Body Language
Tritter closed the door behind him with a soft click.
Chase took a step back. "Why are you here?" he asked, scared.
And 'scared' is... okay. Not for Chase, maybe, but as a reader I can live with it, I guess.
Smart people, however, have told me to show, not tell, and since these people are amazing writers I tend to trust their advice. Which is why I could probably spend ten minutes just trying to think up an adequate way to show that Chase is afraid without actually saying the word.
Luckily, I have the internet.
From Using Body Language:
A 'cold sweat', pale face, dry mouth (which may be indicated by licking lips, drinking water, rubbing throat), not looking at the other person, damp eyes, trembling lip, varying speech tone, speech errors, voice tremors, visible high pulse (noticeable on the neck or movement of crossed leg, sweating, tension in muscles (clenched hands or arms, elbows drawn in to the side, jerky movements, legs wrapped around things), gasping and holding breath, fidgeting.
From The Nonverbal Dictionary of Gestures, Signs, and Body Language Cues:
a. an exaggerated angular distance, b. release of apocrine odor, c. increase in breathing rate, d. trembling or chattering teeth, e. crouching, f. crying, g. displacement gestures, h. a faster eye-blink rate, i. the fear grin, j. widely opened flashbulb eyes, k. flexion withdrawal gestures, l. freeze reactions, m. hair-bristling, n. an accelerated heart rate, o. tightened muscle tension (esp. in muscles innervated by special visceral nerves such as upper trapezius), p. screaming, q. squirm cues, r. staring eyes with dilated pupils, s. sweaty palms, t. tense-mouth cues, u. throat-clearing, v. an audibly tense tone-of-voice, and w. yawning.
Those are the better two sites I could find. Three extra body language links that can come in useful:
How to detect lies
Cultural gestures (ETA: to be taken with a grain of salt...)
Examples of body language
Chase took a step back. "Why are you here?" he asked, scared.
And 'scared' is... okay. Not for Chase, maybe, but as a reader I can live with it, I guess.
Smart people, however, have told me to show, not tell, and since these people are amazing writers I tend to trust their advice. Which is why I could probably spend ten minutes just trying to think up an adequate way to show that Chase is afraid without actually saying the word.
Luckily, I have the internet.
From Using Body Language:
A 'cold sweat', pale face, dry mouth (which may be indicated by licking lips, drinking water, rubbing throat), not looking at the other person, damp eyes, trembling lip, varying speech tone, speech errors, voice tremors, visible high pulse (noticeable on the neck or movement of crossed leg, sweating, tension in muscles (clenched hands or arms, elbows drawn in to the side, jerky movements, legs wrapped around things), gasping and holding breath, fidgeting.
From The Nonverbal Dictionary of Gestures, Signs, and Body Language Cues:
a. an exaggerated angular distance, b. release of apocrine odor, c. increase in breathing rate, d. trembling or chattering teeth, e. crouching, f. crying, g. displacement gestures, h. a faster eye-blink rate, i. the fear grin, j. widely opened flashbulb eyes, k. flexion withdrawal gestures, l. freeze reactions, m. hair-bristling, n. an accelerated heart rate, o. tightened muscle tension (esp. in muscles innervated by special visceral nerves such as upper trapezius), p. screaming, q. squirm cues, r. staring eyes with dilated pupils, s. sweaty palms, t. tense-mouth cues, u. throat-clearing, v. an audibly tense tone-of-voice, and w. yawning.
Those are the better two sites I could find. Three extra body language links that can come in useful:
How to detect lies
Cultural gestures (ETA: to be taken with a grain of salt...)
Examples of body language