Maybe not writing in "Style"

[Defluer]

This one is probably embarrassing but it's something I noticed lately and I don't know if I've always done it, or if it's new. I know I don't do it as I read, just when I'm writing.

So...

Uh...

Does anybody else mime slightly when they're writing? (Or even reading?) Mostly I mouth the words, as I'm doing quotes while a character is speaking, usually if I think I'm nailing the character's personality really well. Or tilt my chin up, smile, and wink when a character is being flirty in that way. But I find that I do it for the sex stuff too; head bobbing, mouth open, tongue moving type of stuff. Not like full on insanity type of miming, but slight and unconscious. Still enough that when I notice I stop, look around my empty and locked writers hideaway, blush, and tell myself to stop or I might need to see somebody... And then find myself doing it two paragraphs later.

Maybe it's just me and... If it is... Can we all pretend we believe this was just a joke?

 

[ElectricBlue]

Nope, not me. It'll be interesting to see if others do as you do, but I'm a no on that one.

 

[lovecraft68]

Mime? I outright talk to myself at times.

 

[KeithD]

Nope, not me. It'll be interesting to see if others do as you do, but I'm a no on that one.

Me neither, as far as I can remember.

 

[SimonDoom]

I've always been mildly averse to mimes in general, so when writing erotica . . . no way.

 

[MillieDynamite]

If I did that, I'd never admit it. LOL It's not unlike having a discussion with the other person in your head, out loud.

 

[stickygirl]

Occasionally. I'll find myself pulling an expression as I write. It's probably an "ism" and I suspect it is a sign of something very special.

Side note. I read somewhere that the Bishop of Milan, a much venerated medieval monk, amazed his contemporaries by being able to read silently, without moving his lips.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

Sometimes I'll quietly read dialogue as I write it, just to hear how it would sound if someone were actually saying it. But I don't think I've ever mimed anything -- at least nothing sexy.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I read somewhere that the Bishop of Milan, a much venerated medieval monk, amazed his contemporaries by being able to read silently, without moving his lips.

When my nephew was about one year old, my dad amazed him by making dad's ventriloquist dummy talk without moving his lips. His as in dads, not the dummy's lips, they moved. But my nephew was a smart little shit, and he could tell it was pops talking, just couldn't figure out why dad's lips weren't moving. Then he noticed the dummy's lips moving and started laughing. I know he knew that dad was doing the talking, though.

 

[NoTalentHack]

I do. The way I write dialog includes a lot of “stage direction,” for lack of a better term. Sometimes that means seeing what would actually work best, like acting it out. Would the character roll their eyes or turn their head away here? What’s the expression that goes with this? That type of thing.

 

[Euphony]

Mime? I outright talk to myself at times.

One of my characters emailed the sign up for BetterHelp. Scale of 1-10, how concerned should I be?

 

[TadOverdon]

Yes, sometimes I mumble dialogue while writing it. I don't know that it serves a purpose.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

It's not a subconscious thing, but when I'm writing a shouting match, I'll act the two parts out. There's a certain rhythm and flow to an argument that's hard for me to visualize in my head but I think is important to getting the raw emotions of it just right. And when a character is particularly adept at spitting venom, I cannot deny that I get some level of gratification from it. Like dang that was a good line! I could've used that against my ex that one time!

I suppose I care so much about getting it right because in real life I'm terribly unwitty at arguments. Half my brain shuts down from anxiety and nonsense comes out my mouth. I've once called someone a dumb banana (as an adult in a real live serious argument), and now that will haunt me for the rest of my life.

 

[nice90sguy]

When I was a kid, a screenwriter used to live and work in my house . He'd mime dialog all the time when he was writing. I do it too, for dialog. I thought it was funny when he did it, and my cat laughs at me when I do it.

 

[Euphony]

It's not a subconscious thing, but when I'm writing a shouting match, I'll act the two parts out. There's a certain rhythm and flow to an argument that's hard for me to visualize in my head but I think is important to getting the raw emotions of it just right. And when a character is particularly adept at spitting venom, I cannot deny that I get some level of gratification from it. Like dang that was a good line! I could've used that against my ex that one time!

I do this more with comedy beats. It's been drilled into my head from comedy writing research. Slash to the bone, down to syllables even. Every extra beat can be the one to finally meet the poison threshold.

 

[PennameWombat]

I don’t mime or act out the scenes, but I do sometimes silently mouth the dialogue. Mainly in extended conversations, to see how it ‘feels.’

 

[Defluer]

I will say that if somebody did see me, they would for sure think I was weird but I'm not moving around enough ( I don't think ) to give away exactly what is happening in my brain and then onto the page. I think even when I mumble the lines it's like somebody talking in their sleep, a couple words just loud enough to be heard here and there. It might mean that my conscious efforts to "act" some parts out to make them more believable have become subconscious, then spread out. Whatever the case is, it certainly means that I should keep following my already set guidelines of never writing erotica where anybody can see me. Ever.

And it'll fun to think of everyone else who has read this being conscious of what they're doing while they write now, worried that they might be miming it and not realizing it too.

 

[Britva415]

You know about method acting?

This is Method Writing.