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Back in September, I published Emotional Beats: How to Easily Convert your Writing into Palpable Feelings. As promised, I will be posting the book on my blog. So, here is the next installment, listing beats you can use to convey:

Surprise

Emotional Beats | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's books

Read for free with KU

Everyone loves a twist, right? Which is why your characters will probably be surprised rather often. Here are some ways to describe that:

  • He shot up an eyebrow.
  • He whipped his head around.
  • “What?” she asked with a tilt of her head, as if listening to music only she could hear.
  • She clamped her mouth shut, but her jaw went slack when she saw him. “You!”
  • She arched a questioning eyebrow in his direction.
  • His face remained a plank of wood, his amazement hidden by a slow breath.
  • He raised his eyebrows at her in disbelief.
  • His mouth slackened.
  • A question kept gnawing at her.
  • He gazed to one side as if playing back the memory in his mind.
  • Her eyes widened.
  • Her eyebrows shot to her hairline.
  • Her eyebrows arched.
  • Her lips thinned. She craned her neck to get a view of her back.
  • Her head whipped around so fast, she heard a crack.
  • She slapped a hand over her mouth.
  • She covered her mouth with her hand.
  • She pressed a hand to her throat.
  • She slapped her forehead.
  • He smacked his forehead.
  • He facepalmed.
  • She slapped a hand over her mouth.
  • Her eyes widened.
  • Her jaw slackened.
  • He cocked an eyebrow in surprise.
  • She looked at him with folded arms and raised eyebrows.
  • Her eyes popped wide.
  • The subtle rise of his eyebrow put a giggle in her belly.

Next week: surprise. View all posts on the subject, or buy the book on Amazon – free on KU!