Craft Talk: The Power of Gesture & Body as Landscape in Fiction

Searching for a simple way to deepen the development of your characters? Sometimes the power of silence says everything.

Imagine you are at a coffee shop with your face buried behind a book, secretly observing the couple next to you engaged in an intense argument. You cannot hear them, but you have a direct line of sight. How would you come to know the couple is in debate? Gesture is the single most powerful tool in using the body as your landscape. Because body language tells the emotional story of your characters, learning how to write gestures is vital to the relationship between your characters and your readers. In this session, we will unravel the power of silence, body language, and gestures when writing well-rounded characters. Through interactive role-playing, the group will leave with a firm understanding of how gesture functions and when to use the tool for mastery of craft. The story of your character can be found between lines of dialogue, tucked away like a strand of hair behind an ear. This session will help you see the way across the body when used as landscape for plot.