One of the details I put into GW was a nod to the fact that Rhys, my magician, was good at reading people. He knew a bel dame (a bounty hunter/draft dodger police type of person) just by looking at them.
Trouble with this “detail” was, I used that whole “Well, he just KNEW” language. Which looks like (and, let’s face it, IS) a handwave. It bugged me again with this scene in Black Desert where he does a deal with three women he pegs as being authentic bel dames. “He just KNEW.”
But what did he know? How did he know? Well, something about they way they stood, the way they walked, something, something….
And now I have a better idea on how to properly detail that something.
Check out this great writerly guide to police body language.
