In a post on Writer Unboxed, Dave King offers advice for describing faces and facial expressions. “We read faces intuitively, almost automatically,” he says. “We can look at someone and just tell if they’re angry, or frustrated, or at peace. So it’s kind of natural to try to bring this facial recognition talent into your descriptions.”
However, this isn’t as easy as it sounds. When we “read” faces, we are noticing small cues in their facial muscles in the eyebrows, mouth, and nose. “Our brains put all of this together as a gestalt that says, ‘He’s worried about something,’ or, ‘She’s certainly eager to see someone.'” King says. Unfortunately, we don’t have special language to describe these facial changes, so we rely on describing the emotion the narrator interprets. However, naming isn’t the same as creating an immersive experience.
“When you tell your readers what your characters are feeling, you’re just giving them information,” King says. “You don’t just want them to be informed, you want them to share the emotion, and that means letting them picture the face in question and interpret it for themselves.” Again, this is tough. Writers tend to rely on the same near-clichés – the raised eyebrows, flared nostrils, squints, scowls, and grins.
You can break up the monotony by describing the facial expressions through your viewpoint character’s perspective. “What does the face remind them of? How does it make them feel?” King asks. He suggests searching your manuscript for the word “face” and identifying how you’ve described facial expressions. “If they’re bland or repetitive, then either find another way to show the emotion you’re trying to get across, or use a more original description to capture the face you’re picturing in your mind,” King suggests.
