body language creative writing

Cheat Sheets For Writing Body Language

What is body language and how do you use it when you write? Use these cheat sheets to help you with your body language descriptions.

What Is Body Language?

People react to situations with micro-expressions, hand gestures, and posture. Most of us are not even aware of them. However, what we do with our body language has a huge impact on other people and how they interpret and perceive us.

‘Even when they don’t express their thoughts verbally, most people constantly throw off clues to what they’re thinking and feeling. Non-verbal messages communicated through the sender’s body movements, facial expressions, vocal tone and volume, and other clues are collectively known as body language.’ ( Psychology Today )

Body language happens when we are doing something. We could be sitting, standing, or walking. We could be talking or thinking . Body language is often an involuntary reaction to something perceived by one of the five senses .

How To Use It In Writing

Using body language is one of the best ways to show and not tell when we write.

This is why we are always told to use body language in our writing. Sometimes, it’s easier said than written. So, I created these cheat sheets to help you show a character’s state of mind through their body language.

When you are completing your character biographies , be sure to include how your main characters move and talk. This is especially important for your protagonist , antagonist , confidant , and love interest . They are the characters that hold the story together and they should be as well-rounded and believable as possible.

The Top Five Tips For Using Body Language

Use body language to add depth to dialogue .
Use it because more than 50% of human communication is non-verbal.
Use it to show how your character’s emotions affect their actions.
Use it to help you show rather than tell your reader everything.
Use it in moderation. If overused, it can slow your story down.

TIP: Use our Character Creation Kit to create great characters for your stories.

Use this list to help you with your body language descriptions. It will help you to translate emotions and thoughts into written body language.

Obviously, a character may exhibit a number of these behaviours. For example, they may be shocked and angry, or shocked and happy.

Use these combinations as needed.

Use our Character Creation Kit to create great characters for your stories.

If you enjoyed this, read:

The 17 Most Popular Genres In Fiction – And Why They Matter
How To Write A One-Page Synopsis
123 Ideas For Character Flaws – A Writer’s Resource
The 7 Critical Elements Of A Great Book
All About Parts Of Speech
Punctuation For Beginners
5 Incredibly Simple Ways to Help Writers Show and Not Tell
5 Instances When You Need To Tell (And Not Show)
The 4 Main Characters As Literary Devices
106 Ways To Describe Sounds

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Top Tip : Find out more about our workbooks and online courses in our shop .

Body Language , Creating Characters , Show Don't Tell , Writing Tips from Amanda Patterson

53 thoughts on “Cheat Sheets For Writing Body Language”

Wow….that’s probably one of the most useful lists I’ve ever seen…thanks!

Very useful…simply superb. Will be handy for me when I sit down to write next time.

A mullion trillion thanks for this incredibly useful page of “show” instead of telling. Thank you xx

I would have liked to pin this on pint rest 🙁

This is the best of the “show” lists I have either made or found. Superb.

Love, love, love these! Thanks for compiling them. I’m going to share them and put them in a file to resource. Michelle Random Writing Rants

This is very useful.

Its really helpful….

great post really!!! thanks for sharing

This is one of the most helpful writer’s guide posts I have ever seen. It is so hard not to write “He looked at her in awe”, but think about the specific body language in that situation. It also helps think about the traits a character can have… Every person is different so one can even put individuality into the writing by giving certain characters characteristic emotional expressions.

Thank you so much for sharing this!!

Thank you, Kimberley.

I know I’ll be referring back to this list often. Thank you so much for sharing.

Thank you, Melissa.

Perhaps this is the best way to hone up the writing skills of one’s own and I should be very thankful to you for helping the writers through this .

This is dangerous if astute advice. Anything that aids progress writing is useful, but anything that aids progress stops you thinking – and it is only by thinking that he universe opens a portal and pours out something original.

Great information not only for writing but observation of these behaviors in action. As a school counselor I am interested in non-verbal cues from others.

Great work! high degree of observation! really impressed.

This is great. There is one word that comes up SO OFTEN that it is distracting to me as a reader and that is “gaze.” People are gazing at things, at each other, they’re gazing all over the place. One time I counted the number of times “gaze” was used in a book and found an instance of 5 times in 4 consecutive pages. But another book used “gaze” 5 times in 4 consecutive PARAGRAPHS. Why the editors don’t catch this is beyond me. My favorite “gaze” quote from a book is, “Her brown gaze settled upon the distant mountains.” That didn’t make me think of her brown eyes. My first thought was that she was seeing smog! Is it strange to say a color with “gaze”? I’ve also seen something like, “His blue gaze swung up.” (the man was driving at the time) It sounds strange to me, but maybe that’s just me. The book with the distant mountains sentence used “gaze” heavily from the second page all the way to the second to the last paragraph! It was painful to read. I got rid of the book.

Very helpful to have this all in one place! Thanks!!!

Thank you! This is great! 🙂

Thank you for this post. It’s very helpful.

This is a good list. But I believe we can always be a little more creative in mixing them up to denote various degrees and subtleties in an emotion.

Yes, Ayan. As it says in the post: ‘Obviously, a character may exhibit a number of these behaviours. For example, he may be shocked and angry, or shocked and happy. Use these combinations as needed.’

These cheat sheets are worth their weight in gold! Thank you for taking the time to put them together.

AWESOME! I was just speaking with a friend who mentioned I needed to do this a little more. Thank you so much.

such an amazingly helpful post! Thank you!

Thank you. We’re glad you find this useful.

Melody, Would have ditched that book too. That’s just bad writing.

Please send me any further articles you put out. This one is very helpful. It makes us aware of the use of each movement as a symbol of inner thought. Thanks

This is the most helpful article I have read about telling vs. Showing. Thank you.

Thank you, Wendy.

Thanks for this really usefull I find that I use the same emotions over and over.

Thank you! This is an excellent reference for a desirable result.

“Excellent list,” she said, rubbing her hands together and grinning. ; ) Thank you!

Thank you, Melissa! I love it!!

Excellent!!

I read this very useful and generous article on stumbleupon.com Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me!

Thank you for the positive feedback. I’m pleased that this helps.

Thank you for this :))

Thanks for the helpful post! Great resource for the scripts I’m co-writing.

Simply superb compilation ! No more adjectives.

Thank you! We’re glad that you find these lists helpful.

Very useful! Thank you so much!

What a succinct and useful list!

“Unfortunately,” (pause, lips pursed indicating deliberation and thought) “these are almost” (stress on final word, downward tilt of the head with slight inclination to the left as the speaker maintains gaze on listener indicating mock-serious intent) “entirely” (extra stress on this word, head lifts and turns full-on indicating intent) “cliché” (jaw firms, slight downward shift of the brow, eyes narrow indicating mild annoyance.) “Sorry” (head lifts, jaw pushes out, eyebrows raised indicating belligerence and complete lack of genuine apology).

quite informative, and precise. thanks.

i’m highly grateful to you, thanks a lot n million, may god bless you a long and happy life

This is so useful! Thank you, thank you very much!

OMG! I impressed to read it. Really, you are doing good job.

Very informative thanks!

I need something different for pleading. and it’s not on the list. Why is the emotion I want not almost never on the lists? xP (Arg)

Comments are closed.

Body language master list for writers

“Show, don’t tell” is the first lesson of Fiction Writing 101, and one of the easiest and quickest fixes is to replace the emotional adverbs and adjectives with some body language.

For example, instead of “He said, sadly,” you could write, “He said with tears welling in his eyes.” Or, for a deep point of view, skip the “he said” and just write “Tears welled in his eyes” instead of a dialogue tag.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes when writing I get stumped. What body language goes, with, say, exasperation? So I Google it and spend half an hour going down a research rabbit hole. So I started assembling a cheat sheet I could refer to quickly, without getting distracted.

This is that cheat sheet.

Shaking fist Pointing finger Stabbing with finger Slamming fist on table Face flushed Veins throbbing in neck Jutting chin Clenched fist Clenched jaw Eyebrows lowered Eyes squinted Teeth bared Wide stance Tight-lipped smile Invading personal space Touching or rattling someone’s belongings or drink Rapid breathing Sweating Unwanted touching or flicking Moving one leg back into a fighting stance Invading personal space Flared nostrils Puffed chest Lowered, gravelly voice Insulting gestures Mock attacks Sudden movements Wide, exaggerated gestures Pursed lips Red face Slamming or punching things

Anticipation

Rubbing hands together Licking lips Unable to sit still Grinning

Throwing head back Slapping thighs Clapping hands Shaking with laughter Shaking head with a grin

Lips pressed together Eyes narrowed Rolling eyes Exasperated sigh

Fidgeting Twisting a ring Chewing on a pencil Biting lip Swallowing Quickened breathing Holding breath Eyes darting Sweating Clammy hands High-pitched laughter Hunched posture Pacing Stuttering Playing with hair

Attentiveness

Furrowed brow Leaning forward Sitting up Taking notes Mimicking body language

Jaw dropped Frozen in place Fixed gaze

Yawning Avoiding eye contact Tapping feet Twirling pen Doodling Fidgeting Slouching

Clasping arms behind body Lifting head Chest pushed out Standing tall Making firm and precise movements

Head tilted Narrowed eyes Furrowed brow Shrugging

Lifted chin Pursed lips Sneering Stretching Turning away Waving hand dismissively

Lips twisted Half-smile Shaking head Lips pressed together into a slight frown Rolling eyes

One-sided shoulder shrug Looking down Scratching nose, ear, or neck Feet kicking out Shuffling feet Sudden change in demeanor Hesitation in speech Shifting eye contact Long blinks Shrugging Inappropriate smiling or laughter Shaking head “no” while saying “yes” Licking lips Covering or touching mouth

Defensiveness

Crossing arms or legs Placing something in front of body Hands in pockets Holding hands palms up

Winking Looking up through eyelashes Glancing over shoulder Making eye contact Touching hair Touching clothing Straight back Thumbs in belt loops or pockets Dilated pupils Arching Stretching Women crossing and uncrossing legs

Eyes open wide Eyes narrowed Twisted mouth Crinkling nose Creased brow

Crinkling nose Curled lip Flinching Turning away Covering nose Gagging Eyes squinted shut

Displeasure

Fake smile Pouting Frowning Crossing arms

Rubbing neck Wide eyes Rapid breathing Hitting a wall Huddling in a corner Clasping hands over head Rocking Wringing hands Running hands through hair Adjusting cuffs Men holding hands in front of crotch

Chin up Chest out Shoulder back Hard handshake Leaning back with hands behind head and feet up Steady eye contact Hands on hips Straddling chair

Leaning forward Nodding Wide eyes Steady eye contact with raised eyebrows Hand on heart Double-handed handshake Feet pointed inwards

Embarrassment

Blushing Stammering Covering face with hands Bowing head Looking away Looking down Blinking back tears

Rubbing eyes Staring into space Yawning Stretching Nodding off and jerking awake Gritting teeth Closing eyes Moving slowly Slouching

Delayed reactions

Sweating Shaking Eyebrows raised and pulled together Wide eyes Mouth slightly open

Curling into fetal position Contorting face Slumping Covering face or head with hands, arms, or pillow Staring Shaking Sobbing Trembling Turning away Difficulty swallowing Drooping eyelids

Smiling Laughing Humming Crinkling eyes and nose Swinging arms Spinning Dancing Jumping Hugging Giggling

Shaking fists, hands twisted into claws Bared teeth Throbbing vein in neck Sweating, red face, tightness in skin of face Flared nostrils Scathing tone Shouting or screaming Turning away or leaving when the other person arrives, changing plans to avoid them

Maintaining eye contact Smiling with whole face Looking up Palms up Open arms

Nodding quickly Tapping fingers Sighing Checking the time Tapping feet Increasing voice pitch Looking away

Tight lips Sour expression Narrow eyes Crossed arms

Physical closeness to someone, leaning against each other, sitting together so legs touch Obsessively checking for messages, constant texting Doodling love interest’s name with a heart Improving appearance, dying hair, exercising more Affectionate touches, playful shoving Smiling at nothing, beaming, silly grid Using pet names, terms of endearment Listening to love songs

Overwhelmed

Palms to forehead Splayed fingers over eyes Staring into space with wide eyes Gripping something

Playfulness

Winking Waggling eyebrows Nudging Smiling Tickling

Head tilted back Slightly parting lips Eyes wide Eyes closed Slow, languorous movements Stretching Arching back Flushing Rapid breathing Fast pulse

Possessiveness

Handshake with arm clasp Hands around shoulders, neck, or waist Placing hands on a wall around someone Standing in their personal space angled towards them Running a knuckle down someone’s cheek Staring at people if they get too close

Shaky laughter Letting out a huge breath Looking up in silent prayer Raising hand for a high five

More at Writers Helping Writers and even more here by Kathy Steinemann .

Arms crossed Hands in fists Dragging feet Pinching nose Hands over ears

Droopy body Bowed body Wrapping arms around yourself Hesitating movements Bottom lip jutting out Quivering lip Crying Sobbing Shaking Dragging feet

Secretiveness

Tight-lipped smile Hands in pockets Looking away Covering face Looking down

Slumped shoulders Looking down and away Burying face in hands Bowed head Straight mouth

Hands over mouth Mouth open Gasping Freezing Staring with wide eyes Raised eyebrows Smacking palm against forehead Stepping back

Blushing Avoiding eye contact Keeping distance from others Backing away if others come too close Arms folded Head bent Hugging the walls

Slight close-lipped smile One raised eyebrow Slightly tucked chin Enigmatic smile Raised eyebrows Steepled fingers

Wide eyes Wrinkled forehead Slack or open jaw

Narrow eyes Glancing sideways Raised eyebrow Rubbing eyes Shaking head Blowing out cheeks Frowning Tightening lips

Thoughtfulness

Steepled fingers Pinching nose Closed eyes Tugging on ear Stroking beard Stroking chin Furrowing brow Narrow eyes Tilted head Lips pressed together Chin resting on hand Leaning back and looking up

Threatening

Shaking fist Pointing finger Stabbing with finger Slamming fist on table Face flushed Veins throbbing in neck Jutting chin Clenched fist Clenched jaw Eyebrows lowered Eyes squinted Teeth bared Wide stance Tight-lipped smile Invading personal space Rapid breathing Sweating Unwanted touching or flicking Moving one leg back into a fighting stance Invading personal space Flared nostrils Puffed chest Touching or rattling someone’s belongings or drink

Holding hands together above head Tilting back head and yelling Pumping fist in air Jumping Roaring Whooping

Other Resources

A couple of years ago, I bought a copy of a book titled The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression , part of the Writers Helping Writers series.

I would still prefer a print version, though, to keep it on my physical bookshelf for easier and faster access.

Another book that covers some of the same ground is The Writer’s Lexicon: Descriptions, Overused Words, and Taboos by Kathy Steinemann.

Do you have any other suggestions for how to convey emotion through action or body language? Let me know in the comments and I’ll add it to the list!

And if you want more writing advice, I do a weekly round-up of the best writing advice articles from all around the web . Check it out!

Edited by Charles Hand

Maria Korolov

MetaStellar editor and publisher Maria Korolov is a science fiction novelist , writing stories set in a future virtual world. And, during the day, she is an award-winning freelance technology journalist who covers artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and enterprise virtual reality . See her Amazon author page here and follow her on Twitter , Facebook , or LinkedIn , and check out her latest videos on the Maria Korolov YouTube channel . Email her at [email protected] . She is also the editor and publisher of Hypergrid Business , one of the top global sites covering virtual reality.

4 thoughts on “Body language master list for writers”

This is a great list. Thank you for sharing this. I did notice one type of emotion that could be helpful to have.

What would be some good options for a serious character? It becomes a bit repetitive to say that the characters are serious, especially if readers would already know this from what is being discussed.

I have thought of locking eyes, a narrowing of the eyes, leaning forwards and taking a deeper breath. Would there be any others you would recommend?

Depends on what you mean by serious. If you mean thoughtful, then you’ve got all the actions that does someone is thinking — taking off their glasses, looking up, furrowed brow, frowning, adding things up on their fingers, making notes, etc.. If you mean serious as opposed to playful, there’s frowning again, tapping your foot, etc… But if you want to show that someone is a serious person, just have them do hard things effectively.

This is wonderful, thank you!

Thank you for sharing this!! There are so many facial gestures and/or expressions I don’t know how to describe…this is awesome! Thank you!

Body Language for Writers: Your Ultimate Guide

46 Remarkable Comments

46 Comments

“Don’t tell me the entire apartment is under water.” Curly scratched his head. “I scuba dived only in the living room.”

You read the dialogue lines above, and you immediately know about the situation: Curly is confused.

And the reason you know exactly what’s up is, you guessed it, the fitting description of body language. Body language is added in just four tiny words. But those four words add a lot of depth to the scene!

Let’s say you wanted to give your entire scene a completely different meaning. All you would have to do is change that body language snippet. Just read the dialogue again, but this time replace the body language part with one of the following parts:

Curly shook his fist. (He is pissed at somebody and maybe threatening them.)

Curly sniffed back his snot. (He is devastated.)

Curly grinned and rolled his eyes. (He is a looney bin and a little destruction doesn’t faze him.)

Yes, that little description of physical movement is so powerful it gives your scene a completely different context. You describe a lot with very few words. But at the same time, you achieve much more:

The physical snippet makes you visualize the scene; it puts the graphic image of a wide-eyed guy with his fingertips in his hair into our heads.
It also brings some nice variation to your dialogue; it’s more interesting than a plain, boring dialogue tag (“ Curly said ” or “ Curly stuttered ”).
It reveals character and unstable emotion – you know you are dealing with a pretty whacky, entirely confused guy (with potentially wild hair, “ Curly” ).
And finally, it adds some physicality to your story, as opposed to just “blah, blah, blah” dialogue and scenic description. It makes for well-balanced speech.

All of this is the power of using body language.

In this post, read:

Which 4 other options besides body language you have to demonstrate dialogue
The worst mistake you can make with body language
How to get to perfectly fitting description of body language

And like always, oh esteemed reader, a tasty, tasty free download is on the menu. This time, it’s a 2-sheet-summary of this post; it will give you a quick overview of its most important points.

Print it out, and put it next to you on your desk, so you have it in front of you while you write. Or just store away safely in a drawer and forget about it:

Now raise your eyebrows and drop your jaw in delight, because here is my complete Body Language 101 , summarized by five quick tips that will help you with “puppeteering” your characters:

1. Use Body Language Only From Time to Time

Sneak your body expressions into the mix unobtrusively. Don’t forget that you have several other options to “tag” and break up your dialogue lines:

You could just leave the dialogue line standing alone (“Let’s go to the party then!”)
You could use a dialogue tag (“Let’s go to the party then,” Eleonora squeaked.)
You could describe what the characters are doing (“Let’s go to the party then!” Eleonora held the invitation out to him.)
You could describe what else is happening in the scene (“Let’s go to the party then!” Suddenly the doorbell rang.)
You could describe a facial expression, posture or movement of the character who is speaking and put it directly before or after his dialogue line, to let the reader connect the dots himself (“Let’s go to the party then!” Eleonora’s face lit up.)

Try to vary these options, so none of them gains the upper hand and becomes annoying. That way you will get a well-balanced and structured scene that pays equal attention to dialogue, characters and descriptions.

When you insert body language, always do it in passing and don’t give any extra weight to what you describe.

How to Use Body Language in Dialogue (5 Tricks)

Emotion: Angry

2. no explanation, just body language.

“So surely you can tell me where you were on the evening of the twenty-second of October?” George asked with eyes narrowed to slits because he felt very suspicious about Blake’s story.

This example does both, showing and telling. That’s one too many, and the too many one is the telling part! Cut out “ because he felt very suspicious about Blake’s story. ”

When you write like this, you also take your reader for stupid. Let her connect the dots herself – if she has followed the story, she will know why George’s eyes are pressed to slits.

Write it like this instead: “So surely you can tell me where you were on the evening of the twenty-second of October?” George asked with eyes narrowed to slits.

That’s much better, now we don’t even have to go inside George’s head artificially (“ George felt suspicious ”); we can just describe objectively what the reader sees. By laying out our dialogue and scene well, we can be certain she will know what’s up.

Conclusion: Whenever possible, don’t name the feeling, but just show the body language. And definitely never put both of them (body language and description of feeling) together in the same sentence.

3. Have a Very Clear Idea of What Your Character Is Feeling

“Randy held one hand in his other behind his back, then suddenly stroked his throat while he was leaning towards Linda.”

What’s happening here? Nobody knows, Randy’s behavior is too much. As far as we are aware, it doesn’t make any sense. It seems like the writer pays attention to the undertones so much, that in the end he is not really depicting anything but undertones…

Don’t write so cryptically that nobody can understand where your character is coming from. A single description of body language at a time is absolutely enough. You, the author, always have to be clear about what your characters are feeling. And the characters’ body language has to match their feelings.

Emotion: Overjoyed

4. follow your intuition when describing body language.

Your best bet is to take it from yourself . Imagine you feel flattered by an enormous compliment, like the best compliment ever . What expressions would your face, your arms, your body be making? Totally immerse yourself in the feeling like a good actor, and see how your body responds.

Remember the last time you felt really envious about somebody?

Use that memory to immerse yourself in the feeling for a second and ask yourself how your body would react. I bet you are super imaginative, so you can do it!

Reading a book about body language is also an excellent idea. The Definitive Book of Body Language by Allan and Barbara Pease is a very systematic and comprehensive guide to everything you ever wanted to know about body language. I recommend it whole-heartedly.

Emotion: Happy? (Different Rules for Aliens)

5. several types of body language you can use.

Facial expressions: The human face is an endless source of expressions. Think of raised eyebrows, tightly pressed lips, blown up cheeks, wrinkled noses, wide eyes, frowned brows, poked out tongues, widened nostrils… most feelings show through several features
Body postures: Crossed arms, legs wide apart, foot put forward, leaned back upper body, spread elbows, locked ankles, body pointing away, tilted head… all of these have something very distinctive to say
Body movements: Adjusting tie, nibbling on temple of glasses, tapping foot, raising hand with palm toward opposite, flicking hair, putting hands in pockets, grabbing the other’s upper arm, scratching one’s nose… do you know what all of these mean?

These are just some pointers. Try to come up with authentic, unique expressions you have noticed with yourself or with people around you.

And there you have it, 5 quick tips. Which means it’s…

Writing Prompts Time

“I will never again come to one of your parties,” Paul said angrily.

“What does this headline say about the Labour Party?” Annabelle asked curiously.

“You better not break your fingers when your drive in that nail,” Jill said in an amused tone of voice.

“Come on! Go, go, go, go, Aaaaaalbert!!” They cheered him on excitedly.

“That rain is a drag,” Ernesto said sadly.

“Thank you very much,” she said, visibly flattered.

Equipped with all of this knowledge, you now have an extremely elegant and effective way to describe what’s really happening under the surface of your dialogue. You can now go and fill your characters with overflowing emotions and life.

Once you manage to describe the body language of your figures accurately, they will automatically take on a life of their own: Your reader will feel like they were standing next to him in his living room.

And they will embrace them and love or loath them whole-heartedly…

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46 Remarkable Comments. Join in!

I came over here to your blog because I was looking for something for my character to think, feel, see after passing out on the lawn.

“Come on! Go, go, go, go, Aaaaaalbert!!” Elise and Brian ran along the sidelines till Albert’s wheelchair disappeared around the bend.

Hey Alice, I guess you mean this post: https://www.ridethepen.com/description-5-senses/

What you are describing is more action than body language. Try to think of what they look like when they cheer him on: Their facial features, their limbs, etc… Imagine you are cheering on your best friend; describing becomes pretty easy then!

Everything I thought about the last ten days seemed to be action. I must write a lot of action in my draft. I have to check that out when I get back from visiting my mother. I’m probably too late with a revised sentence but here goes.

“Come on! Go, go, go, go, Aaaaaalbert!!” Brian wrapped his arm around Elise as she raised her eyes toward heaven.

Greetings! I usually try to show emotion in my characters’ body language. I learned a lot from this post and even picked up a few extra pointers along the way. Thanks for this brilliant view into the body language of characters!

At your service! 😉

This was extremely helpful. I was so over he said, she sneered or they laughed, etc. I have used body language but you have given me a great tool to use it correctly and sparingly. I love reading all your helpful hints!

It’s Diane House…lol…I spelled my own name wrong!

Glad it helped, Diane. Just keep on using body language with these little hints in mind, and soon it will become second nature to you!

Hey Alex, Thanks for another great post. So helpful and full of good reminders as usual 🙂

Thanks, Anne! Enjoy!

AWESOME! Really?

From my Thesaurus: Awesome (as in “amazing”) adj. : inspiring awe or admiration or wonder; “New York is an amazing city”; “the Grand Canyon is an awe-inspiring sight”; “the awesome complexity of the universe”; “this sea, whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath”- Melville; “Westminster Hall’s awing majesty, so vast, so high, so silent”

These 9 comments are QI – quire interesting – not AWESOME!!

Aren’t we writers? Can’t we calibrate simple language better than this?

“I will never again come to one of your parties,” Paul said angrily. This could be changed to: “I will never again come to one of your parties.” Paul’s face flushed.

One small note: In this example, So surely you can tell me where you were on the evening of the twenty-second of October?” George asked with eyes narrowed to slits. Why not just say , “George’s eyes narrowed to slits” and leave out the tag asked.

I like it. You would just have to make sure that the context tells us the flushed face comes from anger (and not, for example, embarrassment). The rest of the scene would hopefully make us understand that.

George example: Yes, you could definitely do it like that too. Your example sounds more elegant, but both are fine.

Ah, I like Paul. Playing with that character is fun.

Here are couple more:

“I will never again come to one of your parties,” Paul said with fists balled.

“I will never again come to one of your parties,” Paul hissed through clenched teeth.

Flouncing out of the room would be more action than body language. But it sure makes an interesting picture 🙂

Good old Paul…

Nice, Will, all of these make very clear and interesting examples.

Maybe I wouldn’t ask Paul again, if he’s going to make a scene. And I would say that with great determination. How I would look, I’ll leave to the imagination.

Right, that guy should throw his own party.

I steal inspiration from your FABULOUS analogies, Alex. Your point about SHOW, don’t tell is perfect for marketing. SHOW, don’t tell others how great you are. Even picked up reminders to vary facial expressions when public speaking. Not just gestures and body movements. Thanks for being a wealth of information. Dreaming of watching you repair overcooked body language during live demos on the Medium platform.:) ~Keri

Hey Keri! Ha, “telling a story” with your face when public speaking sounds like good advice. Us humans just love, love, love emotions…

I have no experience with public speaking, BUT my webinars will be coming soon to you guys. Watch out for them! 🙂

If Curly’s name indicates that he has curly hair, then surely we can guess what Randy is thinking as he leans in towards Lisa??!! ( https://www.thefreedictionary.com/randy ) Mind you, in Australia we probably wouldn’t assume that a guy called Curly has curly hair. It might even be more likely that he has dead straight hair (just as guys called Shorty tend to be really tall here). Or maybe the poor guy got a really bad perm 20 years ago that his mates will never let him forget? Info re body language is great. Thanks

Hi Pip! We will never know what motivated Curly’s parents. I guess we just have to take that fellow as he is. And yes, sometimes it’s not “nomen est omen.” Good writing!

I hate to be a party pooper, but the first sentence is punctuated incorrectly. Curly scratching his head is an action tag, not a dialogue tag, so the comma should be changed to a period.

“Come on! Go, go, go, go, Aaaaaalbert!!” Sheila cheered him on jumping and wildly waving her arms like a mad woman as he rolled his way across the finish line at the Paralympics last.

Sad, but well resolved, Pamela.

Here’s the rest of the scene:

Albert was grinning ear to ear. He finished the race. The girl he loved climbed the barricade rushing to him happy tears running down her face destroying her mascara yelling, “You did it, you did it! I knew you could!” Sheila threw her arms around him. The participation medal hung like gold as he puffed up his chest welcoming her embrace. He was first in her heart.

Happy end!!!

Much thanks for the post! I always pick up something new here. My take is always, we’re artists. Unlike mere painters, we have to entice the reader to see, feel, even taste what we do. Telling is fine for journalists. We paint with words.

Cheers to us and to enticing and seducing the reader!

“Never again,” Paul shouted, waving his fist in her face/banging the table/thrusting his face into hers. “Never again will I come to one of your parties.”

Thanks for a great post – as always.

Now that’s some anger and aggression there.

You are very welcome, Linda!

“Never again…” Paul was seething, “Will you see me at one of your damn parties.”

Perfectly fine; however, it’s not body language.

Showing… Telling… and dialogue… They all need to be worked together.

The following is an excerpt from my novel ‘SHARKNOSE’ – “Seeing that toyshop has just reminded me of something” (lrd.to/sharknose)

The scene takes place in a small bar in Milazzo – Sicily.

Two older men looked up as he approached their table. The elder of them raised his eyebrows in silent question.

Harris shook his head, “No… niente, signor Grappelli”.

The man answered him in thickly accented English, “Nothing,… Mister Harris? You are quite sure about that?”

Boyd nodded, “I’m certain,” he shrugged, “Look… I know the man.” he drew out a chair and sat down before continuing, “For a moment, I wondered… but it became clear… Woodward has found nothing.” He sipped at the ice cold beer, “The British customs stripped the car and searched it… If anything had been there, they’d have found it… They’d have arrested him… It seems like Vicario had either got rid of them, or had hidden them elsewhere… They weren’t in his car… at least, not by the time it got to Woodward… I don’t believe they were ever there at all.”

“Really, Signor Harris?” The man nodded thoughtfully, “I am not really surprised, my friend… Thank you for your help.”

They looked up as the door opened to admit two young women dressed in impractical heels, brief miniskirts and tops, cheap jewellery, and not much else. Boyd glanced at them. Somehow they didn’t look like tourists.

Grazzianu Grappelli continued, “It seems to be likely that Pontichello found them. He took the car just before he had Vicario eliminated… The fool signed it over in exchange for his miserable life… what is it you Inglesi say? His ‘pride and joy’, yes?” Boyd nodded. The old man smiled, “Yes, he gave away his pride and joy, hoping to live.” He spat out a bitter laugh, “Hah! A fat lot of good that did him, eh? but it would have given Pontichello enough time to search for them if they were hidden there, don’t you agree?”

CORRECTION: The extract above is from DEADWEIGHT – “In my book, that’s almost always murder”, (lrd.to/deadweight) not Sharknose. Sorry for the error (Boyd Harris appears in both novels)

Keep them coming, Chris!

“You better not break your fingers when your drive in that nail,” Jill said, eyebrows raised and smirk firmly in place.

I can see a blue thumb.

Paul tightened his grip on Tom’s throat. “I will never again come to one of your parties,” he shouted, flinging Tom’s lifeless body to the floor.

“Thank you very much,” she said, her cheeks suffused with a crimson glow, as the divested herself of her clothing.

Oh, this exercise is fun…I like it!

Perfectly fine and sounds like a fun story, Anne. However, you didn’t resolve the first line with body expression. The second one you did, and it worked really nicely.

Hi Alex, Here’s my take on, “Thank you very much,” she said.

“Thank you very much,” she said, lowering her head, trying to hide the flush that crept over her face.

I love it; it tells us a lot and blends in perfectly with the narrational flow.

Prompt: “That rain is a drag,” Ernesto said sadly.

Ernesto’s shoulders slumped as he stared out the window, a long sigh hissing through his teeth. “That rain is such a drag,” he murmured, pushing his fingers through his hair. I pressed my lips tight as he threw a weak punch to the windowsill. “Why today, of all days?”

Let me go get my anti-depressants real quick…

Hi Alex, A view from the other side. It’s a pleasure to read the ideas for improving writing that you develop even though, ultimately, I’m on the outside. I write non-fiction, for high school students and non-specialized general public, in Spanish. The body language ideas are very good, but I don’t have the freedom to “be so creative”, that freedom, in my case, is basically a danger. Greetings! José

Hola Jose, I understand, your writing has to stay within certain parameters, no creativity allowed. Maybe one day you will want to tip your toe into the pond that is creative writing.

Saludos a Chile!

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Writers in the Storm

A blog about writing.

A Look at Body Language in Writing

by Ellen Buikema

More than half of human communication consists of body language, which we use to communicate feelings, thought, and ideas without speech. Body language impacts other people’s perception and conveys our emotions far more than we think it does. Physical descriptions of what our characters are doing allows us to show-not-tell what is happening to them internally. It is one of the simplest ways to give the reader a feel for characters’ depth of mood and attitude.

Can you communicate well with others if you sit on your hands? I tried to and discovered that I don’t express myself as well. I’m a hand-gesturer. Plus, with COVID-19 upon us, I’ve realized how often I touch my face!

I also move around a lot, especially if I’m nervous. The first time I taught a classroom full of adults, I paced the entire time. Thinking back, I wonder if I made anyone dizzy.

Simple tasks require a surprising amount of movement.

Here’s a quick exercise that will give you a feel for how many movements you actually make. It will help you determine the balance needed between dialogue and description in your writing.

Choose an activity you commonly do at home or at work. It can be as small a task as sitting in a chair, working on the laptop, or other computer keyboard. Here are a few possible questions to get you started.

Where are your hands when not on the keyboard?
Are you leaning in, or away?
Do you cross your legs?
Crane your neck?
Arch your back?
Tap your finger on the mouse?
Use the dog as a footrest?
Lift the cat off the keyboard?
Roll your eyes?

Write out what you are physically doing, making a conscious effort to write all the steps you take. The first time I tried this I was shocked at how many little steps are involved in doing even simple tasks. Weave these descriptions into your manuscripts to help your characters come alive.

Other Body Language Recommendations

Showing Emotion

Make a list of the emotions your main characters exhibit along with the accompanying body language. Think about how your main characters move and react. How does your antagonist look when she is amused? What body language does your protagonist use when angered?

Avoid repetitive gestures.

Repeating gestures can be annoying. Certainly, it feels forced. Not every character should clench their fists or waggle their eyebrows. One character can habitually use the same gesture now and then, but not everyone. (Although thinking about a town full of people waggling their eyebrows makes me chuckle.)

Use vivid action verbs.

Choosing the right verb helps express the emotion you want to convey. For example, there are many ways to walk and each alternative verb implies an emotion. We can:

stride into a room
sashay down the boardwalk
lumber across the floor.

Each of the three verbs is a form of walking, all with different nuances. Each paints a distinct picture.

For dialogue tags, said is never wrong. Unfortunately, I find myself using smile, laugh, and nod. My current Work In Progress had a whole lot of nodding going on. After someone brought this to my attention, I did a "nod search" on my Word document and was appalled by the many cheerful yellow highlights.

Wise words from my editor about empty words and gestures. (Those are pauses between lines of dialogue that don’t advance a scene or characterize.) She said, “If you point something out by putting it down on the page, it needs a reason to be there. Your job during your editing phase is to second guess every image you put down on the page and make sure it’s clearly what you mean.”

Don’t overdo.

Too many descriptors make readers focus on the details instead of the feelings you want them to experience. Or worse, it gives readers a chance to trip on the details and get pulled out of the story. Meaningless details interrupt the flow.

As with all else in writing, put just enough body language in your prose to get your point across.

About Ellen

Author, speaker, and former teacher, Ellen L. Buikema has written non-fiction for parents and a series of chapter books for children with stories encouraging the development of empathy—sprinkling humor wherever possible. Her Work In Progress, The Hobo Code , is YA historical fiction.

Find her at http://ellenbuikema.com or on Amazon .

Image by Ri Butov from Pixabay

18 comments on “A Look at Body Language in Writing”

Such a great topic! I often find myself getting up and acting out a scene when I'm writing so I can know what the movements and sensations are! I also struggle with finding ways to convey body language that are concise and accessible, but not over-used. My characters always seem to shrug, nod, and raise their eyebrows LOL. Thank goodness for that "search" box that shows me how often they do that! On the other hand, sometimes those "standard" words are just fine because they get the job done without drawing attention to themselves. Being too creative can break the flow of the scene. Another aspect of our craft that requires a balancing act!

Being too "flowery" can definitely pull me out of the story I'm reading.

Acting out the scenes makes a big difference!

Smiling, shrugging, and nodding are on my hit list for my first editing pass.

Our eldest daughter's Freshman year English teacher gave her class a list of forbidden words. This made writing more difficult, but seriously improved her writing.

Hit list! The perfect term.

My characters smile all over the place as well. That find feature is humbling.

Excellent post. I find that my cozy characters roll their eyes and shrug, whereas my Gothic characters glance nervously and have racing hearts. And even nonverbal cues that might look the same--I'm thinking smiling and grinning--have different connotations depending on which word we use.

I love The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. It really gets me thinking about all the different ways we express our emotions and it's a treasure trove for writers who need new words to describe how a character is thinking or feeling.

Thanks for the great post!

And you have the second edition, right? They added 30÷ things!

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!

When we say, "show not tell" body language is definitely a HUGE part of that.

Absolutely. The show is all about body language.

Amy, thank you for your recommendation. I'll check out The Emotional Thesaurus.

It's interesting to note the different uses of body language in various genres. I'm glad you brought that up.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

People watching is ALWAYS fun.

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

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How to Describe Body Language in Writing

The body can speak without uttering a word. In some real-life situations, body language is used to save lives or sign death penalties—i.e., a kidnapping victim can use facial expressions or hand gestures to signal to police or civilians that they’re in trouble.

In fiction writing, which is what we’ll be talking about in this post, body language has numerous uses, some of which the writer does not originally intend on when writing.

Body language is an effective non-verbal form of communication, and it adds depth and brings realism to a fictional story as the characters seem a little bit more alive when they use their bodies to communicate.

What Is Body Language?

Body language includes facial expressions, body posture, hand gestures, and other body cues that can be used to nonverbally communicate with other people.

These actions may be intentional or unplanned, but they have an impact on other people’s perceptions of us.

Body Language is Important, this is Why

So, why use body language?

We indeed talk a lot when trying to communicate with others but people mostly communicate using body language (like more than half of the time). When we are writing fiction, we use dialogue to insert breaks into the narration and body language is another great way of doing that. With body language, the characters aren’t just speaking, but they’re also revealing their personalities to the reader.

That adds a lot of depth to your fiction writing; the reader is shown—not told—how the characters show their emotions, and the body language reveals the characters’ distinct mannerisms.

Show, Don’t Tell!

The sacred rule of fiction writing—you’re allowed to be fluid, exercise some anarchy, or be divergent, but you CAN’T break this rule.

That’s a NO-NO. A cardinal sin!

Even with body language, you don’t have to tell the reader what’s happening; you have to show it! You have to get the reader into the story’s environment and give the precise feelings of the characters.

Almost impossible, right?

If you think that’s impossible, then you shouldn’t be a writer (at least not a fiction writer). You can only add depth using body language if you let the characters own those body cues, not the narrator.

I’ve written some words and phrases for you in a later section, jump to this section to see what words can be used to incorporate body language in your writing.

How to Use Body Language in Your Writing

1. facial expressions.

The face is the first body part when we think about communication. Even in real life, facial expressions are easier to read than other types of gestures and body cues (maybe that’s why “clowns at a kids’ party” is usually a good idea).

You can use facial expressions to show sadism, astonishment, anger, and a lot of other things.

2. Gestures

I know a lot of people that talk with their hands and sometimes they use their hands to do things without uttering a word. Characters are fashioned after real people so your readers would understand if your characters spoke using hand gestures.

One example would be when a villain uses a finger gun to tell a character that they were going to get killed.

The thing with hand gestures is that they can be interpreted differently in different cultural contexts. For example, you could use the middle finger in a certain cultural space and it wouldn’t have some vulgar implication.

Posture refers to the way our bodies are fixed when sitting or standing. Posture can also be used to show how a character behaves as himself as his bodily stances.

You can use posture to show the reader whether your character likes to sprawl or sit with legs crossed, assume a drooping posture, or stand tall.

Posture can be used to tell your readers a lot about your characters. For example, Straight posture indicates that you are interested in a conversation.

You can use implications like that to show one character’s reaction to another character’s speech or a group discussion.

A person might be saying something and the tone or pitch of their voice might be saying a completely different thing. That’s how important a person’s tone of voice is.

For instance, if a talkative person says “I’m happy” or “I’m okay” in a very slow, low pitch, they’re probably lying—they’re not okay and surely not happy.

You can change your characters’ tones to show the readers that the character’s mood has changed or that they’re hiding something.

5. Physical appearance

The way we look says a lot about us. Someone whose ‘house is in order’ is usually clean, clean-shaven, and looks smart. Bad times can be reflected in a character’s appearance.

Imagine seeing an ex-coworker, say an accountant, with a huge beard and in dirty clothes, would think that they are still employed?

So you can use physical appearances to show your readers what kind of characters are in your story. You can also use physical appearance to twist the narrative and unravel some truths at the end of the story—like a homeless person turning out to be an undercover rich guy.

You can use tattoos, pants sagging, hairstyles, facial hair to paint a picture of your character.

Touch can be used to show a lot of emotions and actions. You can use gestures that relate to touch to show aggression, tenderness, or other actions.

There’s so much information that a single touch can convey.

A soft continuous caressing of a lover’s hand or other body parts might indicate affection and set the mood for romance in some instances, and a punch in the face shows aggression and sets the mood for a fight.

Tips for Using Body Language

1. use it to strengthen dialogue/add depth.

I’ve already said that we speak more with our body than our mouth—more nonverbally than verbally. So if you hugely rely on dialogue to demonstrate how your characters communicate, you’re making your story less realistic (Not that it’s a must that a story should follow real-life patterns).

Body language helps you give your characters more depth and sets up a relatable, interactive feel for the readers.

In my other posts, I’ve also said using the simple ‘he said, she said’ dialogue tags is always effective . But… It’s also good to show who is speaking instead of telling your readers, and you can use body language to show how the character spoke.

You need to have a realistic balance between dialogue and description in your fiction writing.

2. Use It to Show Rather Than Tell

You may feel like I’m overstressing this point because I said it at the beginning of the post and in the first part of this section.

But it’s the sacred rule, and once you break it, you’re no longer a good writer. Simple!

So, always observe this rule.

3. Don’t Overexploit Body Language

If you use body language unconscionably, you will realize diminishing returns. Too much body language will slow your story down.

Everything has to advance your story, so you don’t need body language if it’s retarding the story’s development. Body language should be added to add something to the story, not take something from it, although it’s okay if you intentionally use body language to slow down your story.

4. Use Body Language to Connect Your Character’s Emotions with Their Actions

If you want your characters to be as realistic as possible, you have to show your reader that the characters’ emotions, thoughts, and actions are linked.

Body language has to correlate with the way your character acts or reacts to situations and set the reader for the impending actions.

Body Language Words and Phrases

Here are some of the phrases and words you can use to describe body language in your writing. These are just a few but a lot of them, and you can also make your own phrases.

Arms akimbo
A vicious yank
Arm curled around his waist
Bit her lip
Fast, shallow breathing
Clenched his dirty little fists
A deadpan expression
A lackluster smile
A toothy smile
Crossed his arms over his chest
Palm to palm handshake
Gritted his teeth
Fists shaking
Darting eyes
Blood rushing to head
Laid her chin in her palm
Fingers spread like claws
Tensed muscles
Eyes burned with hatred
Pursed her lips
Ambled away
He shivered
She cowered
Hunched over
Rubbing temples
She rubbed her forehead
Clenched jaw
Tall erect posture
Sketched a brief bow
He balled his fists
His body shook
She trembled
Swaggered into the hall
Blitzed into the room
Eyes flashed
He stroked his beard
He scratched his nose
He scratched his head
He tapped his fingers on the table

Books On Writing Body Language

I don’t think you can master the art of writing body language by reading a couple of blog posts or by using tips from other authors. There are books that can help you learn and become good at writing body language.

Here are some of them:

1. The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression

2. The Writer’s A-Z of Body Language Paperback

Final Words

Over the years, I have come to realize that to become a good writer, there are a lot of things that you have to learn and master. You don’t have to go to a special school, but you still have to learn aspects of writing that improve you as a writer.

Using body language to express emotions, reactions, and add depth is one such aspect that you have to master. If you separate yourself from the characters, it’s going to be harder to express or use body language. But if you put yourself into the character’s state of mind and try to behave like they would, figuring out how they’d use body language to react to things or communicate is going to be easy.

One thing you must do is let your characters speak, whether by acting out some scenes or using the personalities.

If you nail the body cues, your readers will instinctively understand the characters’ impressions and will be able to understand what’s going on without needing your narrations.

Easier shown than said.

Awesome Resources for Creative Writing: Body Cheat Sheets

December 29, 2015 By Andy Peloquin

Writing Body Language: Bringing Your Characters to Life

Body language is an essential part of bringing your characters to life, and yet, many writers struggle to find a balance between drawing no attention to the characters’ body language and obsessing over the way their characters move. If you don’t describe how your characters move in a scene, you’re missing out on a lot of opportunities to showcase their personality, while forcing them to move through emotional scenes like robots. Too much focus on body language, however, can come across as redundant, pointless, and boring.

If you struggle to convey realistic body language in your stories, don’t feel bad! Many other writers are in the same boat. With a little bit of help and direction, you’ll be adding subtle movements and gestures into your writing without even thinking about it in no time!

Why Body Language is Important in Writing

Nonverbal cues make up a large part of communication, so if you aren’t drawing attention to how your characters move and emote, your readers will be missing elements of what they’re communicating.

Not only that, but body language has many important uses in stories, such as:

Keeping dialogue interesting
Setting the tone of the scene
Conveying emotion
Hinting at hidden emotions, deception, and true feelings
Hinting at relationships between characters, such as tension, romantic feelings, or distrust
Illustrating parts of a character’s personality

Finally, body language is a key element of utilizing the technique “Show, Don’t Tell.” By using body language to indicate certain emotions, relations, and personality traits, you are allowing readers to make inferences about these things themselves. This can help to further invest readers into your story by making them feel like they are playing a part in deciphering what is going on. It is also much more fun to read than statements like “he felt angry” or “he looked at her sadly.”

If you want some guidance on how else you can use this technique, check out my other article Show, Don’t Tell: What It Is and How to Use It .

Using Body Language to Enhance Dialogue

It’s no secret that long stretches of dialogue and lengthy conversations often feel like they’re dragging on. When characters are talking for more than a few pages, it can start to get really tiring.

One of the ways you can combat this is by describing what the characters are doing as they are conversing with one another. If the conversation is tense, are your characters behaving nervously? Are they fidgeting? If they’re arguing, what are they doing with their hands? Are they gesturing wildly, or standing stiffly in one place?

Not only does this narration give readers a refreshing break from the dialogue, but it also gives the characters’ words more meaning. You can add context to the conversation by showing how the characters are feeling, moving, and emoting.

One of the easiest ways to seamlessly integrate body language into a dialogue-heavy scene is with action beats. If you want to know more about that, check out the article Action Beats: What They Are and How to Use Them .

How to Show Body Language for Different Emotions

Body language is one of the easiest ways to convey how a character is feeling, since different emotions can influence the ways a character moves and the gestures they use. Drawing attention to a character’s body language can be a subtle way of hinting at how they’re feeling.

It’s important to keep in mind that not everyone experiences or expresses emotions in exactly the same way. Keep your characters consistent, and always take their personality into account when writing their body language. For example, a particularly stoic character may not emote dramatically, while a nervous character could behave more exaggeratedly.

Keep in mind that this article is focusing mostly on body language . If you want to know how to write about facial expression, you should check out How to Describe Facial Expressions in Writing next.

Excited Body Language

Excitement can be an overwhelming emotion. Excited characters are likely to have an abundance of energy, and without a way to talk about their excitement, they may feel as if they are about to explode.

Remember that energy is the most important element of portraying excitement, so bring a little extra energy into everything the character does—whether that’s stirring soup or stocking shelves.

To show that your characters are excited, you could have them:

Gesture wildly
Talk a lot
Take up a lot of extra space in a scene, by gesturing wildly, being loud, or drawing a lot of attention
Bounce around
Cry happy tears
Laugh loudly
Be completely unable to sit still
Grab onto others, and even shake them around
Cross their arms or tuck their hands under their arms to control them
Place a hand on their chest
Clap their hands together
Cover their face with their hands or peek through their fingers
Randomly burst out giggling or laughing

If the character cannot properly contain or vent out their excitement, they can become restless, which results in fidgeting, speaking quickly or loudly, pacing around, and having trouble focusing. This is especially the case with children, who are often not emotionally mature enough to contain intense excitement.

Excitement may also turn into anxiety as whatever the character is excited about draws near, since they may fear it won’t go as planned or meet their expectations.

Happy Body Language

When a character is feeling happy, then they will be at peace with their surroundings, comfortable, and relaxed. There can also be a lot of overlap between happiness and excitement, however, so make sure you take that into consideration when determining how your character would be moving.

Being in a good mood can result in your character having more patience for situations they otherwise wouldn’t, and their body language will reflect that. A happy character is likely going to be calm and receptive, and they may smile often, maintain eye contact longer, and gesture animatedly as they speak. They are also far more likely to touch others, especially those they are comfortable around or care about.

To show that your character is feeling happy, you could have them:

Prop their head up on one arm and stare lovingly at something or someone
Touch another character on the shoulder
Laugh often
Playfully shove or swat at another character
Lock their hands behind their head
Whistle or hum
Skip, or walk with more bounce than usual
Sit cross-legged or in a relaxed position
Twist, bounce, or wiggle
Clasp their hands together
Lean back or settle in a relaxed position
Angle their body (or even lean) towards another character
Speak with a bubbly tone

Each character is going to have different behaviors, and those behaviors may change depending on the context. A naturally playful character will likely express joy more bombastically, while a more reserved character may only show small signs, such as a small smile and a relaxed posture.

Angry Body Language

Anger is one of the easiest emotions to identify with body language. Anger is powerful , and it can be hard to conceal, so it typically results in many telltale signs.

An angry character may:

Clench their fists
Lean towards other characters or intrude on others’ personal space
Bare their teeth
Widen their stance and stand tensely
Bang on tables
Throw things, or pretend to do so
Gesture aggressively, such as waving fists, imitating striking something, or stomping
Cry, though maintain an aggressive stance
Spit while they speak
Point or jab at other characters
Get red in the face

Anger makes people want to lash out, so in addition to behaviors like those listed above, you can weave aggressive gestures into everything the character does. If you’ve ever seen anyone aggressively buckle a seatbelt or angrily organize a stack of mail, then you know what I mean.

However, not every character is going to be willing to give in to their anger, and they may be more conscious of their own body language. Characters who want to control their anger will behave differently, though it should still be equally obvious to readers how the character is feeling. If a character is at work or otherwise in public, then they are much more likely to try to keep a lid on their anger.

When a character is trying to control their anger, they may:

Force a deadpan expression
Breathe slowly and deliberately
Stand tensely, without moving much or walking around
Speak in a low tone or keep their voice down
Stand straight up with their shoulders squared
Cross their arms
Rub their face, temples, neck, hands, or arms
Cover their mouth
Pretend not to care about whatever is making them angry
Take a walk

Angry body language is also very similar to tense or frustrated body language. A tense character may be more likely to freeze up or shut down, while a frustrated character will gradually get more aggressive if they cannot escape from what is frustrating them.

Nervous Body Language

It is usually easy to tell when a character is nervous because they will have a lot of restless energy to deal with—which often results in a lot of fidgeting. Nervousness is a precursor to fear, but it also has a lot in common with embarrassment.

Nervous characters are likely to:

Pick at things, such as their nails and lips or objects around them
Play with their hair
Tap on objects or other parts of their body
Chew on their lips or nails
Glance around the room and behind themselves
Move stiffly
Sway slightly as they stand
Tremble, both with their body and their voice
Avoid eye contact with others

Depending on what is making a character nervous, they might try to conceal their nerves. At a job interview or date, for example, a character is likely to try controlling their nerves by using a variety of coping mechanisms, such as focusing on their breathing, keeping their hands in their pockets, or talking constantly to avoid awkward silence.

While we’re on the topic of controlling nerves, have your nervous character also engage in self-soothing behaviors when they are nervous, such as:

Running a hand through their own hair
Rubbing the back of their neck
Humming quietly
Sighing or clearing their throat
Pinching the bridge of their nose
Rubbing their hands together
Wrapping their arms around their upper body (or around their knees, if they are seated)

These motions are always going to be specific to the character, so pick a few per character and try to keep them consistent whenever the character in question is feeling nervous.

Nervousness is about more than just body language. Check out How to Write a Nervous Character for more tips on writing about your character’s nerves.

Scared Body Language

When a character gets scared, the first thing that will happen is the “ fight or flight ” response will be triggered, causing a release of adrenaline. This causes dilated pupils, trembling, quickened heartbeat, fast breathing, and flushed skin. Characters will suddenly experience a rush of energy, and they may react to stimuli (such as noise or touch) quickly—or even violently.

This adrenaline response is instinctive, and it allows a person to protect themself when they are in danger, by giving them the energy to flee or fight off the threat. However, your characters are likely to get spooked in situations where a threat isn’t easily identifiable—or even present at all. Characters could be scared of another person, a concept, a specific animal, a loud noise, and any number of other things. Regardless, that adrenaline response is still going to impact them the same.

A character who is scared may:

Grab onto other characters or objects suddenly
Recoil, lean away, or retreat several steps
Cover their face with their hands
Wrap their arms around their torso
Hold their arms up as if to strike at something
Drift away from whatever is frightening them
Angle their body away, as if prepared to run at any moment
Flinch at the slightest noise, feeling, movement, etc
Chew on something, such as their own lips, nails, clothing, hair, etc
Shake or flap their hands around to “shake off” the adrenaline
Shrink themself away, drawing their limbs close to their body
Hide behind another character or object
Stare at something intensely
Avoid eye contact
Sweat profusely
Hyperventilate
Go pale or flushed
Speak quickly and repeat words, or not speak at all
Speak in a hushed, shrill, or raspy voice
Clench their jaw
Force a smile
Clutch their hands together tightly
Stumble or act clumsily

Another unfortunate consequence of adrenaline is nausea. This nausea will be worse the longer a character is frightened, and if they aren’t able to use their adrenaline, they will be left feeling shaky, sick to their stomach, and with a throbbing headache. It is not uncommon for someone to throw up as a result of being frightened.

Sad Body Language

Unlike many of the other emotions described above, sadness results in a lack of energy. Everything your character attempts to do will consume much more of their energy, and they may simply give up on simple tasks such as showering or making dinner.

Sadness is not the same as depression (depression isn’t an emotion, but a medical condition), but there is a lot of overlap between the two states—especially in regard to body language.

A character who is sad may:

Move much slower than usual
Curl up in a ball when seated
Have bad posture
Act lethargic
Snap at others or show signs of anger or frustration
Drag their feet as they walk
Have a slow reaction time
Keep their head angled downward and look at the ground
Zone out (stare off at nothing, with little to no awareness of what is going on around them)
Swallow more audibly and frequently
Cover their head, face, ears, or neck with their hands
Lay their head on a surface, like a table or wall
Hide their face in the crook of their elbow
Speak in a low, monotone voice
Wipe or rub at their eyes and face
Press their palms against their eyes
Let their hair hang in front of their face
Blink rapidly or look to the sky to keep tears from slipping out of their eyes
Breath slowly and deeply

Sadness can make everything seem much harder to do, and if your character is truly sad, they may not have the energy to even try to do anything. They are also likely to be more apathetic about everything, and not see the point of putting in the energy to shower, eat, or get enough rest. Characters who are experiencing intense sadness, grief, or depression may also self-harm or turn to substances like alcohol to cope.

If your characters are using alcohol to cope with sadness, then that is going to completely change the body language they display and the way you should write it. If you want help with that, you should check out How to Write a Drunk Character next.

Disgusted Body Language

Disgust, like fear, is an emotion that is driven by instinct. Humans experience disgust to keep them away from things that could infect them or make them sick in some way. Anything that is considered offensive (or potentially harmful) to any of the five senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound) can elicit a disgusted reaction—for example, the smell of rotten food or the sound of something gooey being squished.

However, disgust can also be triggered by another character’s political ideas, hobbies, behaviors, or preferences. That also means that disgust can be influenced by culture, since certain foods or behaviors might be considered normal in one culture, but gross and unacceptable in another. Disgust, when directed at another person’s traits or behaviors, is more often described as “contempt,” but that emotion also comes with an inherent sense of superiority.

When a character is disgusted, the most important thing to keep in mind is that they will be doing whatever they can to get away from the thing that is disgusting them. A character experiencing disgust may also:

Recoil, or take several steps back
Cover their mouth with their hand
Squint their eyes
Feel nauseous
Flinch or recoil at being touched, or at feeling certain objects
Swallow hard and often
Gag or choke
Shake their head side-to-side
Stick out their tongue
Avoid being touched
Close their eyes
Hold their arms up by their torso or chest
Cover their nose, ears, eyes, etc
Move away from other characters and maintain a large radius of personal space

The context for the character’s disgusted reaction matters tremendously. A character reacting to a nasty smell is not going to behave in the same way as a character who is learning about their aunt’s strange weekend plans.

The Body Language of Attraction

Every romance writer wants to know how to amp up the chemistry between their characters, and subtly weaving body language cues throughout the text is one of the best ways to do that. By having each character indicate that they are attracted to each other with their behaviors long before a real romance begins to bud, your readers will be more likely to accept the relationship between the two characters.

When a character experiences attraction for another character, they will experience a sense of awe (that “oh my gosh, they’re beautiful ” moment). This is commonly associated with a warm feeling in the chest, an increased heart rate, and dilated eyes.

A character who is attracted to another character in the room is likely to:

Point their feet at the person they are interested in, instead of pointing them away or in separate directions
Tilt their head to the side
Maintain eye contact with the person they are interested in
Blink faster than normal (but not like a Disney Princess fluttering her eyelashes)
Face their whole body towards the person they are interested in, instead of pivoting or turning their head to look at them
Run their hand through their hair in a big, sweeping motion, or twirling with the ends of long hair
Mirror the body language of the person they are attracted to
Stand up straight and puff out their chest
Speak with a lighter, softer tone to their voice
Steal glances at the person they are attracted to (especially when the other person isn’t looking)
Look at the lips of the person they are attracted to
Lick their lips
Smile often
Push the boundaries of personal space
Straighten out their clothes, fix their hair, or otherwise attempt to keep their appearance in-check
Maintain an open posture, such as with their hands behind their back, their arms at their sides, or their hands on their hips

There’s a lot that goes into conveying good chemistry between characters. If you want some more specific instruction for writing about chemistry, attraction, and love, head over to Romance 101: How to Write Characters Falling in Love .

Body Language and Personality in Character Creation

When you’re creating a new character, you should take the time to consider how they move, and the ways they cope with their emotions. In fact, the way a character moves is just as important as the ways they look or behave. Giving a character distinct body language can take a well-designed character and bring them to life in your readers’ imaginations.

Body language is a powerful tool for creating distinct characters. Every person in the world has their own specific ways of reacting to different emotions and situations, and everyone has different behavioral quirks. By taking the time to consider a character’s personal body language and the ways they gesture and move, you are adding in another layer of individuality that makes them unique.

When designing a character’s body language, it can be helpful to make a list of the most common emotions. (You can even take inspiration from the table of contents for this article!) Under each emotion, write out just a few distinct behaviors for the character to utilize in situations where they would feel that emotion. For example, maybe a character will always clear their throat when they get nervous, or they have a habit of tugging at their earlobe when they are happy.

Those aren’t the only behaviors the character can use, but they should always be present whenever the character is feeling the emotion in question. This keeps them consistent and allows readers to pick up on how that character is feeling as they get more familiar with them.

Avoid Excessive Use of Characters’ Body Language

Although body language is important to include in your stories, you should be careful not to overdo it. Humans (and other humanoids, of course) move constantly , but that doesn’t mean you should draw attention to every micro-expression and subtle gesture they make. Only point out the behaviors that are relevant to the situation, or those that illustrate something about the character in question. If you overdo it, body language can really clutter up your scenes and add a lot of unnecessary length to your draft. Remember writers, there is such a thing as “too much of a good thing.”

Shortcuts For Writers Online Courses And Editing Service

What if portraying emotions didn’t have to be so hard? Banish dull scenes with the Energize Your Writing Toolkit.

Will keep my imagination flowing.

“Having the toolkit at my disposal will give me material to reference back to and keep my imagination flowing. It will be a huge relief to not stop my writing process to ponder over how to describe nonverbal communication. I look forward to adding my own notes to the new binder I’ve just added to my shelf.” M.F. Adele

Staggering!

“The completeness of the attachment file is staggering. There’s something for every emotion!” J.T. Rath

Useful tool!

“Now that I am at the editing phase, I will be looking to replace my ‘telling’ with ‘showing’, thanks to this course and Cheat Sheets. Thank you for putting together such a useful tool to add to my toolkit!” Bobbie Carlton-Hess

Keeps your writing fresh and unique

“I appreciate the organized emotion lists. These definitely make writing faster and more engaging. It’s easy to get lazy with writing, especially when an idea is desperately trying to get out with lightning speed. This tool keeps your writing fresh and unique.” USA Today Bestselling Author Amy Proebstel

Are your characters acting a bit . . . boring?

All fiction authors yearn to create compelling characters. Unfortunately, your heroes, heroines, and supporting cast don’t always cooperate.

You’ve read books with wonderful characters you can’t stop thinking about and want your readers to react the same way. How fantastic would it be if your romance scenes sizzled, fight scenes crackled with tension, and sad parts stirred readers to tears?

There’s only one small problem. . .

☹️ When you sit at the keyboard, your mind goes blank. All that pops into your head are trite phrases like “ She looked at him ” and “ He smiled at her .”

☹️ You’ve been planning your protagonist’s big scene all day. The fury! The embarrassment! Then after a half hour of staring at the screen and hitting the backspace button, you write, “ Jill was mad and mortified .” You’d love to write something more original, but your muse has apparently ditched you and gone on vacation.

☹️ Your editor politely points out that you’ve used “glared” 44 times and “sigh” 57 times. “And why is everyone always taking a deep breath?” she asks. “It’s like they all have asthma.”

Imagine having a complete catalog of body language cues and other nonverbal prompts at your fingertips.

That means no more:

❌ Wasting time searching through a thesaurus or gazing out the window.

❌ Succumbing to laziness and glossing over pivotal scenes as you race to get the book done.

❌ Struggling to find alternate ways to describe an emotional phrase.

❌ Getting hung up on little details.

❌ Overusing trite phrases and body language cues.

Instead, you’ll:

✔️ Keep your imagination flowing and refresh your writing.

✔️ Easily come up with unique turns of phrase.

✔️ Replace telling with showing and write your story in a more balanced way.

✔️ Flesh out your characters by giving them added depth and believability.

✔️ Build your nonverbal library over time.

“This course is simply brilliant! The printables sit conveniently in a binder on my desk to refer to during all phases of the writing process. This course provides the knowledge to save authors hundreds in editing fees. Do we still need editors? Absolutely! However, they won’t have as much work to do to help you make your book the best it can be.” Lisa Hawes

Focused My Writing

“ The careful mix of dialogue, nonverbal communication, exposition, pacing, and outright creativity is essential to any fiction piece. This lesson served to focus my writing back to creating that seamless balance, particularly pertaining to nonverbal communication. Thank you for harnessing your talent to provide some of us Tasmanian Devils of frenetic writing production the opportunity to focus and learn something valuable.” Michelle Lovato

SAVES ME SO MUCH TIME

“ Energize Your Writing really has made it so much simpler to add rich, nonverbal communication to my writing without losing my focus and flow—now, I can easily flip to the relevant emotion in the toolkit and pick an appropriate phrasing in seconds.

I still usually end up personalizing the wording more on later drafts (and I love that there’s room in the Toolkit to add my own turns of phrase as I think of them), but it saves me so much time and gives me a stronger product to work with when revising. Less stopping + more writing=a happy writer! One of the really nice things is that, as I use the Toolkit as a reference more and more, I can feel myself slowly needing to refer to it less and less as I internalize more elements about the emotions that are common to my characters. ” Elijah M.

I can’t wait to tell you more about the toolkit! But first, let me introduce myself. Hi, I’m Stacy.

I help fiction and creative nonfiction writers of all levels who want to simplify the writing and editing process so they can save time and money. I do this through my online courses for writers and freelance developmental editing service.

I’m also a mom of two teens and have more than 700 books on my Kindle, an obsession with the TV show Supernatural, an addiction to doing the daily Wordle, and a bizarre fascination with office supplies and planners.

Initially, I created the Energize Your Writing Toolkit to strengthen the character emotions in my own books. It started out as a binder of messy, scrawled notes that no one else could decipher. (Don’t worry, it looks much more organized now!)

My binder was an invaluable resource as I wrote about amateur sleuths, theme park princesses, teen hockey players, and teen psychics, along with their supporting casts of friends, enemies, and love interests.

Here are a few Amazon reviews praising my characters.

Once I became a freelance editor, I realized that other authors could benefit from my body language and nonverbal communication cheat sheets also, so I gave my toolkit an upgrade. As you can see from the testimonials on this page, authors were grateful for the resource.

I’m thrilled since my goal is to save writers from overwhelm and help make their journey easier than mine was. As a freelance editor, I’ve helped hundreds of authors with their projects.

I’ve also taught workshops for organizations including Savvy Authors, Sisters in Crime, and numerous Romance Writer of America chapters, and have been a panelist and guest critiquer at many writing conferences.

I know what a difference a great writing resource can make and hope you’ll take some time to explore my toolkit.

Never craft a character emotion from scratch again and j ump-start your writing with a muse you can always count on.

Get the ultimate shortcut to fleshing out your characters’ behavior and reactions with the Energize Your Writing Toolkit: Cheat Sheets for Character Emotions . Most writers are so focused on plotting, creating dialogue, world-building, and meeting deadlines that they slack off on nonverbal communication.

As a result, scenes come across much less dynamic on the page than they were in the author’s head. Some writers can’t put their finger on what’s missing while others realize that the emotion is lacking, but don’t know how to fix it. When writers struggle with how to convey their characters’ feelings, it throws off their groove, slows writing pace, and can even stall a project dead in its tracks.

Agents and editors who evaluate these lackluster manuscripts make comments like:

“ Flat, cardboard characters.”
“Your characters need fleshing out.”
“Your protagonist’s motivation is unclear.”

If the book is published, readers post Amazon reviews saying they didn’t connect with the characters, disliked them, or found their actions unbelievable.

Those frustrations end today.

Transform your writing with this indispensable toolkit you will pull out again and again..

The Energize Your Writing Toolkit is the s mart and savvy way to make your scenes come alive. The toolkit contains jam-packed cheat sheets of over 4,000 emotional prompts, an overview of nonverbal communication for authors, examples from published books, a workbook, and a list of helpful tips.

Develop a system.

Put the pages into a binder that you can pull out whenever you need help showing a character’s emotions.

Get inspired.

Get inspiration when you’re stuck or scenes need more emotion. Use the phrases word-for-word, refine them, or mix & match.

Make it your own.

Use the blank lines and print extra pages to add your own phrases and categories. Or, just save the PDF on your desktop.

SHORT AND INSIGHTFUL

“I learned more than expected in such a short period of time. I found the material easy to comprehend and helpful in ways I wasn’t expecting. It has left me eager to go through my current WIP and fix a few issues that were pointed out. Will definitely be recommending this mini-course.” Maegan Fielder

“ The emotions cheat sheet will be a valuable resource in my edit of this novel and especially in the second that is in progress. The section on how to use the cheat sheets is a valuable resource in and of itself. Of course the actual sheets on each emotion are priceless. They went into areas that I had never considered when I wrote my first novel.” Daryle Lefler

Very helpful

“ The Energize Your Writing Toolkit was very helpful. I don’t have to look for synonyms online as often as before, and it has given me a way to organize my work. Many thanks. ” Mari

When you enroll in the Energize Your Writing Toolkit, you’ll get instant access to:

☑️ 4,000+ body language and nonverbal prompts that span 21 categories and numerous subcategories, all packaged inside a 100-page downloadable PDF, to guide you as you’re writing and editing

☑️ A walk-through video and detailed written instructions outlining how the toolkit works and tips to maximize its usefulness

☑️ Written lesson and video giving a solid overview of why nonverbal communication is important and how to work it into your book

☑️ 11-page workbook to identify your weaknesses and increase your awareness

☑️ 10 Hacks to Creating Characters That Jump Off the Page cheat sheet for even more energizing tips

You didn’t think I was done yet, did you?

In case you haven’t heard, I like to overdeliver! In addition to the entire Energize Your Writing Toolkit system, I’m also going to throw in 3 bonuses to help you invigorate those character emotions.

🥳 1. The Personality Playbook: 30 Secret-Weapon Questions to Ask Your Characters – Do you ever feel stumped about why your characters are acting a certain way? Or maybe you’re not sure what they would do next. Here is a great strategy that most authors overlook: talking to your characters. Interview your protagonist (and any other cast members) as if you were a reporter. Use these 30 days of journaling prompts to pick your characters’ brains and see what you uncover.

🥳 2. The Nifty Nonverbal Communication Navigator Wheel – Remember to sprinkle varied types of nonverbal communication into your book with this helpful reminder of categories. Post it near your computer or put it with your notes for easy reference.

🥳 3. The Emotion Energizer Wheel – Hang this by your desk for a refresher on the most useful emotions to give your characters more depth.

Are you ready to conquer stale phrases with your new writing companion?

Get lifetime access with a one-time payment of:

Excellent resource for writers.

“If you’ve been struggling to make your characters seem more alive, then the character emotions e-book & mini-course is for you!” Camille Flores

HELPFUL IN MULTIPLE WAYS

“I enjoyed this course for the twofold approach it takes. By providing the shortcut document, I know have a powerful weapon against repetition and the questions got me thinking about the importance of this.” Jordan Rath

WONDERFUL TIP SHEETS

“ I didn’t realize there were so many other emotional nonverbal cues I could use, including ones related to sight. I appreciate now that I need to dig more deeply into my characters’ emotional experience to find the right physical clues appropriate to them. All the wonderful downloads and tip sheets! They will all help me so much as I edit. It was great! I can’t wait to edit using these tips.”

You're protected by the Energizer No-Hassle Guarantee.

The Energize Your Writing Toolkit comes with a 100% unconditional money-back guarantee, so your purchase is risk-free. There’s a good reason my clients and students call me generous, professional, enthusiastic, and insightful. I puts tons of time and effort into creating my courses and stand behind everything I teach.

I’ve had a passion for writing and reading my whole life, and I love working with kindred spirits who have stories to tell. I want to help you tell the stories burning inside you and get you closer to your goals. I truly believe the Energize Your Writing Toolkit is an incredibly useful tool, and I guarantee that it is a high-quality resource.

Ask for a refund within 7 days if you don’t think the course is everything I promised, let us know why it didn’t meet your expectations, and we will grant your request. (Just don’t be one of those people who enroll knowing they are going to ask for a refund once they’ve downloaded everything, okay? We can see that on our end.)

GOOD WAY TO EXPRESS CHARACTER EMOTION

“This course won’t take much time to complete, but it will help a lot with using nonverbal communication in your fiction to express character emotion.” Ree Larsen

GETS YOU THINKING

“ I needed a reminder to consider nonverbal cues far more carefully. The toolkit is going to be handy when I write my next story.” Fiona Ayerst

Can Look Through IT TO Find What I'm Looking For

“ I’ve been working to incorporate nonverbal communication and found it difficult for a variety of reasons. I like that this is essentially a reference guide. I can look through it to find what I’m looking for and use that to guide me as I go or when I’m going back through my work.” A.M. Williams

Complete Catalogue

“ Such a complete catalogue of useful, common emotions and the associated gestures and body language will allow me to more easily pick and choose for any and every scene.” Liana Mackenzie

Made ME REALize a need

“ I’m in the middle of my first book, and I feel like I don’t have nearly enough nonverbal communication going with it at this point. It made me realize the need to include a lot more nonverbal communication in my stories—current and future.” Michelle A Nieves

Have a question before ordering? Let me help.

Q. What will happen once I purchase the toolkit?

A. Purchases will be made through the Shortcuts for Writers Thrivecart Learn platform. You will be directed to set up a password and will be granted access to the classroom where you will find the lessons, videos, and downloadable high quality PDF files. The catalog of nonverbal cues features 100 pages of 8.5 x 11 (standard) size printables with room for three-hole punching. The pages fit standard binders and folders.

Q. Can I get a physical copy of the Energize Your Writing Toolkit?

A. This purchase is a digital download only, so no physical items will be shipped to you. It’s recommended that you print out the document. Colors may appear or print different depending on printer and printer settings. There may be a print edition released at book retailers in the future. I will be asking those enrolled in the mini course for suggestions of improvements to make for future editions. I will also invite them to submit nonverbal samples for future editions. In the event of a new edition, an updated PDF version will be uploaded to the classroom, so you will get digital access to any future updates. If a print version becomes available and you would like a copy, you would need to purchase it separately through the retailer.

Q. How is this better than nonverbal communication books on the market?

A. First, it’s not just an e-book. It’s a system to help you deal with the tricky issue of character emotions. Second, many nonverbal communication books get bogged down in the mechanics and psychology of body language and you’ll need to wade through a lot of material and a lot of books. Many body language books targeted specifically to writers are full of flowery or cliched prose.

Will you find some cliches in this toolkit? Yes, but I explain the role these phrases play and how to put your own unique spin on them. You won’t find flowery, over-the-top prose. As an author and freelance editor, I know what emotions writers struggle with portraying and what type of resources can make this task easier. I carefully chose each entry based on my decades of experience. Plus, you get several extras including videos, reminder graphics, a workbook, and The Personality Playbook: 30 Secret-Weapon Questions to Ask Your Characters .

Q. Can I share this toolkit with my writer friends or clients?

A. You’re welcome to share a link where they can buy the course. You can even join the affiliate program and get a commission on sales. However, you may not s hare your purchase or distribute copies of the Energize Your Writing Toolkit content with anyone else who has not yet purchased it. You can read the full Terms & Conditions here.

B y downloading, printing, or otherwise using our products or content for personal use, you in no way assume any ownership rights of the content—it is still company property. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of any materials found in the program or content shall constitute infringement.

GOOD REMINDERS

“ Good set of exercises for the editing process and good reminders about what we need to be doing. ” Gail Eastwood

Pump up your character emotions with this amazing resource you’ll wonder how you ever lived without . . .

nonverbal communication resources for writer

Unlock instant access to:

☑️ 4,000+ nonverbal prompts that span 21 categories and numerous subcategories, all packaged inside a 100-page downloadable PDF, to guide you as you’re writing and editing

Plus you’ll get these fantastic bonuses!

🥳 2. The Nifty Nonverbal Communication Navigator Wheel – Remember to sprinkled varied types of nonverbal communication into your book with this helpful reminder of categories. Post it near your computer or put it with your notes for easy reference.

You can keep using the same words over and over, or you can grab my simple resources to breathe life into your characters and banish the stale phrases that plague most authors.

Sign up for the Energize Your Writing Toolkit and let’s get you a better system to follow so that readers will remember your characters long after they finish the book.

Disclaimer: Shortcuts for Writers doesn’t promise any specific results as a result of purchasing this training (eg – you have to put in the work) and any results, testimonials, or figures quoted on this page are not intended to imply guaranteed financial gains. I present testimonials and insights about other people’s experiences with my program for purposes of illustration only. They are not intended to represent or guarantee that current or future clients will achieve the same or similar results; rather, these testimonials represent what is possible for illustrative purposes only.

Privacy Policy: We will occasionally track your web activity on pages owned by Shortcuts for Writers and we will occasionally send you emails related to the course material. In all circumstances, your private data is kept confidential and you can unsubscribe from our emails at any time (except for transactional emails necessary to fulfill our contractual duties).

Terms & Conditions: You have 7 days starting the day after payment is received to preview the course material before your refund period expires. If you request a refund after the 7-day period, your request will be denied. Please read the full terms and conditions for this course here.

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What Your Character’s Body Language is Saying (FightWrite™)

Author: Carla Hoch

When it comes to communication, what is said actually says the least. As much as 65 percent of communication is unspoken. It is so vital that we are born with an understanding of it. The importance of body language lies in why communication as a whole is indispensable. We need it to survive. As this unspoken communication is so vital for humans, it’s important for the characters we write as well. In the next few posts with FightWrite™, we will be looking at the unspoken dialogue our characters bodies can speak.

(Deceptive Language: Part II (FightWrite™))

The Limbic System Doesn’t Lie

The drive to survive is a function of our limbic brain. The limbic portion of our brain is responsible for emotions, behavior, and motivation that are connected to keeping us alive. It encourages us to eat, drink, procreate, care for young, and run from bears.

As communication is a function of survival, the limbic system has a hand in our communication. The thing is the limbic brain doesn’t think so much as it reacts. Those reactions are drawn from “files” the limbic brain creates as we experience life.

Here’s what I mean: Let’s say you show a child a picture of a cookie. That child will likely smile. The child will smile because the first time that child had a cookie, the limbic portion of the child’s brain created a file folder labeled “cookie” and put all the emotions related to the moment the child ate the cookie inside that folder.

One of the emotions listed in the file folder is “joy” because the child felt joy when it ate the cookie. So, the limbic brain knows that “cookie” is connected to “joy.” Because of that connection, the limbic brain then opens the folder labeled “joy,” and lo and behold, inside that folder is the facial expression “smile.”

Cookie; memory of cookie; joy; smile—all of that happens in time quicker than we can measure. And, it has to be incredibly fast because some of the files in the limbic brain relate to dangerous things. We need to respond immediately.

Because the limbic brain exists to keep us going, individually as a person and collectively as a society, it is not meant to lie. It is meant to express truth, let us know what will hurt us, heal us, keep us going, or take us down. Lies work against survival. If I take a drink of something, wince, then hand the drink to you, you will be hesitant to drink it because of the facial expression I made when I tasted it.

Now let’s say I tell you it tastes great. All the while, my brow is knit, the edges of my eyes are down, and my lips are pulled into a tight smile. What should you believe? The words I’m saying, or the expression created by the survival portion of my brain?

Timing and Clusters

Body language, like words, conveys meaning with its speed and grouping of behaviors. A quick scream of help, in its speed alone , communicates the importance of the need for assistance. But, to understand the manner of assistance required, we need more words than just the one. The act of the scream is not enough to convey the scope of the emergency.

The same is true of body language. No one piece is enough for us to have a full understanding of what someone’s brain is saying. However, that one bit can tell us to pay attention to any behaviors that follow.

Let’s go back to the face I made when I tasted the drink. If you only looked at my smile, you might think the drink was delicious. But when you combine it with the tightness of my lips, the edges of my eyes that don’t agree with the smile, and my brows being together and not up, you see a fuller picture how that drink really tastes.

Writing Body Language

If you want to show how your character really feels with their body language, you need to show a cluster of behaviors. One expression/behavior needs to come with another that also expresses the same feeling. And that cluster doesn’t have to happen all at once. They may be several moments or minutes apart, especially if the person is trying very hard to conceal their feelings or simply needs to think to decide how they feel.

Genuine responses can require genuine thought, and that can take anywhere from five to 10 seconds. Think about it: Haven’t you ever tasted something and it take a few seconds to decide if you liked it? Maybe you did, maybe you didn’t. And yeah, you think you might, but nope, you do not. Here’s the thing, the entire time you were deciding, your face and body were showing that you were trying to decide as well as the train of emotions you were on to make the final decision.

Fight Write: How to Write Believable Fight Scenes

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Universal Expressions

Over the next few posts, FightWrite™ will look at body language that shows how a character feels regardless of what the character’s mouth is saying. But first, we need to look at a few that are universal, all of which are expressions of the face. Which, ironically, as we will see in future posts, is the least trustworthy source of information from our body. From the time we are very young, we are taught to “not make that face.”

Regardless of culture or geographical location, all humans have seven universal facial expressions. Happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, disgust, anger, and contempt are universally recognized. These universal expressions allow communities to thrive regardless of cultural background.

All of those expressions are symmetrical except the last, contempt, which is asymmetrical. The use of cosmetic injections that immobilize muscles in the face can modify the facial expression of these emotions. Be sure to note that in your work.

Here are how the seven universal expressions present on the face:

Happiness pulls up the cheeks and edges of the mouth. As well, the edges of the eyes squint. That eye squint is key in showing a genuine smile.
Sadness causes the eyelids to droop, eyes to be downcast, lip edges to lower, and the eyebrows to slant down from the middle
Surprise is the emotional response from a sudden, unexpected occurrence. Surprise shows on the face with raised brows, wide eyes, and a dropped chin. It is sometimes confused with the startle response. Startle is a physical reflex. Surprise is an expression.
Fear raises and pulls the eyebrows together. It also raises the upper eye lids, tenses the lower lids, and drops the jaw while pulling the lips backward horizontally.
Disgust lowers the eyebrows, causes the nose to wrinkle, raises the top lip into a “U” shape, and causes the lower lip to jut out slightly.
Anger pulls the eyebrows down and together, opens the eyes wide to stare hard, and purses the lips together tightly.
Contempt causes differing expressions on each side of the face. One side tends to be squinched up while the other is relaxed.

The next time you are in a crowded room, look at the expressions on the faces around you. Without hearing the conversations, see if you can tell how the person feels by the expression on their face. Remember, that expression is a product of their limbic system. Regardless of the words coming out of their mouth, that expression is a product of the part of their brain that hates lying.

That said, sometimes people go to great efforts to make their face look honest. Even in those cases, the limbic brain will win by communicating the truth with other portions of the body. We will look at that more closely in the coming months.

Until the next round with FightWrite™ on the WD Blog, get blood on your pages.

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This month, trained fighter and author Carla Hoch discusses the importance of body language as a way for our characters to communicate nonverbally.

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From 101 Creative Writing Exercises: Body Language

by Melissa Donovan | Aug 19, 2021 | Creative Writing Exercises | 0 comments

Take a peek at “Body Language” from 101 Creative Writing Exercises.

101 Creative Writing Exercises is a collection of creative writing exercises that takes writers on a journey through different forms and genres while providing writing techniques, practice, and inspiration.

Each exercise teaches a specific concept, and each chapter focuses on a different subject or form of writing: journaling, storytelling, fiction, poetry, article writing, and more. Every exercise is designed to be practical. In other words, you can use these exercises to launch projects that are destined for publication.

Today, I’d like to share one of my favorite exercises from the book. This is from “Chapter 4: Speak Up,” which focuses on dialogue and scripts. The exercise is called “Body Language.” Enjoy!

Body Language

Sometimes what people say without actually speaking tells us a whole lot more than what comes out of their mouths. Using body language to communicate is natural. We all understand it intuitively—some better than others.

The Exercise

Write a scene between two (or more) characters in which there is no dialogue but the characters are communicating with each other through body language. You can also write a nonfiction piece. Surely you have experienced nonverbal communication. Take that experience and describe it on the page.

Your scene can be a lead-in to two characters meeting or conversing. The scene should comprise at least two pages of non-dialogue interaction with two or more characters. Here are a few scene starters:

A cop, detective, or private investigator is tailing a suspect through a small town, a big city, a mall, amusement park, or other public area.
Strangers are always good for body language exercises. Think about where strangers are brought together: public transportation, classes, elevators, and formal meetings.
Kids in a classroom aren’t supposed to be speaking while a teacher is giving a lecture, but they always find ways to communicate.

Tips: What if one character misinterprets another character’s body language? That could lead to humor or disaster. Maybe the characters are supposed to be doing something else (like in a classroom where they’re supposed to be listening to the teacher) but instead, they’re making faces and gestures at each other. One helpful technique might be to go inside the characters’ heads, but don’t get too carried away with he thought and she wondered as these constructs are basically inner dialogue.

Variations: As an alternative, write a scene in which one character speaks and one doesn’t: an adult and a baby, a human and an animal.

Applications: There are depictions of nonverbal communication in almost all types of storytelling from journalism and biography to memoir and fiction.

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BRYN DONOVAN

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Master List of Physical Description for Writers

man with mustache and slight beard | MASTER LIST OF PHYSICAL DESCRIPTIONS #master lists for writers free ebook #master lists for writers bryn donovan pdf #character description #how to describe a character's appearance #physical adjectives #character physical description generator #distinguishing features for characters #describing facial features

I created this list of ways to describe people

because physical description, when done well, helps the readers see characters in their minds. But sometimes when you’re in the middle of writing, it can be hard to think of physical adjectives and distinguishing features for characters. I find that describing facial features can be especially tricky!

That’s why I created this long list of physical characteristics. It’s kind of like a character description generator, and it’ll help you when you’re trying to think of how to describe a character’s appearance.

Young woman with pensive expression and long brown hair. "Master List of Physical Descriptions for Writers - pin or bookmark for future reference!"

Eyes – General

For all the words about describing facial features, I’m focusing more on physical descriptions rather than emotional expressions, though there’s a little crossover! You can also check out my long list of facial expressions.

heavy-lidded

fringed with long lashes

with sweeping eyelashes

with thick eyelashes

By the way, this post on how to describe (and not describe) the eyes of an Asian character is really great. Check it out.

Eyes – Color

Brown is the most common eye color by far. Green is quite rare.

chocolate brown

cocoa brown

coffee brown

sienna brown

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If you like what I do, please support me on Ko-fi!

cornflower blue

Arctic blue

glacial blue

crystal blue

electric blue

slate blue / slate gray

storm blue / storm gray

silver / silver gray

concrete gray

gunmetal gray

Skin – Color

Josh Roby made a great chart of skin tones and descriptor words, and I got a lot of these words from him. You can get that here .

The quote from N.K. Jemisin interested me: “I get really tired of seeing African-descended characters described in terms of the goods that drove, and still drive, the slave trade—coffee, chocolate, brown sugar. There’s some weird psychosocial baggage attached to that.”

cream / creamy

rose / rosy

Skin – General

Some of these are better for the face, and some are better for other parts of the body.

translucent

luminescent

with large pores

weather-beaten

Face – Structure

heart-shaped

high forehead

broad forehead

prominent brow ridge

protruding brow bone

sharp cheekbones

high cheekbones

angular cheekbones

hollow cheeks

jutting chin

pointed chin

receding chin

double chin

dimple in chin

visible Adam’s apple

People don’t write much about noses, but they can be distinguishing features for characters!

Cupid’s bow

straight teeth

gap between teeth

gleaming white teeth

Facial Hair (or lack thereof)

clean-shaven

smooth-shaven

mutton-chop sideburns

a few days’ growth of beard

five o’ clock shadow

Hair – General

I threw a few hairstyles in here, though not many.

shoulder-length

neatly combed

slicked down / slicked back

buzzed / buzz cut

widow’s peak

Hair – Color

There are some repeats here from the eye color section!

salt and pepper

charcoal gray

brown sugar

tawny brown

toffee brown

Titian-haired

strawberry blonde

butterscotch

sandy blond

fair-haired

Body Type – General

average height

barrel-chested

heavy / heavy-set

pot-bellied

full-figured

leggy / long-legged

broad-shouldered

sloping shoulders

stubby fingers

long fingers

ragged nails

grimy fingernails

ink-stained

This list and many more are in my book Master Lists for Writers: Thesauruses, Plot Ideas, Character Traits, Names, and More . Check it out if you’re interested!

Master Lists for Writers by Bryn Donovan #master lists for writers free pdf #master lists for writers free ebook #master lists for writers free kindle

And if you don’t want to miss future writing posts, follow the blog, if you aren’t already — there’s a place to sign up on the lefthand side of the blog. Thanks for stopping by, and happy writing!

How to Write Flashbacks So They're Not Clunky #past tense #present tense #formatting

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Start your free trial to access brainstorming lists of body language, thoughts, vocal cues, and sensations for over 130 emotions. Writing can be easier!

ANTICIPATION

APPREHENSION

CONNECTEDNESS

DEFENSIVENESS

DESPERATION

DETERMINATION

DEVASTATION

DISAPPOINTMENT

DISCOURAGEMENT

DISILLUSIONMENT

DISSATISFACTION

EMASCULATION

EMBARRASSMENT

FEARLESSNESS

FRUSTRATION

HOMESICKNESS

HOPEFULNESS

HUMILIATION

INDIFFERENCE

INDIGNATION

INTIMIDATION

NERVOUSNESS

OVERWHELMED

PEACEFULNESS

POWERLESSNESS

RESIGNATION

SATISFACTION

SCHADENFREUDE

SELF-LOATHING

UNAPPRECIATED

UNCERTAINTY

VENGEFULNESS

VINDICATION

VULNERABILITY

WISTFULNESS

WORTHLESSNESS

MINI LESSON

No two characters should express emotion the same way. To avoid reusing tired gestures or slipping into telling, use this thesaurus to brainstorm fresh body language, visceral sensations, and thoughts to express your character’s emotions in ways that make sense for them.

EMOTION AMPLIFIERS

BEING STUCK

BEREAVEMENT

BRAINWASHING

CHRONIC PAIN

COGNITIVE BIAS

COGNITIVE DECLINE

COMPETITION

CONFINEMENT

DEHYDRATION

DISTRACTION

HORMONAL IMBALANCE

HYPERACTIVITY

INSTABILITY

INTOXICATION

MALNUTRITION

MENTAL HEALTH CONDITION

MORTAL PERIL

PANIC ATTACK

PHYSICAL DISORIENTATION

PHYSICAL HEALTH CONDITION

SENSORY OVERLOAD

SLEEP DEPRIVATION

SUBSTANCE WITHDRAWAL

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Body Language in Writing

Everyone uses body language in one way or another. Talking with a friend, in a business meeting, or at a ball game, the gestures, postures, and movements of our bodies and facial expressions are telltale signs of who we are, our mood, how we feel healthwise or about an issue, and what we think.

We form tightened lips, narrowed eyes, make fists, throw hands in the air, and shuffle our feet. We talk with our hands, cover our face, rake fingers through our hair, etc. We are human, and we are constantly expressive.

In real life, if more than fifty percent of non-verbal communication is through body language, then it goes to reason that when we write our protagonists and antagonists should do the same. How dull would a book be without noticing shifty eyes, crossed arms, or flared nostrils?

By using body language in writing, we are more likely to show and not tell, thus giving readers a more accurate picture of the character’s state of mind and the tension taking place. We draw the reader in when we use realistic and believable behaviors, just be sure to use them in moderation. Too many will slow your story down.

Example of overuse: Roy’s face reddened, lips tightened, his knuckles whitened in clenched fists, and he gritted his teeth when his boss gave the promotion to his partner. He stormed from the room and slammed the door, remembering the pistol in his brief case.

Better: Heat rushed into Roy’s face when his boss gave the promotion to his partner. He clenched his jaw to keep from saying too much and left the room. The door slammed behind him as his focus lands on the briefcase under his desk, housing a Glock.

Roy’s body language describes his attitude and mood. The tension thickened, and the stakes rose the moment a weapon was mentioned. Most readers can tell something bad is about to happen; thus, the suspense intensifies. Let them bask in the non-verbal clues the character reveals and keep them turning the page.

Using body language sounds simple, but it’s not as easily written. Here are a few more examples of suspicious, angry, or aggitated body language. We must avoid repetition of the same gestures in our writing to avoid losing the readers interest.

Crossed the arms Tightened lips Straddled a chair

Narrowed eyes Twisted lips Looked away

Jutted chin Clenched fists Lowered eyebrows

Crouched down Confrontational Rolled eyes

Darting glance Grimacing Shaking fist

Twitching trigger finger Lying Sneering or Smirk

Remember, use body language where it will pack a punch in the story and add depth to the character’s dialogue. Most importantly, keep the reader turning the page, or their body language will toss the book aside.

Loretta Eidson writes romantic suspense. She has won and been a finalist in several writing contests, including first place in romantic suspense in the Foundations Awards at the 2018 Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, a finalist in ACFW’s 2018 Genesis, was a finalist in the 2018 Fabulous Five, and a double finalist in the 2017 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence.

Loretta lives in North Mississippi with her husband Kenneth, a retired Memphis Police Captain. She loves salted caramel lava cake, dark chocolate, and caramel Frappuccinos.

Website: lorettaeidson.com

Facebok: loretta.eidson.7

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WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

Emotion Thesaurus Entry: Curiosity

June 19, 2008 by BECCA PUGLISI

When it comes to emotion, sometimes we need a brainstorming nudge. After all, each character will express their feelings differently depending on their personality, emotional range, and comfort zone. We hope this short, sample list of expressions will help you better imagine how your character might show this emotion!

If you need to go deeper , we have detailed lists of body language, visceral sensations, dialogue cues, and mental responses for 130 emotions in the 2019 expanded second edition of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression .

· Repeating a statement as a question · Leaning in, sliding a chair closer · A small, delighted smile · A shift from mediocre conversation to pointed questions · A softened voice or tone · Prying or snooping · Straining to hear, shushing others to be quiet · Wide eyes · Pushing one’s glasses up and tilting the body toward the object of curiosity · A gasp of wonder · Moving toward something to witness it, forgetting one’s original destination · Lips parting slightly · Slowed breaths…

Win your readers’ hearts by tailoring your character’s emotional responses so they’re compelling, credible, and realistic.

If you struggle with writing emotions, you aren’t alone. The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression has helped writers all over the globe, and it can help you. To find out more about this bestselling book, please visit our bookstore .

Prefer the flexibility of instant online access and greater searchability?

The Emotion Thesaurus is also at our sister site, One Stop for Writers . Visit the Emotion Thesaurus Page to view our complete list of entries.

TIP: While you’re there, check out our hyper-intelligent Character Builder that helps you create deep, memorable characters in half the time !

Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers —a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.

Reader Interactions

June 28, 2011 at 6:31 am

Definetaly a great help for writers!

June 23, 2008 at 11:54 am

Ooo! these are cool. Especially for the writer/illustrator. The body language, the visuals. Good stuff! I’m be visiting on Thursdays.

June 23, 2008 at 3:39 am

Yes, these are very helpful!

I often act these things out. I try to picture what I’d do in my characters’ place. I get so tired of dropped jaws, crossed arms and rolled eyes.

June 22, 2008 at 6:24 pm

Wow – these are good. Thanks! This will definitely help in my writing.

June 21, 2008 at 12:22 pm

That’s great Donna! I’m momzilla over there, so feel free to say hi!

June 21, 2008 at 11:22 am

If I haven’t said it before, I say it now. Thanks for these thesauruses (thesaurii?). They really do help and once I get to editing my WIP these will certainly be right next to me. I’ve also joined Critique Circle! Not much done there yet but I’m getting to it.

June 20, 2008 at 1:20 pm

Thanks for chiming in, guys! We like to hear that the ET continues to be useful to writers!

June 20, 2008 at 12:40 pm

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

June 20, 2008 at 12:39 pm

Wish they taught English/writing classes with stuff like this. Neat!

June 20, 2008 at 9:06 am

I concur with c.r.evers 100%!

June 19, 2008 at 4:00 pm

I love these thesaurus Thursdays! There’s so many times I think “how many ways can I say . . . .

Now, when I get stuck, I’ll come over and check out your blog! :0)

[…] Conveying Curiosity […]

[…] Curiosity […]

Body language cheat sheet for writers

As a writer, understanding and incorporating body language into your storytelling can greatly enhance your characters and their interactions. Here's a cheat sheet to help you describe body language effectively:

Facial Expressions:

* Raised eyebrows: Surprise, disbelief, or curiosity.

* Furrowed brow: Concentration, confusion, or frustration.

* Smiling: Happiness, amusement, or friendliness.

* Frowning: Disapproval, sadness, or concern.

* Lip biting: Nervousness, anticipation, or tension.

Eye Movements:

* Eye contact: Confidence, interest, or honesty.

* Avoiding eye contact: Shyness, guilt, or deception.

* Narrowed eyes: Suspicion, skepticism, or concentration.

* Wide eyes: Shock, fear, or surprise.

* Rolling eyes: Exasperation, annoyance, or disbelief.

* Crossing arms: Defensiveness, disagreement, or discomfort.

* Nervous fidgeting: Anxiety, restlessness, or impatience.

* Pointing: Assertiveness, emphasis, or accusation.

* Open palms: Honesty, openness, or sincerity.

* Hand on chin: Deep thought, contemplation, or evaluation.

Posture and Movement:

* Slumped shoulders: Defeat, sadness, or fatigue.

* Upright posture: Confidence, attentiveness, or authority.

* Pacing: Restlessness, agitation, or contemplation.

* Tapping foot: Impatience, annoyance, or frustration.

* Leaning in: Interest, engagement, or curiosity.

* Hugging: Affection, comfort, or warmth.

* Handshake: Greeting, introduction, or agreement.

* Patting on the back: Encouragement, praise, or camaraderie.

* Clenched fists: Anger, determination, or frustration.

* Brushing hair behind the ear: Nervousness, coyness, or flirtation.

Mirroring :

* When two characters unconsciously mimic each other's body language, it indicates rapport, connection, or empathy.

* A subtle nod can convey agreement, understanding, or encouragement.

Crossed legs:

* Crossed legs can indicate relaxation or a casual, nonchalant attitude.

Tapping fingers:

* Impatience, anticipation, or nervousness can be expressed through rhythmic finger tapping.

Hand on the chest:

* Placing a hand on the chest can convey sincerity, empathy, or a heartfelt emotion.

- Tilting the head:

* Tilting the head to the side can suggest curiosity, attentiveness, or interest.

Rubbing the temples:

* Rubbing the temples can indicate stress, fatigue, or a headache.

Chin stroking:

* Stroking the chin while in thought can portray contemplation, decision-making, or intellectual curiosity.

Arms crossed behind the back:

* This posture can indicate authority, confidence, or a composed demeanor.

Tilted body posture:

* Leaning slightly towards someone can suggest interest, attraction, or engagement in a conversation.

Biting nails:

* Nail-biting can reveal anxiety, nervousness, or tension.

Foot tapping:

* Rapid or impatient foot tapping can show agitation, restlessness, or eagerness.

* Squinting the eyes can signal suspicion, doubt, or an attempt to focus on something.

Shifting weight from foot to foot:

* Shifting weight can imply discomfort, unease, or anticipation.

Covering the mouth while speaking:

* This gesture can indicate hesitation, embarrassment, or the desire to hide something.

Remember that body language can vary across different cultures and individuals, so consider your character's background and personality while describing their movements. Additionally, body language is best used in combination with dialogue and internal thoughts to create a more nuanced portrayal of your characters.

Happy writing!

@ saraswritingtipps

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COMMENTS

Cheat Sheets For Writing Body Language
Cheat Sheets For Writing Body Language. Use this list to help you with your body language descriptions. It will help you to translate emotions and thoughts into written body language. Obviously, a character may exhibit a number of these behaviours. For example, they may be shocked and angry, or shocked and happy. Use these combinations as needed.
Body language master list for writers
Body language master list for writers. "Show, don't tell" is the first lesson of Fiction Writing 101, and one of the easiest and quickest fixes is to replace the emotional adverbs and adjectives with some body language. For example, instead of "He said, sadly," you could write, "He said with tears welling in his eyes.".
MASTER LIST of Gestures and Body Language!
How to describe body language and gestures in writing may seem simple, but I find that when I'm in the middle of writing a scene, sometimes I draw a blank! ... My essays, creative writing, and stories would be close junk without all of these good resources. Reply. Bryn Donovan says: November 23, 2020 at 9:55 pm . Hi, Javier! I'm so glad ...
Body Language for Writers: Your Ultimate Guide
1. Use Body Language Only From Time to Time. If you use body language too much, it will become annoying and obvious and lose its subtle qualities. Instead, only describe characters' facial expressions and postures from time to time. Make them smoothly blend in with the dialogue and the other scenic description!
Effective Body Language in Writing
A Look at Body Language in Writing. by Ellen Buikema. More than half of human communication consists of body language, which we use to communicate feelings, thought, and ideas without speech. Body language impacts other people's perception and conveys our emotions far more than we think it does. Physical descriptions of what our characters ...
How to Describe Body Language in Writing
How to Use Body Language in Your Writing. 1. Facial expressions. The face is the first body part when we think about communication. Even in real life, facial expressions are easier to read than other types of gestures and body cues (maybe that's why "clowns at a kids' party" is usually a good idea). You can use facial expressions to ...
Awesome Resources for Creative Writing: Body Cheat Sheets
December 29, 2015By Andy Peloquin. If there is one thing most authors struggle with in creative writing, it's describing body language! Body language is incredibly expressive. You can say a lot just by raising an eyebrow, flipping someone off, or shrugging. But if you add these same expressions into narrative too often, they can seem repetitive ...
Writing Body Language: Bringing Your Characters to Life
Mirror the body language of the person they are attracted to. Stand up straight and puff out their chest. Speak with a lighter, softer tone to their voice. Steal glances at the person they are attracted to (especially when the other person isn't looking) Look at the lips of the person they are attracted to.
Body language cheat sheets for writers
☑️ 4,000+ body language and nonverbal prompts that span 21 categories and numerous subcategories, all packaged inside a 100-page downloadable PDF, to guide you as you're writing and editing ☑️ A walk-through video and detailed written instructions outlining how the toolkit works and tips to maximize its usefulness
Using Body Language in Your Novel, Part One—Facial Expressions
Here are some body language "tells" to further enhance your characters' emotions: Part One: Facial Expressions Chin, Neck, and Jaw: ... Posted in Grammar & Style, On Writing Tagged Amazon, Authors, Creative Writing, Indie authors, Self-Publishing, Writers, writing, writing advice, writing tips. Published by S. Katherine Anthony.
What Your Character's Body Language is Saying (FightWrite™)
Writing Body Language. If you want to show how your character really feels with their body language, you need to show a cluster of behaviors. One expression/behavior needs to come with another that also expresses the same feeling. And that cluster doesn't have to happen all at once.
Emotion Thesaurus: Shock/Surprise
If you need to go deeper, we have detailed lists of body language, visceral sensations, dialogue cues, and mental responses for 130 emotions in the 2019 expanded second edition of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression.. SHOCK/SURPRISE · A small yelp, gasp, squeal, or scream · Tingling skin · A heavy feeling in the stomach ...
From 101 Creative Writing Exercises: Body Language
Take a peek at "Body Language" from 101 Creative Writing Exercises. 101 Creative Writing Exercises is a collection of creative writing exercises that takes writers on a journey through different forms and genres while providing writing techniques, practice, and inspiration. Each exercise teaches a specific concept, and each chapter focuses ...
Master List of Gestures and Body Language for Writers : r/writing
I would personally recommend using the list - or one you come up with yourself - just as something to look through and give you a small idea of the range of body language and ways to describe it. Sort of a primer if you get stuck. Just use it to get onto the track of describing body language. If you really need to I guess you can pull from the ...
Master List of Physical Description for Writers
Eyes - General. For all the words about describing facial features, I'm focusing more on physical descriptions rather than emotional expressions, though there's a little crossover! You can also check out my long list of facial expressions. close-set. glittering. rheumy. red-rimmed.
Emotion Thesaurus: Relief
If you need to go deeper, we have detailed lists of body language, visceral sensations, dialogue cues, and mental responses for 130 emotions in the 2019 expanded second edition of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression.. RELIEF. body slumping, losing its stiff posture; shaky laughter; a slow smile; falling back into a chair; asking/demanding someone to repeat good news
Using Body Language in Your Novel, Part Two—Eyes, Pupils, & Eyebrows
Posted in Grammar & Style, On Writing Tagged Authors, Body Language, Creative Writing, Fiction, Fiction Writing, Storytelling, Writers, Writers Life, writing, writing advice, writing tips. Published by S. Katherine Anthony. S.K. Anthony (Shanny) is a writer, a reader, and make-stuff-up-er who lives in New York. She is an award-winning author ...
Emotion Thesaurus
Start your free trial to access brainstorming lists of body language, thoughts, vocal cues, and sensations for over 130 emotions. Writing can be easier!
Using Body Language in Your Novel, Part Three—Arms, Shoulders
Described as sitting or standing up straight with shoulders back. This can be used to indicate power, confidence, and control. Your character can command respect, show leadership, and promote engagement with an erect posture. * Leaning Forward. This can be used to indicate your character is feeling hostile or aggressive.
Body Language in Writing
Using body language sounds simple, but it's not as easily written. Here are a few more examples of suspicious, angry, or aggitated body language. We must avoid repetition of the same gestures in our writing to avoid losing the readers interest. Crossed the arms Tightened lips Straddled a chair. Narrowed eyes Twisted lips Looked away.
Emotion Thesaurus Entry: Shame
If you need to go deeper, we have detailed lists of body language, visceral sensations, dialogue cues, and mental responses for 130 emotions in the 2019 expanded second edition of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression.. SHAME · Mashing the hands against the cheeks · A vacant or glazed stare · An inability to make eye contact with others
I found Cheat Sheets For Writing Body Language : r/writing
I recommend The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi to help with body language. It lists 75 emotions and the physical signs, internal sensations, mental responses they produce. And also lists the signs of suppressing that emotion, what it looks like when that emotion is experienced long-term and that emotion can escalate.
Emotion Thesaurus Entry: Curiosity
If you need to go deeper, we have detailed lists of body language, visceral sensations, dialogue cues, and mental responses for 130 emotions in the 2019 expanded second edition of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression.. CURIOSITY · Repeating a statement as a question · Leaning in, sliding a chair closer · A small, delighted smile
Body language cheat sheet for writers
Additionally, body language is best used in combination with dialogue and internal thoughts to create a more nuanced portrayal of your characters. Happy writing! #body language #cheat sheet #character sheet #character analysis #writing #writing tips #character development #writer on tumblr #writerscommunity #writer tumblr #writblr #writing ...
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Cheat Sheets For Writing Body Language

What Is Body Language?

How To Use It In Writing

The Top Five Tips For Using Body Language

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Body language master list for writers

Anticipation

Attentiveness

Defensiveness

Displeasure

Embarrassment

Overwhelmed

Playfulness

Possessiveness

Secretiveness

Thoughtfulness

Threatening

Other Resources

Edited by Charles Hand

Maria Korolov

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Body Language for Writers: Your Ultimate Guide

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1. Use Body Language Only From Time to Time

Emotion: Angry

3. Have a Very Clear Idea of What Your Character Is Feeling

Emotion: Overjoyed

Emotion: Happy? (Different Rules for Aliens)

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Writers in the Storm

A Look at Body Language in Writing

Simple tasks require a surprising amount of movement.

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