Character Descriptions....when and how much?

[SeanDSchaffer]

I have just finished a Second Draft to my present Work-in-Progress, and am just about ready to start on my Third Draft. But I've hit a little bump in the road that I don't really know how to handle.

My question has to do with Character Descriptions. Whereabouts in my story should I place them? Should I put the Character Descriptions right where the character is introduced, or should I spread the description out over a period of time? Or, should I do it all at once in a place other than the Character's introduction to the story?

Also, how much Character Description should I give? Obviously, if I give too much, it might be looked upon as shameless padding; but if I give too little, I'm afraid readers will wonder just what the Characters look like. I need to figure out what would make a good 'middle ground' in the Character Description department, so that I can get the right description into my work. But I'm afraid I don't know what that 'Middle Ground' would consist of.


Does anyone have any suggestions? What should I do in the case of Character Description, to make the work not only better and longer, but also to make it a comfortable description for the reader. Something that will describe well, without boring the reader to tears is what I'm looking for.


Thank you all in advance for your answers.

:)

[scarletpeaches]

Hmm, I'm not actually that keen on descriptions myself, and I assume you mean physical descriptions? Even if your book is told in third person, the POV character wouldn't, for instance, run their hand through their blond hair or pick their aquiline nose...describing them this way seems clunky. I mean, you don't do the same things and think, while running your hand through your hair, "Ooh, it feels so blond today," do you?

I gave a WIP to someone once and he complained that I hadn't told him what the characters looked like. My reply? "You're the reader. You don't expect me to do all your thinking for you, do you?" He said, "Good point. I never thought of it like that. It frees me up to imagine whatever sort of face I choose when you don't give me all the tiny details of what someone looks like."

My advice would be to slip in the odd detail if it sounds natural or if the point-of-view character would be thinking in such detail. For instance, instead of saying, "Her eyes were blue," you could make a comment about her considering buying coloured contact lenses; she was bored with blue and wanted to know what she looked like with green eyes. That's just a very clunky example.

One thing I wouldn't advise is describing the character straight off, as soon as they appear. There's too much danger of this reading like an info-dump.

Oh, and please, please, please, NEVER have the MC look in a mirror and describe themselves. Who in the hell does this in real life? I made the mistake of reading a Barbara Taylor Bradford book recently where a character did this and...oh. My. God. All I can say is Act of Will, the beginning of chapter 31. Read at your peril. (Actually please do. It's a lesson in how not to do it).

[Celia Cyanide]

Personally, I prefer too little information. I don't wonder what the characters look like. I imagine them myself. I think most readers appreciate being able to do this, and are quite capable of it. Sometimes, the character reminds them of someone they know, and they can imagine them that way. There are some times when you just have to tell people exactly what the person looks like, but I think you, as a writer, will know when that is. For example, when other people are going to be reacting to the person's appearance. You have to establish that the person is attractive, funny looking, or what ever s/he is. And you want to show, and not tell. Other then that, if you give me hair color and height, I can imagine the rest.

[scarletpeaches]

Plus, of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I hate it when an author tells me someone is attractive. SHOW ME another developing an attraction to her/him and I'll know that person finds them attractive, just don't tell me I would, too.

[SeanDSchaffer]

Thank you both for your advice. I really do appreciate it. You actually reminded me of how I used to write when I did Wyverinia Chronicles. And you have both brought back to me the need to tell the story and not fill up three or four pages at a time with information most readers probably will never need to know.

I am very thankful to you all for explaining this to me.

I guess part of my problem earlier tonight was wanting to fill up space in a novel that is only 162 pages long. In truth, I've found maybe five places where serious description can be comfortably given, but I think I've been so busy trying to fill up space that, for a moment, I was not concerned so much with the story as with its length.

And that's just not the way I should do things.

So, thank you all kindly for the advice and I will definitely take it. No matter how long or how short the story is, what matters is that it be told right.


Thanks again.

:)

[scarletpeaches]

Think of all the short novels that 'work' that way - Catcher In The Rye, Brave New World...even Animal Farm is about ninety-something pages long. Some novels are small but perfectly formed.

[SeanDSchaffer]

Think of all the short novels that 'work' that way - Catcher In The Rye, Brave New World...even Animal Farm is about ninety-something pages long. Some novels are small but perfectly formed.


Excellent point. I had forgotten about those books. I've never read Catcher in the Rye or Brave New World, but when I was in Junior High School, Animal Farm was an assignment I had to do, and I still have a copy of that book. It's an old paperback by Signet Classics. It's old, too. The price on it its cover is $1.25. Heck, you can't buy a comic book for that kind of money, anymore.

I just looked inside, and it's 128 pages....easily shorter than my so-far 162.

You're right, scarletpeaches. I guess I was trying to get length instead of quality with a Third Draft, and the book was already pretty much ready. (I do have a few descriptions that will be necessary for the work, and I have to properly tie the ends together in the Epilogue, but otherwise, the book is pretty much as it should be.) This is hard for me to believe, as I've only finished the Second Draft and am beginning work this morning on a Third.

At least I can safely say this book won't take me 17 years to finish.:Clap:

[scarletpeaches]

See? When a woman tells you size is not important, she really means it. :D

*Snort*

Sorry...couldn't resist.

[loquax]

I remember reading Z for Zachariah in school. It's written in first person, and you don't even find out the narrator's gender.

[maestrowork]

It really depends on your writing style and POVs, etc. I'd say if the information (trivial things such as hair color) is pertinent (e.g. the character has red hair and it's important to the story), then you should give that information as early as possible. The character's race should also be given early on. Other than that, I think you just need to decide when the readers need to know that stuff. Obviously, you don't the readers to wait 200 pages to find out the character is Chinese. But it might be okay if you wait until page 135 to tell us he has a large... thumb because that information is not needed until then (and it won't really matter to the readers).

There are many clever ways to describe the characters without stopping the story. I've covered some of these techniques in my writer's blog.

[maestrowork]

I remember reading Z for Zachariah in school. It's written in first person, and you don't even find out the narrator's gender.

I would probably throw that book away... I hate that.

[Linda Adams]

One of the things I try is to bring a little bit of the character's personality into the description--not so much a statistical description of height and weight and whatnot, but something in the description that makes that character uniquely them. It can even be a part of the story itself, depending on how you do it. In some of Laurell K. Hamilton's books, part of Anita Blake's description is that she is short--which comes back into the story again and again through remarks other characters make ("I thought you were bigger") or about how much of a disadvantage it gives her against the bad guys.

Sue Grafton is another author who has some striking descriptions of characters through the eyes of the POV character. She uses a few sentences and shows what the POV character sees about the character in that ten second assessment.

[SeanDSchaffer]

One of the things I try is to bring a little bit of the character's personality into the description--not so much a statistical description of height and weight and whatnot, but something in the description that makes that character uniquely them. It can even be a part of the story itself, depending on how you do it. In some of Laurell K. Hamilton's books, part of Anita Blake's description is that she is short--which comes back into the story again and again through remarks other characters make ("I thought you were bigger") or about how much of a disadvantage it gives her against the bad guys.

Sue Grafton is another author who has some striking descriptions of characters through the eyes of the POV character. She uses a few sentences and shows what the POV character sees about the character in that ten second assessment.



That's a cool idea! I hadn't actually thought about it before.

One of my Main Characters does have an eyesight problem, and thus wears wire-rimmed spectacles, but I hadn't really taken up such an idea before, other than that one example.

I suppose if I did more of these little things, that would make the story more believable, and at the same time more entertaining. I know I would enjoy the read more with little distinct details that only have to do with one character at a time.

Let me ask, if I may: what about the idea of using those little distinct details as the only real description (aside from gender, maybe, and things like that) of the characters throughout the work? I know a previous poster said something about 'info-dumps' and things of that nature. I most certainly don't want to spend three to four pages telling the reader such-and-such character's description. Would the idea of using a single--or maybe a couple--of descriptive notes for each character be an idea I should possibly think about? To give the characters each a flavor of their own, if I may use that term.

[jules]

Yes. This is exactly what I do, and it seems to work. Certainly I've never had comments about lack of description from people who've read my work.

[Ken Schneider]

Good or bad, here is a discription of one character in my WIP that I just wrote yesterday.

::::
"Tem Ferrol, come forward," the man said. Tem moved from the far end of the table keeping his eyes on the man who called him. He looked to Tem to be a Norseman rather than the majority assembled who were wafer thin like Wel Renner, the wing rider. He was a husky, and broad- shouldered, with a great fat belly that pushed against his feather adorned leather shirt. He stood head and shoulders above everyone in the room. Tem sized him up as he moved closer. The man had to be close to seven feet tall. His dusty white beard was cropped close to his chin, and long golden hair with gray streaks running through it clung to his forehead. The ale sloshing had matted it down over one eye making him look even more ominous.

[Paint]

Well great! Now I have to rewrite some things that are cliche. (I read Rays blog on character descriptions.)

Please give me your opinion on this. This dog did not know she was a dog so...

Zoe ran over to a little puddle on the ground for a drink of cool water. Glimpsing her reflection in the water, she sat down in amazement. Wow!



She was a puppy, a cute puppy at that! White fur and dark brown eyes looked back at her. She put her paw in the cool water, that was nice, she liked the feel of water

Is it too cliche?
Paint

[Linda Adams]

Let me ask, if I may: what about the idea of using those little distinct details as the only real description (aside from gender, maybe, and things like that) of the characters throughout the work?

I actually tried it that way, and honestly, I think the reader needs an up front description of some kind first. Orienting the readers to the character, if you will. I have seen books where the writer only uses little details, I form the picture of the character in my head from those details, and then suddenly get jarred out of the story when another one pops up that contradicts the image I've created (i.e., on page 200, the author provides the character's hair color).


I know a previous poster said something about 'info-dumps' and things of that nature. I most certainly don't want to spend three to four pages telling the reader such-and-such character's description.

The reader would certainly be yawning after three or four pages of character description. To avoid sounding info-dumpish, just keep it to a short paragraph of a few sentences. Prioritize. Your main character should get more detail than a waitress we see once in Chapter 4 and then never again. Giving one short line of description to her is enough to orient the reader without making them think that the character is important enough to pay attention to.

Things to avoid:
Statistical descriptions that all sound the same or like you're just reporting the facts. I just read something where I think the writer must have had a checklist to make sure he got each detail for each character. Height--Check. Weight--Check? Hair color?--Check.

The already mentioned a character looking in the mirror to describe themselves. Another variation on this is a character assessing their own appearance.
The essence of all this is make the description work for you as important element that is essential to building the story and the characters.

[jules]

Please give me your opinion on this. This dog did not know she was a dog so...

Zoe ran over to a little puddle on the ground for a drink of cool water. Glimpsing her reflection in the water, she sat down in amazement. Wow!

She was a puppy, a cute puppy at that! White fur and dark brown eyes looked back at her. She put her paw in the cool water, that was nice, she liked the feel of water


That sounds fine to me. Subjects of recent physical transformations are, I think, the most important exception to the "no looking in a mirror and describing yourself" rule.

[jules]

I have seen books where the writer only uses little details, I form the picture of the character in my head from those details, and then suddenly get jarred out of the story when another one pops up that contradicts the image I've created (i.e., on page 200, the author provides the character's hair color).

That's an important point -- if you're going to describe, do it early. If you decide just to make an impression with small details then stick rigidly to those, and introduce them as soon as you can.

[Sage]

Hmm. My character is looking in a basin of water when I describe her, but really she's wondering how she's seen by others. Since she's not human, nor a typical fantasy race (ie. elf, dwarf, orc, troll, gnome, etc.), I think the description is necessary for the reader, either of herself or another one of her race. But she knows the rest of her race so well, she's not going to be going, "Oh, Melpomene has purple mixed w/ the green in her hair." Since part of her characterization (& the plot) depends on her being infatuated w/ another character who is still unused to the different races of her world, looking at herself while wondering what he sees makes sense to me (she also thinks about what the older ppl of her race see (a child) & what one specific older person sees (her past)). Does it make sense to you guys?

[beezle]

I thought the protagonist in Z for Zachariah was female? Perhaps i just assumed, it has been a years since i read it.

[loquax]

Beezle - she is, but IIRC this information only is only in the blurb :)

[SC Harrison]

I think there should be a few basic items of physical description revealed when a (primary) character is introduced, but only enough to trigger the reader to visualize a person.

Hair color (for some reason) is important. Maybe because it's at the top? Red hair and freckles, brown with a touch of grey, etc.

If a character is extremely one of the following: short, tall, fat or skinny, it should be noted. If no size description is given, the reader will (probably) assume they're "average", whatever that means.

If a character dresses up (suits) or down (ratty jeans) regularly, it should be mentioned at the beginning, and then left alone. I'm not putting it down, but some chick-lit drives me crazy when every piece of clothing or dab of makeup is described.

Shoes...okay, forget about the shoes. Unless somebody is wearing knee-high, spike-studded, Gene-Simmons-from-KISS-looking boots, or maybe Jesus sandals, shoes are not really important, imho.

[Gabriele]

Here's one of mine:


"Friends and comrades, men of the Selgovae ...." Talorcan's clear voice sounded over the camp and everyone turned towards him. The long, belted leather mantle of his rank made his appearance even more impressive as he stood in the flaring shine of the torch before the now midnight blue sky.

"Hunters we are, our name says it, but now we hunt a game more noble than deer ...."

Cailthearn only half listened to Talorcan's speech, regarding him instead; and the image of the handsome youth with his open smile carved into his memory mingled with the man standing on the knoll, his sensual lips now too often pressed together in a tight line over his goatee.

The wind drove a strand of his shoulder-long auburn hair across his face and Talorcan stroke it back with his left hand. He helt his sword aloft in his right. "This blade, the shining heirlom of my father Ferac, is dull now, dulled by the blood of Romans, and never again shall it shine as long as a single one of the hated invaders still puts a foot on the land of our forefathers!"

The voice of a bard, Cailthearn thought, yet Talorcan never had sung since the fatal night that saw the death of his parents.

"Death to the Romans!"

A chorus of voices howled among the trees. "Death to the Romans!"


I've before mentioned that Talorcan is tall, and I'll sneak the eye colour in somewhere later, maybe another detail like the scars from torture - if there's a place where it works.

[maestrowork]

Let's see...

Hair color (for some reason) is important. Maybe because it's at the top? Red hair and freckles, brown with a touch of grey, etc.

Why? Are they important, and in what way? I can see dark hair with a touch of gray or bright red hair as interesting characteristics. But not if the person has chestnut brown hair. *yawn* Seriously, it's better to let your readers imagine based on your "characterization (dialogue, action, etc.)." It's more interesting that way. Besides, it doesn't matter in the long run -- if your characters are vivid enough, your readers will cast them in their own minds anyway.


If a character is extremely one of the following: short, tall, fat or skinny, it should be noted. If no size description is given, the reader will (probably) assume they're "average", whatever that means.

Any unusual characteristics should be noted, yes. But if the character is average or "normal" then don't even mention it.


If a character dresses up (suits) or down (ratty jeans) regularly, it should be mentioned at the beginning, and then left alone. I'm not putting it down, but some chick-lit drives me crazy when every piece of clothing or dab of makeup is described.

Going overboard with how the character dresses, especially mentioning every brand name there is, is a bad idea. Give enough info to allow the readers to draw their own images (a homeless person? a redneck? a sophisticated socialite?) and leave the rest.

As with any other types of description, less sometimes really is more. The point is to let the readers' imagination take over and fill in the blanks. Give them enough to identify the characters or scene, but not too much to bore them.

Descriptions should be part of your characterization. For example:

"I sat on my father's lap, as if I was sitting on a pair of tree trunks. I felt safe." -- this not only describes the father character, but also characterizes both the narrator and his father and the relationship between them.

[Zonk]

I seldom give more than 3-4 characteristics at once, and spread further descriptions out piecemeal as needed.

I also second Linda's statement about describing the personality of the character as well, and the two writers who have influenced me in this more than any others have been Bradbury and Maugham. Both are masters at maximizing description while minimizing word count :)

Also have to agree with scarletpeaches to a degree about not giving a word photograph of the character (info-dump, laundry list, etc); just give the most important features, and let the reader form their own vision of the character. The strength of this is that the character becomes theirs, instead of just a gift of your vision to them...

The 'mirror' description is a cliche, but can be used effectively, see the first page of Robert Jordan's Eye of the World. Just be careful; if you use a cliche, sin boldly, as Luther says, and add some kind of twist.

Dialogue can 'describe' the character's personality, as well, as can actions.

Since we're sharing :) , FWIW here's a description from my WIP of a secondary, though important, character, as we meet him for the first time. I've tried to follow all of my own advice above, LOL.

Dr. Simon Callaghan smiled, and gave Alex a polite nod accompanied by a strong, dry handshake that contrasted sharply with the bookish thick-rimmed glasses framing his watery blue eyes. Baggy clothes draped themselves in loose folds around his bones, and he spoke in a soft plummy Scots brogue that reminded the Red Knight of a breezy cello.
"Delighted to meet you at least, Mr. Jaeger. Yes, erm, heard all the stories, naturally. You wish to assist in the interrogation, yes?"
"If I won't be in the way, Doctor. Pleased to meet you, as well. Your fame precedes you."
"We will, no doubt, regale each other with the true stories behind the exaggerations told about us later," Callaghan said, half smiling. "Well, to business." he nodded to the Warrior standing by to bring the subject in.

Hope this helps :)

If you develop a memorable way of describing characters (as well as memorable characters!) your readers will love you.

:D:D:D

[Linda Adams]

I think there should be a few basic items of physical description revealed when a (primary) character is introduced, but only enough to trigger the reader to visualize a person.

Hair color (for some reason) is important. Maybe because it's at the top? Red hair and freckles, brown with a touch of grey, etc.



How about hair type? Frizzy, wild, heavy, bushy, fine, straight, dry, oily? Check out the way J.K. Rowlings describes Snape's hair as being oily/greasy--it's used to help us not like or trust the guy.

[SeanDSchaffer]

I think I'm going to describe each character early on, and only (except in the case of major characters) give a couple lines. With major characters, I might give two or three paragraphs, but I'll definitely re-work my WIP so my Third Draft has the character descriptions when they are introduced, or as close to when they are introduced as possible.


Now, I do have another question, if I may:

When the action is really flowing, as it does in my first chapter, what do you all think would be the best strategy to getting character descriptions down?

My reason for asking is that I want the character descriptions to be effective without slowing the action down.


I'll be back later today, hopefully, to see what you all have to say. Talk to you all later.

:)

[SC Harrison]

How about hair type? Frizzy, wild, heavy, bushy, fine, straight, dry, oily? Check out the way J.K. Rowlings describes Snape's hair as being oily/greasy--it's used to help us not like or trust the guy.

While I agree with Maestrowork about using specific colors to describe hair (or eyes, for that matter—what the ****is cerulean blue?), the styling (or lack of) can be insightful and character-building. Close-cropped, military style haircuts imply discipline (or laziness, as in my case); frizzy, unkempt hair (especially when combined with glasses) infers intellectualism; dreadlocks may lead some to assume the real (or wannabe) Rasta is holding some prime, multiple-generation greenage just waiting to be sparked if you will just give him a ride somewhere.

Let's face it—hair is weird. I understand the evolutionary purpose for it, I just think it's funny the way people pay so much attention (and money) pushing it around, coloring it, teasing it, freezing it in place with industrial-strength agents, etc. My mom gets her hair "done" every Friday morning at 9:30 sharp, and has been doing so for as long as I can remember. The few times circumstances have intervened to disrupt this ritual, she wallowed in self-loathing and despair until an impromptu emergency hair-fixing session was convened to rectify the situation.

[scarletpeaches]

I really can't remember describing my MC's looks in my WIP. (Ah, authorial abbreviations, gotta love 'em). The only physical characteristic that I mention is her hair colour and that's through the eyes of the 'male lead' who thinks that the blonde hair makes her look innocent and aristocratic. What he doesn't know is, it's dyed and her hair is naturally very dark. So I thought I could use this as a metaphor. ;) The reader doesn't find out 'til much later on what she's hiding, and I thought I could have her go back to her natural colour later. Anyhoo...less is definitely more.

I know others have said hair colour is important but it really depends on the story. I've mentioned it because it's a metaphor for the MC bleaching all the dark things out of her life. But I haven't mentioned her eye colour, height, weight...none of those things are important. She's average, physically. I may mention later some other things about her that she's chosen to change.

For instance, unless you saw one of my previous avatars you wouldn't know what colour of hair or eyes I have - and that doesn't matter, because it doesn't change me, or illustrate my character.

It's the same with fiction. Unless it illustrates character, it's not necessary. Otherwise it's an accident of birth. I'm 5'2". What does this tell you about me as a person? Absolutely nothing. Just that I have 'short genes' - and this has nothing to do with my everyday life, or the actions I take. (Apart from asking tall men to get me things in the supermarket). :D

[maestrowork]

I'm 5'2". What does this tell you about me as a person?

Nothing, unless your 6'7" husband has been hiding a bottle of poison on the top shelf of the pantry to be used to kill you and you would never have known about had you not stumbled while you tried to get to the shelves and knocked everything down...

[scarletpeaches]

Well, yeah, apart from the whole husband-I-don't-really-have-trying-to-kill-me-though-why-anyone-would-I-don't-know-as-I'm-such-a-lovely-person-really situation. :D

[reph]

When I read, I don't create mental images of characters in color. Are some of you saying you do? Is that why hair color is deemed so important, and if somebody's blond or dark, you want to know early? I don't care what color a character's hair is. I'm more interested in the character as a person.

[Maryn]

Just a touchstone of sorts, culled from my mystery/suspense critique group's posts a few years ago as evidence that you can go long or short, detailed or nearly blank, and have it work:

From “Tell No One” by Harlan Coben, chapter 4
The man in front of him looked to be in his forties. He was big and fat with a belly that battled against the buttons of his dress shirt and, in at least one place, won. His tie was loosened and he had the worst comb-over imaginable—eight braided strands pulled ear to ear and greased against the dome. The man’s features were soft, his chin sinking into folds of flab. He had his feet up on the trunk Vic used as a coffee table. Replace the gun with a TV remote and the man would be a weary dad just home from work.

From “The Murder Book” by Jonathan Kellerman, chapter 13
The woman who stood there was petite and strong-shouldered, anywhere from fifty to sixty. She wore a royal blue and yellow checked shirt tucked into tight jeans that showed off a flat tummy, tight waist, boyish hips. Creased but clean work boots peeked out from under the jeans. White hair that retained some of its blond origins was tied back in a short ponytail--a merest upward twist of free locks. Her features were strong in a way that make them attractive in later life, but as a girl she’d probably been plain. Her eyes were a mottle of green and brown, lacking too much of the former to be called hazel. She’d plucked her eyebrows into spidery commas but wore no makeup. Her skin was testament to everything the sun could do to skin: puckered, cracked corrugated, coarse to the point of woodiness. A few scary-looking dark patches danced under the eyes and crowned her chin. When she smiled, her teeth were the milky white pearls of a healthy virgin.

From “Mystic River” by Dennis Lehane, chapter 1
Sean’s father, a foreman, had the better job. He was tall and fair and had a loose, easy smile that Sean had seen calm his mother’s anger more than a few times, just shut it down like a switch had been flicked off inside of her. Jimmy’s father loaded the trucks. He was small and his dark hair fell over his forehead in a tangle and something in his eyes seemed to buzz all the time. He had a way of moving too quickly; you’d blink and he was on the other side of the room.

What my critique group did with this post was compare, contrast, and in fairly short order, implode over disagreement on which each of us preferred, which was only the proverbial tip of the iceberg over deeper disagreements.

Maryn, who wiped her bloodied nose and regrouped with the best critic and the best writer, neither of them her

[SC Harrison]

When I read, I don't create mental images of characters in color. Are some of you saying you do? Is that why hair color is deemed so important, and if somebody's blond or dark, you want to know early? I don't care what color a character's hair is. I'm more interested in the character as a person.

I do visualize characters in color, but it's not a cinematic image, if that makes any sense. It's more like an amateur home video. Also, if no hair color is described in the text, my brain defaults to brunette, unless it's an elderly character. I don't know why that is.

[emeraldcite]

I only care about character descriptions if they make a difference or are somehow connected to the plot.

Run downs of physical features and clothing brands only really matters if it has to do with the plot or a behavior of the character.

I tend to do descriptions only when another character notices or it has something to do with what is going on in the plot or one of the themes.

[maestrowork]

When I read, I don't create mental images of characters in color. Are some of you saying you do? Is that why hair color is deemed so important, and if somebody's blond or dark, you want to know early? I don't care what color a character's hair is. I'm more interested in the character as a person.

My view is every detail adds to the characterization, but only if it makes sense. If you stop the story just to give me a laundry list of his hair/eye colors, height and weight, etc. I'll skip and the descriptions won't do a thing for me. But if the hair color makes sense ("She's a feisty little thing with fiery hair") it might add to "personality" of the person.

In first person, I'd probably not describe the narrator much. Since the readers are going along the ride as the "I" person... it would be more fun to let the readers decide what the "I" looks like.

[Paint]

Rockie gets a modeling job:

The next day at dawn, Rockie was a nervous wreck, but you would never know it by her calm demeanor. She sat for make-up and hair, never moving, like a doll. The girls wondered who she was and how old she was. Rockie pretended like she did not hear them most of the time, giving them vague looks and staying quiet.



Her outfit was feathers and cashmere. A tiny black wool skirt with a sweater that came to the bottom of her rib cage was set off with red platform boots. Her hair was a cloud of red frizz, crowned with a tiny black hat that trailed black and red feathers down her back. Across her eyes the make-up woman had drawn a red mask. She loved the get-up and pranced down the runway like she had springs in her feet, never smiling at the crowd, sleek and sure of herself, showing off her narrow hips with a twist from side to side. Oh, she loved this, it was obvious she was born to it.


Too much?
Paint

[KelseyF]

So my WIP has five main characters...all teenage girls. Obviously, I want to distinguish them so that the reader doesn't get confused. Anyone have any tips from their experiences writing more than one "main character."

I also just wanted to add thanks to everyone who's posted on this thread. I'm making the transition from screenwriting, where you describe the character cleverly in his first appearance, to writing novels. I thought I knew so much about style just from being an avid reader, but what do you know....I don't.

[Writer2011]

In the stories i've written (none published yet) I try my best not to describe the characters--in other words I don't usually describe what a person looks like (maybe eye or hair color) but that's about it. I try to let the reader use his/her imagination. Then again it all depends on what the story is about I suppose :)

[SusanR]

What a wonderful and helpful thread! This is one great discussion about craft.

Here's an example of character description from my WIP in which one character is described through the eyes of another. This passage serves to illustrate something about the describing character, the relationship between the two, and to comment upon the theme of the novel (race).

An excerpt from BONE SEASON:

Today Lateesha wore a fuzzy white V-necked sweater that clung to her lush body as if were enjoying the contact. Fat gold hoops danced in her ears, and rings made of thick swirls of yellow gold glittered on her fingers. Her dusky skin was flawless, glowing against the white and gold. Lateesha wore her outfits and fine jewelry the way a painting by Renoir would wear an ornate frame. Shelly knew herself to be attractive, but Lateesha exuded something Shelly lacked, and apparently coveted.

*****

It's not important that the reader knows what Lateesha looks like. It's an opportunity to use description as a way in to something deeper.

Here's another example from the historical section of the novel, in which a free man of color is going to church in the hopes of courting a particular woman:

James caught sharp glances as he joined the throng. From whites, looks tinged with condescension and bemusement. Negroes gazed at him with admiration - especially women and girls. Last year, in the first flush of real profit, James splurged and had a set of fancy clothes made. Until today, the outfit remained carefully folded, wrapped, and stored with cedar blocks in his chest. This morning James flew those garments from his tall, muscular body like a flag.

A vivid indigo cotton shirt with carved bone buttons, a turkey red wool vest, and linen trousers with pewter buttons completed his outfit. No peacock had brighter feathers to display.


SusanR