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Argh! A while back, several years ago, I remember this fantastic website, which listed the sexual arrousment body language. You know, those little signals.
Does anyone happen to have the link, or could provide me with a good list?
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mumbling (to oneself) I only do this occasionally fist on side of the face Glancing all arround (hyper active people, or nervous ones) Twiddleing thumbs
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For some characters it can be useful to create a shorthand notation for certain mannerisms that are peculiar to that character. We all know people (usually a lot of people) that have specific gestures or facial expresions which are very much part of them. My sister does this semi flouncy top of the wrist against the hip thing (I do it to sometimes...she did it so much). If you were to motion capture that and apply the movement to a digital cave troll, I'd know instantly it was her.
For a character that does it often (and is not the POV character) you can describe it once (along with a mention of what it usually means), then just call it her wrists on the hips flounce. Actually, you can just call gestures anything as long as you unambigiously mean that in some manner, the movement is peculiar to that character, and it makes the character seem more unique. I've seen 'tic' used successfully in this manner.
The problem with other approaches is that only mathmatical vector notation has ever proved capable of specifying human (and other animal) movement with the degree of specificity and versitility necessary to capture the subtleties of individual gestures in language...and that is a language that most people can't read, and those that can read it prefer to see it in their workstations rather than in a fiction book.
Remember, gestures, facial expressions, and tone of voice have to be communicated to the reader through the medium of how the POV character describes them. As a rule, the POV character doesn't think about what the specific movement is unless he hasn't seen it before and doesn't know what it means. Once the meaning and individuality of the moment are known (or supposed to be known) to the POV character, he will think of that, not the particular description of the mannerism.
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Hmm - actually, better than Nynaeve tugging her braid, is her reaction when she realizes other people are noticing, and understand what it means... I can "see" her face! Why is it a joke in your family? Does someone else do it - like try to play poker but you know they are bluffing when they pull their hair? I'm 1/2 way through book 10, and still haven't gotten to Rand and Nynaeve yet. Decided it's cool about Elayne's condition, given that I've had that experience - as well as one of my sisters - try not to say what it is in case others have not read it yet...
How about rubbing your nose, scratching the back of your neck, rubbing an eyebrow, tilting your head, smoothing your hands down your sides, biting (or nibbling) your lip, licking your lips, sucking in your breath, blinking, wrinkling your nose, cracking your knuckles, shaking your head, slumping, startling, humphing, eyes go wide, wrinkling mouth, running tongue along teeth... ok, are people doing these things - trying them out as we read them?
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As a child I used to suck air through my teeth on both sides of my mouth. I think initially I just liked the way it felt, but it became something I did all the time unconsciously. It caused the most horrific sound that made my sisters want to kill me. Of course, it didn't take much for my sisters to want to kill me.
I have a friend who stretches her fingers out in a circular motion, the type of movement I suspect a cat would make if she suddenly found herself with a human body.
Mannerisms like this don't seem to make any sense, but as someone pointed out already, they could easily suggest interesting things about the person doing them.
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Pacing Fiddle with glasses on face/ clean glasses Twist ring or other piece of jewelry Fold or rip pieces of paper or tissue Play with a button on a shirt Rubbing a thumb over the spine of a book
You can do a lot with people playing with the "props"
******** Sorry to go off topic here but… Rand and Nynaeve!?!??! As in a couple? Why? Why would that ever happen based on the first 7 books (where the series died a death of disinterest for me)? Not all the women of the Two Rivers (and the rest of the world) are going to fall for Rand! Ack! *Violent Twitching* <-- Oh, can add that one to the list above.
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Okay, people: Raise your hand if you've gotten so tired of the Wheel of Time that you stopped reading back in 1999 and are now just wating for the Final Book to come out before spending 20 minutes at Barnes & Noble flipping through it and checking plot points.
"Oh, what a surprise! The girls are manipulative jerks, and the guys are clueless oafs, and if it wasn't for using sheer luck and cooincidence as plot markers nobody would ever accomplish anything! Imagine!"
Bitter for having spent so much money, I recuse myself from further raggin' on WoT.
[whistles. watches a hummingbird. suddenly skaps forehead]
Oh, yeah! Mannerisms. How about when guys hump dog's legs. That'd be pretty annoying.
Yup. ---------------
I apologize people. I'm just riffing. It's the caffeine, and I should just log off now.
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No - not Rand and Nynaeve as in a couple! Actually, he so far doesn't end up with anyone from Two Rivers (though he has three girls). They go off to access some sa'angreal (really big ones) I think to clean the Source, the male part that is tainted - since Nynaeve is so powerful... I've forgotten so much from the last one it's hard to remember exactly what is up - so far, 1/2 way through number 10, things are moving very slowly, with lots of description, and there is a big beacon of people using the source - so all the people who can use it are freaking out, but we still haven't gotten to read about what is going on. ARGH!
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Eyes can flash anger, sudden recognition, caution, pain, even campy goodness or evil in certain books. I'm sure there are others. Context would determine the reason or source.
Posts: 1810 | Registered: Jun 2002
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Some things are best experienced than explained. To discover what it means when eyes "flash," tell a female co-worker that, yes, in fact, she does look a little heavier today, and her new haircut IS a mess, and, good lord, woman, you chose THAT blouse?
If you're lucky, you'll see a by-gosh real flash, just before you find yourself crawling on the floor, crab-like, hands over your groin, praying for the sweet release of death.
[This message has been edited by ccwbass (edited January 09, 2004).]
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I was a theatre major in college, and this is such a fascinating topic! There are so many mannerisms that we all have that are just part of who we are, and they manifest themselves in different ways at various times, and for a multitude of reasons.
Those who play instruments are prone to "practice" on the air, or on tabletops, etc. Ballerinas and dancers walk in a graceful manner. Atheletes exhibit mannerisms relating to their chosen sport.
I would conclude that one's habits are a reflection of the environment in which they grew, the people to which they were exposed, AND the hobbies they spent their time practicing.
Thanks for this topic! I had forgotten how important mannerisms can be! I know I did better performing a scene, back in acting class, when the character was full and rounded. Definitely something I'll think more about as I create my characters in my stories!
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"Those who play instruments are prone to 'practice' on the air, or on tabletops, etc. Ballerinas and dancers walk in a graceful manner. Atheletes exhibit mannerisms relating to their chosen sport."
Oooh! Good point!
I play the piano, and I sometimes find myself playing thirds on convenient surfaces. I've also caught myself typing "this is stupid" on an imaginary keyboard on my desk during really boring lectures...
Anyway, back to the topic:
- Clicking your teeth - Picking your nose - Clicking your tongue - Making a motion associated with scoring a point when something goes well (I knew a guy who would pretend to "swish" a basketball when something went his way - it looked kinda gay if you didn't know what he was doing) - Thumbs-up - Raising an eyebrow - Smirking - Wrinkling your nose - Idly scratching something, picking at something (don't pretend we don't have blemishes) - Biting your bottom lip - Crossing and uncrossing your legs - Making a "pbbbbbtp" noise with your lips - Sticking your tongue out (some people can't think without doing it) - Making in-air quotation marks (I've seriously met someone who couldn't finish a sentence without doing this at least once - really annoying) - A full-tongued "bleah" - Curling your upper lip - Playing with little trinkets (paperclips, etc. - I do my best thinking with office supplies in my hands) - Curling and uncurling your toes - Rubbing your hands - Pulling at bare threads on your clothes
I'd be surprised if there weren't a good zillion of these.
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