"A night of reading," I said with a smile.

"He smiled." "She smiled." I have this problem. I'm struggling even now to explain it. Technical difficulties might be the simplest way to say it. Two of my characters, the two who are living in Molly's parents' home, are helpful, kind, and compassionate people. They have been spending a lot of time trying to make Bronte feel better about her current predicament. As they encourage her, they smile. Perhaps too often. Then they "say" things. For example:

"Everything will be fine," he said and smiled.
"Yes," she smiled, too.
"Blah, blah, blah," they smiled at each other.

They do other stuff too, of course. They pat her hand, kiss her cheek. But then there are other people who smile. I have no problem with smiling. Or laughing. Or tittering. Some other gestures that come up a lot. It's just that I don't want a whole lot of the same thing. The problem is that sometimes a smile is appropriate. And sometimes people smile often. But if you write that over and over, even if it's accurate, it becomes noticeable and problematic. Even supplanting a "smile" with a "grin" doesn't solve the dilemma. In fact, it may exacerbate it. There are other things. Other little affectations and gestures that are superfluous in daily life. If, say, you have just been through a traumatic experience, your hands shake. But your character can't constantly reference her shaking hands. But what if there are two separate experiences that both result in shaking hands. Or blushing. Or flushing. My character has done an exorbitant amount of both. As I said, these are technical problems, and I tell myself that I will correct them in the editing process.

I didn't write last night. I took a little time to read The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, one of my favorite writers. I paid close attention to his dialogue structure and gesticulations. Just to see how he handled similar problems. I read him for his writing, which I've done in the past, usually to relish the cleverness of his prose. Last night I read more for grammatical structure. I'll catch up this weekend.