It's all very well to say "...his bright blue eyes twinkled beneath his brown hair" in third person.

But my question is, what are some ways to give the reader an idea of the characters physical appearence when you're writing in first person POV?

As in, describing the character you're writing as. Oh, and especially when they're not the type of character to be staring in a mirror examining all the little things about there appearence: a.k.a. a guy. :confused:

They would need a reason to get onto that train of thought. I think the easiest would be examining the reasons behind someone else's reaction to them; if they have a striking appearance (attractive or otherwise), people are bound to react to it, even in little ways. When the character sees another character react, just have them consider why they provoked that reaction. That could easily include a physical description.

I suppose, but to me that would sound un believable and forced.

In real life when we say something that causes a reaction in another person, we don't suddenly assess the fact we have brown hair as the cause for it.

I suppose that would suit the character I'm trying to write about, either.

But I can see where you're coming from, definitly.

Personally, I don't give descriptions of viewpoint characters- I swap the view to another character and let them describe the first. Or, you can start out by sweeping in towards the character from a height- giving a rough description and then settling in behind their eyes. Either of those two could help.

I usually let the first person describe himself and everyone else. For example in the first novel I wrote, he described himnself as he recalled painful memories through his childhood picture. At other times characters praised his beauty throguh his basic features. You could always use a mirror as a description for the viewpoint person. Like 'My golden locks jumped as I made my way to the dressing table. In a brief glance came to me a vivacious face which I believe was my own." etc etc. Hope I helped.

Yeah. Everyone's ideas have helped. I think B-Gas' idea of "sweeping" would best suit what I'm writing, as the very start lacks an "introduction" of sorts.

Have to keep it in mind when I go to re write my first chapter. =)

As in, describing the character you're writing as. Oh, and especially when they're not the type of character to be staring in a mirror examining all the little things about there appearence: a.k.a. a guy. First of all, I know loads of guys that stnad and admire themselves in a mirror. And he doesn't have to be standing there for ages, something like he was washing his face and his blue eyes stared from the mirror. Or he could see a flash of his body in a window he passes or something. Just little subtle hints that slowly build up a picture of him if you don't want to outright describe him.

It's a good idea, but honestly, it's a cliched and over used technique.

I want something fresh.

Water works as well as a mirror, but also sometimes it doesn't matter, especially in first person. Though, you could always have something like, "I'm <yournamehere>, I'm 5'9" I have brown hair and blue eyes" but that only works if it's one of those Narrated first person stories instead of one of those stuckintheirhead stories.

There is also the critical look at a driver's license, taxicab id, or Wanted poster.

There is also the critical look at a driver's license, taxicab id, or Wanted poster.

That too. A little more original than a shiny surface.

Another good method, mentioned previously but not in much detail, is to describe a) the people around him and b) how he is different. I read a good book about medieval China in which we could guess that the MC was Chinese (black straight hair, brown eyes) and he had to write down his discription for an exam, in which he wrote "Tall, thin, mole on left wrist." Other description came from contrast with his short, athletic brother and the clothing he wore.

If your main character is, for example, a soldier in the Union Army in the U.S. Civil War, you could have your character drop in little bits of description as he describes his companions: "Thomas Thorne had the same muttonchop mustache that I had, the same sandy hair, but he also had an ability to catch a girl's attention - something that, for all our superficial similarities, I proved to be sorely lacking, to my annoyance and the boys' perpetual amusement." "By the time our company broke camp, my lips were cracked. Everything was covered in dust, a thick layer that colored my clothing and skin an unnatural fawn color and made Hank and me look almost like twins." (Here you can mention, before or after, that Hank was unusually pale from an indoor job or unusually swarthy from working all day in an especially sunny state.)

Um. I'm not sure I understand the question. Do you need a physical description of a character, written in first person? Why? Why not explain his actions, such as

"I tossed my head back in bewilderment. I wondered if my unkempt hair made me look as confused as I felt."

You don't need hair color. You don't need the color of his eyes. You can go on to explain why his hair is a little disheveled, adding more depth to the scene or the person's basic personality traits, but you don't really need to know more than necessary.

You can further describe your main character by another's dialogue with him. "My! You look rather handsome today, dressed in your new suit. Are you out on business, or trying to attract some fine lady you met recently?"

Don't be didactic about describing your character. You need very little information. Most often, less is more. Let the reader paint his own picture. "I think that blue shirt goes nicely with your eyes. Now, go out there and get them!"

I'm really into eyes. I could go on for pages about eyes, (I try not to, though) and I do find it nice to know what the writer had in mind for the person's looks. You could have someone else describe these things. Your character could overhear, or the person could say it to their face. ie:
"What are you staring at?" I asked, becoming a little self-consious.
"You have great eyes. They're kind of like . . . emerald. Or snakeskin." She replied, almost dreamily. I laughed to myself - that was just like her.

sorry, didn't mean to post twice. I know I may have done that lately but this computer is whack.

OR you could just NOT describe the character at all. Sometimes it's best just to give an outline(hair colour, eyes or any other prominent feature) and let the reader put his own face where the main character's should be.
I don't think apearance matters that much, unless it has a chunky role in the story. then it's best to put it in there early so that the reader can get a solid image before he/she goes and makes something random up... (one time i read five chapters of a book before realising the main character was a black guy, it took me ages to stop seeing him with pale skin...)

And on HOW to do a good description... well i've got no ideas there... everyone else seems to have summed it up pretty well...

I guess it's all situational. If you're writing POV and the guy isn't really fussy with his looks, make another object/person interact with the body part. You can also drop hints throughout the story. Who says you have to bombard your readers with an in-depth description in one chunk?

I guess it's all situational. If you're writing POV and the guy isn't really fussy with his looks, make another object/person interact with the body part. You can also drop hints throughout the story. Who says you have to bombard your readers with an in-depth description in one chunk?

I think that too, and usually that is how I tend to describe my characters.
But there can be a downside to that: if at page 5 I say that Mr.X is tall and wears glasses, it is natural for the reader to fill in the gaps and try to visualize some more details and continue to see him that way through the following pages. Then, if at page 10 I say that the character is overweight, the reader could be disappointed cause they had time to build up the whole figure and their picture is (too) different from what you, author, have in mind. IMO, that can have the power to alienate the reader's affection for that character.

Maybe one could choose a different description method for main and secundary characters (more detailed for the people you're going to spend more time with).

When I asked a question similar to yours, some people told me that I don't really have to describe every inch of the character. Sometimes, you don't even have to tell the color of the hair. But if you want to tell everything, don't throw them all in one place. For example, when she brushes her hair, you tell us what its color. When she's kinda angry or staring at someone, you tell us her eyes color. And so on.

You know how in 'Eragon', he was blonde? Well, I didn't really imagine Eragon as a blonde guy! I didn't even see the necessity for the author to tell me how I should imagine the characters if the way they looked wasn't very important to the plot (Of course, sometimes it's very relevant. SO, you just have to have a good eye there)

Maybe you could have another character write a love letter to the main character describing everything that they loved about them. Or you could mention an old picture that they found of themselves and how much they believe they have changed. You can always have the charcter have an issue with a physical feature... These are just a few suggestions that I could think up in a few minutes.

I'm not experienced with 1st person writing, having only ever wrote one single 500 word short story with it.

But in my mind, there's two best ways to give the PoV character a decription. Like others have said, you can rely on other's reactions to them. Or examine the PoV character's own thought processes.

The second thing you can do is sprinkle in the odd passage such as: I flexed my thin, weak arm.

It's not the best example or anything, but hopefully you get the idea. Maybe after you've wrote something like the above, you can say the character didn't want to be skinny.

Definitely always a challenge.

Perhaps comparisons--so it doesn't seem as much like a list of physical attributes. Like "My hair was a hopeless, tangled mess. It looked almost exactly like a rats nest, all brown and clumped and dry." Or "The reddish eyeshadow brought out the most vibrant blue in my eyes."/"I wore the reddish eyeshadow that brought out the blue in my eyes." And "I fretted over how pasty I looked that day. I knew I couldn't tan--didn't want to--but looking like I belong in a little kid-safe bottle of Elmer's wasn't quite my cup of tea, either." And in similar ways, fretting about weight and height and clothing choices. There are ways to incorporate that into any given character (although it probably is easier with female drama queens or some such. :P).

Or other people commenting. I weaseled in not only a characters hair type, color, and length, but what it once was and a bit of the character's mindset/personality/changes, by simply having an ex comment on it like, "What happened to those gorgeous ebony curls I was so fond of, hm?" ... "I cut it. Easier to manage."

These two are the best methods I've found. They work for me. Just my 2c. :)

describing it through action is also a way i use e.g. would be he hit his on the top of the bunk bed or gaining speed as his long legs pounded the hard cement of the floor.

Yeah, I prefer if the reader develops an impression through the character's behaviour. Not saying I don't describe, or allow description through dialogue, it's just that I prefer not to.

I'm not really used to writing in first person, but...maybe you could say something as simple as "I pushed my brown hair back behind my ear", or to extend it (although you'd have to make it sound better than how I'm quickly putting it), "I pushed my brown hair back behind my ear, because it was stabbing at my bright blue eyes". This is a bad example, but I hope that you get the idea. However, you probably don't want to start dumping too much information on that character in a small amount of space. You could also have other characters comment on your main character's appearance. PHRique made a good point: it's easier with female teen drama queens, or someone of that sort, because they could be complaining to themselves in their own thoughts about how they look, ranting to others about how they look, etc.

I pushed my brown hair back behind my ear, because it was stabbing at my bright blue eyesThat's pretty horrible, because it's not at all the way anyone but the most obsessed narcissist would think of himself or herself.

When was the last time your hair or eye color ever entered your thoughts apart from when you are actively analyzing your appearance, such as considering a change to it?

Forcing description into sentences like that is always intrusive. If you mention a descriptive element, it should be because the character is very aware of it at that moment, not just to slip it in as a portrait artist momentarily stepped outside of your character's skin.

That's pretty horrible, because it's not at all the way anyone but the most obsessed narcissist would think of himself or herself.

When was the last time your hair or eye color ever entered your thoughts apart from when you are actively analyzing your appearance, such as considering a change to it?

Forcing description into sentences like that is always intrusive. If you mention a descriptive element, it should be because the character is very aware of it at that moment, not just to slip it in as a portrait artist momentarily stepped outside of your character's skin.

I appreciate your blunt response, and as I even said myself, it's a horrible example. This might work (a better example) if the character is in front of a mirror.

If it's first person past tense the character can discribe how he/she used to look.

ex- It was back in the 90's. My hair was still long and brown, and my dull eyes where bright green, and enquisitive."

I wrote that on the spot so sorry for any errors.

you could also describe his family...

"My sister shared my blonde hair, but got her blue eyes from our mother; my dad's and mine were brown, something he told me was 'manly'"

First ask yourself just how much you want to force the description on your reader. Some description helps the reader picture your character; too much bursts the bubble of the image the reader paints in his or her own mind.

I think it depends on your writing style... because if you are writing in first person but its sort of the observant/all-knowing narrator than you can still says "his eyes twinkled..." and etc.
If it's first person, chances are the "author" (narrator) would also want to describe the other characters.
The only thing you have to watch out for is if it is within the realm of something your narrator would say. If your narrator is say... an ex-con "His bright blue eyes twinkled' is just not right, but "I saw a flash behind his blue eyes which made me... " etc. would probably work.

Also, don't go crazy jumping over backwards to describe someones hair color or whatever if its not integral to the story, even if its how you imagine the character their personality is more important than their appearance and personality is best described with actions instead of statements.

Good luck!

What you choose to describe, and what you choose not to describe, should serve to tell something about the narrator.

For example, in mystery novels told from first person perspective where the central character is a cop or a private investigator, it's very natural for that character to take notice of details. For a good example, read any of the alphabet mysteries by Sue Grafton. Not only are the descriptions detailed, they are colored by Kinsey Millhone's cynicism.

Similarly, when Patricia Cornwell narrates from the perspective of a psychopath, his observations of his victim are slanted to show his obsessions with certain faetures or assumed personality traits.

But if your character is meeting up with someone he sees everyday, he's not going to give any thought to her hair or eye color, or height or weight, unless something about the person is different enough for him to take notice. Hell, ask a guy what color his girlfriend's eyes are, and half the time he won't even be sure (unless he's been blasted for not noticing)!

So keep your descriptions in character with the person whose viewpoint you are using, and consistent with the scene as well. If his friend is running toward him, screaming in terror, he won't be noticing what color shirt he's wearing.

for physical descriptions, I have written things where my characters described themselves in relation to their family members. For instance:

"My mom's hair used to be the same bright red shade as mine, but it had turned white within the twenty years that I had been away."

or:

"I was the only one in my whole family who didn't have bright red hair."

something like that. I find it's most natural for a character to describe their looks based on their families..

also you can do something subtle that relates to the situation, like "I ran my hand through my short hair, wishing it was longer, like his."

First I think you need to assess what characteristics are important and what aren't. I case of mistaken identity might make a very detailed description important. While a story revolving around battle scenes and such could place less emphasis on the appearance.

I haven't read everything of what everyone else has stated, so forgive me if I start bantering about what other people have already stated.I'm writing in first person POV and haven't described what my character looks like for a number of reasons.

First off: Why not leave it to the reader's imagination on what your main character looks like? You don't have to give us a jeweled description of everyone in the book, even if they are the star of the story. It adds more interest to us (sometimes) when we can pretend what the character looks like.

Second: The reader can get a certain outlook on the way the character might look depending on their lifestyle. If they are rich, they obviously (<--misspelled that word five friggin times, wtf?) will not have a grunge style to them. They will be of high class, maybe have a somewhat perfect look to them. Straight posture, etc. As for someone who roams the streets, they will be muddled up. We can also get an idea from the occupation. Rogues will have dark camouflaged clothes, and I imagine a lot of them would be pale, by creeping about in the night so much. True that this does not go for all characters in stories. But it lets us be creative, rather than you having all the fun. In the end, ask yourself: does it really matter what the character looks like?

Third: Most of the time in first person, it's easy to use a cliché when getting it through to the reader on what the character looks like. This is bad. Readers don't like clichés. The whole, "My blue eyes scan the books on the shelves" gets old after a while. Your character will not be thinking of what color their eyes are as they look at something, okay, people? This is the major thing with first person. Hey, you're in first person, think about it for a second. If you start to do something, do you think how you look when you do whatever? Doubtful. Reflections in the water can be okay, given the situation. Or even the mirror event. They are clichés, but say some teenager is skidding to a halt in the bathroom, fixing her disheveled hair, putting on the last touches of make-up, groaning at another pimple that popped up from her skin, etc. The point in making a character's description is to keep the action going. If you can't do this, then don't bother with a description.

Fourth: In first person, there's scant few ways to describe a character's appearance. Below are a few ways that it could be done.

- Clichés that were stated.
- Have another character comment on the MC's appearance. (This is what happens in my novel.) This does not fully describe the whole body of your character, of course, only a bit. Such as a bad hair day. Or, ew, that's an ugly looking wart you got there, mate.
- Putting clothing on that is too short for your character, thus showing us they are either fat, or are too tall. Also the reverse.
- Bad habits can give your reader an idea. Such as biting nails, biting the lips (which would make us know they are chapped), running hands through their hair to try and make sure a certain cowlick stays down, rubbing their stomach because it's hungry or just...sticks out, etc.
- Having the character look back on a certain event. Such as, if they have a scar, they could touch it a lot if it bothers them to know it's there, and perhaps there's an event or something's that's been said that makes them remember how they got it. Or if they have shortness from a family member, and they think about it like that.

Hm...I guess there are a few ways to describe a character in first person, eh? ...I think I just taught myself some new tricks. XD Anyway, these might work to a certain point, but you don't need to give the reader everything about the character.

A useful technique I've come across whilst writing in first-person is describing the main character in the prologue. For example, you could write the prologue from the POV of the MC's mother.

Thats pretty tough, usually the Show Don't Tell rule applies mostly to personality but if you tweak it a bit you can probably use that. But sometimes i just think it's good enough to let the reader imagine his/her own version of the character, so unless they make a movie of it, everyone will be happy. Plus usually the name give you a sort of insight on the character's appearance in my opinion, like say:

Bruno- to me sounds like a big, barrel-chested bald guy, with a leather jacket
Bob (lol)- A working class guy with a black- swipe over sideways Donald Trump hairdo thing.
Emily - A young brown haired, green eyed girl

Something like that i'd say.