CHARACTER FACIAL EXPRESSIONS (WRITING REFERENCE)

CHARACTER FACIAL EXPRESSIONS (WRITING REFERENCE)

EYES/BROWS

his eyes widened

her eyes went round

her eyelids drooped

his eyes narrowed

his eyes lit up

his eyes darted

he squinted

she blinked

her eyes twinkled

his eyes gleamed

her eyes sparkled

his eyes flashed

his eyes glinted

his eyes burned with…

her eyes blazed with…

her eyes sparked with…

her eyes flickered with…

_____ glowed in his eyes

the corners of his eyes crinkled

she rolled her eyes

he looked heavenward

she glanced up to the ceiling

she winked

tears filled her eyes

his eyes welled up

her eyes swam with tears

his eyes flooded with tears

her eyes were wet

his eyes glistened

tears shimmered in her eyes

tears shone in his eyes

her eyes were glossy

he was fighting back tears

tears ran down her cheeks

his eyes closed

she squeezed her eyes shut

he shut his eyes

his lashes fluttered

she batted her lashes

his brows knitted

her forehead creased

his forehead furrowed

her forehead puckered

a line appeared between her brows

his brows drew together

her brows snapped together

his eyebrows rose

she raised a brow

he lifted an eyebrow

his eyebrows waggled

she gave him a once-over

he sized her up

her eyes bored into him

she took in the sight of…

he glared

she peered

he gazed

she glanced

he stared

she scrutinized

he studied

she gaped

he observed

she surveyed

he gawked

he leered

his pupils (were) dilated

her pupils were huge

his pupils flared

NOSE

her nose crinkled

his nose wrinkled

she sneered

his nostrils flared

she stuck her nose in the air

he sniffed

she sniffled

MOUTH

she smiled

he smirked

she grinned

he simpered

she beamed

her mouth curved into a smile

the corners of his mouth turned up

the corner of her mouth quirked up

a corner of his mouth lifted

his mouth twitched

he gave a half-smile

she gave a lopsided grin

his mouth twisted

he plastered a smile on his face

she forced a smile

he faked a smile

her smile faded

his smile slipped

he pursed his lips

she pouted

his mouth snapped shut

her mouth set in a hard line

he pressed his lips together

she bit her lip

he drew his lower lip between his teeth

she nibbled on her bottom lip

he chewed on his bottom lip

his jaw set

her jaw clenched

his jaw tightened

a muscle in her jaw twitched

he ground his jaw

he snarled/his lips drew back in a snarl

her mouth fell open

his jaw dropped

her jaw went slack

he gritted his teeth

she gnashed her teeth

her lower lip trembled

his lower lip quivered

SKIN

she paled

he blanched

she went white

the color drained out of his face

his face reddened

her cheeks turned pink

his face flushed

she blushed

he turned red

she turned scarlet

he turned crimson

a flush crept up her face

WHOLE FACE, ETC.

he screwed up his face

she scrunched up her face

he grimaced

she winced

she gave him a dirty look

he frowned

she scowled

he glowered

her whole face lit up

she brightened

his face went blank

her face contorted

his face twisted

her expression closed up

his expression dulled

her expression hardened

she went poker-faced

a vein popped out in his neck

awe transformed his face

fear crossed her face

sadness clouded his features

terror overtook his face

recognition dawned on her face

SOURCE

Some trans science fiction and fantasy books. You can find my earlier recs for f/f science fiction and fantasy here and my new recs for bi and pan books here. And ace book recs are here. Oh, and queer SFF by people of color.

Also I somehow totally blanked on this while making the powerpoint, but Charlie Jane Anders’ stuff should be in the last slide. Her two books are CITY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT and ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY. I’ll link to some of her short stories below the cut.

The queer SFF database’s tag for trans books is here. There’s more than I included in the rec post, so go knock yourself out!

I included the author identities because I figured people would want to know if the book was own voices. Disclaimer that gender is a weird nebulous thing and life isn’t easy or straightforward, so depending on when you’re reading this post (I’m writing 8/2/19), some of the authors I listed as cis might have had gender realizations. I literally saw this on Twitter this morning with one of the “more trans SFF” books, so figured it was worth saying. 

Below the text cut you’ll find the titles and authors, links to my queer SFF database (which includes links to trans reviewers and content warnings), and some of my favorite SFF short stories by trans people.

Keep reading

Day 25

@the-wip-project

Look who's back at it after almost a week MIA 😅 The moodboard is finally ready, by the way. So surprise by the end of the weekend ✨! I couldn't answer the previous questions this week, but know that I read every single one of them and I love them! They got me thinking a lot about my writing and creative process, in more ways than one.

The proof is that I've been steadily writing the whole week!

Back to today's question:

What have you learned recently, about yourself, about your writing, about your story?

I don't know how everybody will interpret "recently"; I'm going to go with the past year, which also happened to have been a tough year for all of us, wherever we are. Ironically, the pandemic and various lockdowns my country has been through have enabled me to reconnect with myself in ways I couldn't believe existed.

And the catalyst of this connection was my writing.

I already knew this activity counted a lot to me, to the extent that I adapt my weekly workload to my writing sessions (and not the other way round). Even though my writing buddy and I are really cool with the schedule, I know that I need it like breathing. And this past year, more than anything.

The lockdowns made me realise how much of an introvert I am, and the extent of 'me moments' I need to recharge: to quiet down my nerves, to ease my social fatigue (which I didn't understand before), even to reboot my work efficiency. Seeing my colleagues struggle with stress while their favourite sports club was closed, I really felt like the lucky one to be able to fulfil my favourite activity at home. Writing took a whole new dimension then. it was my luxury escape, away from anxiety-ridden news, from secluded areas, from masked interactions, from social distancing codes.

So did daydreaming about my story. I no longer try to control the phases I daydream but make do of any occasion I can seize. Just like the writing process itself, I purposefully allow myself to divert my thought to my stories, and turn this gloomy reality where I'm being tossed and turned, hanging by the thread of any overnight decisions on the way I'm supposed to live and act, into something positive, something productive, something I can control. Stories that are about healing, repairing, hope.

Writing has become the safe place, the respite my mind and body need to endure the reality. I don't know how long this situation is going to last; I pray it'll be better soon for all of us. But I've learnt to be resilient inside and to channel my powerlessness into redeeming creativity. And while at some point in my Wip 1, I feared I'd no longer be able to create after that, I was proven wrong and I'm awfully glad about it ✌

@the-wip-project Days 12 & 13

Prompt:

Unfortunately, things never go according to plan around here.

Indeed they don't.... I NEVER INTENDED TO WRITE THE FIRST CHAPTER OF A NEW WIP IN THREE DAYS!!! I'M SHOUTING BECAUSE I'M SUPER EXCITED!!!

Look at your characters, maybe even the one you created yesterday, and be honest. Do you have a type?

I've been scratching my head about this question. I don't know if I have a type of character. I certainly have a recurrent type of plot though lol.

What I could say is that my main characters are meant to complete each other one way or another and to meet half-way on their individual paths. My stories revolve a lot around building bridges, facing trauma, sweeping unpleasant truths from under the rug, starting personal inner journeys. So my characters are flawed from the start, aware or not of their own missing pieces and weaknesses (but soon to be) and I guess this is the type of personae I enjoy staging and following along the relative unknown of the plot, the encounters it brings about, self-discovery and retrieving some balance after their life being more or less disrupted.

I realise it may sound super heavy 😅, but it's not necessarily the case. It matches fluff as angst equally.

tumblr mobile won't let me upload a voice recording, so I guess you're all spared hearing about my thoughts that people (some of them at least) aren't actually desperate for comments. What they're actually missing is community.

PARK JIMIN RED HAIR! HE LOOKED ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! So I drew him in the middle of night.