“Never write anything that does not give you great pleasure. Emotion is easily transferred from the writer to the reader.” – Joseph Joubert, Born May 7, 1754.

Maybe Joe here was only intending to write things that gave people pleasure. In which case, I would agree with the first part of his statement.

But is pleasure really the only thing we want the reader to experience?

Because the second part of his statement is definitely true – especially for a writer skilled enough to be evocative.

Be angry, write angry, and you'll make the reader angry. That works just as well as enjoying your subject – as far as transferring your emotions to the reader. Rage, sadness, ennui, agitation, righteous goddamn indignation: you can stoke any emotion you can think of…

…IF you can describe a scenario sufficient to evoke it in the reader. Draw from whatever you know that they know. Memories. Common experiences. Current events. Pop culture references. Touch on the emotions you want them to feel, and they will.

The magic of this is because the memory of a feeling is really difficult for the brain to separate from the feeling itself. So you bring it back to the surface, but then agitate it.

Whatever the emotion is, you start stacking the described scenario so it amplifies it. Tap it again and again, so it gets more intense each time.

And then you come to the pivot. The promise of a means to reverse that emotional response and regain control of it. To bring it back to the feeling they would prefer.

Now, the common usage of this in our kind of writing is to use negative emotion to create dissatisfaction in the status quo, then use that to create a desire to change the situation to one that is more comfortable and pleasurable. Relieve the pain.

But here is a twist – take an enemy or rival of your audience, and heap positivity on them. Make their villains out to be having the best possible time – then pivot to allow the reader to somehow take it all away. Let them be an agent of usurping power and pleasure of these rivals, leaving them maimed and miserable.

Those are merely two possibilities – many more will work. Introduce, agitate, reverse, and relieve. It's a satisfying arc when it occurs in fiction.

All we do is make you pay before you get the relief part.