: Re: How do I convey messages that are clear, but unspoken? So much of communication is nonverbal - facial expressions, body language. Often, it's entirely clear what somebody is thinking and conveying

@Bryan361

Vote Up Vote Down

Hmm, seems to me that you've summarized the options pretty well:

(a) You can describe the physical action and rely on the reader to understand what it means. "She stared at me and frowned."

(b) You can have the narrator explain the meaning. "'Hey George, it's 5:00, workday is over', I said. And he looked at me, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he wanted to go to Harry's Donut Shop and order a Boston creme donut and a cup of coffee with hazelnut creamer, and sip it slowly while he read a novel, probably that new novel by Tom Clancy. But it was clear from the set of his jaw that he knew he couldn't, and that he'd have to go straight home, where his wife would probably tell him that the dishwasher was broken again and he'd have to fix it." (Well, okay, maybe you can't tell THAT much from non-verbal communication.)

(c) You can clarify the meaning of a non-verbal communication by other character's reactions. Like, "Sally stared at George. 'Hey,' George said, 'I'm sorry. I didn't realize it would make you this angry.'" Now we know it's an angry stare and not a puzzled stare, etc.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what other options there are. You either have the narrator explain, have a character explain it, or no one explains it and it's up to the reader to figure it out. I don't think there's some other magic solution.

(0)

Login to post a comment!