I have a confession to make: I'm terrible at describing body language.

I have tried to improve on this regard, and usually I can picture vividly what my characters would be doing, in terms of gestures and whatnot, but I have a lot of trouble in describing said actions. Because of this, I usually end up using the same dozen or so actions that aren't even that descriptive and, when attempting to describe something new, I usually do so very clumsily and I have no doubt that I fail to get the point across regardless... which is very frustrating, since I know exactly what I want to describe.

Now, this might be because of English being my second language, but I don't think that's the case, since I also have trouble with this in Portuguese (although less so), which might or might not be due to the fact that I haven't read a lot of literature that (ab)uses body language (I'm not really picky on what I choose to read...) and might be related to my trouble in wanting to balance my knowledge of both languages and then I end up being master of none. Which sucks, because I like both of them for different reasons (English is great for getting my works exposed, and Portuguese is such a beautiful language).

...Jeez, I was already going into rambling territory and off-topic here. Anyway! Do you guys have any recommendations to improve on this subject? Literature, advice, articles... whatever goes!

The more you RP the more you will improve. Observe the emotes of others and learn from them.

What Dug said, really. With Ceredor(Blind NElf), I've been trying to use a lot of body language-type posts lately to kind of give people hints at things, stuff like that. I don't think body language always needs to be -extremely- descriptive. You can give an impression just by having something simple in there, like "smirks lightly as he says stuff", ya know? A slight twitch/wince, a furrowing of the brow, even the slightest curl of the lips can convey a message to people who know how to pick up on it. And I think you can generally describe body language with exactly what I just used as examples. There doesn't always need to be tons of fluff and descriptive words when something short and sweet can get the point across. That's how I roll anyway. This is coming from someone whose first(and only) language is English and lacks an extensive vocabulary.

Put simply: You don't need to have a dictionary-size vocabulary, just enough understanding of body language and basic vocabulary to add in little gestures into emotes. Apologies if this is rambling or badly/barely on topic. >.>

(01-22-2014, 04:11 AM)ghaskan Wrote: Do you guys have any recommendations to improve on this subject? Literature, advice, articles... whatever goes!

First off, what've you read thus far, lit-wise? How about the classics - Tolkien's works? Dune(You can watch Frank Herbert's own writing skill develop throughout the six novels he wrote)? Zothique(If you want to go down the 'I use archaisms in my writing so it feels medieval'-route, I recommend the Zothique cycle. Bug me on Skype to send it to you if you want it)?

As for advice, watch other RPers do it - particularly the wordy, multi-emote ones that get off on punctuating words with expressions like yours truly. Imitation is the most honest form of flattery, after all.

Lastly, think about how characters -feel-. Someone is angry. Their jaw might set, their eyes might narrow, heck they might even turn red or grit their teeth or frown ever so slightly. They might glare and snort or cross their arms and raise their chin. They might sneer or alternatively snarl and bare their fangs, their nose wrinkling. It depends on how the individual character expresses themselves.

Someone bored might tap their foot or thigh, they might twiddle their thumbs(YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) or curl a lock of hair around their finger. People do all sorts of strange gestures near-imperceptibly. Be observant in RL situations and you'll notice them and be able to replicate them pretty easily in RP.

Sometimes you have an itch. You might scratch the side of your nose when embarrassed or tap your chin in thought, or positively shake with frothing rage.

But it doesn't have to be extreme for it to show. Sometimes a slight smile of contentment is all you need. Other times, shoulders might lower in relaxation, along with a quiet sigh as you lean back in your chair. Pupils might narrow with fear or alertness, and goosebumps might spread over skin to a chill wind or good song. Sometimes it might be a personal effect. Rubbing an amulet, brushing hair from your face with your thumb, playing with a coin or quietly folding a piece of paper, there are many feelings you can have, and just as many you can express.

Oftentimes, body language conveys a message better than words do - or, it might indicate a character isn't actually feeling what they're saying. Someone who apologizes whilst glaring at the other person might mean something completely opposite to their words.

Nonverbal language is important, sure, but there's also para-verbal. The changes in intonation that turn "Excuse me, princess." into "Excuuuse me, princess." or
"The zombies are just outside." said A seriously.
"I know." said B quietly, nodding and went out the front door.
"I'm going to kill you if you die out there." A told B.
"Thanks. Wouldn't want to become one'a them." B sighed and nodded, closing the door after themselves.

into
"The zombies are just outside." said A, smirking.
"I know." B answered, grinning.
"I'm going to kill you if you die out there." A teased, baring their own whites.
"Thanks. Wouldn't want to become one'a them." B chuckled and waved over their shoulder, closing the door after themselves.

You can't express much more than accent(Typically -this-, /this/ or *this*) and pauses(either by , and ... or noting there is a pause) as well as breaks(Sorta-) and compound words(Hides-her-eyes nodded at the woman) without nonverbal language, sadly. So, you sorta' need body language for connotation.

Ah, well. In the end, it comes with time and practice.

@Rosencrat once made a small post about writing and briefly touched on things like detail and bodylanguage in emotes. Here's the post. Can't hurt to read it!

Thanks for the advice everyone so far! I suspect it's ALL going to be really helpful.

Sadly, as far as classics go... I can't say I have read any of those. I usually go with rather "modern" stuff (it might be a coincidence, as I just pick whatever catches my eye in bookstores), which is a bit shameful for me to admit, ahem. I did get a Tolkien book gifted once (That's not set in the main trilogy... I think it's called "The Children of Hurin") but I never read it because immersing myself into such an universe was a scary prospect for me. But it's silly of me not to want to read those works, especially when I tend to like fantasy works and Tolkien is a pretty big name for the genre.

I think I might be suffering of a case of "NEEDS TO READ MORE", hehe. I've been neglecting that hobby. A lot. I'll definitively take a look at those titles you mentioned, though!

My advice would be not to use body language emotes frivolously. Make sure there's an explainable reason for everything you type. Something as subtle as sitting upright when someone sits across from your character could mean respect. Or the same emote could mean that a protective facade is coming up.

Posted from my phone!

Credit for this goes to StudioWinters!

This guide is beautiful for any RPer. There's a whole section for body language, as well as a bunch of other writing techniques to help you with your RP, and general writing.