This Week's Practice Exercise

"Every Move You Make, Version 2"

Prepared by: Rhéal Nadeau
Revised and Resposted on: August 23, 2009

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Exercise: In a passage of 300 words or less, describe one or two charactersusing physical cues only. Yet you must communicate what each character is thinking or feeling. Don't tell us what that is: let us determine that on our own.

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Experts say that the majority of communication is non-verbal. Body language,tone of voice, intonation, etc. For example, how often have we knownsomething was wrong with a friend or loved one, even though that personhadn't said so? The purpose of this exercise is to make us think about how we detect so muchabout the people around us. What are the physical signs that someone isangry, happy, tired, skeptical? Don’t provide dialogue or telling descriptions that reach conclusions for the reader (i.e., … He angrily …, Angry, he …).

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Exercise: In a passage of 300 words or less, describe one or two charactersusing physical cues only. Yet you must communicate what each character is thinking or feeling. Don't tell us what that is: let us determine that on our own.

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In your critiques, be sure to mention what you believe the character is experiencing. Extracurricular activity: for one day this week, pay attention to the body language of people you meet (strangers and acquaintances alike), and pay attention to how much you can tell about them without any words being exchanged. If you're feeling ambitious, try to see how different people use different signals and cues.


These exercises were written by IWW members and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its members. You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that you found them at the Internet Writers Workshop (http://www.internetwritingworkshop.org/).