How to Show (Not Tell) Emotion–E to O

59 Tips for Fantasy Writers Book Review: A Study in Silks

How to Show (Not Tell) Emotion–E to O

fear or a headache?

Emotions show up on your body in a variety of hand movements, eye twitches, breathing patterns and more. There are so many ways to show what your characters are feeling without boring us as readers by saying, Anabelle felt angry. Yuck! Show me, don’t tell me! If you’re looking for an emotion starting with A through D, check out the first installment of this series, How to Show (Not Tell) Emotion–A-D. By the way, these apply to both the character’s Point of View and the individual watching.

Here are some ideas:

Excitement

heart race
breathing quicken
cheeks flush
skin tingle
pupils dilate

Fear

tight muscles
cold hands or feet
fluttery stomach
shortness of breath
diarrhea or frequent urination
lower pulse rate
general feelings of weakness
in extreme cases, complete freezing-up
paralysis. trembling lips or trembling body, fast heart beat, sweating
Fear may show in
release of apocrine odor,
increase in heart/breathing rate,
crouching
crying
faster eye-blink flashbulb eyes
staring eyes with dilated pupils
the fear grin
tense-mouth
hair-bristling, squirm cues,
tightened muscle tension
sweaty palms
throat-clearing
an audibly tense tone-of-voice

Happiness

eyes sparkle, with the skin a little wrinkled round and under them, and with the mouth a little drawn back at the corners
bring tears into the eyes

Helplessness

shrug shoulders
elbows turn inwards,
extend hands outwards and open palms

Lying

Listen for a subtle delay in responses to questions. An honest answer comes quickly from memory. Lies require a quick mental review of what they have told others to avoid inconsistency and to make up new details as needed.
Be conscious of their wording. Verbal expression can give many clues as to whether a person is lying, such as:
Lowered heads indicate a reason to hide something. If it is after an explanation, then he may be lying, unsure if what they said was correct Look into their eyes. Liars will consecutively look at you and look away a number of times.
People who look away while you are talking to them are thinking about something else.
Using/repeating your own exact words when answering a question
NOT using contractions
Avoiding direct statements or answers
Speaking excessively in an effort to convince
Speaking in a monotonous tone
Leaving out pronouns (he, she, it, etc.)
Speaking in muddled sentences
Allow silence to enter the conversation. Observe how uncomfortable and restless the person becomes.
Change the subject quickly. While an innocent person would be confused by the sudden shift in the conversation and may try to return to the previous subject, a liar will be relieved and welcome the change.
Watch his throat. A person may be either trying to lubricate their throat when he/she lies OR swallowing to avoid the tension built up
Watch hands, arms and legs, which tend to be limited, stiff, and self-directed when the person is lying. The hands may touch or scratch their face, nose or behind an ear, but are not likely to touch their chest or heart
See if they are telling you too much,

Obstinacy

a dogged or obstinate expression chiefly shown by the mouth being firmly closed, a lowering brow and a slight frown

For those emotions from A to D (anger, anxiety, astonishment, concentration, deception, depression, defiance, disgust, doubt), click the first How to in the series.

Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a weekly columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blog, IMS tech expert, and a monthly contributor to Today’s Author. In her free time, s he is the editor of a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and creator of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a thriller that should be out to publishers next summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.