The Firemane saga.. I’m loving the books, they’re engaging and with a quickly moving plot, but this one thing, when one character “glances at another with a look of gratitude tinged with anger” is driving me crazy. It throws me out of the narrative because I struggle to imagine how one can convey so much in a glance.
I’ll be honest, I’m a bit on the autism spectrum, don’t always quickly pick up on social cues, so maybe it’s me? Can someone tell me if that much emotion can be conveyed in a look? Am I being too anal about this?
by freckledass
2 Comments
A look can convey a lot, but I agree some writers use that to tell us what a non-pov character is thinking without having to use more subtle or original ways of showing rather than telling. I find it annoying in those instances, especially when it’s information we didn’t really need.
Yes if you take into consideration the entire body. Are they stiff or relaxed? What are the hands doing? What is the expression? What is the posture? What is the default presentation and how far are we from that.
For example, if you know someone who never swears suddenly cursing a blue streak you know something is very very wrong.