Recently Scott Myers posted two lists to
his blog, both assembled by Alan Donahue: "
90 Words for 'looks'" and "
115 Words for 'walks'".
I've kept my own version of this kind of list for years. I expect most writers do. It's part of the language tool set, along with things like my 1978 edition of
The Synonym Finder by J.I. Rodale.
Back before we had thesaurus.com on key-tap, I tired of reaching for Rodale's weighty tome — beloved as it is — and set to work crafting a screenwriting master list of punchy verbs for looks and movement. And another list describing an emotional scale, from Excitement through to Terror.
Reviewing the two lists Scott posted, I happily found new entries to add to my own compilations. A pang of conscience whispered that in turn I should feed my lists back into the pre-pro screenwriting community. Here we go.
I present for your scrutiny the
10ptt.com Wordgasm Cheat Sheet. Two sheets, actually:
Verbapalooza — rich verbs for facial expression, looking, thinking, sad, happy, time indicators, moving, speaking.
Emote-atron — which tracks descriptive words for an emotional range covering...
interest > excitement
enjoyment > joy
contentment > happiness
modesty > selflessness
surprise > shock
disinterest > selfishness
discontentment > sadness
distress > anguish
shame > humiliation
contempt > disgust
anger > rage
fear > terror
If you find the compilation useful, take a copy. But do check on the original now and then, because it's likely to evolve. I have some ideas for additional sheets and lists.
Email me your comments and suggestions (address at top of the sheet), or post your thoughts in this topic.
Happy verb buffing.
