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Q&A How can I write silent communication?

How to write silent communication? Humans communicate in a lot of different ways, often concurrently. While writing dialogue I frequently find myself interrupting the lines to add stuff like the fo...

1 answer  ·  posted 7y ago by FFN‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question dialogue
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T07:09:39Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/30835
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar FFN‭ · 2019-12-08T07:09:39Z (almost 5 years ago)
How to write silent communication? Humans communicate in a lot of different ways, often concurrently. While writing dialogue I frequently find myself interrupting the lines to add stuff like the following:

- _"there was an awkward silence between them"_
- _"Patricia reached out for Devin"_
- _"comprehension gleamed on his eyes"_ (A terrible line, indeed)

This kind of dialogue is not only sluggish and boring, it also frequently tells instead of showing.

What is the best way to communicate this kind of communication in an orderly, efficient and interesting fashion?

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2017-10-16T14:59:24Z (about 7 years ago)
Original score: 2