Fun to see this thread pop back into activity. I think these meaningless little body actions are related to something that dawned on me the other night, while reading a dual POV story in which each POV was written by a separate author.
Here's what i realized: One author uses actions that only involve body parts. (She popped her head into the room and said, ...) The other author never does this. There is action, but it is purposeful and involves some meaningful prop or other. (She brought her knitting into the room and sat by the fire.) In addition to not being empty action-for-the-sake-of-action, the second author seems less concerned with conveying emotion through action, and more concerned with developing who the character is. What are her interests, what is she prioritizing in this moment, and so on.
But when it comes to conveying the emotion, with knitting, for example (but it works with anything), now you can show nervousness in a new way besides lip-biting. She dropped another stitch. "Damn."
And ditto on disliking the I exhale with relief, not realizing I was holding my breath. No one thinks that. No one spends time thinking that. They just get on with the thing that they are now determined to get on with.
I exhale and take a deep breath of stale basement mustiness, (or whatever, fresh cut grass, WD40, etc) would be better imo. It conveys the same emotion to me, but adds context and color of setting.
Here's what i realized: One author uses actions that only involve body parts. (She popped her head into the room and said, ...) The other author never does this. There is action, but it is purposeful and involves some meaningful prop or other. (She brought her knitting into the room and sat by the fire.) In addition to not being empty action-for-the-sake-of-action, the second author seems less concerned with conveying emotion through action, and more concerned with developing who the character is. What are her interests, what is she prioritizing in this moment, and so on.
But when it comes to conveying the emotion, with knitting, for example (but it works with anything), now you can show nervousness in a new way besides lip-biting. She dropped another stitch. "Damn."
And ditto on disliking the I exhale with relief, not realizing I was holding my breath. No one thinks that. No one spends time thinking that. They just get on with the thing that they are now determined to get on with.
I exhale and take a deep breath of stale basement mustiness, (or whatever, fresh cut grass, WD40, etc) would be better imo. It conveys the same emotion to me, but adds context and color of setting.
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