Just found this blog by T.H.Mafi (http://stiryourtea.blogspot.com/p/bio.html) and thought I'd better own up ...
I was just working on my latest novel (title t.b.d.) and realized I used every single one of these terms ... a few times ...
On the other hand, what options are there? I mean, if your character is resigned to something, is it right to change 'she sighed' to something like 'she inhaled, then exhaled'?What if that's really what she does? Sometimes you just gotta tell it like it is.
But I thought this was a hilarious blog (actually, the whole site is definitely worth a read - great sense of humour) and thought I'd share it so you'd know you're not the only one whose characters are constantly blinking and glancing ...
7 Things Your Characters Do Too Much
1. SIGH.characters LOVE TO SIGH. everyone is sighing ALL THE TIME! "dreamily, happily, painfully, unconsciously, forcefully, desolately, adjectively," she said, sighing regretfully.
2. GLANCE.we are so good at glancing! we glance at everything, especially when we're really focusing on something! but when we're really focusing on something we'll glance really hard which would be perfectly okay except that glancing really hard isn't really glancing at all. is it?
3. BLINK.because it's so much better than staring at things.
4. STARE.because it's so much better than looking at things.
5. LOOK.because it's the same thing as having eyes that happen to be open. CUT US SOME SLACK THIS WRITING BUSINESS IS DIFFICULT
6. GROWL. i've seen a lot of Love Interests growling lately. i wonder if their mouths are hungry?
7. HISS.OY, HARRY! THE BASILISK IS COMING! THE BASILISK IS COMING!!
I was just working on my latest novel (title t.b.d.) and realized I used every single one of these terms ... a few times ...
On the other hand, what options are there? I mean, if your character is resigned to something, is it right to change 'she sighed' to something like 'she inhaled, then exhaled'?What if that's really what she does? Sometimes you just gotta tell it like it is.
But I thought this was a hilarious blog (actually, the whole site is definitely worth a read - great sense of humour) and thought I'd share it so you'd know you're not the only one whose characters are constantly blinking and glancing ...
7 Things Your Characters Do Too Much
1. SIGH.characters LOVE TO SIGH. everyone is sighing ALL THE TIME! "dreamily, happily, painfully, unconsciously, forcefully, desolately, adjectively," she said, sighing regretfully.
2. GLANCE.we are so good at glancing! we glance at everything, especially when we're really focusing on something! but when we're really focusing on something we'll glance really hard which would be perfectly okay except that glancing really hard isn't really glancing at all. is it?
3. BLINK.because it's so much better than staring at things.
4. STARE.because it's so much better than looking at things.
5. LOOK.because it's the same thing as having eyes that happen to be open. CUT US SOME SLACK THIS WRITING BUSINESS IS DIFFICULT
6. GROWL. i've seen a lot of Love Interests growling lately. i wonder if their mouths are hungry?
7. HISS.OY, HARRY! THE BASILISK IS COMING! THE BASILISK IS COMING!!
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