By: K.M. Weiland
Incorrectly describing character movements
ranks surprisingly high among common writing mistakes.
Within the confines of a story, a
character can do only three things: he can think, he can talk, and he can move. Out of
the three, the first two lend themselves most gracefully to written literature,
since words are their very foundation. Movement, although no less important, is
a little trickier.
You might think the most difficult aspect
of describing character movements would be the descriptive challenges of showing readers
exactly what your characters are doing with their bodies.
But, actually, the most difficult part is
simply remembering to describe those movements in the first
place.
Like vanishing
settings, less than thorough character choreography can end up leaving readers
with either nothing to imagine or, even worse, strangely
nonsensical actions in which characters appear to jump from one side of the
room to the other or magically end up with a prop in a previously empty hand.
Are You Really Describing
Character Movements?
Writers see their stories in perfect
Technicolor, right down to the tiniest detail. We see the gold flecks in our
heroine’s green eyes. We see the frayed seam in her kid’s sock. We see the
expiration date on the milk she’s pouring in his cereal bowl—even before they
both gag at its sour smell.
But here’s the sticky part: our readers don’t see
all this stuff.
Yes, their own imaginations can and should
fill in the blanks. But they can’t paint on the canvas unless we’re giving
them the proper paints and brushes. Readers may not need to know about the gold
flecks, or the frayed seam , or the expiration date—but they do need
to know whenever you character makes an important move. Take a look:
. . .
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If
you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they
are again:
- Best Practices for Author Facebook Pages and Groups | Jane Friedman http://ow.ly/Wq1iC
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- Writing secondary characters - The Writer http://ow.ly/Wq5RO
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Your Fiction: Using
Weather To Create Mood, Not Clichés | Writers In The Storm http://ow.ly/Wq68F - Writer’s Resolutions: How to Start 2016 on the Right Page - Written Word Media http://ow.ly/Wq74R
- Planning a Novel: Character Arc In A Nutshell - WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™ http://ow.ly/Wq7Tk
- Daily Discipline for Writers – Keep After It http://ow.ly/WqbfQ
- How
I Wrote & RE-WROTE Cover Copy for My Novel | J.M.
Ney -Grimm http://ow.ly/Wqblh - 4 Special Features For Your Novel’s Blog or Website http://ow.ly/WqbuT
- 7 Ways to Prime the Writing Pump (Plus 1) http://ow.ly/Wqcpc
- Writing Tense Scenes | You Write Fiction http://ow.ly/WqctW
- Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 30: Describing Character Movements - Helping Writers Become Authors http://ow.ly/WqcIQ
- Konrath's New Year's Resolutions for Writers | The Passive Voice | http://ow.ly/Wqdqc
- Fiction University: Finding Your Path to Publishing http://ow.ly/WqdCZ
- A Beginner’s Roadmap To Effective Infographic Outreach [INFOGRAPHIC] - Where Writers Win http://ow.ly/WqfKR
- 5 Industry Issues for Authors to Watch in 2016 | Jane Friedman http://ow.ly/WrdUx
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