How to Describe Facial Expressions in Writing - All Write Alright If you want to show that a character is faking a smile, make sure their eyes don’t match the rest of the expression True happiness is expressed with the eyes, so when a person smiles without showing it in their eyes, it comes across as cold and ingenuine
400+ Ways to Exploit Facial Expressions in Writing Effective Writing Agrees With Itself In real life, scowls, smiles, and curled lips reflect underlying emotions They should do the same in fiction or creative nonfiction A protagonist in pain is unlikely to smile A deceitful character probably won’t maintain eye contact with others
How to Describe a Smile in Writing (700 Ways Examples) A chilly smile is often used to portray distance, aloofness, or cold indifference It is a controlled expression that communicates detachment and can imply a lack of genuine warmth or emotion Words: Icy, Cool, Detached, Frigid, Frosty, Unfeeling, Cold, Reserved, Standoffish, Guarded Examples: Her icy smile made the room feel colder
Any type of smile (appears) on a characters face. : r writing "A smile graced his face as he crossed the room, cold and full of malice with no good intentions behind it " "A chilling smile formed on his face, one lacking the warmth or compassion that usually came with such an expression "
100 Words for Facial Expressions - DAILY WRITING TIPS Face it — sometimes you must give your readers a countenance-based clue about what a character or a subject is feeling First try conveying emotions indirectly or through dialogue, but if you must fall back on a descriptive term, try for precision: 1 Absent: preoccupied 2 Agonized: as if in pain or tormented 3
Faces of Emotion: 45 of the Best Words to Describe Your . . . Facial expressions say a lot about a person and how they are feeling As a writer, using specific words to describe facial expressions can help to distinguish the extent of these feelings to other characters and your readers The most basic words to describe a person’s facial expressions are happy, sad, angry, afraid or surprised