Lately my characters have been doing an awful lot of smiling, and it's starting to get on my nerves. Occasionally they'll grin or on a really good day they'll quirk their lips, but for the most part those goobers go around smiling all the time. Sometimes I catch it before it goes to critique, and sometimes not. The important thing is that I'm beginning to notice it for myself (which means it's a problem, LOL!) At least for the moment, smiling is my pet body language gesture and I need to get some variety.
**BTW, each book I write seems to have its own pet phrase. In my first book my characters kept tossing their heads back with laughter. How wrong is that??? LOL!**
Unfortunately, the English language is sorely lacking in synonyms for smile. In my quest to stop repeating the word smile a kabillion times in one manuscript, I'm digging into the root emotions that a smile conveys. Joy, nervousness, amusement, pleasure, politeness, optomism, etc.
Now I've got something to work with by examining how else I can convey, for example, amusement. I could go with a clever line of dialog, their tone of voice, another physical gesture (but not lifting the brow--if I have my characters lift another eyebrow I might barf!), describe the glint in their eye, etc.
So here's to a bit of variety! Today I'm committed to preventing my characters from flashing another boring smile.
What's your pet phrase, gesture, word in your current WIP? Better yet, how do you plan to fix it?
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6 comments:
Same boat! Thanks for the new paddling technique. I like the digging into the root of the emotion behind the smile idea. Good thoughts!! Thanks for sharing.
LOL, you've often shone the bright spotlight of sense on my pet phrases. White teeth anyone? Leather chairs?
I'm not sure what my pet phrase for this new book is since I just started it, but I'm sure I'll have one.
And Betsy's right, what a great way to vary things, but digging into the emotion behind the action.
When I catch myself using a body gesture over and over, the deeper problem (for me, anyway) is that I'm trying to show the reader too much. Which one wouldn't think is a problem, but it can be.
What's worked for me is to take the dialogue and really perfect it to make my character's words show that they're smiling or smirking or laughing or angry or happy.
Sometimes showing that they're smiling just isn't right. Let the readers get caught up in the action of the conversation and they'll fill in for themselves that your heroine or hero is grinning.
I agree with Sally. Too much showing can be a problem. When it's ingrained in you to "show, don't tell" you sure can overdue.
Hmmm. Trying to think of a gesture I overuse. I know I've done it a bazillion times, but right now my biggest crutch is wordiness, not smiles, head rubbing, or fidgeting in the pocket. What I catch most now is that I really need to tighten my prose.
My characters SIGH way too much. Had to ax a bunch and noticed my hero sighed as well. Definitely nix that. How unmasculine is it to sigh?
Ooo, you're right about that! I might have to do a sigh search on my guys.
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