I am having some difficulties finishing s description for the main character. '.....his warmth would radiate from the crinkle in his eyes to....' I want something that would show how it radiates from his eyes to his toes. But I am having some difficulties with what would happen o your toes to show affection, happiness besides curling. Any ideas would be appreciated guys.
My question as a reader would be, why is his warmth affecting him? 'Warmth' should be a characteristic which is directed outward, to other people. So describing it radiating from the crinkle of his eyes to his toes doesn't sound right to me. Unless you are trying to suggest that it is his eyes which are radiating the warmth to the other person's toes, but I don't think that's what you mean. If you are trying to convey that he exudes warmth which affects their entire body, then you should talk about how they experience it, not him. "From eyes to toes" is not a phrase I am familiar with, and it would stand out as a strange description. "From head to toe" is a more common phrase and would express what I think you're trying to say. So, you've got a character who, if I understand, is very warm (in character). And you want to show how this affects the people around him. You could state that very simply: His warmth was felt from head to toe by all around him.
Another thing to say about this is that description is often better coming from a character rather than from a narrator. So you could have another character describing how he makes her feel. She felt his warmth from head to toe, and the glint in his eye told her he made everyone feel this way.
Don't waste words trying to tell your reader what a warm guy the character is, have him do something that expresses that warmth. Your reader is not going to visualize the character the same way you do., so don't try to make that happen. If I say: "Thomas exuded warmth from every pore." One reader might picture George Cloony, another might think of Ted Bundy (a very charming man who killed more than 30 women), and another might picture the Fantastic Four's, Johnny Storm the Human Torch. But, if Thomas goes into a used clothing store and buys a coat for the homeless guy on the corner, that shows me something about him. Just a thought.
@mashers - that's true, it did sound peculiar to me, I think I will re hash this sentence and using @Terry D idea I will show how his character exudes warmth.
