• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
    • About WHW
    • Press Kit
    • Resident Writing Coaches
    • Contact Us
    • Podcasts & Interviews
    • Master Storytelling Newsletter
    • Guest Post Guidelines
    • Privacy Policy
    • Charities & Support
  • Bookstore
    • Bookstore
    • Foreign Editions
    • Book Reviews
    • Free Thesaurus Sampler
  • Blog
  • Software
  • Workshops
  • Resources
    • List of Resources
    • Recommended Writing Books
    • WHW Descriptive Thesaurus Collection
    • Free Tools & Worksheets
    • Grab A Free Show-Dont-Tell Pro Pack
  • WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

Physical Feature Thesaurus Entry: Legs

October 27, 2012 by ANGELA ACKERMAN

Physical description of a character can be difficult to convey—too much will slow the pace or feel ‘list-like’, while too little will not allow readers to form a clear mental image. If a reader cannot imagine what your character looks like, they may have trouble connecting with them on a personal level, or caring about their plight. 

One way to balance the showing and telling of physical description is to showcase a few details that really help ‘tell the story’ about who your character is and what they’ve been through up to this point. Think about what makes them different and interesting. Can a unique feature, clothing choice or way they carry themselves help to hint at their personality? Also, consider how they move their body. Using movement will naturally show a character’s physical characteristics, keep the pace flowing and help to convey their emotions.

Descriptors: shapely, curvy, scrawny, thin, plump, muscular, sinewy, athletic, long, stumpy, stubbly, hairy, sleek, tanned…

Things Legs Do (and other words/phrases to describe those actions)

  • Move: run, walk, jog, stride, sprint, pump, piston, leap, jump, dash, dart, lope, trot, pummel
  • Dance: boogie, cavort, careen, hop, jive, frolic, prance, caper, jitter

Key Emotions and Related Leg Gestures: 

  • Nervousness: tingle, tremble, shiver, quiver, shake, shift, cross/uncross, pace
  • Terror…

Clichés to Avoid: legs like tree trunks, toothpicks, or chicken legs

HINT: When describing any part of the body, try to use cues that show the reader more than just a physical description. Make your descriptions do double duty. Example: Jenna’s legs were all muscle, pushing and pulling and working with no sign of fatigue. Right now, she was just running a treadmill; if she ever had to escape a psychotic lunatic, my money was on Jenna. 

BONUS TIP: The Color, Texture, and Shape Thesaurus might help you find a fresh take on some of the descriptors listed above! 

Describe your character’s features in a way that reveals more than just a physical description. Show what he looks like while also reinforcing his personality and emotional state, thereby doing more with less.

Need concrete examples of how to describe your character in a compelling, magnetic way? Good news! This thesaurus has been integrated into our online library at One Stop For Writers. There, you can find help with metaphors and similes, as well as the best ways to describe your character using movement. The entire Physical Feature collection is cross-referenced and linked for easy navigation. If you’re interested in seeing a free sampling of the updated Physical Feature Thesaurus and our other descriptive collections, head on over and register at One Stop!

ANGELA ACKERMAN
ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Betsey Riedl says

    January 18, 2020 at 9:40 am

    Do you suppose it’s alright for a character to say she has chicken legs if she’s poking fun at herself?

    • ANGELA ACKERMAN says

      January 18, 2020 at 11:52 am

      Absolutely – if something is part of a character’s viewpoint pr upbringing or ways of comparing, it makes sense they would say that or think that.

  2. Becca Puglisi says

    October 29, 2012 at 3:05 pm

    Surya, chins are coming soon :).

    Marcia, toothpick legs are a GREAT addition. Forgot about that one.

    And Leslie, I agree, lol. I checked it out carefully before I posted it to make sure it was appropriate. Then I felt a little pervy…

    So glad you’re all enjoying the new series 🙂

  3. Leslie S. Rose says

    October 28, 2012 at 11:51 pm

    Uh oh, the guy in the picture better not move those legs if his shorts are too baggy. We might get to know him better.

  4. Surya Vaidyanathan says

    October 28, 2012 at 1:00 am

    Brilliant posts! They’re all ever so useful. I’m personally waiting to read one about chins. 😛

  5. Tracy Campbell says

    October 27, 2012 at 8:28 pm

    Hi Becca,
    I can’t get enough of these posts. Great job! 🙂
    Tracy

  6. Marcia says

    October 27, 2012 at 2:24 pm

    Yes, we hear chicken legs a lot, don’t we? And also toothpick, mostly in connection with thighs. Maybe because so many people want them. 😀

  7. Martha Ramirez says

    October 27, 2012 at 12:29 pm

    Very nice! I hope you guys come out with another book with entries like this too 🙂

  8. Marissa says

    October 27, 2012 at 11:06 am

    THANK YOU. I’m working on cutting out all my crutch phrases right now, and these entries are my new best friend.

  9. Southpaw says

    October 27, 2012 at 10:08 am

    Oooo, very nice.

  10. Traci Kenworth says

    October 27, 2012 at 7:33 am

    Great one!!

Primary Sidebar


Welcome!

Writing is hard. Angela & Becca make it easier. Get ready to level up your fiction with game-changing tools, resources, and advice.

Follow Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe to the Blog

Check your inbox to confirm! If gremlins tried to eat it, you might have to check your spam folder.

Read by Category

Grab Our Button

Writers Helping Writers

Software that Will Change the Writing Game

One Stop for Writers

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS® · Copyright © 2023 · WEBSITE DESIGN BY LAUGH EAT LEARN

Cookies are delicious and ours help make your experience here better. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with our cookie use. Cookie settingsGOT IT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. More on our Privacy Policy here.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT