A characters personality can have a large impact on how they are perceived, and therefore should alter the words you use to describe them. They could be feeling happy and sad at the same time, or angry and disgusted. On the basic level, appearance is the start of what a . Not worth the risk! Shoulders, feetthey can be ignored, but not whats communicated with eyes. If not --or if it's not fresh in your memory --it's an easy enough experience to create. Eyed me as though his bullshit meter was ticking in the red zone.. You can go in-depth, sure, but dont put your readers through a word-avalanche just for them to figure out what the character looks like. However, its not always easy to know how to approach describing facial expressions. So lets start with the eyes since they are the focal point of the face. Logy has been a member of the English language . A simple gaze, a blank stare, or a narrow squint can all convey deep meaning. Instead of piercing, try icy or sharp, and instead of doe-eyed, try wide, innocent, or full of wonder/awe. The goal is to describe the character in a unique way to make it more interesting to read, while still creating a vivid image of that character. Arun from over the pond. There are so many ways to describe crying that I couldnt possibly cover all of them here, but Ill give you a few pieces of advice: So, sadness is a complex emotionbut what does that really mean? Thanks for contributing an answer to Writing Stack Exchange! As a bonus, it can also help you tip readers off if you want them to notice that something is bothering the character. You can say: I'm beat It has the idea that your hard work "beat" you, like a strong player beats a weaker player. It feels like my body is weighted down and I am trying to walk uphill. Try to envision what they look like when they are waiting, actively engaged in a passionate conversation, and when they are uncomfortable. You know that a little extra effort can go a long way. Oops! These arent like changing the tag, he said. Im perfectly happy paying for images rather than worrying theyre in the public domain. quizzical adjective. bronze. The man is in shape. Lips are stretched horizontally with the lower lip pushed up and the lip corners turned down. You don't have to be an expert to write; you just have to enjoy it. 01 Captivating. To use these common adjectives in a sentence, try this frame: The man is [ ADJECTIVE ]. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. Ah, you are the master of subtle humor, Arun. Stunning. I need to go home and go to bed. condescending - a smile that indicates a person is looking down on someone cruel - a smile that indicates evil motives dazed - a smile that shows the person is confused and possibly dizzy devilish - a smile with mischief and sometimes evil intent dry - the kind of smile that doesn't include warmth or excitement enigmatic - a mysterious smile - I did not think using a common phrase would be considered infringement. As with other emotions, body language plays a part in this, but dont write it the same way as everyone else. It only takes a minute to sign up. Rather than state the obvious wow, you look tired! Come up with a list of movements and behaviors that are typical for the character, and utilize those movements to make dull scenes and conversations more interesting. These words can be categorized into words that describe a person's general appearance, eyes, ears, face, nose, arms, hair, height and build, etc. The eyes are such a crucial element in connection with someone. Youll want to highlight the positives of the characters bodythe elements of them that have caught your protagonists attention. Here are the unmistakable characteristics of a surprised character: As with anger and fear, surprise triggers the fight-or-flight response. However, bodies are commonly associated with physical attractiveness, and if attraction is the point of your description, you need to take a different approach. You know that keeping things vague and simple or including overused adverbs to simplify descriptions can impact the flow of your story as a whole. In fact, hell, I'm willing to go into the red. I think the usage converges for people who are mentally fatigued for a long period. His eyes were never still and he never looked at me except in passing. Instead of just dialogue, you can give readers more to imagine as your character shifts their weight, runs their hand through their hair, or twists the hem of their shirt. A cold smile can indicate a more sinister nature without you having to work very hard at making them seem that way. If you want to show that a character is faking a smile, make sure their eyes dont match the rest of the expression. Imagine the setting, and read the dialogue out loud. But that doesnt even begin to discuss the brain fog that comes with it. Bay H. It makes you feel hungover all day every day. Pay attention to the actors faces when you are watching a movie or show, and try to take note of the little changes in their expressions. Its hard for people who have never experienced chronic fatigue to understand exactly what it feels like and how it differs from the tiredness they feel. People cant see the fatigue, so they dont understand. Love this! But dont rush. Probably not much longer than a minute or two(I've fainted before from heat, it's not fun if you're on anything hard and you wake up with a giant headache). Too many times, Ive seen unrealistic descriptions of characters bodies. also, a good reminder about copyright . Im new to #authorstoolboxbloghop and am enjoying all the new writers Im meeting! 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 tradecoffee, chocolate, brown sugar. For example, "you are a lucky dog" means you are a lucky person. Reblogged this on Plaisted Publishing House and commented: Well, there are many different ways that sadness can be felt and expressed depending on the intensity of the emotion, and there many different things that can trigger a sad response in a character. Sometimes the fatigue is so bad it feels like my soul is being sucked out. Sometimes, I just read the dictionary, find great words that evoke an image that leads to a plot point. Eyes are so expressive and are a must to mention when writing. It appears you entered an invalid email. Pingback: 10 Hits and Misses for 2016 | WordDreams Pingback: 10 Hits and Misses for 2015 | WordDreams Pingback: 65 Ways to Describe Sight and Eyes in Your Writing Contin Illustrations. Excellent Being language my second language you have no idea how this post helps me, dear Jacqui Best wishes! no it didnt rather its my favorite breed so its just an add on cuteness & more expressive , Pingback: Describe their eyes in detail. There's that "second wind" thing, when the adrenalin gets moving again. To me chronic fatigue feels like when youre in the water at the beach and you try walking out of the water against the waves as they pull back into the ocean and you feel as if youre not actually moving, youre just walking in the one spot, and its heavy and your legs ache but youre not getting anywhere. Magic! How do you feel? There, youll also find thoughts and questions by our community. This is based on the technique show, dont tell. If you want to learn more about that, check out Show, Dont Tell: What it is and How to Write it. Thanks, Patricia. Frowning. If, however, the scene is tense and dramatic, skip the silly metaphors in your descriptions. Her lips pursed slightly. You can further elaborate on their appearance later when it is relevant, and describe their gait, posture, temperament, and more. There are a number of things to keep in mind when describing a characters appearance. When writing about emotions, it can be really tempting to simply say that the character is feeling angry or disgusted, because thats easy to write. Other than quotes and umlaut, does " mean anything special? This is such a good list for anyone need good sight words! Once his soft cheeks hollowed and his jaw squared, and the childish optimism fled his eyes, then he would have the chance to smolder. You feel like theres someone dragging all energy from your body. Change). Weve all heard the same cookie-cutter descriptions for characters a million times before. I want to ignite your passion for writing, and encourage you through the times where you may want to give up. It can make the character seem creepy, and it can foreshadow the protagonist doing something bad to the person they are obsessing over. Writing Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for the craft of professional writing, including fiction, non-fiction, technical, scholarly, and commercial writing. For example, two characters might both be tall, but one would be described as awkward and long while the other is towering. In this case, the characters levels of confidence impact how they are perceived. Otherwise, if you later reveal that the character has dark hair, all the readers that imagined them with light hair might have a difficult time accepting that. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Have a lovely week . Jean's Writing, This is a thorough and useful list, Jacqui. You could describe someone who goes running as athletic. That is true. For example, they might prescribe antidepressants for depression or anxiety, and antacids for indigestion. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Like with many other aspects of a characters appearance, there are a few methods you can use to approach describing their body. With that said, dont get too caught up in describing every detail of a characters face. An altruistic firefighter risks his life to save another's life, while an altruistic mom gives up the last bite of pie so her kid will be happy. As I feel my consciousness ebbing away, as clear and concise as it was mere moments ago, it was coming to an end. Thank you, Jacqui, for your comments about the posts on my blog naturetails.blog I am back home from the hospital but still not very well. Do not use the word strong to describe this kind of person. He looked like the type of person to stare at his own reflection before getting in the shower. You don't want to overload your reader with description. 1 as in exhausted depleted in strength, energy, or freshness I'm usually tired after a long day of working in the yard Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance exhausted weary wearied drained fatigued worn done dead beaten beat jaded spent knackered bushed sleepy limp aweary bleary all in pooped weakened played out tapped out worn-out logy overworked She is also the author of theRowe-Delamagente thrillersandBuilding a Midshipman, the story of her daughters journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. It means they have a lot of loose fat (or skin) that kind of shakes and wobbles when they move around. Worse still, they wont stand out from the protagonists of every single young adult novel out there. I was wondering how to correctly write about someone who only sleeps once every four days. Snide? Now that you know the expressions for each of the 7 different universal emotions, its time to mix and match. 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