Question

I usually show my characters through the eyes of others, and that I tend to leave as random observations rather than a laundry list of XX eyes, XX brows, XX nose, XX lips, XX cheekbones, XX hair, etc. I once read an 86 word run on sentence where the MC was described in precisely this way and was so irritated I had to step away from the book before I did damage.

If I were to have a character remark (internally or externally) about their appearance, it would be to show something about them --vanity or self-disparagement or something.

I think it depends on how you do it. In the novel I'm working on now, my MC describes herself, doing a kind of self-critique as she puts on her makeup. In the previous novel, with the same MC, that doesn't happen--she makes remarks like, "He had about four inches on my own 5'8" " or "I let my friend try to arrange my impossible long, straight hair." One of the first pieces of writing instruction I got, back in middle school, was not to dwell to much on the MC's appearance, but to try to fit references like that into the story.

I'd ask your beta what she means by "too much," though. That comment seems kinda vague to me.

WW

Well, I know when I do this, my editor gives me a POV warning. She says detailed physical descriptions should be given by others or in some random way without the character in question saying it. You also have to be careful 'who' describes the person. I learned that it's not okay for a brother to mention his siblings tight abs, lol.
Good luck

I limit character description, even main characters, to the absolute bare minimum unless it is necessary for the story. I don't want to interfere with the readers vision of the character by putting in my own opinion. I find it interesting to ask people what they think a character looks like, because it varies widely and when I ask readers if they're bothered that I didn't give a bunch of description, I usually get a blank stare and a "you didn't?"

I firmly believe that a characters voice and actions will lend to most of the way a reader views them and it's a better experience for the reader.

maybe you should pick out one or two features that are important and just mention those rather than spend too much time describing every detail.

I'm the kind of egotistical bastard who would describe myself, too.

Even if your character is, though, Epic Detail is not necessary for self-description.

I hope most people don't like to look at themselves. That's not a very likeable trait. Haven't you heard people talk about those who can't pass a mirror without looking at it?

My main problem with protagonist descriptions, however, is that you aren't allowing the readers to use their imaginations, and you're stopping them from stepping into the protagonist's shoes.

Do any of you allow your MC to describe themselves?

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No, but I don't have any egotistical characters.
If I did, I wouldn't have the character describe him/herself. Instead, I'd have her appearance show through context. For example:

Jane's eyes cut through me as she examined the skirt I wore. I knew the real reason, she was just jealous because my ass looked better in it than hers.

Something along those lines. I'm not sure I've ever sat down and thought about every feature, even if I'm looking at myself in a mirror.

If not,do you leave it up to another character?

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There are plenty of ways to do this. Sometimes you just don't need to go into full detail at all. My MC's mother is nagging him about his hair being too long. "You shouldn't let it cover those pretty blue eyes of yours." So you get small hints here and there about his looks.

Or do you just keep the character's appearance vague?

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It doesn't have to be completely vague, but describing the way a character looks too much is annoying. The only exception in my eyes is when there's something odd about the character like a scar.

My own rule is that a character won't notice or describe himself unless:

-- He's vain.
-- He has body dysmorphic disorder or a lesser anxiety about his looks.
-- Something about him has changed, and he's studying the alteration with pride or horror or whatever.
-- He has special cause, such as his profession (model, actor) or a special occasion (getting married in five minutes -- but then I'd imagine his focus to be on his clothes and hair more than his inalterable features.)

Even given one or more of the above, I would usually not let the character do an encyclopedic review of his appearance.


I usually let characters describe other characters rather than themselves. Care is also needed here. If the describer knows the describee well, she shouldn't notice that person's features to the extent of a major catalog. The describer will probably note only a few things about a new acquaintance, too. Exceptions could be a professional evaluation, descriptions by a model recruiter or a forensic pathologist, for example.

How a character describes another character can tell more about the describer than the object. This is good.

In the novel I'm working on now, the MC doesn't get a description at all until Chapter Five, when another character meets him for the first time. Then he gets a couple lines. I'm cool with that, and so are the betas.

All that said, I don't mind detailed descriptions when they're done well. I also don't mind virtually no physical descriptions of characters, as in Jane Austen's novels.

A couple examples come to mind:

The dual opening descriptions of Scarlett O'Hara. The first is by the off-page narrator, on page one -- it gets down to the slant of Scarlett's brows and the shape of her jaw, but also relates them to aspects of Scarlett's background and character. The second is by Scarlett, as she dresses for the barbeque at Twelve Oaks: a very important occasion, since she's decided it's her last chance to steal Ashley from his fiancee. Scarlett notes her good points with a vanity so frank it seems natural and robust -- her vanity becomes a virtue, part of her startling animal vitality.

The descriptions, by the narrator, of the sisters in Little Women. You can't get franker about info-dumping than Alcott, who comes right out and says: Here's what they look like, since you readers like to know that stuff. However, her descriptions are succinct and pointed as much toward character as physical appearance.

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It doesn't all have to come at once. You can sprinkle the description into descriptive passages, comparisons, contrasts, all sorts of devices. Use your creative genius and, as others have said, leave something to the reader's imagination.

Find objects in your MC's life that indicate size, hair color, etc. Situations can provide the mirror you're seeking without using that hackneyed device itself.

For example, re: MC's landlady:
[FONT=&quot]It is majorly important that she avoid confrontation, even with an unshaven thirty-year-old draftsman who never cleans his room.

And later:
Frankie offers his bike, but it's too short for my six-two frame.

That sort of thing is adequate for the reader to put into his/her own experience and come up with a model of the character.



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I keep character descriptions (either self or from others), as well as the descriptions of banal settings (ie, kitchens, restaurants, etc) to an absolute minimum. To the point of non-existence in most cases. Readers will develop of a vision/version of people and places in their heads and unless there's a pressing rationale for overruling these visions/versions I think the novel benefits from the reader's involvement in the process. Does it really matter if your main character is a redhead or a brunette? If it does, then I address it. If not, I let it go.

First, consider the comments by James about the reader's imagination and stepping into the character's shoes.

How important is the detailed description to the forward movement of the story?

Would a person looking in a mirror point out the obvious characteristics that he/she has seen in that same mirror since he/she was tall enough to see into it? If I look in the mirror, I'm not concentrating on my various physical characteristics, I'm scanning to see if that irritation on my nose is a zit or just a scratch.

Would it make a difference to the story if the characters eyes were blue instead of green, or brown instead of hazel? Same with hair color and all of the other minutae that some writers like to spell out in a story.

Does the detailed description bring the forward movement of the story to a screeching halt?

Are you putting in all of that description for you, the writer, or for the reader. In other words, will the reader get less out of the story if all of that detail is not included?

Besides, everyone knows that most fictional characters are blond with either blue or green eyes, and they are ruggedly handsome or buxom and beautiful.

I usually leave such descriptions vague. The only time I'd even consider doing a lot of character description would be in a 1st person story where the MC is describing a lover.

Exceptions include striking features that are important to the story. Such as my character who is a talking blue dog. That one was kind of important to establish that he wasn't a handsome blonde with green eyes...

Cliff Face said:

I usually leave such descriptions vague. The only time I'd even consider doing a lot of character description would be in a 1st person story where the MC is describing a lover.

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but even that can get really annoying. I personally don't want pages and pages of description about how beautiful your MC's intended is. it can be just as annoying, if not more, than having a character describe themselves in detail.(stephenie meyer I'm talking to you!)

Jamesaritchie said:

My main problem with protagonist descriptions, however, is that you aren't allowing the readers to use their imaginations, and you're stopping them from stepping into the protagonist's shoes.

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Bingo. Absolutely on target. Readers (I'm one, I hope you are one, too) love to become actively engaged in the experience of the story. Hugely important for this purpose is to have characters that stimulate a reader's memory and/or imagination. Spending large amounts of authorial-masturbatory effort detailing physical descriptions of characters short-circuits this process. Unless you character has a physical trait that is essential to the story, leave it out. I don't give a rat's that your hero has blue or brown eyes, a beard or a mustache or glasses, UNLESS it has something significant to do with what happens in the story.

The first major novel I ever read, with enjoyment and real understanding, was Huck Finn, at the age of thirteen or so. I absolutely know what Huckleberry Finn looks like: He looks like Bruce Oesterreich, a kid I knew in sixth grade. I don't recall Mark Twain ever providing any indication of Huck's appearance, but dammit, he looks like Bruce Oesterreich. TO ME.

I bet he looks like somebody completely different, but equally vivid, to anyone else who has read that classic.

caw

Kitty27 said:

Being an egomaniac,I assume that most people like to look at themselves. But I could be wrong.

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People tend to be hopelessly insecure about their appearance and a lot of people want to look at themselves as little as possible. I don't know the numbers, but your assumption isn't entirely logical.

Jamesaritchie said:

I hope most people don't like to look at themselves. That's not a very likeable trait. Haven't you heard people talk about those who can't pass a mirror without looking at it?

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I never walk past a reflective surface without checking myself out. If you want to think that's arrogance, fair enough but I know the real reason.

In answer to the OP - why does your character have to be described? What's more important - how they look or what they do?

Another thing that readers often don't like is finding out very late that the MC is portly if the MC is thin in their mental image, etc. If you give the readers time to form a mental image, be extra careful about specific descriptions later on.

I know... those pesky readers Hee hee; actually, I do this one myself.