Describing characters....

ChristinaLayton · Dec 13, 2012

Bufty said:
Only describe or show a physical or particular attribute if it is peculiar to the story. Otherwise leave it to the reader to imagine his own preference.

Remember - beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and if your detailed description differs from my imagined one...

Many popular book heroes or heroines are never actually described at all. Check back.

Exactly what I was gonna say.

If the character's physical appearance affects the story somehow, by all means describe. For example, if a character is being a target for murder because she looks like the woman the villain of the story has been after for years, there's a mistake and he's after the wrong woman, by all means describe her physical appearance. If it's not that important, don't describe. I've read works from authors that don't describe their character's physical appearance at all and it still works.

itsaplane · Dec 15, 2012

I find myself wanting to know what characters look like. I think you can still sort of imagine them in your head even if you're given a "detailed" description from (pouty lips, eyes that are too close together, strong jawline, etc) without it being "too much". I tend to describe the MC and more main characters a lot more thoroughly than minor characters or ones you only see just once or twice.

Coco82 · Dec 15, 2012

Calliea said:
I like to have general features described. Where it's fitting, of course, or smuggled into other descriptions. Hair, eyes, preferred clothing style (doesn't have to always mention this, of course, but I like when someone tells me that this guy likes leather while that girl usually dresses in yellow short skirts).

Sure, imagination is great, but I like to close in on author's vision and share it, at least when it comes to these most visible features.

What Coco82 said, pretty much. I hate descriptions of nature or rooms (unless there's something special to mention, otherwise it's enough for me to mention a table and a rug, don't need to hear about patterns in floor wood or on said carpet), but characters are another story.

I had an alpha reader recently who said I had "white room syndrome," now I didn't mind being told that, but agree, unlike a character's basic physical features, I don't need a room's description. Now as far as clothes, unless it is vital to the character's stature, I don't need a description of every outfit.

Describing characters....

ChristinaLayton

itsaplane

all the feels, ALL OF THEM

Coco82