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WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

Physical Feature Thesaurus Entry: Legs

Published: 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.

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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!!

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