Award-winning author Kathy Steinemann recently shared a great resource: over 100 ways to say “shrug.” As all of my first-draft characters seem to have a nervous tick (which mercifully disappears by the second draft), I appreciated this so much that I just had to share.
As Kathy points out, there are many reasons why someone might shrug–indeed, it is this very versatility that explains why I overuse it in my first drafts. So, she has wisely categorized shrugs according to the emotion we want to convey:
Confusion
- Rapid blinking
- Rubbing the chin
- Scratching the head
- Wrinkling the nose
Deception
- Changing the subject
- Hesitating when answering questions
- Lack of eye contact
- Shifty eyes
Defensiveness
- Holding something in front of the body
- Leaning away from someone
- Licking the lips
- Squinting
Denial
- Locking eyes with someone
- Raising the palms in a not me gesture
- Shuffling backward
- Sweating
Determination
- Cords or veins of neck standing out
- Hard jaw
- Leaning forward
- Pressing on with an activity even if in pain or uncomfortable
Disbelief
- Covering one’s ears as though trying to block bad news
- Slack jaw
- Unfocused stare
- Wide eyes
Doubt
- Avoidance of eye contact
- Biting one’s cheek
- Rubbing the chin or the back of the neck
- Running fingers through hair
Indifference
- Attention focused on other characters or objects
- Blank gaze
- Speaking with hands in pockets
- Turning away from someone who is speaking
Insecurity
- Biting nails or lips
- Fidgeting with hair or clothing
- Forced smile
- Red face and upper torso
Resignation
- Hanging head
- Poor personal grooming
- Slumped shoulders
- Trembling chin
Skepticism
- Mumbling
- Rubbing the eyes
- Tsk-tsking through crooked mouth
- Unrestrained smirk
Sympathy
- Fumbling/at a loss for words
- Patting someone’s back or hugging them
- Speaking in a soothing voice
- Stroking someone’s hair
Uncertainty
- Halting dialogue
- Pacing
- Puckered forehead
- Repeated swallowing
Worry
- Dark circles under eyes
- Thin smile
- Thumbs clenched inside fists
- Trembling
A-Z List
Source: Wikipedia commons
She also offers an A-Z list with words that might be used within the dialogue instead of a shrug:
A
Apologize
B
Belittle, brush aside, brush off
C
Criticize
D
Defy, delay, denigrate, deride, disdain, dismiss, disobey, disparage, disregard
E
Express regret
F
Face-palm
G
Goad
H
Hesitate
I
Ignore, insult
J
Jeer
M
Mock
O
Overlook
P
Pause, pay no attention to, pay no mind, plead ignorance, pooh-pooh, procrastinate, provoke
R
Rebuff, ridicule
S
Scoff, scorn, simper, slouch, sneer, snigger, snort, snub, stick out the tongue
T
Taunt, tease, twitch
V
Vacillate, vilify
I hope you find these as helpful as I have. Be sure to visit her post for more ideas and some great practical applications!
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An interesting list. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, I’m glad you thought so 🙂
Hi, Nicholas! I’m glad you found this useful! Oops! I’m overdoing exclamation points! Heh heh.
Next Monday’s post explains how to convey intense emotion without irritating the greats like Mark Twain.
That should be super interesting!!! Thanks!!! (Oops!) This post is a great resource for alternatives, indeed. I’m heading to your site.
Wow, sounds like another winner! I’ll be sure to check it out – and thanks for visiting. As you saw, your post proved terribly popular with my readers 🙂
Fantastic, thanks for sharing.
Thanks! Kudos to Kathy for her great work 🙂
More great lists. Thanks!
Thanks! Kudos to Kathy for compiling it 🙂
I read your post today – or rather your cat’s post (I receive your post in my mail reader). Hillarious – you should have him post more often! I hope you’ve now recovered the lost key 😀
The “V” has reappeared and the mess is cleaned up. Thanks for reading. Pinky the Cat is napping after his busy morning of blogging. I get a few minutes of peace.
Are you sure it wasn’t an elaborate ploy to stop you from using the word “very” in your manuscript?
That’s one word that I don’t use. Phew.
Great post, Nicholas. Thanks for sharing Kathy’s lists. 🙂 — Suzanne
Thank you, Suzanne 🙂
Nice to see these tips used in complete examples. Very useful!
Best wishes, Pete.
Thank you, Pete. Kudos to Kathy for compiling it!
Wonderful list. Thanks for sharing!
A pleasure. Kudos to Kathy for compiling it!