Comments on: A Look at Body Language in Writing

By: dholcomb1

dholcomb1 — Fri, 22 May 2020 03:53:01 +0000

I'm sure I do, I can't think of one off hand. I try to search for overuse words. I did notice a friend using "shimmied her shoulders" in a book several times recently. It didn't fit the character. I don't think she was using the right word for the action she wanted. denise

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Thu, 21 May 2020 04:09:35 +0000

In reply to Kris Maze. People watching is ALWAYS fun.

By: Kris Maze

Kris Maze — Wed, 20 May 2020 22:20:31 +0000

In reply to amreade. The Emotion Thesaurus is a go to resource for me as well. It helps me get unstuck when I discover a repeated descriptions in my writing: batting eyelashes and hand on hip moments overplayed!

By: Kris Maze

Kris Maze — Wed, 20 May 2020 22:18:15 +0000

Thank you for the examples of showing the emotions through body language. We convey emotion and thoughts subconsciously in real life and it makes sense for our readers to experience this in our writing. It makes me want to people watch for research!

By: ecellenb

ecellenb — Wed, 20 May 2020 20:34:10 +0000

I'm glad the post is helpful, James! I think we all have our pet words. Thank goodness for word search, however ghastly cheerful.

By: jamesr403

jamesr403 — Wed, 20 May 2020 20:24:41 +0000

Thanks, Ellen, great post. It made me think of my WIP and without even looking back at the ms I am sure I have overused "shrug." Something to look out for. Oh, well. I'll keep my eyes open on the next pass. All kidding aside, thanks again.

By: Ellen Buikema

Ellen Buikema — Wed, 20 May 2020 16:13:38 +0000

I enjoy seeing how other writers use body language to express emotions. Reading other's work shows us different directions to go. Currently I'm reading a SciFi novel. The author did extensive research and wove that into her book. One of the characters has significant bodily damage and uses an exoskeleton, making for unusual body language.

By: Cindi Noble

Cindi Noble — Wed, 20 May 2020 15:35:05 +0000

Sometimes, if I'm trying to vary action tags, I'll give characters an object, like a pencil, to tap, throw, or doodle with, depending on emotion. Or, they might be doing a task in a location but they'll be stomping around the room and talking or slamming drawers if angry. If sad or reflective, maybe they're sitting and twisting their coffee cup rather than drinking, etc. It's interesting to see how other authors do this.

By: Ellen Buikema

Ellen Buikema — Wed, 20 May 2020 15:17:35 +0000

In reply to mefirstmagazine. Absolutely. The show is all about body language.

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Wed, 20 May 2020 14:33:53 +0000

In reply to amreade. And you have the second edition, right? They added 30÷ things!