Writers in the Storm

Compiled and edited by Sharla Rae

The holidays are upon us and everywhere you go, there are people rushing as lights wink merrily and Christmas music plays. Have you ever wondered about these treasured songs and how they gained popularity?

The dates and authors of some Christmas carols (red font) and events (green font) are debated but the following information is generally accepted. Where there are contrary dates, I included those too.

1500s:  First decorated Christmas Tree: Martin Luther, in the Black Forest of Germany, brought a tree into the house and lit it with candles.

1780:  Carol,Twelve Days of Christmas: The 12 Days of Christmas start with Christmas Day and finish with the eve of Epiphany on 6th January. The carol, Twelve Days of Christmas dates back to English origins in the sixteenth century although the music is reputed to be French. The “first publication date” was 1780.

1719:  Carol, Joy to the World:  Lyrics Isaac Watts, Music Lowell Mason. It is believed that the melody for “Joy to the World” was partly based on the work of George Frederic Handel, specifically the oratorio Messiah.

1739:  Carol, Hark the Herald Angels Sing: Written by Charles Wesley (1707-1788). It first appeared in hymnbook called Hymns and sacred Poems.

1751:  Carol, O Come All ye Faithful:  Written by John Frances Wade (1711- 1786), a hymnist 1751. First written in Latin and translated to English in 1852 by Frederic Oakeley and William Thomas Brooke.

1809:  Washington Irving (of Dutch ancestry) makes reference to St. Nicholas as the Patron of New York City.

1818:  Carol, Silent Night:  First performed in the Nicola-Kirche (Church of St. Nicholas) in Oberndorf, Austria on December 24, 1818. Priest, father, Josef Mohr composed the words much earlier, in 1816, but on Christmas Eve brought them to headmaster, Franz Gruber and asked him to compse a melody and guitar accompaniment for the service. 

1822:  The Visit From St. Nicholas, now known as The Night Before Christmas written by Dr. Clement Clark Moore, a professor of divinity

1824:  Carol, O Tannenbaum or Oh Christmas Tree:  The best known version was penned in 1824 by a Leipzig organist named Ernst Anschütz. The melody is an old folk tune. The first known “Tannenbaum” song lyrics date back to 1550. A similar 1615 song by Melchior Franck (1573-1639).

1830s:  Poinsettias could be found in select greenhouses in America. By 1870, New York shops sold them at Christmas and by the turn of the century they became associated with the holidays.

1837:  Robert Weir who taught art at West Point painted the first American portrait of Santa, posing the saint as he readied to climb down the chimney. He was depicted as a short, beardless man, dressed in high boots, short coat, and stocking cap. He carried a bag of toys and wore a frightening sneer on his face to scare bad children.

1841:  Christmas trees gained popularity in England when Prince Albert introduced it to the Royal Family. Americans had the tree by the mid-eighteenth century when Hessian soldiers introduced it during the Revolution.

1843:  First Christmas card introduced by John Calcott Horsley in England. Thesentiment was “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you.”

A Christmas Carol, novel by Charles Dickens published, December 19^th, 1843

1849: Carol, It Came Upon A Midnight Clear:  Words by a Unitarian pastor, Edward Hamilton Sears. Lyrics appeared in the Christian Register. Ten years later in 1859, Richard Storrs Willis, an American composer composed the music.

1850s:  (Early 1850s) R.H. Pease is described as the first maker and distributor of Christmas cards in America. He depicted Santa but the sentiment was an advertisement for his business.

1853:  Carol, Good King Wenceslas: Published by Neal and Helmore, originally an old Swedish song dating back to 1592.

1856:  Carol, Jingle Bells: Written by Reverend John Peirpont of Savanna Georgia, it was originally written for a church Thanksgiving program.

1857:  Elves first appeared around 1856 when Louisa May Alcott completed but never  published a book titled Christmas Elves. Thomas Nast depicted elves with Santa but didn’t invent them.

Carol, We Three Kings: Reverend John H. Hopkins Jr. (1820-1891) wrote music and lyrics. Published in Hopkins, Carols, Hymns and Song in 1863.

1860s:  (Mid 1860s) Glass tree ornaments and icicles introduced to the nation by the Germans.

1863:  Illustrated edition of Moore’s A Visit From St. Nicholas produced by Thomas Nast, a cartoonist employed by Harper’s Weekly. The work closely adhered to Moore’s description of Santa.

1864:  Carol, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day: Composed by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow as a poem. John B. Calkin composed its music in 1872 though it is also sung to an alternate tune that was originally composed by Joseph Mainzer in 1845. Written during the Civil War, it reflects those stressful times of battle.

1865:  December 25 was legalized as a state holiday by this date by 31 states and territories.

1866:  Santa depicted housed in an ice palace by Artist Nast. Later he specified the North Pole as Santa’s home.

1867:  Carol, O Little Town of Bethlehem:  Phillip Brooks, a Clergyman wrote poem in 1867. A year later, Lewis Redner, Brooks’ organist at an Episcopal church in Bos­­ton, Mass­­a­­chu­­setts, created the music.

1870s:  Macy’s department store was putting on a good Christmas show in their display windows.

1870:  Christmas made a legal national holiday on June 26. Until this time it wasn’t on the US national calendar.

1875:  Lithographer, Louis Prang, began producing illustrated Christmas Cards. Most of the art was produced by women although he did use some famous artists. Americans were slow to use Christmas Cards and preferred to make their own until the early 1880’s. Later cheaper German cards were produced.

1882:  Edward Johnson, a New Yorker and vice president of the newly formed Edison Electric, claimed to be the first to add electric lights to his tree.

1885:  Carol, Away In The Manger:  First published in a 1885 Lutheran Sunday School book by James R. Murray (1841-1905), but the author of the first two stanzas is unknown. There are at least two major melodies for the song: one, “Cradle Song” [1] more commonly encountered in Britain; the other, “Mueller” [2] more commonly found in the USA. The tune commonly used in Britain was written by William J. Kirkpatrick and was first published in 1895. The tune commonly used in the US was written by James R. Murray and first published in 1887. Stanza three was added in 1904 by Dr. John McFarland of New York City.

1890’s & 1900s:  Americans revived the old English custom of caroling.

1895:  Electric lights replaced candles on President Cleveland’s White House tree. General usage by the populous didn’t come about until the 1920’s.

1899:  Santa had no wife until this date, when Katherine Lee Bates created a Mrs. Claus in her story, Goody Santa Claus On A Sleigh Ride.

1916:  Carol, Carol of the Bells. Composed by Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych (1877-1921). Originally titled Shchedryk, A Ukranian folk song about a sparrow and the bountiful year that awaits a family. First performed in the Ukraine on the night of January 13, 1916. On the Julian calendar this is considered New Year’s Eve. In the United States it was first performed on October 5, 1921 at Carnegie Hall. “Hark how the Bells, Sweet silver bells . . .

1920:  Ellis Gimbel of Gimbel's department store, organized fifteen cars and fifty people in the first Thanksgiving Day Parade. The high point was a fireman dressed as Santa, who brought up the rear.

1924:  Hudsons, a Detroit store inaugurated its Santa’s ThanksgivingDay Parade.

1934:  Song, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gilespie and first sung on Eddie Cantor’s radio show in November 1934. Original version was recorded on September 26^th, 1935 by Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra.

1935:  Film, Scrooge, Adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol

Song, Winter Wonderland: Composed in 1934 by Felix Bernard with lyrics by Richard B. Smith. It has been recorded many different times by such artists as Perry Como, Johnny Mathis, Karen Carpenter, Cyndi Lauper, and the Cocteau twins.

1937:  Charles W. Howard opened a Santa Claus School. Students paid $150 each for a week-long course in showmanship, salesmanship and child psychology.

1938:  Film, A Christmas Carol:  American film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel.

1939:  Song, Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer. Written by a Montgomery Ward Department Store employee, Robert L. May. The store distributed copies of it to the children of its customers as an advertising gimmick. In 1949, it was set to music by Johnny Marks and Gene Autry recorded it. Two million copies sold during the first Christmas season.

1941:  Song, The Little Drummer Boy, also known as Carol of the Drum, written by Katherine K. Davis. Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone have been credited with writing the song even though they were only the arrangers for their recordings of it starting in 1957. In 1963, 20^th Century Fox Records retitled and reissued it as The Little Drummer Boy. In 1965 a new version was recorded by Kapp Records.

1942:  Film, Holiday Inn. Irving Berlin’s song, White Christmas was first sung by Bing Crosby, winning it an Oscar. Also starring Fred Astaire and Virginia Dale. Written by Irving Berlin & Elmer Rice.

1944:  Song, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas: Written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane for the MGM musical, Meet Me In St. Louis.

1946:  Film, It’s A Wonderful Life.

Song,  All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth, by Don Gardner.

Song, The Christmas Song (Chestnuts roasting on an open fire), sung by Nat King Cole, written by Mel Torme. King recorded versions of this song through 1961.

Film, It’s A Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart as George Baily and Donna Reed as Mary Hatch, his wife. Lionel Barrymore played Henry Potter.

1947:  Film original of Miracle On 34th Street with John Payne, Maureen O’ Hara and Natalie Wood.

1950:  Song, Frosty the Snowman. Penned by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins and then recorded in 1950 by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys. Although a popular Christmas song the word Christmas is not in this tune.

1952:  Song, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause. Original recording by Jimmy Boyd; Commissioned by Neiman Marcus to promote their Christmas card for the year, featuring an original sketch by artist Perry Barlow, who drew for the New Yorker magazines for many decades. When first released, the record was banned by the Catholic Church in Boston on the grounds it mixed sex with Christmas. Boyd was thirteen and was widely photographed meeting with the Archdiocese to explain the song.

1953:  Song, Santa Baby. Sung by Eartha Kit, co-written by Joan Javits

Song, Merry Christmas Baby. Sung by Charles Brown

1957:  Dr. Seuss’ (Theodore Geisel) wrote How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

Song, Blue Christmas recorded by Elvis Presley. Originally recorded by Doyle O'Dell in 1948 & in 1949 by 3 other artists — Russ Morgan, Hugo Winterhalter and Ernstein Tubbs who all had hits with it.

Song, Jingle Bell Rock. By Bobby Helms

1958:  Song, Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree, sung by Brenda Lee

Song, The Chipmunk Song, sung by David Seville and the Chipmunks.

1961: Song, Please Come Home For Christmas sung by Charles Brown

1964:  Song, A Holly Jolly Christmas, sung by Burl Ives, written by Johnny marks

1965:  Animated TV film,  A Charlie Brown Christmas, Written by Charles Schulz

1966:  Animated Film: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Adaptation of Dr. Suess Book

1969:  Animated Film:  Frosty the Snowman

1970:  Animated Film, Santa Clause Is Coming To Town. A television special based on the song, with narrator Fred Astaire telling the original story of Santa Clause Is Coming To Town.

1983:  Film, A Christmas Story. Written by Jean Shepherd about a 1940s family at Christmas.

Animated Film, Mickey’s Christmas Carol: Disney adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

1989:  Film, Christmas Vacation. Starred actor Chevy Chase, written by John Huges.

1990:  Film, Home Alone. About a child who having been left behind behind at Christmas, fights off robbers.

1992:  Film, Home Alone II

1993:  Tim Burton’s film, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

2002:  TV movie,  It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas, released by Jim Hensen

2003:  Film, Elf. Written by David Berenbaum. Actor Will Ferrel plays the elf.

2004:  Animated film, Polar Express. Written by Chris Van Allsburg & Robert Zemeckis. Depicts actor Tom Hanks in voice an form as the conductor.

Everyone has their favorite Christmas movies, carols, decorations and traditions. I hope you enjoyed seeing how long all of these have been enjoyed over the years.

What's your favorite Christmas carol or movie? Do you have any special traditions?

by Jenny Hansen

As a software trainer, I come in contact with a wide variety of people and use a broad range of software applications. It's what I do. I think software is fun.

This techie zeal of mine makes some of my writing pals want to shoot me at times but it ends up helping all of you get posts about programs you might not have had time to explore yet.

In response to my title question of whether ANY writer can rock LinkedIn, the answer is: "You betcha!"

Getting started on LinkedIn

1. Go to http://www.linkedin.com/
2. Choose your LinkedIn account type

Note: Anyone can sign up for a free Basic LinkedIn account. Free accounts allow you to invite available connections, manage your own profile, join Groups and sign up for LinkedIn events. Free accounts do not allow you to send InMails (which let you send mail to anyone whether you are connected or not), see all LinkedIn contacts or organize your contacts beyond a basic name listing.

3. Add connections

You can allow LinkedIn to check your existing address books for your current email addresses or enter your contacts manually. It is easiest to allow LinkedIn to comb through your current address books for your various email applications. You will get a list of the people you know who are already using LinkedIn and can invite them to connect with you.

Note: If you don’t want to do this when you begin, you can return here later. This is the Import Contacts option that is located inside the People You May Know in the upper right corner of your LinkedIn home page.

What do you do once you’re connected?

• Listen
  
  Listening in LinkedIn means watching the Status Updates that show on your home page each day and commenting on them. Particularly if you are in the market for an editor, agent, or new job, these updates are a treasure trove of conversation openers.
• Read
  
  In LinkedIn, there is an application to discuss and recommend what you are reading. When you use this application, it will update your home page. People will comment, and you can do the same on the books they recommend. Books are easy to bond over, as evidenced by Fae Rowen's post last week.
• Browse
  
  Be sure to look around in LinkedIn. You’ll come across the greatest stuff just poking around. Explore the LinkedIn toolbar at the top of the page to see your Connections, Update your profile, or look for Jobs. Incidentally, all the recruiters I know say they find the best talent through LinkedIn. This is where I found my current job too.
• Find Groups that have other people with the same interests as you.
  
  Some people take an opposite track and join Groups with members that have knowledge they WANT. On the right hand side of the LinkedIn toolbar, there is a search that defaults to “People.” Hit the drop-down and choose Groups. Type in your interest, whether it is writing, parenting or gardening. Trust me, you will find cool groups.

Other helpful tips:

• All the usual rules of social media apply – excessive marketing, stalking and lying are not appropriate. (Yes, I know it’s your resume – you STILL have to be honest.)
• You do not have to be introduced to anyone you are in a Group with.
  
  That means that you can request connection with anyone in any group you belong to. Groups offer the perfect chance to go where your target audience is and rub elbows with them. I’ve met amazing people this way.
• Browse the People You May Know section on the right side of your screen every few weeks. New people show up in there based on things like who has joined LinkedIn or which searches you’ve run. I nearly always find someone I’d been wishing to have as a connection.

Although I've done posts on LinkedIn, I didn't really get the insider track on what was on the minds of many writers until I did a LinkedIn for Writers webinar. These writers had a TON of questions I might not hear from someone in the traditional job market - here's the four that really stood out to me:

1. I’m not in the professional world right now because I took time off to pursue writing. How can I have a good LinkedIn profile if I’m not working?
2. How do I add writing to my profile? It’s not my day job, it’s more like my secret life.
3. I’ve been a stay-at-home parent for the last (fill in the blank) years. What do I put on my bio if I’m not in the workforce?
4. I’m not published. How do you make a writer career profile if you’re not published?

On a training level, these questions made me happy because there are really wonderful answers to each one. On a writing level, these questions made me a little bit sad because the one word they have in common is “not.”

Not working, not my day job, not in the workforce, not published…

Ladies and gentleman, let me offer my humble opinion here. [TANGENT ALERT]

Not in the workforce? Are you kidding me?? Pursuing a career in writing is a HELL of a lot of work.

And don’t even get me started on the amount of daily energy required to stay home with your kids. I can’t decide whether to build a shrine to those of you who do it every day or call you all lunatics.

As a part-time stay-at-home parent, I’ve become convinced that I’d rather strap myself to a hill of fire ants than do it full time. The amount of work, patience and mental fortitude required is mind-boggling.

It takes some special mojo to do the stay-at-home thing with grace and good humor. As much as I love my daughter, it is EASIER (for me) to go work at a day job 2-3 days a week than to have responsibility 24 hours a day for helping her grow from a baby into a full-fledged little person.

OK, the rant is over. *Deep breath* Back to the fantastic questions.

1. How can I have a good LinkedIn profile if I’m not working?

• The simple answer is – you are working. You’re just not taking credit for it or, potentially, receiving a paycheck for it.
• I can guarantee that everyone reads this post does something that's either (a) related to writing or (b) something they could be paid for in a perfect world or a better economy.
• I’m not telling you to lie but if you are the go-to person at your church for resume writing, you are running a volunteer resume-writing business. Your skills are there and they should be reported on your LinkedIn profile. Those 100 people at church wouldn’t have been coming to you if you sucked at it.
• Plus, everyone who’s looking for a job knows that job-hunting is a full-time process in itself. Change your profile experience to “HR Professional” or “Writing Professional” (like everyone else looking for a job) and list the things you are doing in the meantime.

2. How do I add writing to my profile if I work a different day job?

• Join writing groups on LinkedIn that appeal to you and participate in them.
• Start a blog and list your blog in your professional experience. If nothing else, this will build traffic to your blog from the people you know who want to see what their business associate is up to. I warn you, it hits most people's fear buttons to mix their "day job" life with their writing life. Kristen Lamb’s take on this made me stop and think.

Note: If you want to, you can create a separate LinkedIn identity – I’ve been wrestling with this for a long time myself because my professional experience on LinkedIn is under my married name and has been years in the making.

It is a personal choice how you do this, but don’t HIDE your writing. Celebrate it. Since I started mentioning my writing, it has been amazing to me how much I get called on to do it at work. (Hint: this means I now get PAID to write…just sayin’.)

3. What do I put on my bio if I’m not in the traditional workforce (i.e. staying home w/kids)?

• If you are a stay-at-home parent, I know you are volunteering somewhere. Usually, this isn’t even because you asked to. Many (misguided) people assume you have TONS of time on your hands because you *finger quotes* don’t work. They try to talk you into doing things for them. D.A. Watt did a great blog on this a while back. List your volunteer experience proudly on your LinkedIn profile.
• As with the example I mentioned above about the church resume-writer, you are fantastic at something (like writing!) and you need to spend some paid time doing that thing. Trust me, even if you are typing college papers or editing business brochures, you will take yourself more seriously if you charge for it. Others will too.

4. How do you make a writer career profile if you’re not published?

• As I said above, list your blog.
• List any contests you’ve won in your Honors and Awards
• List any writing chapters you belong to.
• Put Freelance Writer on your experience profile and list your freelance credits.
• Volunteer somewhere related to writing (with a cool title, of course) and list that too. Yes, you’re using them for the cool title, but the organization is getting work out of you while you fill that hole in your resume.

All of you who are striving toward a goal, remember the journey deserves to be commemorated too. To paraphrase another post by Kristen Lamb:

During the long trip across the desert, you don’t need to look further ahead than the next landmark. Then the next, then the next. Eventually, you will be on the other side of that desert.

Must-read Mash-up of LinkedIn Tips:

• Use LinkedIn Effectively by social media guru Chris Brogan
• Write Your LinkedIn Profile For Your Future– also by Chris Brogan (pay particular attention to his “next steps” at the end)
• Back To Work Tips for Stay At Home Moms– I agree with all of this!
• A LinkedIn Success Story about Getting Back Into The Workforce
• LinkedIn Directory of Writers by State (yep, you heard me!). This is a great place to go look for samples of other writers’ profiles.
• The Freelance Writer’s Guide to LinkedIn– the Urban Muse
• 10 Ways Writers Can Use LinkedIn To Find Freelance Gigs

Does this give you any new ideas about how to use LinkedIn? For those of you pursuing this crazy writing dream, what are your biggest fears? Did anything we discussed here help alleviate those fears?

Note: For more on "fear," click here to go to our "Fear Series."

Thanks for stopping by...Happy Monday!
Jenny

By Sharla Rae

Have you ever people-watched and tried to guess by facial expressions and body movements what people are feeling or thinking?

This non-verbal communication of emotion, state of mind or state of physical well-being is known as body language.

Body Language is one of the most artistic and useful tools in the writing craft.

The art:

Writers paint word visuals of a character’s movements in the reader’s mind and this art  is crucial in making our characters look and act like real people rather than stick characters moving around on the page.

The tools:

I demonstrated how to use body language as a tool to eliminate clunky saidisms in my blog, “Dialogue Tags: How To Kill Some Of The Little Buggers,– showing who’s speaking rather than telling.

Body language may also be used to set the tone or atmosphere in a scene. Example: A character tips his hat low, ducks his chin into his coat collar and cowers in the shadows. His body language suggests a tone/atmosphere of mystery.

Body language includes facial expressions. There are approximately 90 muscles in the face used to show emotion. The tilt of the head, eye contact or lack of it, the set of eyebrows, forehead lines and lips all tell a tale.

One of my fav TV series is Lie To Me. It’s a detective show based on the science of facial expression. It uses Paul Ekman’s research on micro-expressions and it’s fascinating. I’m told the series has been canceled but you can view episodes on Hulu.com/

The key to great body language is simple. Choose the “right” descriptive or action verbs. 

Joe walked/ran across the street. Shows a stick character moving from point A to point B

OR:  Joe’s eyes darted, paused then shifted again before he scurried across the street.

Scared spitless, she dropped her keys and tried several times before she finally unlocked the door. TELLING!

OR:  The keys jangled and she dropped them twice, before jiggling the right one into the lock.  SHOWS the woman's anxiety

The same verb may show two entirely different emotions depending on the context of the scene.

Example: The teacher hoverednearby . . .  Was the teacher hovering because she thought a student might cheat? Or was she perhaps worried the class bully would try to harm another child?

Example:  . . . snapped a sharp salute. This could mean the exact opposite of what it appears on the surface.  Does it mean respect or is it a sarcastic nonverbal comeback? Either meaning works depending on the content.

Example:  . . . crossed his arms over his chest . . . This could mean waiting impatiently, anger held at bay, putting up a personal barrier or the person is content and relaxed. Again it would depend on the context.

A word of caution: Too much body language is as bad, if not worse than none at all. If arms, legs and heads are moving all over the place, it’s distracting and just plain silly.

Below, is a list of body language phrases.

I’ve included a very comprehensive list, organized by the type of body movement, hand and arm movements, facial expressions etc. In some cases, a phrase fits more than one heading, so it may appear twice. Possible emotions are given after each BL phrase unless the emotion is indicated within the phrase. (They are underlined for emphasis, not due to a hyperlink.)

Note: I’ve included a few body postures and body conditions as they are non-verbal testimony to the character’s physical condition.

Have fun and generate your own ideas. :-)

Eyes, Brows and Forehead 

arched a sly brow:  sly, haughty
blinked owlishly:  just waking, focusing, needs glasses
brows bumped together in a scowl:  worried, disapproving, irritated
brows knitted in a frown: worried, disapproval, thoughtful
bug-eyed:  surprised, fear, horror
cocky wink and confident smile:  over confidence, arrogant, good humor, sexy humor
eyes burned with hatred: besides hatred this might suggest maniacal feelings
eyes flashed: fury, defiance, lust, promise, seduction
eyes rolled skyward: disbelief, distrust, humor
forehead puckered:  thoughtful, worried, irritation
frustration crinkled her eyes
gaze dipped to her décolletage: sexual interest, attraction, lust
gimlet-eyed/narrowed eyes: irritation, thoughtful, mean, angry
gleam of deviltry:  humor, conniving, cunning
kept eye contact but her gaze became glazed: pretending interest where there is none/bordom
narrowed to crinkled slits:  angry, distrust
nystagmic eyes missed nothing (constantly shifting eyes):  Shifty
pupils dilated:  interested, attraction to opposite sex, fear
raked her with freezing contempt
slammed his eyes shut:  stunned, furious, pain
squinted in a furtive manner:  fearful, sneaky
stared with cow eyes:  surprised, disbelief, hopeful, lovestruck
subtle wink:  sexy, humor/sharing a joke, sarcasm
unrelenting stare: distrust, demanding, high interest, unyielding

Place To Place, Stationary Or Posture

ambled away:  relaxed, lazy
barged ahead:  rude, hurried
battled his way through the melee:  desperate, anger, alarm
cruised into the diner:  easy-going, feeling dapper, confident
dawdled alongside the road:  lazy, deliberate delay for motives, unhurried, relaxed
dragged his blanket in the dirt:   sadness/depressed, weary
edged closer to him:  sneaky, seeking comfort, seeking protection, seeking an audience
he stood straighter and straightened his tie:  sudden interest, sexual attraction
held his crotch and danced a frantic jig: demonstrates physical condition - he has to pee
hips rolled and undulated:  sexy walk, exaggerating for sex appeal
hovered over them with malice/like a threatening storm: here it’s malice, but one may hover for many reasons.
hunched over to look shorter:  appear inconspicuous, ashamed of actions, ashamed of height
leaped into action feet hammering the marbled floor:  eager, fear, joyous
long-legged strides:  hurried, impatient
lumbered across:  heavy steps of a big man in a hurry
minced her way up to him: timid, sneaky, insecure, dainty or pretense at dainty
paced/prowled the halls:  worried, worried impatience, impatient, diligently seeking pivoted on his heel and took off:  mistaken and changes direction, following orders, hurried, abrupt change of mind, angry retreat
plodded down the road:  unhurried, burdened, reluctant
practiced sensual stroll:  sexy, showing off
rammed her bare foot into her jeans: angry, rushed
rocked back and forth on his heels: thoughtful, impatiently waiting
sagged against the wall:  exhausted, disappointment
sallied forth:  confident, determined
sashayed her cute little fanny:  confident, determined, angered and determined
shrank into the angry crowd:  fear, insecure, seeking to elude
sketched a brief bow and assumed a regal pose: confident, mocking, snooty, arrogant skidded to an abrupt halt: change of heart, fear, surprise, shock
skulked on the edges of the crowd: sneaky, ashamed, timid
slithered through the door:  sneaky, evil, bad intentions
stormed toward her, pulling up short when: anger with a sudden surprise
swaggered into the class room:  over confident, proud, arrogant, conceited
tall erect posture:  confidence, military bearing
toe tapped a staccato rhythm:  impatience, irritation
tottered/staggered unsteadily then keeled over:  drunk, drugged, aged, ill
waltzed across the floor:  happy, blissful, exuberant, conceited, arrogant

Head Movement

cocked his head:  curiosity, smart-alecky, wondering, thoughtful
cocked his head left and rolled his eyes to right corner of the ceiling:  introspection
droop of his head: depressed, downcast, hiding true feelings
nodded vigorously: eager
tilted her head to one side while listening:  extreme interest, possibly sexual interest

Mouth And Jaw

a lackluster smile:  feigning cheerfulness
cigarette hung immobile in mouth: shock, lazy, uncaring, relaxed casualness
clinched his jaw at the sight:  angered, worried, surprised
curled her lips with icy contempt
expelled her breath in a whose:  relief, disappointment
gagged at the smell: disgust, distaste
gapped mouth stare:  surprised, shock, disbelief
gritted his teeth:  anger, irritation, holding back opinion
inhaled a sharp breath:  surprise, shock, fear, horror
licked her lips:  nervous, sexual attraction
lips primed: affronted, upset, insulted
lips pursed for a juicy kiss
lips pursed like she’d been chewing a lemon rind: dislike, angry, irritated, sarcasm
lips screwed into: irritation, anger, grimace, scorn
lips set in a grim line: sorrow, worried, fear of the worst
pursed her lips:  perturbed, waiting for a kiss
scarfed down the last biscuit:  physical hunger, greed
slack-mouthed:  total shock, disbelief
slow and sexy smile:  attraction, seductive, coy
smacked his lips: anticipation
smile congealed then melted into horror
smile dangled on the corner of his lips: cocky, sexy
smirked and tossed her hair over her shoulder:  conceit, sarcasm, over confident
sneered and flicked lint off his suit: sarcasm, conceit
spewed water and spit: shock
stuck out her tongue: humor, sarcasm, teasing, childish
toothy smile:  eagerness, hopeful
wary smile surfaced on her lips

Nose

nose wrinkled in distaste/at the aroma
nostrils flared:  anger, sexual attraction
nose in the air:  snooty, haughty

Face in General

crimson with fury
handed it over shame-faced
jutted his chin: confident, anger, forceful
managed a deadpan expression:  expressionless
muscles in her face tightened:  unsmiling, concealing emotions, anger, worried
rested his chin in his palm and looked thoughtful
rubbed a hand over his dark stubble:  thoughtful, ashamed of his appearance
screwed up her face:  anger, smiling, ready to cry, could almost be any emotion
sneered and flicked lint off his suit: conceit, derision, scorn

Arm and Hand

a vicious yank
arm curled around her waist, tugging her next to him:  possessive, pride, protective
bit her lip and glanced away:  shy, ashamed, insecure
brandished his fist:  anger, threatening, ready to fight, confident, show of pride
clamped his fingers into tender flesh:  anger, protective, wants to inflict pain
clenched his dirty little fists: stubborn, angry
clapped her hands on her hips, arms crooked like sugar bowel handles:  anger, demanding, disbelief
constantly twirled her hair and tucked it behind her ear:  attracted to the opposite sex, shy crossed his arms over his chest: waiting, impatient, putting a barrier
crushed the paper in his fist:  anger, surrender, discard
dived into the food: hunger, eager, greedy
doffed his hat:  polite gesture, mocking, teasing
doodled on the phone pad and tapped the air with her foot:  bored, inattention, introspection
drummed her fingers on the desk:  impatient, frustrated, bored
fanned her heated face with her hands: physically hot, embarrassed, indicating attraction
fiddled with his keys: nervous, bored
firm, palm to palm hand shake:  confident, honest
flipped him the bird: sarcastic discard
forked his fingers through his hair for the third time:  disquiet/consternation, worry, thoughtful
handed it over shame-faced:  guilt, shame
held his crotch and danced a frantic jig:  physical need to relieve himself
limp hand shake:  lack of confidence, lack of enthusiasm
propped his elbow on his knee: relaxed, thoughtful
punched her pillow:  restless, can’t sleep, angry
rested his chin in his palm:  thoughful, worried
scratched his hairy belly and yawned:  indolent, bored, lazy, relaxed, just waking
shoulders lifted in a shrug:  doubtful, careless discard
slapped his face in front of God and country:  enraged, affronted/insulted
snapped a sharp salute:  respect, sarcastic gesture meaning the opposite of respect
snapped his fingers, expecting service:  arrogant, lack of respect, self-centered
sneered and flicked lint off his suit
spread her arms wide: welcoming,  joy, love
stabbed at the food: anger, hunger, determined
stood straighter and smoothed his tie:  sudden interest, possible sexual interest
stuffed his hands in his pockets: self-conscious, throwing up a barrier
sweaty handshake:  nervous, fearful
touched his arm several times while explaining:  sign of attraction, flattery, possessive
wide sweep of his arms:  welcoming, all inclusive gesture, horror

Sitting or Rising

collapsed in a stupor:  exhausted, drunk, drugged, disbelief
enthroned himself at the desk:  conceit, pronouncing or taking ownership
exploded out of the chair:  shock, eager, anger, supreme joy
roosted on the porch rail like a cock on a hen house roof:  claiming ownership, conceit, content
sat, squaring an ankle over one knee:  relaxed and open
slouched/wilted in a chair and paid languid attention to:  drowsy, lazy, depressed, disinterest, sad, totally relaxed, disrespectful
squirmed in his chair: ill at ease, nervous, needs the bathroom

Recline

flung himself into the bed: sad, depressed, exhausted, happy
prostrated himself: surrender, desperate, miserable, powerless, obsequious, fawning, flattering
punched her pillow:  can’t sleep, anger, frustrated
threw himself on the floor kicking and screaming: tantrum

Entire body and General

body stiffened at the remark:  offended, anger, alerted
body swayed to music:  dreamy, fond memories, enjoys the music
bounced in the car seat, pointing:  excitement, fear, eager
cowered behind his brother:  fear, shyness, coward, desperate
curled into a ball:  sorrow, fear, sleepy, defensive
heart galloping:  anxiety, joy, eager
held his crotch and danced a frantic jig
humped over his cane, each step shaking and careful: pain, aged
inhaled a deep breath and blew out slowly: buying time to find words/thoughtful, reconciled
quick and jerky like rusty cogs on a wheel:  unsure of actions, self-conscious, tense, edgy
rocked back and forth on his heels:  impatient, cocky, gleeful
manhandled the woman into a corner:  bully, anger
slumped shoulders: defeat, depressed, sad, surrender
stiff-backed:  priggish, haughty, affronted
stood straighter and straightened his tie:  sexual interest, wants to make an impression
stooped and bent: aged, arthritic, in pain
stretched extravagantly and yawned:  tired, bored, unconcerned
sweating uncontrollably: nervous, fear, guilt
tall erect posture:  confidence, military bearing
was panting now at:  afraid, exhausted, out of breath, sexual excitement

Helpful web links and books:

I didn’t have much luck with web sites on Body Language as most dwelled on the body language between men & women instead of the  entire spectrum of emotions. The books are more detailed and interesting.

• Data Face: wonderful and very interesting site that explains facial expressions and how to read them.
• Reading Facial Expressions: This site is mostly about the science and psychology of reading faces.
• List of facial Expressions: Shows the facial expression and explains them
• How to Read A Person Like A Book: This is a great book that explains body language better than most of the web sites I found.
• The Naked Face: by Sydney Sheldon: Again this book is better than anything I found on the Internet.
• Paul Ekman’s books (mentioned above) look extremely interesting. Check out his website and his books listed below.

What The Face Reveals
Emotions Revealed, Second Edition
Unmasking The Face: A Guide To Recognizing Emotions From Facial Expressions

If you know of a great web site on body language, please share! What body language gives you the most trouble in your writing?