Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Better Ways of Showing Fear

+0
−0

In my current novel, I'm dealing with very scary creatures that never fail to fill my protagonist with fear, but I always have her doing the same thing. My character always seems to simply widen her eyes, but what are some other common human reactions to fear that I can use to add some variety? I'm not talking about fight-or-flight, just expressing human reactions to fear/being in scary situations like screaming and such!

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/29033. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

0 comment threads

1 answer

+1
−0

Two thoughts:

  1. As an author, your job is not so much to show that your character is afraid, but to make the reader afraid for them. The physical expressions of fear are far more often played for comic effect. (Think about how they are used in the movies. Almost any time you see a character's face expressing extreme fear, it is for comic effect.) If the reader feels fear for the character because of the situation they are in, and because they care about them, then the reader will feel the fear themselves and will project it onto the character without you needing to show it. Again, think about how this is done in horror movies. It is all in the lead up: the cheerleader innocently walks down the dark corridor where the audience knows the ax murderer is hiding. It is all in the pacing, in the buildup. A sudden sound or movement is then all it takes to get the audience to jump out of their seats. Don't describe fear; create it.

  2. The primary fear reaction in humans is not a facial expression. It is fight or flight. Focus on what the character does in the face of the monster, not on what they look like.

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

0 comment threads

Sign up to answer this question »