MASTER LISTS FOR WRITERS: Thesauruses, Plots, Character Traits, Names, and More (2 page)

DESCRIPTIONS OF GESTURES AND BODY LANGUAGE

Many of these can mean different emotions in different contexts. Your heroine might lift her chin in confidence or in angry defiance. Your villain might rub his hands together because he’s planning evil things or because it’s cold in his lair. For that reason, I haven’t attempted to separate these into positive and negative emotions.

Some of the things in my list are not exactly body language or gestures, but are useful for setting up dialogue. As with the list of facial expressions, I’ve included some different ways to say the same thing.

Each of your characters may have one or two gestures that are typical of him or her. While you wouldn’t want to overdo it, this can make the people in your story feel more real.

she nodded

he bobbed his head

she tilted her head

he cocked his head

she inclined her head

he jerked his head toward…

she threw her head back

he lowered his head

she hung her head

he ducked

she bowed her head

he put his head in his hands

he covered his eyes with a hand

she hid behind her book

she pressed her hands to her cheeks

she raised her chin

he lifted his chin

her hands squeezed into fists

his hands tightened into fists

she clenched her fists

she balled her fists

he unclenched his fists

her arms remained at her sides

his arms dangled at his sides

he shrugged

she gave a half shrug

he lifted his shoulder in a half shrug

she gave a dismissive wave of her hand

she raised a hand in greeting

he waved

she held up her hands

he lifted his hands

she held up her palms

he threw his hands in the air

she brushed her palms together

he rubbed his hands together

she made a steeple of her fingers

he spread his hands

she gesticulated

she fanned herself

he flapped his hands

he waved his hands

she clapped her hands

he snapped his fingers

she held up a finger

she wagged a finger

he pointed

she gestured with a thumb

he jerked his thumb toward…

she extended her middle finger toward him

he gave her the finger

she flipped him the bird

she gave him the thumbs up

he gave him the okay sign

she flashed a peace sign

she drew a finger across her throat

he twirled a finger next to his temple

she gave a mock salute

he pretended to shoot himself in the head

she waggled her hips

he thrust his pelvis

he put his hands on his hips

she rested a hand on her hip

she jutted out her hip

she shoved her hands into her pockets

he jammed his hands in his pockets

she folded her arms

he crossed his arms over his chest

she hugged herself

he wrapped his arms around himself

she rubbed her forearms

she spread her arms wide

he held out his arms

she held out her hand

he extended a hand

he shook his head

she turned her face away

he looked away

his breaths quickened

she panted

she was breathing hard

his chest rose and fell with rapid breaths

she took in a deep breath

he drew in a long breath

she took in a sharp breath

he gasped

she held her breath

he let out a harsh breath

she exhaled

he blew out his cheeks

she huffed

he sighed

she snorted

she laughed

he giggled

she guffawed

he chuckled

she gave a bitter laugh

he gave a mirthless laugh

she tittered

he cackled

she rubbed her shoulder

he kneaded his shoulder

he rolled his shoulders

she tensed her shoulders

he massaged the back of his neck

she rubbed her temples

she rubbed her hands on her thighs

she ran her hand through her hair

he threaded a hand through his hair

he raked his fingers through his hair

he shoved his hair away from his face

she toyed with a lock of hair

she played with her hair

she twirled her hair

she wrapped a curl around her finger

she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear

he undid his ponytail

she shook out her hair

she tossed her hair

he buried his hands in his hair

she tugged at her hair

he stroked his beard

he scratched his beard

she tugged at her earlobe

he bit a nail

she chewed on a cuticle

she picked at her nails

she inspected her fingernails

he plucked at the cuff of his shirt

she picked lint from her sleeve

he adjusted the lapels of his jacket

she fiddled with her earring

he twisted the ring on his finger

she played with her cell phone

he tugged at his shirt collar

he adjusted his tie

she smoothed down her skirt

she scratched her nose

he scratched his head

she rubbed her forehead

he blotted his forehead with a handkerchief

she slapped her forehead

he smacked his forehead

he facepalmed

she rubbed her eyes

she pinched the bridge of her nose

he held his nose

she slapped a hand over her mouth

she covered her mouth with her hand

he slapped his knee

she pressed her fingers to her lips

he tapped his fingers against his lips

she held her finger up to her lips

he rubbed his chin

she pressed a hand to her throat

she touched her hand to her heart

he pounded his chest

he clutched his chest

he leaned against the wall

she bounced on her toes

he danced in place

she jumped up and down

he tapped his foot

he stomped his foot

her toes curled

she folded her hands in her lap

she drummed her fingers on the table

he tapped his fingers on the table

he slammed his hand on the table

she pounded her fist on the table

she set her palms down flat on the table

he rested his hands on the table

she set her hands on the table, palms up

he leaned back in his chair

she hooked her feet around the chair legs

he gripped the arm of the chair

she put her hands behind her head

he put his feet up on the desk

he fidgeted

she jiggled her foot

he swung his leg

she crossed her legs

he uncrossed his legs

she crossed her ankles in front of her

she stretched out her legs in front of her

he sprawled out

she cringed

he shuddered

she flinched

he recoiled

he shivered

she trembled

his body shook

she cowered

he shrank back

she huddled in the corner

he pulled away

she jerked away

he turned away

she stilled

he froze

she jolted upright

he stiffened

she straightened

he tensed

he jumped

she jumped to her feet

he stood up

she rose from her seat

she relaxed

he hunched

she slouched

her shoulders sagged

his shoulders slumped

her shoulders rounded

his chest caved

he drooped

she wilted

he went limp

he rolled his shoulders

she squared her shoulders

she clasped her hands behind her back

he puffed out his chest

she thrust out her chest

he propped his chin on his hand

she rested her chin on her palm

he yawned

she stretched

he turned around

she whirled around

he pivoted

she reeled

he staggered

her knees buckled

she stepped away

she drew nearer

he leaned closer

she inched forward

he loomed closer

he paced

she shifted from one foot to the other

she rocked back and forth

he shuffled his feet

he swayed on his feet

she dragged her feet

she pumped a fist

he thrust his fists in the air

she punched the air

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTIONS

Sometimes it can be hard to find the right words to describe individual facial features, faces in general, bodies, and even hair. This list can be a good resource for describing the looks of the characters in your story.

Remember that when you’re in a character’s point of view, his attitude toward someone else’s appearance may change over the course of the story as his relationship to that character changes. A classic case in point: Mr. Darcy goes from saying Elizabeth Bennet is “tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me,” to “one of the handsomest women of my acquaintance.” Conversely, the cute guy in Spanish class might not seem cute at all once your young adult heroine figures out he’s a jerk.

Some of these phrases on this list are more expected than others, and you can always put your own spin on them.

EYES - GENERAL

large

small

narrow

sharp

squinty

round

wide-set

close-set

deep-set

sunken

bulging

rheumy

protruding

wide

hooded

heavy-lidded

bedroom

bright

sparkling

glittering

flecked

dull

bleary

cloudy

red-rimmed

beady

birdlike

cat-like

jewel-like

steely

hard

fringed with long lashes

with sweeping eyelashes

with thick eyelashes

EYES – COLOR

Brown is the most common eye color by far. Green is quite rare.

chestnut

chocolate brown

cocoa brown

coffee brown

mocha

mahogany

sepia

sienna brown

mink brown

copper

amber

cognac

whiskey

brandy

honey

tawny

topaz

hazel

obsidian

onyx

coal

raven

midnight

sky blue

sunny blue

cornflower blue

steel blue

ice blue

Arctic blue

glacial blue

crystal blue

cerulean

sapphire

electric blue

azure

lake blue

aquamarine

turquoise

denim blue

storm blue

slate gray

silver

chrome

platinum

pewter

smoky gray

ash gray

concrete gray

dove gray

shark gray

fog gray

gunmetal gray

olive

emerald

leaf green

moss green

EYEBROWS

arched

straight

plucked

sparse

trim

dark

faint

thin

thick

unruly

bushy

heavy

SKIN – COLOR

Descriptions of the skin tones of characters of color can be a sensitive issue, which is hardly surprising, given the course of history. Many people object to comparing skin tones to food. “Coffee” and “chocolate” probably carry the most negativity, and may be the most overused besides. As is so often the case with language, whether one is a part of the group or outside of it makes a big difference.

amber

bronze

cinnamon

copper

dark brown

deep brown

ebony

honey

golden

pale

pallid

pasty

fair

light

creamy

alabaster

ivory

bisque

milky

porcelain

chalky

sallow

olive

peach

rosy

ruddy

florid

russet

tawny

like gingerbread

like strong tea

like weak tea with milk

SKIN – GENERAL

Some of these are better for the face, and some are better for other parts of the body.

lined

wrinkled

seamed

leathery

sagging

drooping

loose

clear

smooth

silken

satiny

dry

flaky

scaly

delicate

thin

translucent

luminescent

baby-soft

flawless

poreless

with large pores

glowing

dewy

dull

velvety

fuzzy

rough

uneven

mottled

dimpled

doughy

firm

freckled

pimply

pockmarked

blemished

pitted

scarred

bruised

veined

scratched

sunburned

weather-beaten

raw

tattooed

FACE - STRUCTURE

square

round

oblong

oval

elongated

narrow

heart-shaped

catlike

wolfish

high forehead

broad forehead

prominent brow ridge

protruding brow bone

sharp cheekbones

high cheekbones

angular cheekbones

hollow cheeks

square jaw

chiseled

sculpted

craggy

soft

jowly

jutting chin

pointed chin

weak chin

receding chin

double chin

cleft chin

dimple in chin

protruding Adam’s apple