Tag: Characterization

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Talking Character

Body Language: What Your Character Is Really Saying-Lisa Betz

If actions speak louder than words then a character’s body language is an important part of dialogue. And yet writers often waste the potential, using body language merely to reinforce what is already evident, such as a character who both nods and says, “Yes.”

Studies show that body language, including gestures and facial expressions, make up over fifty percent of communication. (Tone of voice makes up another thirty-five percent or so.) That means our characters can give away all kinds of information without saying a word.

When harnessed effectively, body language can be a powerful tool—because it tells us what’s really going on inside a character’s head.

4 ways body language can add useful information

  1. Revealing an emotion the character wants to conceal. The heroine is facing her nemesis in a meeting. She wants to appear calm and in control, but under the table her leg is bouncing or her hands are clenched in her lap. Although her dialogue and tone may give the appearance of complete confidence, the body language tells the reader the whole truth.
  2. Indicating the character is lying. Fictional characters don’t always tell the truth, but without a non-verbal clue, the reader may not realize when a character is being less than forthright. A bit of body language can show the reader what’s really going on, for example: a character refusing to meet someone’s gaze, rapid breathing, or covering the mouth while speaking. If the POV character notices these telltale signs, the reader will get the hint.
  3. Showing that all is not as it seems. In a scene where both reader and character expect a certain response, body language can tell a potent tale. For example, a husband arrives home from work on the day he was to get a long-awaited promotion. When he walks in the door and slumps on the couch, the wife realizes something is very wrong. And the more the husband claims everything is fine, the more out of kilter things obviously are. In a similar fashion, when the felon under interrogation acts smug, we begin to suspect he knows something the police don’t.
  4. Hinting at a character’s motives. When a hostess greets a guest with a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes, we suspect there is something between them. Perhaps the hostess is merely acting polite, or perhaps she has ulterior motives for treating the guest with a kindness she doesn’t feel. Of course, the POV character may misinterpret the clues, reading ulterior motives into a situation where there are none—which might be exactly what the plot requires.

Are you using body language to the full potential?

[bctt tweet=”How can your characters’ non-verbal cues help the reader read between the lines? #writetips #bodylanguage” username=””]

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Talking Character

First Impressions Matter–Part 1

Scientific studies confirm that we humans make a host of judgments about a person based on the first few moments of interaction. And once formed, those judgments can be surprisingly difficult to shift. Fictional characters face the same challenge.

The things that make us instantly like or dislike people we meet in real life are pretty much the same things that make us instantly like or dislike the people we meet in fiction. – Orson Scott Card, Characters & Viewpoint

However, unlike real life, the author has control over how that first impression will play out. Don’t waste that power.

By the time you write your opening scene, chances are you know your characters pretty well: Their physical description, their preferences, their inner demons. Pages and pages of backstory. But you only have a few sentences to make a first impression, so you’ll have to decide what bits of information are most important to introduce the most important essence of a character.

Introduction through physical description

In real life, a stranger’s appearance plays a big part in our first impression. It can work in fiction as well, but remember, our eyes take in tons of information in a single glance—much more than we can describe in a few sentences—so choose the most telling details. The examples below show not only how the character looks, but hints at both demographics and attitude as well.

Sarah waited in the office, wearing a black silk sheath dress and four-inch heels. Her lustrous chestnut hair, worn loose, fell halfway down her back, and one perfectly shaped eyebrow arched when I entered.

Sarah waited in the office, a thin woman with a prominent nose and bony hands clutched in her lap. She wore a white cotton blouse, pilled from too many washings, and black slacks with frayed hems. Her brown hair was pulled into a severe bun at the nape of her neck.

Introduction through context

You can tell a reader a lot about a person without giving a single physical detail. Notice how the context paints two very different pictures in the examples below:

This was the first time Sarah had invited Will to her apartment and she wanted everything to be perfect. She straightened the candlesticks flanking the vase of pink roses, and adjusted the volume on her favorite soft jazz playlist. The oven-roasted vegetables and coq au vin were already in serving dishes, keeping warm in the oven. Should she plate the salads now or wait until he arrived?

This was the first time Sarah had invited Will to her apartment and she wanted everything to be perfect. She checked to make sure no dishwasher gunk was stuck to the plates, and adjusted the volume on her favorite classic rock station. The pizza should be arriving any minute. They’d better get the order right this time—meat lover’s supreme. Should she nuke the wings now or wait until he arrived?

Introduction through voice

A third option is to immediately jump inside the character’s head and give readers a sense of how they view the world:

I knew it was going to be a bad day the moment I slipped my feet into my slippers. Cat barf. Normal people have cats that throw up in the middle of the living room. Mine had a preference for shoes. At least the slippers were washable.

I knew it was going to be a bad day the moment I laced up my boots. Twenty-two miles to the next shelter, and my blistered feet weren’t getting any happier, despite the moleskin and fancy hiking socks. But I would break an ankle before I let on I wasn’t enjoying myself as much as Gina.

[bctt tweet=”What impression do your characters make, the moment they walk onto the page? #amwriting” username=””]

[bctt tweet=”Do your characters make the best first impression possible? #writetip” username=””]

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Editing The Critical Reader

Can a Novel’s Setting Come to Life?

A Desert Setting

by Alycia W. Morales

Have you ever been reading a novel when it suddenly dawns on you that the setting has become like a character in the book?

As I got into Aaron Gansky’s novel, The Bargain, I couldn’t help but notice how important the setting was. It’s the first time I’ve read a book and the setting has jumped off the page at me as if it had come to life.[bctt tweet=”Have you ever read a novel where the setting came to life? #amreading #amwriting”]

A brief description of the novel:

Connor Reedly is a journalist whose wife is dying. She has chosen to go to her sister’s home in a small desert town named Hailey. It’s there Connor is approached by a local citizen and told he must write ten articles or his wife will die and Hailey will be destroyed. He’s challenged with finding the good in a not-so-good place.

Five reasons why I believe Aaron nailed the setting:

1. It matched the theme of his story. Between Connor’s dying wife and the dying town, the image of death a desert brings to mind fits perfectly.

2. It reflected the lives of the local citizens (secondary characters). Then there’s the challenge of finding good people in the midst of an evil society and secondary character motivation. What setting could be more challenging than the desert? (Maybe the ocean, but it wouldn’t have worked as well in this story.)

3. It mirrored the protagonist’s career. As a journalist, Connor had to dig to find the truth in matters. There is plenty of sand to dig through in a desert.

4. It even resembled the antagonist. Connor’s story involves a lot of pressure from an outside source. The heat of that pressure is well-matched by the heat of the desert.

5. It represented the protagonist’s character arc. Connor had to make more than one life-changing decisions throughout the novel. Think “Refiner’s Fire.”[bctt tweet=”The setting of your novel can make a huge difference in your story if you choose the right one. #writing”]

So, Writer, think about the novel you’re writing right now. Is there a particular setting that would match the theme of your story? Would a different setting better amplify the things your character is going to suffer through or experience during their arc? Consider alternate settings for your novel and see if one may be better than the one you’re using now.