I Have All These OCs! But No Story

“I have all these OCs! But no story…”

bruh

make a fighting game

Objects as spaceships, by Eric Geusz

Mesmerized 😃

Supernatural had the opportunity to do something great. To send a message of love and validation to a whole community. Not only to the part of the community that liked their show, but to all of us. But instead they decided to pander to the people, who never had to fight for their representation.

I support #TheySilencedYou, #TheySilencedThem and #TheyWillNeverSilenceUs and I'm in awe of all of you. Of your eloquence, passion, coordination and decisiveness. And I feel like your message goes beyond this particular TV show and the CW.

It's about protesting a pattern of disrespect towards otherness in Mainstream Media. It's about demanding meaningful, unmistakably queer representation, that enables discourse and furthers understanding in a heterogenic Audience. It's about asking Networks to not only hire diverse staff but to also give them the freedom to tell their stories the way they want to. It's about telling creators to own up to the inherent messages they leave us with in the end.

And that's inspiring and should be celebrated.

Stories matter.

Showing Emotion

Don’t tell us he’s angry. Show us. Don’t tell us she’s terrified to lose her job—make it real in the way she acts. Show don’t tell is its most powerful when you’re getting across a character’s emotions. It’s not, however, something you should just pick willy-nilly from the list below and call it good. Your character’s body language should depend on:

Character

Situation

Intensity

Some characters will sweat while nervous, while others will crack their knuckles. Maybe your MC will shift their weight when they’re only mildly nervous, but start sweating and avoiding eye contact when the tension increases. It should also change by the situation. Fear for losing your job will be different than fear of getting killed in an alleyway.

There can be some overlap between characters, of course, so don’t feel like each character has to have a unique set of reactions that only they have. This list is by no means all-inclusive. It should mostly be a tool to get you thinking about other ways to show these emotions which are specialized to your characters.

Nervous:

Sweating

Shifting weight

Scratching

Fidgeting

Cracking knuckles

Pursing lips

Swallowing

Avoiding eye contact

Scared:

Shrinking/cowering

Crying

Holding hands to chest

Swallowing

Rapid heartbeat

Scattered thoughts

Lightheaded

Going pale

Angry:

Clenching fists

Clenching teeth

Scowling

Stiffening

Pouting

Crossing arms

Tunnel vision

Downturned eyebrows

Hands on hips

Happy:

Smiling

Hugging

Humming

Singing

Standing tall

Surprised:

Blinking

Hesitating

Jaw dropping

Eyes widening

Eyebrows rising

Heart stops (figuratively)

Like I said, this list should only be a starting point! And don’t just pick something off the list every time you need to show an emotion. Think about how it fits the situation and their level of fear/happiness/anger, etc. For more to read, here’s a great article.

–E