories and how you like to convey it to your readers. Thanks so much for stopping by! Please feel free to check out my other blogs in my other categories and my YA book reviews! See ya on the next one! ^_^

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Writing About Pain: Describing Minor Injuries

August 29, 2023 by ANGELA ACKERMAN

When we push characters to their limits, sometimes they get hurt. Injuries can range from annoyances to mortal wounds, and handled well, can add tension and complication to the story, drawing readers in deeper.

We’re always looking for ways to make sure our characters struggle as they navigate new situations, uncertain environments, dangers and threats. Let’s dive into what minor injuries you might want to inflict that will also bring a dose of authenticity to your fiction.

Common Minor Injuries & How to Describe Them

Superficial cuts and scrapes. These are surface wounds affecting the skin, causing redness, scratches, or shallow wounds. There is a flash of pain, and then blood blooms. You can focus on the redness of the scratches, any dirt or grit caught in the injury, and the searing pain a character will feel when something touches the injured site: a sleeve, branches that slap and scrape as your character navigates a narrow wooded trail, bumping against someone, or even the pain-then-relief sensation when a breeze hits the area.

Bruises. Collisions with hard surfaces or pressure injuries can lead to bruises. Maybe your character was rushing, missed a danger, was careless, or the injury happened through violence. Bruises may throb or ache, especially when the damaged muscle moves. Skin will discolor, turning reddish on a character with lighter skin, or appearing purple, brown, or even black on any with darker skin. Over time, the bruises may turn brown, yellow or even green as they heal before fading completely. With bruising, show a character’s discomfort. They may find it hard to sit or lie comfortably, and wince when the injured muscles move.

Burns and blisters. Exposure to heat or friction can result in burns and blisters, leaving the area tender to the touch. This can make everyday tasks uncomfortable, like having to walk with a blister rubbing the back of a shoe, or having to handle items with a fresh burn on one’s fingers. Blisters appear raised, containing fluid, and burns may also present as blisters or raw skin where several outer layers are removed. Small burns and blisters are easy to forget about until they are bumped or grazed, and then the pain starts anew. If a character has sunburn , their skin will be hot to the touch, red, and will feel stretched tight. The pain can be described as an uncomfortable tingling or radiating heat sensation.

Sprains and strains. Rapid or repetitive movements, twisting, overextending, and otherwise pushing ligaments or muscles too far can lead to stretching or tears that cause pain and limit a character’s range of movement. To describe this, think about the tenderness and painful twinges you feel at these types of injuries, and how your character will have to compensate by limping, hunching over, and moving gingerly. Each bump or unintentional twist can bring about deep pain, so use the character’s face as a map: wincing, drawing their eyebrows low, a pinched mouth. They may suck in a sharp breath through their teeth, or swear under their breath. To find relief, a character may observe the RICE method (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation), and use crutches to get around.

Minor fractures or breaks. Most bone breaks are not minor, but a broken toe or finger is usually something you wrap and wait for it to heal. A bone fracture is painful, but isn’t a full break, so healing comes much quicker. In both cases, the character will experience a sharp pain and may ‘feel’ the snap or crack. Anxiety and dread often follows these types of injuries because the character knows whatever they’ve done will need time to heal. These injuries are great when you want to slow your character down, add complication to their life, and limit them in what they can do. When you’re showing this type of injury, think about how your character will overcompensate (limping, shifting their weight, using their ‘good’ hand, etc.) to spare the injured bone. Show their discomfort through pinched facial expressions, a strained voice, a short tempter, or other ‘tells’ that line up with their personality.

Dislocations. When two bones pull away from their natural meeting point, the pain can be excruciating. An unnatural bulge forms where the bone is, causing swelling, intense pain, numbness and tingling. Your character may also feel a rush of fear when their limb suddenly stops working.

In movies, characters often ram the dislocated bone against something to reset it, but unless they’re skilled and experienced, this is dangerous, and causes extreme pain and further injury. So before you decide to have your character do this, ask yourself if they know how or not, or if others are able to assist.

Foreign objects. Splinters, thorns, fishhooks, and other items that pierce the skin can add a dash of authenticity and make your character more irritable, because these everyday annoyances do happen.

Nosebleeds. Maybe someone popped your character in the nose, or they have allergies, the air is dry, or it happens due to another condition or injury. Whatever caused it, nosebleeds are uncomfortable, messy, and can make the character feel embarrassed as they suddenly become the center of attention. To stop the flow, they may pinch the bridge of their nose and tip their head back, but as blood runs down their throat, they may gag in discomfort.

Contact with poison, toxins, or irritants. Some characters have allergies or sensitivities to substances, and coming in contact with these causes an adverse reaction. They may swell up, develop a rash, break out in hives, become feverish, and have trouble swallowing or breathing. This minor situation can escalate into something more dire if they don’t get help.

To describe this injury, focus on the reaction to the toxin as it contacts with the character’s skin. Does it swell up, redden in patches, or feel hot to the touch? If the irritant is something they breathe in, it can cause them to cough, spit, bend over, and wheeze. They may grow anxious if it becomes harder to see or breathe.

Bites and stings. We’ve all gotten too close to a wasp’s nest or been a victim of mosquito bites. The character will feel a small nip of pain at the point of contact, and then the area can swell, itch, and redden. If the character has a sensitivity to the venom or a bite becomes infected, the pain will grow, and the rash will spread.

Minor head or eye injuries. When a character’s head area is injured, they need to take care in case the wound is worse than it seems. Maybe your character bumped their head on a low ceiling beam, had a spark or projectile fly into their eye, became the victim of bear spray, or slipped on ice and hit their head. These injuries can leave them with a throbbing headache, swollen eyelids, blurry vision, and a good dose of panic or worry.

Think Outside the Box When It Comes to Injuries

As you can see, the ways you can injure characters is only limited by your imagination, so get creative! What might be a fresh way to injure them that makes sense for the action? How can the setting and its inherent dangers be used?

Also, consider your character’s emotional state. Are they rushing to meet a deadline, or feeling panicked because they are out of their depth? When they become injured, do they blame themselves, or feel overwhelmed by their circumstances?

Know Your Why

Hurting characters ‘just because’ will lead to flat writing, so have a reason for causing them strife. How will an injury further the story or reveal who they are to readers? Will this new challenge hobble them and force them to think strategically? Are you trying to show their humanity through a response to pain or teach them a lesson for being rash? Know your why so injuries never feel random or contrived.

Also, don’t forget to show the before-during-after awareness chain so your character’s responses are realistic and believable.

Reader Interactions

September 14, 2023 at 9:53 pm

Thank you so much. This and your other articles were exactly what I was looking for.

[…] You can read their post, Writing about Pain: Describing Minor Injuries, right here: https://writershelpingwriters.net/2023/08/writing-about-pain-describing-minor-injuries/ […]

24 Ways to Describe Pain

A note: These are for inspiration only . They can’t be copied because they’ve been pulled directly from an author’s copyrighted manuscript (intellectual property is immediately copyrighted when published).

Here’s my list:

His head hurt too much. His body hurt too much. It seemed that everything hurt too much. Slowly, his sense started to send reports back to his brain. There were bruises and cuts and scrapes and maybe some breaks. He kept his eyes closed, not because he didn’t want to see where he was, but he thought it would hurt too much to open them.
Bogier hurt everywhere. His nipples hurt, his toes hurt, his watchband hurt, the elastic in his underpants hurt. His mind hurt. But his chest was the worst.
A dull sciatic ache had settled into Gurney’s left leg.
Ten seconds passed, and then twenty and thirty, and finally the pain started to pull back like the tide going out. It left his fingers first, and then slowly worked its way up his arm. Rowe took a couple of deep breaths and then started to walk again. He needed to find a pharmacy.
Not just pain-tolerant, or pain-resistant—he’s pain-defiant
A harsh half-stifled yell
Every jostle sent ripples of pain through his shoulder, back and neck.
The flesh wound still oozed blood and the entire right side of his body wore a purple-yellow smear of bruise. It hurt so bad he could hardly negotiate the raw landscape that strobed in and out of focus all around him
Pain sheeted through him with a terrible intensity
Pain felt like a sharp-toothed creature eating him from the inside
The pain in his wounded thigh was searing.
Ignoring the pain in his thigh, the blood seeping from the cut in his left arm and tried to move as quickly and quietly as possible
grunted as he shifted, trying to keep his ankles from paining him
in the thick soup of his brain
did her ragged little insults result even in a flesh wound?
didn’t so much regain consciousness as he began sensing pain
He absorbed the trauma, swallowing the pain, then kicked his way slowly back to the surface.
Pain was just an illusory sensation that his mind could shut down if it needed to, he told himself.
Searing pain in his right shoulder
Adjusted his position in the chair and felt fresh pain sear across his stomach
he jammed his knee into my groin, sending shock waves of dull nauseating pain deep into my abdomen
The Russian squealed in pain, dropped his gun and held his hands up to his blinded eyes.
As he doubled over in pain, Carver karate-chopped the back of his neck
he made a low growl again, straining to stand up to the pain

Spider Bites

The black widow spider is identified by a red hourglass on its abdomen. The initial pain is not severe, but severe local pain rapidly develops. The pain gradually spreads over the entire body and settles in the abdomen and legs. Abdominal cramps and progressive nausea, vomiting, and a rash may occur. Weakness, tremors, sweating, and salivation may occur. Anaphylactic reactions can occur. Symptoms begin to regress after several hours and are usually gone in a few days.

The brown recluse spider is a small, light brown spider identified by a dark brown violin on its back. There is no pain, or so little pain, that usually a victim is not aware of the bite. Within a few hours a painful red area with a mottled cyanotic center appears. Necrosis does not occur in all bites, but usually in 3 to 4 days, a star-shaped, firm area of deep purple discoloration appears at the bite site. The area turns dark and mummified in a week or two. The margins separate and the scab falls off, leaving an open ulcer. Secondary infection and regional swollen lymph glands usually become visible at this stage. The outstanding characteristic of the brown recluse bite is an ulcer that does not heal but persists for weeks or months. In addition to the ulcer, there is often a systemic reaction that is serious and may lead to death. Reactions (fever, chills, joint pain, vomiting, and a generalized rash) occur chiefly in children or debilitated persons.

Tarantulas are large, hairy spiders found mainly in the tropics. Most do not inject venom, but some South American species do. If bitten, pain and bleeding are certain, and infection is likely. Treat a tarantula bite as for any open wound, and try to prevent infection. If symptoms of poisoning appear, treat as for the bite of the black widow spider.

More painful descriptors:

37 Ways to Describe Depression

How to Describe a Fight

29 Ways to Describe a Headache

Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular prehistoric fiction saga, Man vs. Nature which explores seminal events in man’s evolution one trilogy at a time. She is also the author of the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers and Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy . Her non-fiction includes over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, reviews as an Amazon Vine Voice , a columnist for NEA Today , and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. Look for her next prehistoric fiction, Savage Land, Winter 2024 .

77 thoughts on “ 24 Ways to Describe Pain ”

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Spiders bites – writing and reading about them seems masochistic to me. I would rather avoid them and concentrate on not remembering that they exist. And you omitted snakes!

Like Liked by 1 person

Hehee. I used to have a disgusting spider bite picture on this post but I got so many hits from people who just wanted to see the picture! I pulled it.

Have you read my comment about the interesting life in pre-historic times?

Umm, where did you post it?

I think in my blog comments. I just wanted to remind you that have you lived in pre-historic times, you would be dragged by your hair into the cave. It might be interesting inside but only if you were a favourite cave-woman.

Got it. My scalp still hurts!

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Really a nice and interesting one….the thought of it, is really a good one.

Thanks for visiting, Emmanuel. Have a great 2019.

Reblogged this on NickyELsblog. Com .

Thanks for sharing, Emmanuel. This one is pretty personal for me.

Yeah you right😀

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Good that you included depression as a special definition of pain

It’s not hard to look in the faces of those who suffer depression and see their pain. I am thankful I’ve never had that horrid disease.

It’s a good list. 🙂 I do agree with the others on them telling more then showing. But, with somethings its best to pull back and use a little telling, as it can get too intense. I had a chapter (revised now) where the protog was being dragged down the stairs after being stabbed. I did it without any filters and such. That chapter ended up being canned. I jave to be careful not to get too obsesed with making every few chapters hell for the protog as after a while won’t that cause readers to become numb to it?

That’s a good point. Being wrenched in a tornado every scene–it would be a bit much for me though there are authors who write that way and they have loyal followings. It’s just not me.

Thanks for the post, its a good reference piece!

Absolutely. My pleasure.

Thanks for your comment i want to describe pain wallet address: 1CjJiD26EeRHNkEA9RBAXfuWtCz6b1apEH URL:

That didn’t sound right, I ment I don’t like the cartoon sounding interjections I keep finding.

Do you have an article that deals with this but in dialog? I don’t like the cartoon sounding interjections. Thanks.

I don’t because these are snippets from other writer’s books. They’re intended to inspire, but I understand how that doesn’t work for everyone.

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Jacqui, I noticed in the list the words ‘hurt’ and ‘pain’ are often used, as in “doubled over in pain”, “squealed in pain”, “dull, nauseating pain”, “pain like…” and so on. When I write about pain I like to use words and descriptors which summon the image and sensation of pain without using the actual word ‘pain’.

I noticed that, too. I think in the fullness of the text, the authors used ‘pain’ only once and then moved into what you’re saying. Good catch.

I hope you’re correct. Using the word ‘pain’ even with descriptive qualifiers isn’t very imaginative or evocative.

Like Liked by 2 people

As you said, protagonists in thriller books get hurt a lot. But in thriller movies, the protagonists not only get hurt a lot, they survive obviously fatal situations a lot. I guess you just have to amp it up for the movies.

Oh yes. Can’t have our heroes dying can we?

you can we as,with you from online ali

“The elastic in his underwear hurt,” haha. Sometimes you really can say it ALL in just a few words. Brilliant ideas!

Doesn’t that say it all? when you can’t stand even that? Yes, speaks volumes to me.

i hope to be successfull from online my dream many years but not yet can you do JACKY only a small fees wallet 1BTC EGUAL AT MORE THAN 2100 usd

Wouldn’t have realised there were so many different ways to feel pain. Thanks for the compilation. When they come as a list, one can get the nuances a little better as relativity gets highlighted.

I agree. Yet, when I put myself in their shoes, I can see it. It helps me a lot when I need to describe pain in my novel (which I do, with my SEAL and a reckless terrorist who revels in pain).

I always enjoy these…well maybe not the pain, but the description.

Hehe. It does help me to feel what I don’t usually experience. My pain is more natural rather than the result of my lifestyle choice.

That’s what we’re commonly told all the time. I was all about this topic in school. Aw, I miss New Mexico. I really do like these points you have made here but I really doubt many can be used to reality. Do you create this type of great content yourself or are you part of a team? Your article is liked by this guy I recently met.

Ouch and ugh!

Cogent and pithy. Nicely worded.

Reblogged this on Hutts Strange World .

Thanks for the reblog!

I think you hit that nail on the head. I hope it didn’t hurt–hehehe

Anna from Elements of Writing

When I can clearly express the pain my character is under, it does feel like a bulls eye. Love it.

Ouch! This was painful to read. But thanks for sharing.

there are so many ways to discuss pain, and how we-all tolerate it. I’m amazed how stalwart some characters are in books.Like the Lone Survivor–how’d he survive?

the pain is the real wold discution,sin pain no way…

Spider averse. Me too! Ouch. Ouch and ouch. Physical pain in any way, shape or form, I cannot take. Great list, though, as usual. Thanks, Jacqui. 🙂

I hate even reading stories about spiders used for torture. I have to skip it.

Never came across such a read. I cannot bear to think about it. I’d be dead before they touched me.

Excellent list – many descriptions could be applied to both physical and emotional pain.

True. And I do. Emotions are just as painful as physiology.

Personally, tarantulas are very cool spiders! Those other two not so much!! Does any one remember a song with the lyrics “I don’t like spiders and snakes. . .”; well I’m total opposite of that song! As long as neither poisonous, I’m perfectly happy with them around me, especially snakes. I had thoughts of owning a boa constrictor, when I was much younger.

Oh yikes. I’m working on my spider phobia. It truly isn’t their fault. It’s something in my genetics.

Sneaky, eh? I’ll jump right into pain descriptors–but I’d have scrolled on by spider info. Oh well, nothing I didn’t already know. But now I’ll be watching for movement in my peripheral vision…

You could expand on that, I’m sure. I’m very spider-averse.

Reblogged this on quirkywritingcorner and commented: My characters will often fight at one point or another, sometimes only verbal sparring. This will be helpful since I can picture the fight in my head, but never get it down on paper right.

I love these lists. They serve to challenge my own descriptions of pain and emotion. It’s so easy to fall back on familiar word choice. But every person experiences pain differently so the language should reflect that 🙂

I’ve never been in that sort of physical pain–from a fight. Well, once a girl beat me up, but I was cowering in a corner before it got too painful. This–the only way I know how to write a brutal fight is by reading people like Jack Reacher.

Lee Child is awesome at writing action scenes 🙂

ouch ouch and more expletives … 50 Shades of Pulsing Pain.

Love Bob Hope’s line–‘If this was a prize fight, they’d stop it’. Of course, he was talking about golf, not battle.

‘As he doubled over in pain, Carver karate-chopped the back of his neck.’ I have always steered clear of self-treatment. 🙂

Hehe. that ol’ pronoun problem raises its head. In scene, it was no confusion!

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Conjunctions
Prepositions

Describing Pain: Adjectives & Examples

Table of Contents

How to Describe pain? – Different Scenarios

When it comes to describing pain, it’s important to find the right words to accurately convey how it feels. As someone with years of experience in writing about various topics, I have come across many different scenarios where pain is described. Let’s explore some examples and learn how to effectively describe pain in different situations.

1. Acute Pain

Acute pain refers to a sudden and intense sensation that typically lasts for a short period of time. When describing acute pain, it’s important to use words that convey the severity and intensity. Here are some adjectives that can be used to better describe acute pain:

Excruciating

For example, if you experience a sudden, sharp pain in your finger after accidentally closing it in a door, you can describe it as a sharp and stabbing pain that makes your finger ache intensely.

2. Chronic Pain

Chronic pain, on the other hand, refers to persistent and long-lasting pain that can often be debilitating. When describing chronic pain, it’s important to focus on the duration and the impact it has on daily life. Here are some adjectives that can be used to describe chronic pain:

Debilitating

For example, if you suffer from chronic back pain, you can describe it as a constant and aching pain that radiates down your spine and makes it difficult to perform daily activities.

3. Nerve Pain

Nerve pain, also known as neuropathic pain, occurs when there is damage to the nerves. Describing nerve pain can be challenging as it often involves unique sensations. Here are some adjectives that can be used to describe nerve pain:

Pins and needles

For example, if you have a pinched nerve in your leg, you can describe the pain as a burning and tingling sensation that shoots down your leg, accompanied by pins and needles.

When it comes to describing pain, finding the right words can be challenging. However, effectively conveying the sensation of pain is crucial for effective communication and understanding. In this section, I’ll provide you with a list of adjectives that can be used to describe different types of pain, along with examples to help you fully grasp their usage.

Describing Words for pain in English

Acute pain is sudden and intense, often caused by injury or specific health conditions. Here are some adjectives that can describe acute pain:

Sharp: The pain feels like a quick and intense stabbing sensation.
Throbbing: The pain pulses rhythmically, similar to a heartbeat.
Shooting: The pain radiates or shoots through a specific area.
Stinging: The pain feels like a sharp, prickling sensation.
The cut on my finger was sharp and throbbing.
I felt a shooting pain in my lower back when I lifted that heavy box.
After being stung by a bee, I experienced a stinging pain in my arm.

Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is persistent and long-lasting, often lasting for months or even years. Describe chronic pain with these adjectives:

Dull: The pain is persistent but not intense.
Aching: The pain is deep and continuous, with a dull and persistent sensation.
Searing: The pain is burning and intense, causing discomfort.
I have been living with a dull pain in my knee for years.
She described the chronic pain in her joints as a deep, aching sensation.
The searing pain in my chest made it difficult to breathe.

Nerve pain, also known as neuropathic pain, occurs when there is damage or dysfunction in the nervous system. Here are some adjectives to describe nerve pain:

Electric: The pain feels like an electric shock, with sudden and sharp sensations.
Tingling: The pain is accompanied by a tingling or pins and needles sensation.
Burning: The pain feels like a burning or scalding sensation.
Whenever I move my arm, I experience electric shocks of pain.
The tingling pain in my legs was a result of nerve damage.
The burning pain in my feet made it difficult to walk.

Adjectives for pain

Pain can be described in many different ways. Using adjectives allows us to effectively convey the sensation and intensity of pain. In this section, I’ll provide you with a list of positive and negative adjectives that can be used to describe pain, along with example sentences.

Positive Adjectives for pain

When talking about pain, we often focus on the negative aspects. However, it’s important to remember that pain can also have positive qualities.

Negative Adjectives for pain

On the other hand, pain can also be quite unpleasant and overwhelming. Here are some negative adjectives to describe pain.

Remember, accurately describing pain can help others understand what you’re going through and lead to better treatment options.

Synonyms and Antonyms with Example Sentences

Synonyms for pain

When it comes to describing pain, there are several synonyms that can help you convey its intensity and sensation. Here are some alternate words you can use to describe the discomfort you’re experiencing:

Agony : The piercing agony shot through my leg like a bolt of lightning.
Discomfort : The uncomfortable sensation in my stomach made it hard to concentrate.
Distress : The distress in my chest made it difficult to take deep breaths.
Suffering : The constant suffering in my joints made it hard to perform daily tasks.
Torment : The piercing torment in my head felt like a never-ending drumbeat.
Anguish : The sharp anguish radiated from my lower back, making it hard to stand upright.
Affliction : The gripping affliction in my muscles made it difficult to move freely.
Misery : The overwhelming misery engulfed my body, leaving me feeling drained.

Antonyms for pain

On the other hand, if you want to describe the absence or relief from pain, here are some antonyms you can use:

Comfort : After a long day on my feet, slipping into a cozy bed brought immediate comfort.
Ease : The doctor’s prescription provided some much-needed ease for my aching joints.
Relief : With the pain medication, I finally felt a sense of relief from the constant throbbing.
Soothe : The warm bath helped to soothe the soreness in my muscles.
Pleasure : After weeks of discomfort, finally experiencing pleasure in my body was a welcome relief.

Remember, using the right adjectives to accurately describe pain can help others understand what you’re going through and lead to better treatment options. Feel free to mix and match these synonyms and antonyms to find the words that best capture your pain experience.

Describing pain can be a challenging task, but it is crucial for effective communication and receiving appropriate treatment. Throughout this article, I have discussed various adjectives that can be used to accurately convey the sensation of pain. By using descriptive words, we can help others understand the intensity, location, and nature of our pain.

Synonyms and antonyms for pain have been explored, providing a range of options to choose from when describing our discomfort. By using these adjectives in our conversations with healthcare professionals, we can ensure that they have a clear understanding of our experiences, leading to more personalized and effective treatment plans.

Remember, accurately describing your pain is not only important for medical professionals but also for loved ones and friends who want to support you. By using descriptive language, you can help them empathize and provide the necessary support during difficult times.

So, the next time you experience pain, don’t hesitate to reach for the right words to describe it. Your ability to effectively communicate your pain can make a significant difference in your well-being and the quality of care you receive.

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EXPLORE Random Article

How to Describe Pain

Last Updated: February 11, 2023 References

This article was co-authored by David Schechter, MD . Dr. David Schechter is a physician in Culver City, California. With over 25 years of experience as a family and sports medicine physician, Dr. Schechter specializes in mind-body medicine, preventive medicine, and chronic pain. Dr. Schechter received his MD from New York University and is an attending physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He was named a Top Doctor by Los Angeles Magazine and Men's Health Magazine. He has also written several books, including The MindBody Workbook. This article has been viewed 15,228 times.

Pain can be a difficult thing to put into words, as it is often overwhelming and subjective. Describing your pain when seeking medical treatment can be extremely helpful for healthcare providers to identify the medical issue or condition. To put pain into words, try using the pain scale. You can also describe the location, pattern, type (dull, sharp, or nauseating), and duration of the pain. Descriptive terms are also a useful way to describe pain.

Using the Pain Scale

0 - No pain, feeling perfectly normal.
1 - Very mild pain.
2 - Discomforting pain that is minor.
3 - Tolerable pain that is noticeable but not overwhelming.
4 - Distressing, strong pain that you cannot adapt to.
5 - Very distressing, strong pain that gets in the way of your normal lifestyle and routine.
6 - Intense, strong pain that affects your senses and clouds your thinking.
7 - Very intense pain that dominates your senses and is debilitating.
8 - Utterly horrible pain that overrides your senses, your thinking, and your personality.
9 - Excruciating, unbearable pain that require painkillers or surgery.
10 - The worst pain you have ever experienced.

Step 2 Identify if your pain is minor, moderate, or severe.

Your doctor may find it useful if you describe your pain as minor, moderate, or severe using the pain scale, as they can then more easily classify your pain as a symptom.

Step 3 Chose an illustrated face on the scale.

The illustrated faces on the scale are often most useful for people who respond visually to pain. This can also be very helpful in a crisis situation where someone is unable to talk, or in small children who have difficulty describing their pain.

Step 4 Keep in mind the subjective nature of the pain scale.

Your doctor should keep the subjective tolerance of the pain scale in mind when they are using it to diagnose and treat your issue.

Describing the Location, Pattern, and Duration of the Pain

Step 1 Describe where the pain is located.

The doctor may also ask you to note a difference between pain that is on the surface of your skin and pain that is under surface, or internal.
For example, you may experience pain on the surface of your hand and pain under the surface of your wrist, where the joints and tendons are.
Your doctor will likely be able to tell the difference between surface pain and internal pain, such as by palpating the area.

Step 2 Discuss how often you experience pain.

Ask yourself, “When do I experience pain?” “How often do I experience pain?” “Do I experience pain in lesser or greater degrees throughout the day?” “When does the pain occur? Does the pain occur when I am walking, exercising, or eating?”

Ask yourself, “How long do I feel pain?” “Does my pain come and go throughout the day?”

Step 4 Discuss other symptoms you experience besides pain.

Ask yourself, “What other symptoms am I experiencing besides pain?” Share them with your doctor so they can make note of them.

Using Descriptive Terms

For example, you may tell your doctor, “The pain is pulsing through my arms and legs” or “The pain is numbing my hands and making them feel tingly.”

Step 2 Use a metaphor or simile to describe pain.

For example, you may use a metaphor like, “My pain is a laser beam along my spine” or “The pain is small daggers in my arms and legs.”
You can also use a simile like, “My pain is as bad as when I gave birth to my child” or “My pain is like the time I fell out the window onto the pavement as a kid.”

In the journal, you can also take note of how often you feel pain and how severe it feels day to day, or hour by hour. Mark down the time and date so you can track the pain and use your notes to describe it in detail to your doctor.

Expert Q&A

Though this article provides information pertaining to describing pain, it should not be taken as medical advice. Always consult your physician regarding the best way to treat your specific condition. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

↑ https://powerofpain.org/media/HOW-TO-DESCRIBE-YOUR-PAIN-TO-A-HEALTHCARE-PROFESSIONAL.pdf
↑ http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/features/pain-scale#1
↑ https://www.hss.edu/conditions_speaking-of-pain-how-to-help-your-doctor-help-you.asp
↑ David Schechter, MD. Family Medicine Practitioner. Expert Interview. 15 July 2020.
↑ https://www.spineuniverse.com/blogs/cooney/how-explain-your-pain-doctor

About this article

To describe your pain, try using a scale of 0-10, where 0 is no pain and 10 is unimaginable pain. You can also use descriptive words, like sharp, throbbing, or burning, to help explain your pain. In addition to describing the intensity of pain, try to show where you hurt by pointing to the area of your body if you don’t know the name. Say whether the pain is on your skin or internal, where your muscles are. You should also describe how long the discomfort lasts and how often you feel it to give an idea of how it comes and goes. For more tips from our Medical co-author, including how to keep a pain journal, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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COMMENTS

How to Describe Pain in Writing
blinded with pain. dizzy from the pain. disoriented from the pain. the pain blossomed in his midsection. the pain spread through her bowels. a wave of pain rolled through her. pain crashed through his body. he let out a gasp from the pain. she panted with pain.
How to Describe Pain in Writing: 45 Best Tips with Examples
This is how you describe stomach pain or foot pain in writing. Example: "The pain was concentrated in his lower back, as if a knife was wedged between his vertebrae.". Use Vivid Imagery - Paint a mental picture of what the pain feels like. Example: "It was a searing pain, like hot oil splashed onto his skin.".
Stabbed or Scratched: How to Describe Pain in Writing
Challenges of Writing Pain. Of course, one of the challenges of writing about pain is that everyone experiences it differently. What might feel like off the charts pain for one person might just be another day in the life of someone who lives with a chronic illness. A splitting migraine for you might feel like a normal headache to your neighbor.
How To Accurately Write About Your Character's Pain
Shaking is also very important. Think adrenaline and anxiety, your body goes into shock so the thought process isn't too great. Not a lot of speaking either, it's hard to make up any sort of conversation. Passing out because of pain isn't uncommon either, even more so at the sight of their own blood.
How To Write About Pain In Fiction
Step 3: Choose the Right Words to Convey The Intensity of the Pain. In the example above, notice the words; "swirled, permeating, buckled, angry, jettisoned.". These are words not necessarily tied to the description of pain, yet when used in this way, they are striking and apropos.
creative writing
One imagines a particular kind of pain (burns feel differently from blunt trauma, for instance) in a particular organ. So before you describe pain, you need to paint the picture of what's going on. Once you've done that, the reader's imagination will do half the work for you. We're wired to empathise.
How to Show, Not Tell Pain
To get the greatest impact when you describe pain in your writing, think of the 3—2-1 rule: For each character, show mild pain three times throughout the story, moderate pain twice, and severe pain just once. This will make your scenes feel more realistic and engaging to the reader. Tips for showing pain in your story
Want to Show Your Character's Pain? Here's Everything You Need to Know
Pain has 3 stages: Before, During, and After. For realistic and logical description, you'll want to know what all three will look like for your character and the type of injury. Different Types of Pain to Explore. Discomfort comes in all shapes and sizes, including physical, psychological, and spiritual pain.
5 tips for writing about physical pain in fiction
Here are 5 tips to help you write about physical suffering. 1. Don't always say it hurts - less is more. 'Pain is something we all go through to a lesser or greater extent. It's something we all know intimately. Yet it's so hard to describe and write about.
Writing About Pain: Best Practices for Great Fiction
Pain throbbed in my wrist. It radiated into my fingers. Tears sprang to my eyes. On the surface, this description gets the job done because it adequately describes the character's pain. But it's not engaging. Lists seldom are—yet this is how pain is often described, as a series of symptoms or sensations.
How to Express Pain in Writing
Using Dialogue to Convey Pain. Finally, one powerful way to convey pain in writing is to use dialogue. By having characters express their pain through their words and actions, writers can create a sense of empathy and connection with readers. For example, a character might groan, clutch at their chest, or struggle to speak due to the intensity ...
How to Describe Pain in Writing: A Guide for Writers
One of the best ways to give readers a sense of the pain your characters are feeling is to use emotive language. These are words and phrases that evoke an emotional response in readers, such as "searing" or "agonizing.". You can also use words like "throbbing" or "aching" to give readers a more tangible sense of the physical ...
Awesome Resources for Creative Writing: How to Describe Pain
March 29, 2016By Andy Peloquin. One of the hardest parts of creative writing (for me, at least) is to describe the myriad sensations that flood the human body on any given day. Think about it: A twinge in your lower back from too much time spent sitting or lying down. An ache in your knees from too much high intensity exercise.
How To Write Pain
Tolerance to pain, physical strength, health, body type, and other factors are a determining factor in how a person experiences pain. A weak minded person can feel an injury in a way they would describe as a level 10/10 on a pain scale. When really it's probably more like a 6/10. Most of it is a mental game. Like I've said, so bear that in ...
How to Write About Pain in Fiction
Before we delve into how to write about pain, let's firstly decide on what you want the pain to achieve. What we mean by this is that all pain should have a consequence, and by using the pain scale below you can get an idea of how much pain you should inflict on your character. Pain scale: Minor and mild pain: a pain that's noticeable but ...
Creating Emotional Frustration in Your Characters
(9 ingredients of character development.) In an excerpt from Write Great Fiction: Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint, by Nancy Kress, the author shows different ways a character might act when frustrated in a certain situation. Using these examples, and the exercises below, you can create frustrated characters that advance your story at a steady pace while also drawing the reader into a realistic ...
Writing About Pain: Describing Minor Injuries
Common Minor Injuries & How to Describe Them. Superficial cuts and scrapes. These are surface wounds affecting the skin, causing redness, scratches, or shallow wounds. There is a flash of pain, and then blood blooms. You can focus on the redness of the scratches, any dirt or grit caught in the injury, and the searing pain a character will feel ...
Effective techniques for describing pain
Let the reader handle the pain part. Write what physically happened (works best in an omniscient POV), and the reader can fill in their own blanks. Simply saying that someone's fingernail was removed will shake people all on its own. The tender skin beneath need not be agonized over in every case.
24 Ways to Describe Pain
The initial pain is not severe, but severe local pain rapidly develops. The pain gradually spreads over the entire body and settles in the abdomen and legs. Abdominal cramps and progressive nausea, vomiting, and a rash may occur. Weakness, tremors, sweating, and salivation may occur. Anaphylactic reactions can occur.
How to Describe Pain? : r/writing
Pain is pain, but you can dress it up any way you want - glaring, burning, surging, tremendous, throbbing, aching. It can come in prickles, ripples, waves - or as you discussed, following down the body, so maybe - "a burning sensation shot down her side", or "white hot agony burst into her ribs". Search synonyms for pain, and also think about ...
Describing Pain: Adjectives & Examples
Stabbing. Shooting. Throbbing. Excruciating. Intense. Severe. For example, if you experience a sudden, sharp pain in your finger after accidentally closing it in a door, you can describe it as a sharp and stabbing pain that makes your finger ache intensely. 2. Chronic Pain.
3 Ways to Describe Pain
4 - Distressing, strong pain that you cannot adapt to. 5 - Very distressing, strong pain that gets in the way of your normal lifestyle and routine. 6 - Intense, strong pain that affects your senses and clouds your thinking. 7 - Very intense pain that dominates your senses and is debilitating.