Ever notice how often your characters shrug, nod their heads, or look at things? These generic gestures don’t bring them to life. Let’s dig into how to write gestures and beats that are fresh, meaningful, and layered with character.
A writerly 🧵
#writingcommunity #amediting
A writerly 🧵
#writingcommunity #amediting
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Generic gestures like shrugging shoulders or rampant “looking” are filler moments that weigh down your prose. As an editor, I mark them in red. Why? Because gestures should reveal something deeper about your character or the scene. Push harder. Find something better.
Want gestures to feel authentic? Give characters a task. Let them light a campfire while arguing or fold laundry mid-conversation. Actions shaped by emotion—fumbling matches in frustration or snapping a towel in anger—add layers to both character and dialogue.
Here’s the key: how a character does something matters more than what they’re doing. Unloading a dishwasher isn’t interesting. But unloading it in anger? Slamming plates, snapping silverware, and muttering under their breath—that’s a scene with emotion and depth.
Gestures are sometimes called "beats." (Not to be confused with the plot beat.)
Beats can also include thoughts, actions, and sensory details.
Exercise: Describe a bustling city street as seen by someone who’s just lost their job. Don’t mention the job. The lens matters.
Beware of overused gestures and verbal tics. A character who repeatedly smokes a cigarette to the end or flips their hair might feel distinct at first, but it gets old fast. Instead, let their emotions subtly filter through their actions. Keep it fresh.
What about all the "looks, gazes, and glances"? Skip them when you can. If a character picks up a knife, we’ll assume they’ve seen it. Overuse of “looking” is a weed that needs to be yanked out in revisions—trust your readers to connect the dots.
https://darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/devil-in-the-details
Another good one... and I think this was lifted from a craft book but I can't remember which: (1) write a description of a sunny lakeside from the perspective of someone who has just fallen in love. (2) describe the same lakeside from the perspective of someone who has just committed murder.