Quick, what were we talking about yesterday?
I'm sorry, the correct answer was my excuse for why I don't have chapter two up today. Well it will be coming tomorrow. I promise. And I would never tell a lie.
Now in writing, you can't see the cue that would tell you whether that's the truth or not. You'll have to rely on my verbiosity which is a word I just made up. But the point is, as much as I enjoy talking about dialogue as if it exists in a vacuum, it doesn't. We all, whether we like to admit it or not, have tells about ourselves and who we are. Let's analyze.
I am presently sitting here with my leg bobbing up and down. I am chewing on my cheek because I've developed the habit to substitute a different habit I formerly had which was playing with my tongue ring. These two aspects tell you something about me as a character. The first is that I have a problem sitting still. The second, is that I am substituting for something I clearly didn't want to do. The first probably seems obvious, but how can you tell the second?
Well for one I told you that I was substituting one habit for another. The fact that I still have the habit shows you that it wasn't something I did because I had no use for it. It shows you that I am actively adjusting to a situation that involves some bit of discomfort. But beyond just a reason to talk about myself, what am I getting at here?
When we talk about characters we often leave out what makes them physically who they are and I'm not talking about whether they have muscles or are fat. I'm talking about the little physical things we do that makes us who we are. How much someone talks with their hands or how much they talk with their eyes. How someone compensates for their fears by being aggressively close. The list could go on, but what I'm talking about is the subtle body language that we exhibit.
I'm also cutting this post short because I'm focused more on my leg than I am on writing. What I'm getting at for your writers advice of the day is don't ignore body language.
I will let you know that teaching today went very well, and not only that I picked up some tricks for the future. If you want to know more then I'm happy to answer some questions but I'm pooped and this is just turning into me droning on and on and on and on and
I'm sorry, the correct answer was my excuse for why I don't have chapter two up today. Well it will be coming tomorrow. I promise. And I would never tell a lie.
Now in writing, you can't see the cue that would tell you whether that's the truth or not. You'll have to rely on my verbiosity which is a word I just made up. But the point is, as much as I enjoy talking about dialogue as if it exists in a vacuum, it doesn't. We all, whether we like to admit it or not, have tells about ourselves and who we are. Let's analyze.
I am presently sitting here with my leg bobbing up and down. I am chewing on my cheek because I've developed the habit to substitute a different habit I formerly had which was playing with my tongue ring. These two aspects tell you something about me as a character. The first is that I have a problem sitting still. The second, is that I am substituting for something I clearly didn't want to do. The first probably seems obvious, but how can you tell the second?
Well for one I told you that I was substituting one habit for another. The fact that I still have the habit shows you that it wasn't something I did because I had no use for it. It shows you that I am actively adjusting to a situation that involves some bit of discomfort. But beyond just a reason to talk about myself, what am I getting at here?
When we talk about characters we often leave out what makes them physically who they are and I'm not talking about whether they have muscles or are fat. I'm talking about the little physical things we do that makes us who we are. How much someone talks with their hands or how much they talk with their eyes. How someone compensates for their fears by being aggressively close. The list could go on, but what I'm talking about is the subtle body language that we exhibit.
I'm also cutting this post short because I'm focused more on my leg than I am on writing. What I'm getting at for your writers advice of the day is don't ignore body language.
I will let you know that teaching today went very well, and not only that I picked up some tricks for the future. If you want to know more then I'm happy to answer some questions but I'm pooped and this is just turning into me droning on and on and on and on and
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