: How do you use showing in animal fantasy? When I read showing in stories with people, they describe facial expressions for showing (among other things). What can a writer use in an animal

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I'm a big fan of doing field research when it comes to my writing. For humans this is nearly free; I just ride the bus, go to lots of public buildings, and people watch.

You didn't mention what type of animals you're writing about, and many people are suggesting they be anthropomorphic, but if you want them to be regular animals I'd suggest watching that animal in a controlled environment if possible.

Go to the zoo, the aquarium, a farm that gives tours, volunteer at the animal shelter, visit an exotic animal rehabilitation center. If it's impossible for you to get out, and observe these animals, you could always watch a bunch of animal documentaries.

I know that what I'm suggesting may not exactly be orthodox, but in my experience sometimes doing research that gets me away from the computer really helps get the creative juices flowing.

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I am assuming your animals have a world of thier own. They see humans as "others".(i.e They dont speak human tingue or interact with humans like humans do)

First, let me tell you how not to write animal fantasies. Google "Champak", a popular indian comic book series. This series is based solely on animal characters. They own houses and drive cars! This level of detail is fine, if your books are for children below 5 years of age.

Animals have as much feelings as humans do. The way they show their feelings is different from animal to animal. And the loudness with which they show their feelings also depends on the species. Some species are very extroverted (Dogs, dolphins, crows); some are more to themselves (Cats, Eagles). I am not considering how a dog behaves with a human, but only how dogs behave among other animals/ other dogs. Animals can have a different view of the world. A whole new, wierd and upside down world. consider the following lines.

The Proud Dog:

Jack, the Sheriff's Doberman was a proud chap, his tail always stiff with ego. (Like a man's face can be red with anger) He never looked down; everything was beneath his status and height. He loved the sheriff, but had rather little respect for other officers, even the ones superior to the sheriff. He had formed a very low opinion for them, seeing his master always gave them tea and cookies when they came. He felt his master owns them too! (A dog too can have prejudice. And a Dog can interpret feeling in a very weird way! So do some humans).

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If your animals are anthropomorphized, you can come pretty close to describing human-level expressions, depending on the animal in question.

If your animals are not sentient, you have to study the animal in question to be able to describe its body language. I've had cats my entire life, so I can describe feline facial expressions (eye movements, pupil widening, sniffing, flehmening, ear movements), vocalizations (meows, chattering, purring, growling), and other body language (posture, stalking, stillness, creeping, butt-waggling, tail lashing, happy tail, kneading, wrestling, swatting, use of claws) in great detail to show what a particular cat is thinking or feeling.

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