Have you ever walked past a mirror, caught your reflection and startled yourself? Or have you ever gazed into your eyes and wondered about yourself? All right, maybe you haven’t, but being the weird writer I am, I talk to my reflection from time to time. (Only when no one’s around because they might think I’m crazy—Oh, wait, I am crazy!—I’m a writer!)
Sometimes I play my characters to see what their expression might be if they were surprised, or angry, or jealous or any other myriad or emotions. Then as I’m looking at my expression I try and think about what my stomach feels like in that moment. What happens to my head, my feet, my chest, my lungs, my hands, my head. What thoughts run through my head, what phrases escape my mouth? I do this with my various characters.
I dash off to my computer and recreate my “scene” with the mirror. It’s amazing how quickly I can nail my characters down.
You try it, but only when everyone is out of the house. You wouldn’t want to get caught in your insanity. I’ve been doing this for years. But if you tell anyone, I’ll deny it!
