Writing from the Gut–or, Why I Use Body Language

For me, blogging is a lot more about feelings than facts–which is also the case when I write anything else. 

My emotions drive what I write and how I write, including my novel BIRD FACE. Unfortunately, feelings sometimes spill out so fast and raw that they don’t hit the paper (or blog site) in the most comprehensible way for the reader. Emotions are reactions and should have a logical flow to them, no matter how fast that flow is. When I fail in that regard, the term “non sequiteur” may come to mind. 

I don’t often notice this problem in the first draft. I see an action, reaction, or dialogue play out in my mind’s eye and take for granted that a reader will see it the same way I do. I may omit details the reader needs to identify with a character and feel the emotion that character feels–which is the only way I want the reader to feel. 

Ideally, a character’s emotions should be felt by each and every reader in the way the writer intends. But, because every reader’s emotional makeup is a bit different, a writer must include some sure-fire ways to control those emotions. 

Having characters use body language to express their emotions–the emotions I feel as I write their stories–leaves little doubt as to what those characters are feeling and the emotions I want readers to experience with them. When I try to express a single emotion, I remind myself to describe what the character’s face, hands, arms, shoulders, or stance look like as I picture her feeling what she feels. Who wouldn’t understand that a character with a  down-turned mouth and arms crossed over her chest is displeased? 

Characters’ body language also assists in achieving the correct sequence of emotions and actions in a scene. Facial expressions, arm and hand movements, sitting, standing, pacing, or crossing the legs occur naturally when someone is expressing their emotions. Describing body movements at the right moments clarifies those emotions for the reader. If a character such as Wendy has an angry outburst, then crosses her arms but smiles, will the reader think she suddenly became happy–or has a devilish plan? 

Body language helps emotional writing make more sense. An editor would help too. 

 

 

 

A Word That Strikes Fear in the Hearts of Men and Middle-schoolers Alike

Synopsis.

Whether you must write one as an eighth-grade English class assignment or a component in a query about your own novel, the thought of writing a synopsis is enough to send most of us screaming in terror.

However, you may be surprised to learn that the dreaded synopsis is all around us. Actually, we write–or speak–countless numbers of them in our lifetimes.

Have you ever taken minutes at a meeting? Synopsis.

Have you ever described a movie you’ve seen and loved? Synopsis.

Have you ever condensed your idea when your busy (or irritable) boss said, “Give it to me in a nutshell”? Synopsis.

Have you ever answered a text when a friend asked, “What happened” or “How are you”? Synopsis.

Have you ever given “just the facts” when interrogated by the police? Okay, maybe that one is a stretch for some of us. But it is still a synopsis.