am i gay quiz, Shane types into Google. He takes the quiz, treating each answer like it’s life or death.
Mostly heterosexual with some same sex attraction, the website tells him. While you mainly experience opposite-sex attraction, you may have some degree of same-sex attraction. This is perfectly normal and more common than many people realize. Oh, Shane suddenly realizes. Everyone feels this way. He laughs in relief. Thank God. He’s normal.
Or, Shane breaks up with his high school girlfriend after the draft. He spends the rest of the summer trying to do anything other than think about Ilya Rozanov. He fails miserably.
an exploration of Shane trying to convince himself he's straight after the draft, before he meets Ilya for the CCM shoot. Read on AO3 here!
A/N: This is a contemplative post. I had this thought come to me at random so I'm dishing it out here. It's not necessarily neat, so I appreciate the read.
Feel free to give your two cents on this in the comments! - 🐝
Okay, so, I'm starting this post with a quick and funny anecdote; the one that inspired writing this.
A woman was next to me on the treadmill today, and while I don't pay attention to what others are doing (to be respectful and also to better focus on what I'm doing), I noticed every tiny movement I made, she mirrored.
I'd adjust my ponytail, and two seconds later, she's touching her hair. I'd pull my pants up, and she'd play with the hem of hers, making sure it was in place still.
This led me to remember sth I heard about in the TV show The Mentalist, and later read up on, namely mirroring.
I won't bore you with a long definition of what it is, so here's the short version: when humans interact, they may unconsciously mirror the movements, facial expressions, and body language of the other person.
It's the reason people claim 'if smb yawns or sneezes, you do, too' :D
With the exception of when high-functioning psychopaths and sociopaths do it, mirroring is actually kinda fun.
When I'm talking to smb I don't particularly enjoy conversing with, for instance, I'll start to touch my neck or eyebrows every few seconds and wait to see when they'll mirror the gesture. It's a neat game to play to pass the time wasted on talking to them lol.
But I digress. The main idea of this post is this: Why don't writers (us) do this when writing dialogue?
Certain genres have to be as close to reality as possible...and yet, mirroring is hardly present in dialogue. I've never seen one character touch their neck nervously and the other do the same. Usually, if both characters are nervous in this context, the other person will be doing sth else (tapping their fingers or shaking their leg, for ex.)
In my writing, for example, two characters can be smiling, but it's not necessarily mirroring, it's just that...the context allows for them both to be smiling.
As for any other kind of nonverbal expression, I don't ever recall having two characters mirror each other's body language/gestures...etc. just for the sake of the work being as realistic as possible.
Which brings me back to the why. My theory? Simple; it boils down to the 'willing suspension of disbelief'.
Frankly, I have never had a work of art ruined for me just because 'mirroring' wasn't a part of it :D
While it's a neat observation (at least I think so), it doesn't mean the paradigm has shifted. Mirroring isn't going to become a 'literary device or element' that writers have to suddenly keep in mind, like Metaphors or Conflict.
The way I see it? We, writers, can use mirroring to our advantage when we want to. A few examples include:
A character notices that their crush is mirroring their movements. Perhaps they like them too? Do they? Or is it just normal? >.<
Your character is a psychologist/or has knowledge of mirroring (like in the case of The Mentalist) and makes a point to show others/note that someone is/isn't mirroring
A character that knows of mirroring and uses it to pass the time when talking to someone they dislike/a person that won't stop talking...etc. (like yours truly does :D)
A manipulative character that uses mirroring to get their victims to do what they want and control them better.
Got more ideas? Shoot them in the comments, I'd love to hear them!
If you stuck around this far, you're a real one; thank you! 💐
A/N: Can't stress this enough, but please, please, please, if you have sth to add or a takeaway from this, I'd love to read it!
I love to learn, and I believe everyone has sth to offer, so go ahead and don't be shy lol
Love, B 🐝
A Tour of Madison's Night Sky. Meet this artist at the Majestic in Madison. #writer #npr #TotheBestofOurKnowledge #live #majestic #february9 #contemplativewriting #typewriter #love #biologyofsex #madison #monona #socialartist #entrepenuer #consciousbusiness #classes #society6 #change #hope #sistergiant #berniesanders #7billiontribe (at Madison, Wisconsin)
