Body Beats to Build On: A Fiction Writer's Resource Paperback – November 19, 2019

Unlike the vast majority of writers guide, this is intended as a handy reference, to keeping any action 'beats' or descriptions likely and engaging. As the author compiled a variety of well-known literary phrasing, not close to bordering on direct copyright violations, yet will improve almost any novel or fictional work.I've relied on this book since I first got it, and it's never gotten old or isn't a vital element of my writing. It's especially helpful, since I'm on the autism spectrum, I often can't read, or even gauge how people react, so have a hard time accurately describing people's emotional responses. Yet this almost always works.My only objection, is what it bypasses, never once mentioning eye rolling, strongly suggesting 'squinting' or 'looking askance' instead, which is hardly as accurate a description. The best alternative I could come up with, was: "glancing at the stars skies, trying to capture them all." That's a wildly terrible alternative, so I consider their whole view on the topic as unreasonable, and not well-considered. Yet, that's the only objection I've had with it so far.If curious, look up 'action beats' for a better description of their use.

So often, one gets in a habit of using the same physical action terms when writing. It's not that a writer doesn't have plenty of vocabulary or can't think of a better way of saying something, but in the middle of writing, the words get set down at a speed that doesn't always make it possible to switch from creative to editor. This book is a handy reference that helps a writer find a better way of describing physical action. Fifty percent of the time, I'm using a suggestion from the book. The other fifty it's the prod I need to come up with something influenced by the needs of the story itself. Either way, it's better writing. This book will not teach you how to write better. It's not for that. It's a resource for writers who know they need to raise their writing bar one step more and just need a little direction.

This book is awesome. I use it daily when I write, not for the exact phrases in the book but to spur my creativity when I'm stuck on a physical body movement or internal reaction. For example, if my characters have blushed multiple times throughout one of my novels, phrasing can get stale. But with this guide, if I'm really stuck, I can generally think of a different combination of words for their pink cheeks a second, third, or fourth time around. I highly recommend picking up a copy. Yes, there are other books, like The Emotion Thesaurus, but those serve a different purpose for me. And I keep those by my side when I write as well.

With such a wonderful interactive table of contents, it’s very easy to find variations and refreshing new ways to say the same thing *without* saying the same thing.

This was a much-needed reference book for my library. So...very helpful in finding just the right wording for my story. Thanks, April W. Gardner, for helping me, "get it."

Love the format and quick reference style of the book, with many examples to hone in on the perfect description

I am a published writer and screenwriter. I just received my copy of Body Beats to Build On this morning, and I have already incorporated some of the suggestions into the edits of my soon to be released new thriller. Even good writers get tired, and lazy to some extent (I have found myself using F + Control to make sure I have not used a particular word or phrase extensively.) This book offers so many alternatives that I found myself saying, "Right...I could express it that way." I highly recommend the book for all writers regardless of their level of writing. It's a terrific tool.

Honestly, I'm a sucker for a really meaty thesaurus and this is a fun second-cousin to such a thing. I had no idea this even existed until I saw other writers recommending it and I figured I'd give it a try. It's a nice, simple concept that gives you some interesting starting points for alternate ways to phrase a character's movements and make them more 3-dimensional to your readers. And, for those of us who get struck by inspiration and what to write down our own ideas, there's space for that, too.