In September, I published Emotional Beats: How to Easily Convert your Writing into Palpable Feelings. As promised, I will be posting the book on my blog. So, here is the next installment, listing beats you can use to convey:
Relaxation
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In a sense, this category is the flip side of fear and anger. Whereas people experiencing fear tighten their muscles and adopt a closed-body stance, untroubled people have relaxed muscles and an open body posture:
- He unclenched his fists.
- Her arms dropped at her sides.
- He unclutched his chest.
- He leaned against the wall.
- She folded her hands in her lap.
- She clasped her hands behind her back.
- He propped his chin on his hand.
- She rested her chin on her palm.
- She crossed her ankles in front of her.
- She stretched.
- He yawned.
- He puffed out his chest.
- She thrust out her chest.
- She set her palms down flat on the table.
- He rested his hands on the table.
- She set her hands on the table, palms up.
- He leaned back in his chair.
- She hooked her feet around the chair legs and leaned backwards.
- She put her hands behind her head.
- He put his feet on the desk.
- He uncrossed his legs.
- She stretched out her legs in front of her.
- He sprawled out.
- He waited until the door had closed behind him before exhaling a deep and relieved breath.
- A relieved look washed over his face.
- She made a shushing sound to reassure him.
- His toes and fingers burned as they thawed in front of the fireplace.
- Ankles crossed, his long legs stretched out in front of him.
- His hands resting on the saddle, he relaxed into the ambling ride.
- She swung her short legs.
- She folded her calves under her thighs and scooted back.
- She tucked one leg under her.
- He sat, an ankle across his knee.
- He spoke in a relaxed sort of way, his words drawn-out and low.
- Her breath fell out softly from her lips.
- Her chin took rest against her chest.
Neck and shoulders
- She rolled her shoulders to ease the tension in the back of her neck.
- She tried to massage away the knots of painful tension glued to her shoulders.
- She rubbed the base of her neck where her pulse beat in hard spasms.
- He rubbed the back of his neck.
- She rubbed her shoulder.
- He kneaded his shoulder.
- She rolled her head stiffly to work out the kinks in her shoulders.
- He massaged the back of his neck.
- She squared her shoulders.
Next week: joy. View all posts on the subject, or buy the book on Amazon – free on KU!
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Thank you for sharing… it is a precious gift! :-)claudine
Yay! So glad you found it useful 🙂
Another great list! Thanks 😀
So glad you’re finding these useful 🙂
Wait, I’ve sent you your thank-you copy, haven’t I?
No, I don’t think so. 🙂 I will happily accept!
Darn, I apologize! I’ll remedy right away!
Nothing to apologize for. 😀 I wasn’t expecting it, so I’m delighted through and through.
I’m relaxed and ready to write. Thanks for the writing tips.
Lol – that’s great 😀
Thanks again, Nicholas, for this helpful information. — Suzanne
A pleasure! I hope you find the beats useful 🙂
By just commenting on this post, I have ‘rolled my shoulders’, ‘uncrossed my legs’, and ‘leaned back in my chair’.
It’s working!
Best wishes, Pete.
Ha ha – my work is done, then 😀