Describing character's facial expressions, emotions and body language?
As a writer, I have a lot of problem with describing how my characters are feeling. How can I describe, jealousy, envy, happiness, scared, annoyed, curious... etc without actually saying. "She was curious." How can I describe their facial expressions and body language? Instead of saying. "She moved uneasily in her seat.." Something a lot longer and more detailed with how they are feeling. How can I use words that evoke actions? Such as "He grimaced." I only know a limited. And also, you know when your reading a book and there's usually a paragraph or two describing how the character's feeling? I forgot what it's called. I was just wondering how I can put it in my story? I can just about picture how they are feeling and their body language in my mind, I just find it really hard to put it into words in a detailed way.
How to describe characters' emotions & facial expressions?
I recently started working on my first manuscript for one of my novels, and I realized I'm having a really hard time describing characters' emotions & facial expressions. The reason for this is because: I was only a C student (at best) in English class, so even though I can easily picture my characters' emotions & facial expressions inside my mind, I have no idea how to describe those emotions/expressions in words. I think there's 2 ways I could find what I'm looking for: (A) Is there a website that provides examples of "stock" text that helps rookies learn how to describe emotions in a "Show, don't tell" kind of way? I've already found one stock example, FEAR: "He felt afraid." - BAD WRITING "A shiver ran up his spine." - MUCH BETTER (and I wrote a sentence in my manuscript based on this) Can anybody show me to more stock examples? Such as anger/fury; happiness/joy; jealosy/envy; ETC? (B) You could site some text samples from critically acclaimed books that demonstrate good ways for writing emotions/expressions.
Are our facial expressions when we feel emotions instinctive or learned?
Facial expressions are mostly instinctive and can never be learned.Learned facial expressions aka fake facial expressions can be easily detected by those who have mastered the art or are at least skilled enough and on the way to mastering the art. A faker can rarely make it through with such people.However, other types of people, the ones with genuine and the ones with fake expressions exist.This, of course, doesn't count people who might fake their expressions genuinely to avoid someone or to react to someone in a true way and/or at a point of time.
What is the importance of facial expressions in acting?
unless you're just doing voice acting, and even then (because people can hear a smile), facial expression is a vital part of acting. an audience absorbs every part of your performance; what you're saying, how you're saying it, and what you're doing. facial expression affects how your words are interpreted. they can be the visual representation of your words, or can be a contradiction of what you're saying. if you say, 'i'm angry' with a smile, people will know that you're not really angry. or you're being sarcastic etc. etc. facial expression gives the performance levels. how to improve your facial expressions? practice! get in front of a mirror! make a list of emotions and try to express them through you face. start easy; happy, sad, mad etc. then broaden your range of emotions; perturbed, wary, condescending try to do things that might be more difficult to express facially; what does jealousy look like? draw from your personal experience and dig deep! watch some of the 'rubber faced' actors like jim carrey. oh, warm up first! do some big yawns and massage your neck and jaw. good luck!
I use too much facial expressions..is that ok?
Ha! Some people like me get interrogated for "lack of expression". Having facial expression is excellent. It's excellent to show your emotions to friends and family - to show love, compassion and empathy. It's also great for dramatic arts :) (I got Bs in drama for never making the "appropriate faces"). If you think you are overexpressing yourself, try to analyze any certain situation before making a face, 'cause some people might not like it if you make insulting faces, etc. Step back into your bubble a little and reflect on what people would want to see on your face. But in your question, you told me that a lot people do like what they see! So, go on! I mean; your smile can lighten up someone's day. Supportin' ya!
How can I master facial expressions?
How can I master facial expressions?The only way you can master facial expressions is by diligent study. It may take years to do so, but it will be worth it.One thing that helps a lot is watching reality shows that involve a lot of actual, non- staged drama. Such would be for example court cases, where you can see people being filmed in real time. DVR IT, AND THEN watch those twice: once with the sound completely muted, then with the sound on. See how you did comparing both observations.It is important to say, that once you learn that, you can not unlearn it, it will always be with you. While it sounds good initially, be aware that you'll know when people are going to talk to you, you'll know by their facial expressions what's going on in their thoughts at that time.
Do you think human facial expressions are genetically programed into us? or programed into us by society?
I believe that facial expressions are inherent to an extent. Even isolated cultures have been found to smile to express happiness, etc. If facial expressions were entirely learned, one would expect cultures with no contact with other civilizations to develop varied ways of signalling happiness and other emotions. However, there is a learned aspect to expressions and the expressions displayed by people vary according to their culture's norms (e.g. how much happiness or distress it is appropriate to display). I know there have been some psychology studies where they showed individuals of varying cultures a set of photos and asked them to identify the emotions displayed. The percentage of people who identified them correctly varied for each culture, so at least some expressions are not a completely universal thing. If I remember correctly, happiness was always identified with great success, so I would dare to guess that smiling is a very innate, natural action.
Is mathematics an expression of the mathematician's emotions or an expression of nature?
The only room for expression is in the layout of writing a proof (and the style of problem solving employed before verifying a result). The available deductions to be made are fixed, since they are made inside a formal system. That system need not correspond to nature - at a remote level the whole enterprise could be initiated by human curiosity.A not-deceptive choice of writing a proof with “expressive” naming conventions is a minor good. Expressing glee at illustrative times is a sign of a good professor or practitioner. Otherwise, mathematics is not emotional.