Character descriptions

Is it important that he has green eyes and brown hair? Sometimes character descriptions come off as bland simply because they are--so blad, actually, that they tell the reader nothing. If it says nothing, it's unimportant. If it's not important, why include it at all? Usually latching onto what's unique about a character is the best way to give a little visual while simultaneously working on character development (what do bright orange sneakers and a powder-blue tux say about a person?) Hope that helps.

Readers probably disagree on the amount of physical character description they need. I'm a minimalist. I need gender, approximate age, and any characteristics (glasses, maybe?) that are going to play a role in the story. Other than that, I like it pretty lean. I think it's Stephen King who says that if he wanted clothing description, he'd read the LL Bean catalogue.

Read widely and thoroughly, like a writer. Focus on good books as life is too short for the bad ones. Take note of how your favorites describe–or, as often is the case, don't describe–their characters. Don't be afraid to imitate the stuff you like. It's good practice.

Are descriptions of your characters important to the story? I don't go out of my way to provide any physical descriptions of my characters unless it's something unusual or particularly relevant to the story you're telling. For example, one of the characters in my current SF WIP has a visual implant, which is small, but noticable (and also comes into play later in the story anyway). Other characters don't really get much elaborate description because there's nothing physically outstanding about them.

Some readers really want the author to tell them what the characters look like. Some readers don't. I personally don't mind if I ever get a description of a character, because I form an image in my own mind anyway.

I did try at one point to provide some cursory descriptions of assorted characters, but because what they looked like was not really important, every time I'd try, the text just shouted "Hey here's what I look like!!!!" and just sounded awkward and unnecessary.

That's my two cents... I'm sure others will be along to tell you that you *need* physical descriptions and will give you some advice on how to provide them.

I can tell you what my favorite character description is. It mixes looks with personality, and it's very short. He was a big man with a mustache and an opinion.

I love description like this, and do my best to use it in my own writing.

Push the extra step to do something fresh and different. It doesn't have to be a physical description of what they look like. They can also be an impression, or even what the viewpoint character thinks. Sometimes you can get great power over emotional reactions. At one time, a friend of mine was going to marry this guy. From the physical description, he looked pretty ordinary. But every single person who met, even the guys, thought he was creepy. That's something that could come out in a description, but it would have anything to do with what the character looked like.

Do make sure though that you give an appropriate amount of description to the character based on the role. You don't want to spend half a page describing a character with a walk-on role, but you do want to spend a bit more time describing the main character.

And have some fun with doing it.

I think just 2-3 lines telling the readers what they look will be ok. Don't go too much into it. But don't skip it either.

Personally I like a good description of a character, but it's nice when an author describes them in an interesting manner. Ex: His eyes were as green as the grass after a heavy rain and his hair as dark as the earth. There's ways to spice it up.

Two days ago, I listened to Elmore Leonard and Brad Meltzer at the Tucson Book Festival say the same thing: they don't describe their characters at all, unless some detail is directly germane to the plot. Leonard said that as soon as you introduce a character, a reader forms a mental image, and they do not appreciate details that conflict with that image.

Curiously enough, both authors happen to agree with me on the subject.

Orchestra said:

Read widely and thoroughly, like a writer. Focus on good books as life is too short for the bad ones. Take note of how your favorites describe–or, as often is the case, don't describe–their characters. Don't be afraid to imitate the stuff you like. It's good practice.

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+1

If you are struggling with bland description then you should read more and jot notes to yourself. (Not read more because you need to be more widely read, but to read specifically to *study* mechanics. Take something you want to learn. Forget about the story and look at the techniques). Copy down actual lines of description in a notebook. Gestures. Expressions.

Once you have a bunch copied down, study them for a bit. You'll see better what you can do when you have nothing but them to look at. Study them long enough and you'll be able to look at it and wonder how you could do it differently but keep the same descriptors. Then move on to how you could do it differently with different descriptors.

Understanding how they drop description leads to why did they do it that way? Which is really the more important question than how. Why does an author describe a person neatly in 2 sentences? Why does another drop little bits throughout a coversation? Why does another give you very little but you feel like you have an exact picture of the person in your head (these are my fave, btw)? Look at your notes of lines and ask why they might have done it the way they chose. What does that information tell you about the character?

If you're anything like me, you'll find that the best visuals you get come not from physical description but character development. If you let the physical description follow character development, you'll find you use less of it. I only describe when it a.) is necessary or b.) makes sense (meaning don't force a situation just so you can describe i.e - looking in the mirror).

TIP: A big pet peeve of mine is to be in first or a really tight 3rd and have the character describe themselves. Ask yourself if you go around describing yourself to yourself. Now ask if you even describe yourself to others around you, like someone you're face to face with having a conversation.

See. It doesn't make any sense. I beg of you, no matter how you end up doing description, please don't do this.

Midian said:

If you are struggling with bland description

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. . . chances are you don't need the description. In fact, if you are struggling with bland anything in your story, the first question to ask yourself is: Does the reader really need this? Does the reader need to know the color of the character's hair? Or eyes? How tall he/she is? What they are wearing?

Note that I didn't say: Do I really need this? Learn to play the role of your reader, who doesn't know you from Lindsay Lohan. You, dear author, may have a mental construct of what your character looks like, maybe based on a real person or some amalgam of real people, maybe not, but that doesn't require your reader necessarily to have that same mental construct.

UNLESS, it is important to the story. For story reasons, in my best unpublishable novel, it was important for my MC to be tall, and his chief antagonist to be short and muscular and very fit. But I let all of that come out in character interaction, and don't think at any point that I just told that information to the reader from my authorial viewpoint.

For me, blandness at any point in my writing almost always means I ain't feeling the good vibe about the thing that's bothering me. Often just getting rid of it answers the problem.

caw

i am a sucker for character descriptions . The heroes in romance are dark and very good looking . He does not have an ounce of flesh and he has a mind of is own. He is also caring

dangerousbill said:

Leonard said that as soon as you introduce a character, a reader forms a mental image, and they do not appreciate details that conflict with that image.

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Maybe some readers. Not me. I only object to details offered too late. Up front, I'd rather have some clues to physical appearance. Artfully communicated, of course.

Jamesaritchie said:

I can tell you what my favorite character description is. It mixes looks with personality, and it's very short. He was a big man with a mustache and an opinion.

I love description like this, and do my best to use it in my own writing.

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Much as I hate to agree with JAR, but I agree with JAR (though I can stand it a bit longer, as long as it has personality, either the character who is being described, or the person narrating)

But it's a very personal thing. The only thing I'd say is don't leave the description too late, when I already have the character pictured in my head.

padnar said:

i am a sucker for character descriptions . The heroes in romance are dark and very good looking . He does not have an ounce of flesh and he has a mind of is own. He is also caring

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he's a skeleton?



jesusfreak, in On Writing King discusses his take, which seems to skew on the short side. I'm a short-sider myself; give me two pages of description and you will have almost certainly lost me at one, and I can think of at least one book where I got tired of hearing the MC was "petite, attractive, and Asian" within about two chapters

Personally, I like character description. But I like it when done creatively. For example, if you were to say "his emerald eyes" as opposed to green eyes. I tend to dislike "character introductions". Like, if it's a scene where we're just meeting Tom and the first thing the author tells us is his physical description, that tends to annoy me. Giving me a rundown of his physical attributes doesn't tell me anything about his personality, and it's personality that we're really concerned with when we're reading a story.

padnar said:

he has a mind of is own. He is also caring

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You prefer to have the author simply tell you this, in so many words? Or to have it revealed via scene and character interaction?

caw

Tell your reader only what he or she needs to know. If the character has a predominant feature -- eyes, a scar, a mohawk or a speech impediment -- describe that much and no more. If you have multiple assets (or flaws) that you want to include, consider describing them in a piecemeal fashion over time instead of just filling their head with a needless portrait that bogs down the storytelling and makes for slow reading.

Your readers WANT to imagine what a character looks like, so cover the bare essentials and leave the rest to your readers. They'll fill in the gaps on their own.

Mary Kole wrote a blog post related to what you should and shouldn't describe about a character a few days ago:

http://kidlit.com/2012/03/07/characterizing-details/

When you’re dealing with character, and especially at the beginning of your book–whether novel or picture book!–make sure you are choosing details and actions that do double duty and flesh out character on a more emotional level for your reader. You can talk about their favorite fast food and music all day long, but that has a very limited reach. It’s when we know them in action and in relationship to other characters that they truly come alive.

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If eye and hair color are important to the POV character, then they get included. His green eyes transfixed her as he leaned forward to light her cigarette. It was all she could do to stop her hand from shaking.

-Derek

I'll echo all the advice to only add physical description if it adds to the story. I'm not fond of physical descriptions myself, but if I have to, I at least try to make it interesting.

The door opened and the stranger walked in. He had brown hair and green eyes. And a huge gun.

dpaterso said:

If eye and hair color are important to the POV character, then they get included. His green eyes transfixed her as he leaned forward to light her cigarette. It was all she could do to stop her hand from shaking.

-Derek

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Seconded.

And please refrain from having the characters touch their hair just to give you an excuse to describe it. She tucked a golden curl behind her ear ... she shook her auburn locks out of her green eyes .... he ran his fingers through his shock of dark hair.... BAH!

Likewise for tugging at their clothing so you can describe it. If you must describe it, just describe it in tell; don't make them fondle themselves just so you can "put it in show."