Forum: Author Hangout

Read this in a very popular SOL story this morning and felt it was worth exploring. "eyes had gotten wide". Normally I'd have used the simpler "widened", yet 'wider' implies they instead elongate—possibly looking more oriental? I typically use "dilated', as it's simply a more accurate description, yet it's also a fairly uncommon usage.

So, what're the various opinion on expressions like this? Stick to tradition, picking the most appropriate word or just wing it on the fly and not waste time worrying over such things?

Another interesting turn of phrase, from the same author: "She turned an interesting shade of red". It's such an intriguing alternative to 'blush' or 'reddened', it really makes one sit up and consider what it implies. Clearly, there's a level of embarrassment, yet it's more of an acknowledged embarrassment, where "she" is only marginally affected by the supposed embarrassment—which is what the best turns of phrasing do.

Though "She turned interesting shades of red" would likely work equally as well, as that too implies her embarrassment changes as she's considers it.