How to "show" emotions when the protagonists are aliens? http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/science-fiction/threads/49168 Twenty Thousand Eyes In my novel, two of the POV characters are aliens. Semi-humanoid aliens, perhaps, but some of their emotions are expressed differently than humans. For instance, a sound resembling laughter means only mocking amusement in particular. A light growl or a low growl indicates genuine, nonthreatening amusement. Looking back on my story, I feel I've been overexplaining these things, and I was wondering if anyone else ran into similar issues with their stories or have an idea on how to show this in a way that doesn't disrupt the flow of the text. Sat, 14 Jan 2012 02:30:48 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/science-fiction/threads/49168?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1058624 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/science-fiction/threads/49168?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1058624 Itzika If they're POV characters, you could show what they're thinking as they're using those expressions. After a couple times seeing the expression, the reader will probably get the connection. Sat, 14 Jan 2012 03:24:25 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/science-fiction/threads/49168?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1058691 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/science-fiction/threads/49168?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1058691 Kataja Or a simple hint of the type of emotion "Xrptf laughed mocikngly", "Xrptf growled in amusement" (aliens name purposedly silly here). Sat, 14 Jan 2012 06:27:48 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/science-fiction/threads/49168?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1058789 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/science-fiction/threads/49168?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1058789 Dav1d How you go about that would depend, would it not, on the novel? Whom or what is the teller of the story? Is it a diary written by say a human, whom would learn the meaning over time? Who would be likely to misjudge the meaning at first? Or perhaps it is the diary of an alien, who would therefor know full well the meaning, and might be surprised at the reactions of the human? Is the story being told from the POV of a god, who simply knows everything about everyone? Who can reach into any mind, and tell the reader just what they are thinking? Is the narrator constant throughout the story, or does the narrator change over the course of the story? Is the narrator living the story as it unfolds, or has the narrator lived the story and is recalling it? In my opinion it's keeping this storyteller consistent throughout the story that is what helps the story to flow, or breaks the rhythm of the story. Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:56:48 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/science-fiction/threads/49168?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1063006 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/science-fiction/threads/49168?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1063006 neilg79 Another thing to consider is whether your human characters are used to dealing with aliens. My non-human characters have unusual ways of expressing themselves and my protganosit guesses at what their actions mean. I also have my aliens failing to understand my humans. At one point, my protagonist raises a finger to his lips, but his reptilian companion doesn't understand the gesture. I think if you drop these thins in every now and again, it reminds your reader that he/she's reading about non-humans but you have to be careful, I think, not to overdo it and let it detract from the story you're telling. Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:04:54 -0500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/science-fiction/threads/49168?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1168856 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/science-fiction/threads/49168?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1168856