Love Is Everywhere

Some people toss the word love around as though it were confetti. They love chocolate, walking on the beach, gardening, pepperoni pizza …

But do they really love those things? Maybe they savor chocolate, enjoy walking on the beach, prefer gardening to housework, or like pepperoni pizza.

Most parents love their children, and children their parents. Likewise for spouses. Extreme love or lack of it can provide a basis for novels or subplots.

This post provides ways for writers to show how their characters feel without overusing love.

Emotion Beats and Physical Manifestations

Show a character’s emotion whenever possible.

The following beats could indicate various levels of attraction — including adoration, arousal, desire, flirtatiousness, infatuation, and love.

If you need additional beats, consult a body language dictionary.

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• “accidentally” touching someone’s arm, hand, or knee
• breath holding
• butterflies in one’s stomach [cliché] or fluttering stomach
• checking one’s breath behind a raised hand
• constant stroking of one’s beard and mustache, possibly even the earlobes
• crossing legs while one is seated, and angling toes toward object of attraction
• crossing one’s legs, which reveals skin on knees and thighs
• deep or fast breaths
• embracing someone, with full chest-to-chest contact
• flushed, hot skin
• frequent touching of one’s lips or face
• heart fluttering in one’s chest
• hugging someone
• keeping one’s shoulders in a raised position
• legs that buckle
• lifting one’s chin and exposing Adam’s apple (instinctive exhibition of trust)
• moving closer to object of affection
• parting one’s lips
• placing an arm around someone’s shoulder
• playing with a lock of one’s hair
• pointing one’s feet toward object of affection
• raising one’s eyebrows, and making direct eye contact with object of affection
• relaxed face
• repeatedly crossing and recrossing one’s legs
• resting chin on the back of hands, and offering one’s “face on a platter”
• rubbery knees
• running tongue over one’s lips
• showing skin by wearing short skirts and/or low necklines
• sitting close to object of desire so that legs touch
• slightly separating one’s legs
• speaking in a soft voice or whisper
• stroking one’s arms
• stroking one’s stomach (male)
• sucking in one’s flabby gut or pot belly to look more appealing to a love interest
• suppressed appetite
• tightening one’s buttocks and abdominal muscles
• touching one’s neck
• tucking hair behind an ear
• voice that hitches with emotion
• wiggling one’s butt in someone’s direction

Other Ways to Show Love

Narrative

Review the following examples. Can you see the love in each paragraph?

Andrew always greeted his daughter with a cheerful “good morning” before he tousled her hair and made her breakfast. Then he walked her to school — and spent the rest of the day missing her while he worked on his next book.

Chocolates: delicious, smooth, sweet chocolates. Jared salivated as he stared at them. Could he resist the overwhelming urge to stuff them all into his mouth at once?

Ariana tried not to look at her neighbor as they rode the elevator to the first floor. Every day, she listened to his movements in the apartment next door, imagining how it would feel to dance with him in time with the music he played whenever he was home. Three weeks, and she hadn’t worked up the courage to talk to him.

Dialogue

Conversation provides another avenue to reveal emotion. Overt declarations or subtle slips of the tongue can show readers a character’s feelings.

“I tell you, Sis, whenever I see her, I forget every word I ever knew and act like a stupid teenager trying to get the guts to ask a girl for a date.”

“Coffee: I can’t live without it: the smell, the taste, the way it glides down my throat. You have no idea. Here, give it a try. You’ll never go back to green tea.”

“Three days. She’s been gone for three whole days. I don’t know if I’ll last a month without her. Maybe I should take some time off and hop the next flight to Miami.”

“Phil? Yeah, he’s OK, but I couldn’t get involved with anyone who drinks Assyrtiko, eats lunch at Tony’s Taco stand, and spends every Saturday night at Midtown Theater.”

Adjectives

A person who is in love or falling in love might be described as:

Intense Emotion

A to U
ardent, attentive, beguiled, besotted, bewitched, captivated, crazed, dedicated, devoted, doting, emotional, enamored, enraptured, fervid, fiery, hooked, hot-blooded, hypnotized, infatuated, intoxicated, mushy, nuts, obsessed, passionate, pining, possessed, smitten, twitterpated, under someone’s spell

Less Intense Emotion

A to W
affable, affectionate, amorous, approachable, attached, benevolent, caring, charitable, charmed, compassionate, considerate, empathetic, fond, friendly, gentle, gracious, humane, kind, kindhearted, kindly, nice, pleasant, sociable, soft on, sweet on, tender, tenderhearted, thoughtful, warm, warmhearted

Similes and Metaphors

Warning: Direct or indirect comparisons often lead to purple prose. However, they can also result in memorable passages that stand the test of time to become clichés or idioms. Leverage the following ideas to create your own inventive phrasing.

a bud blossoming in one’s chest

a fierce fist crushing one’s unrequited overtures

a fresh way to view the world, knowing that two are now one

a veil separating one from the harshness of the world

an uncontrollable bonfire

better than fame or riches

comforting as ice cream smothered in chocolate sauce

enduring as one’s fidelity

fragile as a butterfly

necessary as oxygen or water

overwhelming as a tsunami

painful as a thorn but impossible to live without

Colors

Reds signify passion. Try some of these colors to augment a romantic scene.

A to G
apple red, berry red, blaze red, blood red, blush red, burgundy red, candy red, candy-apple red, candy-cane red, cherry red, cinnamon-candy red, coral red, crab-apple red, cranberry red, crimson, fire red, flame red, garnet red, ginger red

H to W
heart red, licorice red, lipstick red, maple-leaf red, merlot red, mulberry red, neon red, pepper red, pomegranate red, raspberry red, rose, rouge, ruby, scarlet, strawberry red, Valentine red, wanton red, watermelon red, wine red

Scents

Many scents are touted as natural aphrodisiacs. Aromatherapy advocates swear by the following for romantic stimulation.

B to Y
basil, bergamot, chocolate, cinnamon, citrus, clary sage, doughnuts, ginger, jasmine, lavender, licorice, lily of the valley, musk, nutmeg, patchouli, peppermint, pheromone-based [aftershave, lip balm, cologne, perfume], pink grapefruit, popcorn, pumpkin, rose oil, sandalwood, strawberries, vanilla, wild yam, ylang-ylang

Shapes and Symbols

Love and like don’t have shapes, but the following suggest love and romance.

A to V
ankh, apple, Celtic love knot, Claddagh symbol, Cupid, diamond, dove, heart, inverted triangle, maple leaf, rose, scallop shell, swan, tulip, Valentine

The Versatility of Verbs and Phrasal Verbs

Strong verbs can focus attention on a character’s emotional state.

Intense Emotion

A to W
acclaim, adore, adulate, aggrandize, applaud, be besotted with, be devoted to, be infatuated with, be passionate about, care very much for, celebrate, deify, dote on, eulogize, exalt, extol, hero-worship, idolize, laud, lionize, panegyrize, relish, revere, reverence, savor, think the world of, venerate, worship

Less Intense Emotion

A to V
admire, appreciate, be smitten with, care for, carry a torch for, cherish, commend, enjoy, esteem, fancy, feel deep affection for, have a crush on, hold very dear, honor, like, praise, prefer, prize, respect, treasure, value

Nouns

Like verbs, the perfect noun shows a character’s feelings. Watch point of view, though. POV characters will recognize their own passion or affection, but secondary characters will need to interpret body language and dialogue.

Intense Emotion

A to Y
ardency, crush, devotedness, devotion, enchantment, fervor, fidelity, flame, infatuation, lust, passion, rapture, relish, worship, yearning

Less Intense Emotion

A to R
affection, amity, appreciation, delight, enjoyment, fondness, friendship, hankering, inclination, like, partiality, regard, respect

Props

Well-chosen props augment a story by sparking new twists or subplots.

Some of the following foods are supposed aphrodisiacs. Can you guess which ones?

A to L
asparagus, broken air conditioner, broken arm or leg, burglary, burnt supper, car accident, chili peppers, chocolates, dating app, Disney cruise, figs, forgotten anniversary, funeral, hole in underwear, lost engagement ring, lost luggage, Lyft driver

M to W
marriage proposal while [arguing, attending a wedding, bowling, delivering a baby, grocery shopping, hot-air ballooning, scuba diving, skydiving], oysters, pet hiding under bedspread, pizza delivery, silk sheets, strawberries, Uber driver, watermelon

Clichés and Idioms

You may have been drawn to this post because you realized the word love appears too often in your WIP. One of the reasons could be overdependence on clichés and idioms like these. Try to replace them.

head over heels in love: consumed with desire

in love with the sound of one’s own voice: arrogant, proud, conceited

in love: besotted, captivated, enamored, infatuated, smitten

labor of love: courtesy, favor, good deed, kindness, thoughtfulness

love affair: dalliance, entanglement, fling, flirtation

love handles: bulging waistline, flab, fat

love of one’s life: favorite, soulmate, sweetheart

puppy love: crush, infatuation

to love to death: adore, adulate, dote, worship

tough love: discipline, firmness, strictness, stringency

unable to get for love or money: rare, scarce, uncommon

with a face that only a mother could love: gruesome, hideous, repulsive, ugly