clapped him on the shoulder leaned // over, heavily on the bed rail, back

pinched his eyebrows in her chair

shouldered her way into the mob patted /// his stomach, her knee, his shoulder
he pitched forward punched / buttons
eyelids fluttered and opened flipped / the lights off
tottered toward the door whistled
puckered into a pout kept quiet
puffed as he lowered his bulk stood up
tipped forward gave him a detailed account
lurched sideways pressed the button
skidded down the hallway let out a long breath
burst // into tears, through the door straightened // up, impatiently
whacked the pillow took his face in her hands
plucked at her sleeve froze
glanced ////////////// at, outside, fearfully, tried to re-swallow her stomach
sadly eyebrows went up
nodded ////////////// thumbed through the papers
sighed ///////////// ruefully, glumly gasped ///
looked /////////////////////////// round-eyed, broke /// into a sly smile, out a cigar
over, up, at him with a beaming smile, jittered
troubled, him over, sourly, long- suffering, threw up both hands
pained, baffled, into his eyes, wide-eyed, into unlocked the door
his face, wistful led them in
shrugged /////////// put a finger to his lips
shivered //// grimaced ///
shook his head ////////////// finger glowered ///
smiled ///////////// relaxed
stopped //// to wheeze, smiling let his features mellow
shuddered // drew himself up
frowned ////// nostrils dilated
turned ///////// away, to, toward, her head, switched off
red got // into the argument, clumsily up
blinked /// held out both hands
chewed /// thumb, lip, nail took /// a few steps
rushed /// stepped //// into the hallway, back nimbly
came ///// over, in, out shied away
pooched her lips out wriggled // into pajamas
walked or walking /// in, with labored wiggled / her toes
awkwardness, noiselessly knelt ///
studied reached out and touched her
struggled out of his overcoat drew back hastily
stuffed it in the bag tried to be a roadblock
wrestled into the coat, it out of the box dropped // the papers, to her knees
jammed it back in drummed /// on the table, fingernails
pursed his lips got up, squared his shoulder, went into the
rummaged in the shopping bag meeting
started ///// fingering it, to bawl, to leave, pushed back from his desk
toward, to pry himself sat back
lifted //// his glass, the paper bathed and painted and combed
replaced / emptied the drink
left ////// without closing his mouth, again cut in
picked /// imaginary lint from her sleeve, the gathered // them by eye, up her skirts
trunk up, at her food returned
stuck / a cigarette in his face, out her lip yawned
dug / out a bit her lip
opened ///// her eyes, the door, her mouth twisted one toe in the grass
repressed a yawn blushed
scowled /// met them
slumped // took a cigar out of his mouth
stumbling and stammering she told put his fingers to his lips and whistled
appeared to count to ten threw a salute
counted to ten changed to a smile
sat down snuck a glance
pulled up a chair squeezed his hand
timidly touched her hand eyes got big
jaw dropped undulated away
muffed the adjustment raised both arms
grinned followed
grudged a grin stared /// blindly at it
jaw muscles were jumping gave in
trotted over yanked them off
recalled... and winced closed /// his eyes, the door, the file
swayed twisted, almost falling out of his chair
covered his ears sat up //
slapped a hand to his face dumped his drink
charged toward it covered it
trembled chortled
was choked with pointed a finger
mellowed slightly pause
thought rapidly laughed
hummed happily eyes filled with tears
shoved /// into the crowd, his chair back, quivered
through the door shifted his attention
hooked // his spectacles over his ears, a twanged the string
thumb at tossed it to
gave way wiped // his spectacles on his muffler, his
stretched and felt a great weariness, like a eyes
million sat by her
lumbered upstairs waited
dimpled /// stared at // his glass, her
pondered it scowled
made a face showed him // how to, where to
waved // the papers, a hand, it aside, vaguely dropped the matter
at the screens growled
raised his voice made a croaking noise
swallowed swung around
gulped glided towards them
coughed pursued the last bite with a fork
strangled fed
jumped in sat down
clipped his answers pulled him down
mouth worked, but only noises came out jutted out his lips
snorted fitted his fingertips together
poised to get up glared
relaxed with a great sigh glowered
barely hesitated pointed out
swaggered off made a disorderly rout
held his breath swore
eyes twinkled cursed
fixed /// it, him with an eye giggled
whirled around heaved a sigh
screwed up his face went // blindly, with her
called out His lips quirked at the corners
reached for her Made a vague sound in his throat
went around the table His look turned cool
squirmed
thought about it EMBARRASSED
strolled into the room
poured a glass of water He blushed
gripped his arm A crimson flush spread up from under his
puttered about collar
leered at him Her ears burned hot
He turned red
CURIOUS/DOUBTFUL He turned away with a shy smile
He looked down (examined) his fingernails
Pinched his eyebrows He stuttered
His expression cooled ten degrees He fumbled his words
Pursed his lips His eyes turned down (away)
Raised an eyebrow He eyes skipped around the room; left, right,
Eyebrows went up anywhere but in her eyes
He arched his eyebrows His mouth formed a circle and pink colored
She crinkled her eyes (like she'd missed his cheeks
something whispered about her) Her cheeks colored like a peach in the sun
His eyes got a little watchful He shifted in his chair
He beetled his forehead He stared and tried to swallow
Arched his eyebrows He gulped
Frowned with his eyebrows He coughed out a nervous laugh
A cleft formed between his eyebrows A feeling like stage fright churned his
The skin around his eyes drew tight stomach
He cocked his head slightly to one side It felt like chains tied him to the words he'd
Leaned his head back to look down the ridge spoken
of his nose at him His breathing came in short, irregular gasps
His eyebrows shot half way up his forehead His voice quavered
He grimaced with one eye There was a strain in her smile
He turned his head to one side but kept his She willed her eyes to look into his face even
eyes on him though they strained to turn away
A suspicious little half-smile curved his lips Red spots flared on her cheeks
He measured his words with a teaspoon His lips trembled in an insecure smile
His eyes veiled themselves with doubt He clipped his answers short, tried to avoid
A sneer touched the corners of his lips looking at her
His jaw muscles jumped as he considered my He tried not to look at her but his eyes kept
words slipping back to her face
He leaned forward He squirmed
Listened with his entire body She looked like she didn't know what to do
Stroked his jaw with her face
Flicked an eyebrow
His mouth hung open, forgotten
She pouched her lips out
Gave him a short side-glance
Gave him a tolerant smile
He gave him a small cool smile THOUGHTFULNESS
He stared over tended fingers at her
He scratched his wide forehead
Blinked
A deep crease appeared on his forehead
He steepled his fingers
He narrowed his eyes
Chewed his lip, nail, or thumb
He made two black vertical lines between his
He nodded slowly to himself
eyes
Pursed his lips
He chewed slowly, ruminatively He half-closed his eyes
He touched his lips with two fingers He stewed for a minute
His face closed in thought Thoughts passed behind his eyes like
Touched his lips with his fingers shadows
A slowness overcame his voice Whistled quietly under his tongue
Touched the end of his pen to the corner of
his mouth
His eyes looked past me
Squinted
Muscles drew the skin around his eyes tight
He cast his eyes upward TIRED-FATIGUED-RESIGNED
Studied the ceiling
Eyes grew distant
Sighed
His face grew vague
The weight of his shadow was enough to drag
His eyes focused inward
him down
His eyes glazed over
Shrugged
His voice trailed off
A veil drew across his eyes
His eyes took on a sheen Nuzzeled his lips around a forth cup of coffee
Chewed his tongue Let out a long breath
Frowned Dropped to his knees
Furrowed his brow Heaved a sigh
Brought his eyebrows together Yawned
His face pinched in concentration Slumped
Stared straight ahead and rubbed his thumb He spread his hands
against his fingers His nerves jumped
The skin over his eyebrows wrinkled, He He waved vaguely with a hand
wrinkled the skin over his eyebrows His face crumpled into a rueful grimace
Made a clicking sound in the side of his cheek His eyes glossed (crossed) over me without
Ran a finger along his jaw recognition
Chewed the end of his pencil Her voice quavered
Rubbed the end of his nose He offered her a flat smile
Tapped his forehead He forced (willed) a smile
Tapped a pencil on his desk Exhaustion drew his face down (made the
Pinched his lower lip pouches on his face sag)
Pulled at an earlobe, the hairs at the corner of His arms fell to his sides
an eyebrow He couldn't keep his eyes focused
Scratched his beard, side of his head, behind Shadows kept drifting through his vision
his ear, eyebrow He heard a sizzling, headache sound in the
Bit (chewed) the inside of his cheek back of his skull
Frowned with his eyebrows Fell, crumpled, collapsed into his chair
Massaged the back of his neck His hands shook
He eyes were far away His sucked in desperate gulps of air
He tapped his lips with his fingertips Drew in a long breath and let it hiss out
Put a finger to his lips slowly
His face took on a measured look His eyes sagged
He drifted away, like he'd forgotten where he He made a vague sound in the back of his
was throat
He frowned to himself His eyes were (went) somewhere else
His eyes went somewhere else His eyes went dull
His mouthed worked without making any He blinked, waiting for recognition to sink in
sound, but only noises came out Nodded dolefully
His face took on a pondering air Exhaustion roughened his words
He chewed his cigar Managed a weak smile
He jutted out his lips His eyes drifted half closed
He fitted his fingertips together He made a wry mouth
He made a confused smile waddled
He raised a hand only to let it fall away at his wove
side wandered
Purpose was a distant thought, lost behind a lumbered
mountain of fatigue slunk
He sank into the chair skulked
His voice sounded fuzzy, like he was one lurched
scotch short of drunk jolted
He dragged his shadow after him twitched
treaded
sauntered
walked
Activity Level Ordered Thesaurus for run marched
projected
propelled
stirred
shuffled
groveled
dodged
dragged
hopped
pulled
sped
crept
hastened
crawled
ran (noticed how boring this word is in
swayed
comparison to the others!)
drifted
streamed
stepped
bustled
traveled
bolted
trekked
vaulted
ambled
flitted
rambled
flittered
reeled
skittered
strolled
rushed
strutted
scooted
tramped
scuttled
slipped
scurried
slid
scampered
strode
arrowed
flowed
careened
glided
raced
trailed
plunged
journeyed
bounced
coursed
flung
rolled
leaped
promenaded
pitched
advanced
cast
hiked
tossed
paraded
jumped
heaved
threw
fled
sprinted
clipped along
stampeded
struck off for
bounded
ventured
charged
floated
sprang
floundered
soared
slithered
roared
blundered
thundered
stumbled
flew
hobbled
zipped
spurted Locked every bone (muscle) tight
zoomed Drew himself up short
burst Braked like he'd crashed into an invisible wall
streaked
dashed
flashed
smashed
LEAD THE WAY
darted
hurtled
hurled Lead
Led the way
Forged ahead of them
APPENDIX C
Blundered forward
Charged ahead
DIFFERENT WAYS TO DESCRIBE Stormed forward
ACTIONS Blazed a trail
(almost any walk/run word or phrase)
The following lists present many different Pointed the way
ways to express simple actions. These lists Made his way forward, through the tangle
are useful for finding ways to avoid repetition
when you have similar actions occurring close
to each other or when you just want a
different way to describe a common activity.
LOOKED
FOLLOW
looked sideways, along his eyes, out of the
corners of his eyes, down his nose
Followed
blinked
Trailed after
studied
Tagged along
glowered
Heeled
fixed him with his eyes, a stare
Bird-dogged
stared
Dogged his steps
squinted
Tracked after him
scowled
Walked in his shadow
measured
Dragged (or any walk-like verb) after him
glared
Tailed him
made out
Fell in line behind him
leered
make out
ogled
peered
FROZE(as in stopped suddenly) glanced
sized up
Stopped gave him a side-glance
Halted strained to see
Jarred to a halt looked askance at him
Terminated riveted
Paused His eyes ate him with hate
Checked his forward motion feasted his eyes on it
Arrested Inspected
Interrupted goggled
Held up Acid poured from his eyes
Petrified shot a glance
Slammed to a stop like he'd been instantly eyes sparked fire
fossilized fired a glare
Stiffened eyes fired splinters at him
gave him a stare
scanned tittered
searched Replied
viewed giggled
surveyed Declared
watched sniggered
saw Stated
witnessed snickered
regarded Bellowed
glimpsed crowed
peeped Roared
gazed cheered
contemplated Blustered
observed chortled
examined Argued
gawked chuckled
reconnoitered Shrieked
spied cackled
beheld Screamed
gaped Interrupted
Cried
SPEAK Whimpered
Bawled
Said Sobbed
wailed Sighed
Snapped Moaned
greeted Groaned
Lamented Beefed
blubbered Moaned
Disputed Wept
sniveled
Said SHIFTED
mewed
Howled (As in a character shifting his position.)
growled
Rejoiced Leaned
grunted Straightened
Spoke Wriggled
murmured Wiggled
Whined Squared his shoulders
muttered Turned
Answered twisted
grumbled shuffled
Questioned shifted
clamored squirmed
Sang inclined
fussed thrashed
Chirped scooted to the right, forward, backward,
screeched away, sideways around
Shrilled
decried
Groped
denied
SIT
Complained
simpered
Hurrahed Sat down
Jammed himself into the chair
Flopped Spun
Threw himself down Twisted
Collapsed onto the stool Spiraled
He fell into the sofa Waltzed
Dropped like the dead Pivoted
Folded Eased around
Pushed himself down Swung about
Snuggled deeper into the cushions Revolved
Hurled himself at the couch Cycled
Lowered himself gingerly Gyrated
Eased into the seat Twirled
Slumped Whirled
Squeezed Pirouetted
Sagged Circled
Flowed Swiveled
Perched Reeled
Reclined Axled
Settled Torqued
Landed with a thump Coiled
Roosted Wriggled
Slouched Squirmed
Sank Contorted
Plunged Corkscrewed
Descended Rounded
Puffed as he lowered his bulk Swirled
Squatted Hinged
Hunkered

STOOD

Stood up
Jumped
Snapped up, to attention
Lurched up
Struggled upward
Bolted up
Wrestled himself to a standing position
Eased himself up
Lifted
Threw himself up and out of the chair
Drew himself up to his full height
Bounced up
Climbed up

Clamored up

TURNED

Turned
Rotated