Being Descriptive

Below is an excerpt from a scene in my novel, been thinking about words and being descriptive, how one word can change the image that is imagined when a line is read by a reader,

...he’s up standing now and flailing about, foaming at the mouth like a mad man,

The one word in the line above is flailing...

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/flailing

To wave or swing vigorously; thrash: flailed my arms to get their attention.
To move vigorously or erratically; thrash about: arms flailing helplessly in the water.
To strike or lash out violently: boxers flailing at each other in the ring.

I often refer to dictionary's and thesauruses' to look up exact meanings of words and to look for words with similar meaning that may fit the context of writing better, or help to better express the vision of the writer, with the line above I could of said he was dancing around / waving his arms / but I believe flailing is such a better fit especially when looked at in context of the writing...

...the boy says in a voice that is hyped with adrenalin, far from excited but more driven with his own rage, intensified by the boys own insecurities, he’s up standing now and flailing about, foaming at the mouth like a mad man, “wha’ did you think?, that you could just mug me off, and I’m gonna have it, are you mad?”

Hopefully you see my point, when it comes to being creative, there are some guidelines, formats, rules to the game, but also it is important to follow your instinct and to do what you feel is right, and using flailing over a choice of other words feels right to me, I think that word is the best word to describe the vision I have of this man and what he is doing in this scene with his body, this was the best way I could describe his actions.

so yeah, a little tip about being descriptive, hope it is helpful.