As humans we read signals all the time. If someone flips us the finger, we know that person is angry. If someone throws their arms wide and does a little dance, we know that the person is happy about something. We communicate every day without words. Gestures reveal so much about a character, and about a situation.
Reveal is the important term here—reveal/show. It speaks to that old writing adage “show, don’t tell.” When we see certain gestures by characters we don’t need to be told about the underlying emotion. That is double-dipping. For ex., “Susan swiped at her eyes. She was sad.” How much better to have a full scene of Susan crying as she’s driven home from a losing baseball game, than simply to be told that she was sad.
Often, when exposition tells us about an emotion, that’s a good spot for a scene instead. Use speech, body language and some revealing gestures to convey that emotion. Try these exercises to loosen up your gesture-writing muscle.
Gesture Exercise #1
First, choose a character to work with. Know a little about him/her/they such as age, and a few physical details. In your mind, place that character in a setting. (No need to go deeply into detail for this exercise.)
Then, list a gesture, or two, your character could make when feeling …
weary
frustrated
overwhelmed
puzzled
bored
defensive
undecided
giddy
regretful
scornful
Now, write a scene with your character by detailing at least two gestures that reveal an emotion. DO NOT state the emotion.
Gesture Exercise #2
Since it’s summer and hot, let’s take this exercise outdoors. Go to a beach, a park, a public bench, public garden, or air-conditioned library. Park yourself and observe others. What gestures are folks making? Jot each down in a journal. Next to that make a note about how the person seems to be in the moment—nervous, agitated, happy, flirty. Later, go to your list and think about what deeper things the gestures tell you about the people you observed.
Finally, write a piece/poem about the most interesting person you saw. Or give some of these gestures to a character you are working with.
Gesture Exercise #3
Choose either an attribute that helps a character succeed (such as trustworthiness), or a flaw that works against the character (like low self-esteem) and write a scene that shows this through gesture.
Whichever exercise you try … here’s me with a thumbs up!
