A Big Thank You & Today's Physical Attributes Entry

Before I get into today's thesaurus entry, Becca and I want to give out a big shout out to Kristin Lenz at YA Fusion. She wrote a review of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression, and it was accepted into the SCBWI Bulletin! (I know--how amazing, right?)





Thank you, Kristin!

We are ever so grateful to her for being a champion of our book and seeking out this magazine to place her review!  I recently posted on The Importance of Reviews, and her kindness will result in even more writers discovering our resource, so we are just blown over by this.



Unfortunately, the Bulletin credited the review to another author, and while they are going to change it for the digital copy I believe, the print copy is too late to change. I feel bad because it's very thorough and well done, and she deserves to have her name on it, so PLEASE HELP US in thanking her by stopping in at YA Fusion blog and say hello! They are a great group over there, with inspiring and helpful content for all writers.




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Bradley Cooper (you are welcome, Ladies!)

 Physical description of a character can be difficult to
convey—too much will slow the pace or feel 'list-like', while too
little will not allow readers to form a clear mental image. If a reader
cannot imagine what your character looks like, they may have trouble
connecting with them on a personal level, or caring about their plight. 


One
way to balance the showing and telling of physical description is to
showcase a few details that really help 'tell the story' about who your
character is and what they've been through up to this point. Think about
what makes them different and interesting. Can a unique feature,
clothing choice or way they carry themselves help to hint at their
personality? Also, consider how they move their body. Using movement
will naturally show a character's physical characteristics, keep the
pace flowing and help to convey their emotions.









FACIAL HAIR




Descriptors : groomed, clean, trimmed, wiry, patchy, sleek, oiled, bristle, stubble, scruffy, scraggly, neat, shaped, bushy, narrow, thin, thick, curly, long, short, smudge, shadow, kinky, dark, salty, wild, bearded, mustache, muttonchops, goatee, sideburns, beards, whiskers



Here's a list of different styles of facial hair!


Things Facial Hair Do:


Tickle: in close contact, facial hair can feel ticklish! 
Rub: facial hair can also be unpleasant--rubbing, scratching and aggravating sensitive skin.
Itch: facial hair can be quite itchy for the owner, especially in hot or humid climates. Some men grow beards during the cold months and shave during the summer.



Key Emotions and How Related Facial Hair Relates: 


Adoration & Love: Some find facial hair extremely attractive, and like a man who can grow a good beard or mustache. Stubble is a trend that has gain a lot of traction. However, with that growth comes some sensibility and good grooming expectations. Gone are the days of waxed and curled mustaches, and no one likes to see one's lunch hangout out of one's beard.
Pride & Satisfaction: Many men see growing facial hair as a sign of manliness. The thickness of one's beard, or the overall even stubble is a source of pride among males. Men like to touch, pull, tweak, rub, stroke and smooth their facial hair. 
Embarrassment: Most women are not fans of facial hair on themselves, and they will eradicate any facial hair that is not invisible against one's completion by tweezing, waxing or shaving. Men who feel unsuccessful at growing hair (when it comes in it's patchy, uneven or just not flattering to one's facial structure) simply choose to shave.

Simile and Metaphor Help:                           



Johnny always takes things too far. Growing a Movember mustache in November to support Cancer Awareness is one thing, but now it's April, and robins are ready to settle in to raise a family.
When my nephew Rick asked what I thought of his 'mustache' I didn't have the heart to tell him it looked like whiskers on a hairless cat.


Clichés to Avoid : Five o'clock shadow (it's been done to death); the Pornstashe, comparing a beard to Santa's beard or a biker's beard; the handlebar mustache; calling a 'stache or beard a soup strainer





HINT: When
describing any part of the body, try to use cues that show the reader
more than just a physical description. Make your descriptions do double
duty. Example: 



Mom strutted past the security checkpoint, her perfectly made up face surly and grim. As soon as she reached us, she began complaining in Italian about the flight--the food was cold, the seat too small, someone had gas and the man next to her grumbled every time she got up to use the washroom. As she blamed us for picking the flight, railing on how the air conditioning ruined her freshly cut hairdo, I took the greatest satisfaction in the wiry tangle of white sprouting out of a mole on her chin. Mom, always immaculately dressed, always primped and perfect...missed a spot.




BONUS TIP: The
Colors, Textures & Shapes Thesaurus in our sidebar might help
you find a fresh take on some of the descriptors listed above!



Bradley Cooper photo credit: david_shankbone via photopin cc