Wink, wink, nudge, nudge …

Do your characters wink so often that their eyes resemble flashing signal lights?

Help is here, dear writer.

Emotion Beats and Physical Manifestations

As you write and edit, ask a key question:

Why do your characters wink? Knowing the reason will help you choose alternatives.

Common causes include:

amusement, confidence, flirtatiousness, jocularity, reassurance, secrecy or shared knowledge, sympathy

Try some of the following actions to replace winks.

Amusement
snorting
loud laughter
joking comments
suppressed giggles

Confidence
*thumbs-up
bright smile
robust handshake
meeting everyone’s gaze

*Exercise caution with the thumbs-up gesture. In some African countries, Australia, the Middle East, Japan, and certain areas of Europe, people will interpret it as an insult.

Flirtatiousness
coy smile
tossing one’s hair
touching or stroking someone’s arm
sweeping one’s gaze over another person’s body

Jocularity
bright eyes
impish grin
jovial banter
exuberant laughter

Reassurance
friendly hug
positive dialogue
volunteering one’s assistance
offering coffee, tea, or alcoholic beverages

Secrecy or shared knowledge
sending private text messages
whispering with another character
exchanging knowing glances with someone
laying a please-don’t-tell finger against one’s lips

Sympathy
sad smile
comforting dialogue
patting someone’s back or shoulder
murmuring optimistic platitudes in a soothing tone

You’ll find other actions and motivations if you search the internet for body language wink.

If you need additional beats, consult a body language dictionary. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Let’s Roll Up Our Virtual Writing Sleeves and Replace a Few Winks

Example 1

Jasmine grinned and winked.

We see no indication of Jasmine’s motivation, although the grin provides direction.

Jasmine exchanged a knowing glance with Wade.

Jasmine and Wade obviously share a secret.

Jasmine tossed her hair and smiled coyly at Wade.

This time Jasmine is flirting with Wade. Although excessive use of adverbs weakens writing, occasional words such as coyly reduce exposition.

Example 2

Celeste winked as she turned toward the living room.

Celeste’s wink is probably a response to an event that just happened, perhaps something funny?

Celeste smothered a laugh as she turned toward the living room.

This provides a distinct image we don’t see in the first sentence, and it clarifies her motivation.

Celeste gave Maurice a warm hug and then turned toward the living room.

A warm hug represents the epitome of friendship. Maybe Maurice wants more?

Example 3

Lacey rolled her eyes and winked at the professor.

Rolling the eyes suggests different motivation than winking. Why confuse readers?

Lacey met, and held, the professor’s gaze.

This portrays a confident Lacey who probably knows the answer to whatever question the professor just asked. The commas emphasize her self-assurance.

Lacey gave the professor a thumbs-up.

Once again we see a confident Lacey. In North America, a thumbs-up is an informal gesture. It could indicate an after-hours relationship with a mentor.

Example 4

Amy winked, and devoured a sixth doughnut.

Did Amy swipe the doughnut from someone?

Amy snorted, and devoured a sixth doughnut.

Same number of words, but now we see conflict that could develop into humor or an altercation with another character.

Amy suppressed a giggle, and devoured a sixth doughnut.

This example could likewise segue into humor or a confrontation.

Example 5

Stephanie winked at Clarence in answer.

Is Stephanie answering a question, or responding to Clarence’s actions?

Stephanie answered, “Of course, I’ll go. I haven’t been to Disneyland in years.”

No misinterpretation here. Dialogue often provides the best way to clarify motivation.

Stephanie responded to Clarence with a bright smile.

A wink might be misunderstood, but a bright smile leaves little room for doubt.

Example 6

Tears winked out of Betty’s eyes.

This is a nonstandard use of wink. Since a wink is the quick closing and reopening of one eye, the sentence doesn’t make sense.

Tears flooded out of Betty’s eyes.

Flooded is a better verb choice. Streamed or gushed would also work.

Betty wept.

Short. To the point. A good choice when word count is limited.

Are You Guilty of These Wink No-Nos?

George winked slowly.

Have you ever seen anyone wink slowly? By definition, wink means to close and reopen an eye quickly.

Ethan winked an eye.

What else would Ethan wink? His mouth? Remember the definition.

Ethan winked out of one eye.

Given the foregoing remark, I shouldn’t need to comment on this one.

Zara winked uncontrollably.

A wink refers to a single action of the eyelid; therefore, multiple winks would be tics or spasmodic contractions.

Andy winked, “Can’t you tell I was joking?”

A wink creates an action beat, not a dialogue tag. You can’t wink speech; therefore, the comma in the example should be replaced by a period.

Dereck winked at Karen in the total darkness of the cave.

Dereck knows that Karen can’t see him. Why would he wink? This would be a good place to insert a whisper, stumbling over unseen obstacles, or touching the other person for reassurance.

Charles gave Marshall a wink.

Charles gives Marshall something. Readers might expect it to be a tangible object. The sentence could be reworded as Charles winked at Marshall. The change produces direct action that is less likely to pull readers out of the story.

Avoid similar phrases such as execute a wink, bestow a wink, and impart a wink.

The police sergeant winked at the bribes taken by constables under his command.

In this context, winked at means ignored. Although the wording is correct, readers might misunderstand it. Why not choose an unambiguous verb such as ignored instead?

Kris winked to himself privately.

I doubt that Kris would be able to hide a wink, so he wouldn’t wink to himself. Privately compounds the goof.

Maria winked as she stared at the gem.

Can you wink and stare at the same time? I can’t. This would be better:

Maria winked and stared at the gem.

What about a variation?

Winking, Maria stared at the gem.

No! The present participle (ing form) of a verb indicates concurrent action, which is impossible in this case. As in the previous example, Maria can’t simultaneously wink and stare.

Basic Wink Alternatives Convey Multiple Nuances

Study these examples and note the subtle differences in meaning.

Libby winked at Harrison.

Libby batted her eyelashes at Harrison.

Libby blinked at Harrison.

Libby locked eyes with Harrison.

Libby nudged Harrison.

Libby peeked at Harrison.

Libby squinted at Harrison.

And Now, the List

These alternatives for wink are convenient when a writer must conserve words.

B to F
bat the eyelashes, blink, cast a playful eye, crinkle the eyes, elbow, eye, eye up, eyeball, flirt, flicker an eyelid, flutter the eyelashes

G to L
give a seductive look [see foregoing note about Charles giving Marshall a wink.], goggle, leer, lock eyes

M to S
make eyes, make sheep’s eyes, nudge, ogle, peek, rubberneck, squint

Can You Remove Wink and Winked in the following Exercises?

Exercise 1

Judy’s eyes flooded with tears. She reached for Nathaniel.

He winked at her and patted her back. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone what you did.”

[This could lead to a humorous story if Judy flubbed something at work. However, if she buried a body in the backyard, you could develop this into horror. What about a combination of humor and horror?]

Exercise 2

Only ten minutes of FaceTime. Sharon winked as she stared at Sean.

He winked back. “Let’s go. Ten minutes isn’t long.”

[What will Sharon and Sean do in the brief time allotted? You could go for the obvious, or have them plan a robbery. Maybe Sharon needs to rehearse a speech? Remember my remarks about concurrent actions. As indicates that Sharon winks while she is staring.]

Exercise 3

Keith winked and laid his hand on Jim’s arm.

Jim flinched for a moment and studied the hand before returning the wink.

Keith glowered. “I thought we were good. You having second thoughts?”

[Second thoughts about what? Story prompt?]