Julius Fast (1919–2008)

One of the most common criticisms in writing workshops is there are too many smiling and eye verbs. What’s that? For those of you not in the know, it boils down to the fact that if there’s a gesture, the character usually smiles, or “does something” with his/her eyes. Narrowed eyes, glanced away, stared, etc. Any verb your eyes can do, or any description of eyes (fire raged within) falls under this category.

The reason writers do this is simple: we’re in the age of film. Movies and show more television shows have made an actor’s more subtle movements far more important, whereas before, in theater, gestures were grand and dramatic because we didn’t have the close up view. And, as many writers watch television and movies, we’re obviously influenced by what we see.

So, like many writers, I have a lot of smiling and eye verbs. So, in order to expand my knowledge of gestures and hone in on some other physical reactions, I picked this book up (it was recommended). Unfortunately, it wasn’t what I was expecting.

What was I expecting? Well, I guess something more along the lines of charts and the sort: look up anxiety and you get all kinds of gestures and movements that reveal anxiety. That sort of thing. And by the way, if anyone knows of such a book, please comment with the title, author, and a link. It’d be most appreciated.

However, I didn’t get what I wanted. Instead, the book was written at the cusp of what I’ll call the “body language revolution,” before too many people were made too conscious of what it was and how it could be utilized. Copyrighted in 1970 (expanded by Barnes & Noble in 2002), this book goes through the various ways of considering body language and how it was (is) an imprecise science.

While I’m familiar with a lot of this, reading the book made for a nice reminder for my own body language and the signals I might be sending out. It’s also nice to put a name to something and analyze it in life. But as for giving me greater insight to my characters and more options for my writing? Not so much.

However, understanding the basics of body language, if for nothing else than for your own self-awareness. The next step being watching how others interact with each other. I don’t know if I’d recommend this book in particular (after all, there’s tons of stuff out available nowadays, all divided into neat categories), but I’d definitely recommend reading up on the subject. It’s interesting enough, and can definitely be insightful. show less

I still, after finishing this book, don't know how to read people. And I'm even less sure most of us, or anyone at all, is very good at such a skill.

This was a quick little read, essays on different things that bring people pleasure, from traditional hobbies, to climbing trees, to enjoying cats. It's a bit dated (people "rap" quite often) but still worthwhile...

I was hoping from this to get a better guide on body language- this means this. Ideally, I was hoping for a book of tips on how to convey the messages you want- how to act in an interview, on a date, etc. Instead, this book gave many interesting anecdotes and examples, but no guide. It was interesting and I did learn things, but I was hoping for a more concrete guide.