1. Anton Anderson

    Anton Anderson New Member

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    Characters physical description

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by Anton Anderson, Feb 24, 2020.

    Hello everyone!

    I don't really have a preference in the matter yet, but I know that some people really need a physical description of new characters right away, otherwise they have a hard time imagining them. So, I want to indulge them, hoping that the rest will survive rather short sections of text. I'm not trying to describe every single character, just the main ones.

    My problem is sometimes it's kinda ugly to describe how a character looks like. It just sounds way too out of place. One second I'm explaining how the character is looking at an empty street waiting for someone important, other second it's already time to start this physical description.

    I've tried to divide the info into multiple parts: explain eye color in one sentence, skin color several sentences later, etc, but goes against my desire to describe characters right away.
    I've tried to use metaphors, to describe how "sun was shining in her emerald eyes", but that sounded very artificial.

    I'm looking for some tips, links, and examples of successful physical descriptions. Or reasons why I should describe characters bit-by-bit. Or reasons why plain descriptions are awesome and how to do them properly.
     
  2. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

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    I would stick with only 2 or 3 traits and try to work the description in so it fits. That helps a lot, huh? :p

    What I mean is, when a character is first introduced just inset a single word for each trait, and don't try to do all 2 or 3 together. Like this: 'His tall frame loomed over everyone else', and maybe a scene or 2 later 'His blue eyes locked with hers'. But only if that trait seems salient at the time. For instance, don't just mention someone's eye color unless the eyes are important to the scene, like when flirting or if attracted to someone and the sun catches them just right. That creates a powerful little moment as well as being a brief description. When you look into someone's eyes it's a connection, and something is happening—attraction, the back-and-forth of conversation, or maybe defiance or anger. Use the flash of color to emphasize that moment.

    Think about shots in a movie—they're mot going to cut to an extreme closeup unless it's a powerful character moment. Probably something dramatic is happening, and the shot might be about interior thought or feeling. Try to use 'shots' in your story that way. Long shots to establish location and physical relations between people (how close they're standing to each other, if they're facing each other or maybe one is facing the other but the other is looking off in the distance—this stuff is very telling about their relationship to each other). They'll emphasize how tall a person is for example to make him seem imposing or strong, or maybe it's just helpful if you're looking for him in a crowded place. Those are the times to mention something like that.
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2020
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  3. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    What narrative mode are you using? The answer to that question is crucial in order to give any kind of advice.

    1st person?
    3rd omniscient?
    3rd limited?
    3rd objective?

    Each of these comes with a different set of constraints and without knowing which you are using, the advice is going to be all over the map. Imagine going to a computer forum and getting advice concerning a bad hard drive. You get a bunch of advice from the friendly members and then discover that none of it works for your computer because no two people were talking about the same kind of computer or operating system. Same deal. We need some fundamentals in order to genuinely help out.
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2020
  4. Fervidor

    Fervidor Senior Member

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    Sounds like your problem is introducing the descriptions in a way that feels like a natural part of the narrative.

    As has been mentioned, the perspective mode you are using is going to matter. Though, that said, I would argue it's going to be easier to describe characters the protagonist encounters compared to describing the protagonist themselves. After all, if your protagonist encounters another person for the first time, it would be natural for them to mentally take note of their appearance - that isn't really something you need to justify.

    Say you are writing in Third Person Limited or maybe First Person, and your character sees someone for the first time. What are the main things you notice about a person the first time you meet them? Probably general things like size, body shape, estimated age, hair color, how they are dressed and particularly noticeable features.

    Anything that could be considered unusual is probably going to draw more attention than very normal features. Say, an unusual hair color of very flamboyant clothing. Meanwhile, finer details may go unnoticed until later. For example, you might not mention eye color until the protagonist gets close to the other character, they make eye contact, and so on.

    In a similar vein, characters who have a very striking appearance that makes a strong first impression is likely to draw more attention than those who don't. So, it would make sense for the narration to linger a bit more on a character who is unusually beautiful, unusually ugly or just very weird-looking.

    In short, whatever the perspective character is most likely to notice should take priority.

    Also consider how much your readers really need to know to form a basic mental image of the character. Sometimes you just have to trust them to fill in the fine details themselves. And if they get it wrong, is it really that important? It's not like we're talking about plot here.

    As for describing the protagonist - who is presumably the perspective character - that can be bit harder to work into the narration organically. One simple trick is to have them look into a mirror and describe what they see. Note that this may not only provide a description of the character but also imply things about what they themselves think of their own appearance. This would be particularly true in a "close" and often somewhat unreliable perspective like First Person.

    Otherwise you can try to gradually slip partial descriptions in where it may be appropriate ("She sighed, drawing a hand through her long, blonde hair.") or have other characters casually comment on aspects of their physical appearance.

    Regarding metaphorical or poetic descriptions like "emerald eyes" and so on, that isn't in itself a bad thing as long as it doesn't clash with the over-all style of your prose. Some writers just like using more poetic language than others. Just take care to not go all purple with it, and try to keep it consistent with your style. If your narration doesn't normally use particularly fancy wording, it's probably better to just say "green."
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2020
  5. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

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    That can be done through dialogue too, like "Don't think you can get away with anything you want just because of those baby blues" or in narration but in a roundabout way like 'Being tall has its disadvantages—people are always asking me to grab stuff off high shelves' or 'fortunately I'm tall enough to see over most people in a crowd.'
     
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  6. Fervidor

    Fervidor Senior Member

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    That's basically what I meant with the paragraph following that statement: Casually describe features in the narration when you can, or have other characters mention them.
     
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  7. OB2611

    OB2611 Member

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    I completely agree with Fervidor on this. I would go further and say that for me, as a reader as much as a writer, the only physical descriptions you really need are the ones that affect the story. Anything else is just noise. Do the green eyes matter? Maybe they do if, for example, they are the only thing someone remembers about a character that they miss.

    I don't know what genre you're writing, but I think this varies a lot by genre too. It seems like a great example of something where you could pick a book or a story that you like and study it for physical character traits. What are your favourite writers doing? You might find that they have added less physical description than you thought.
     
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  8. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    It certainly can, kinda' the way noire and police procedurals oddly tend to include meals (scenes that take place while eating), which is a thing other genres tend to gloss. High Fantasy has the ability to be utterly drenched in hyper-detailed descriptions of clothing and other accoutrement, often to the point of serious narrative intrusion. My unfavorite to date is the rendition of the Arya chapters in the ASoIaF books.

    The writer makes it pointedly clear that Arya is completely uninterested in the "highborn Lady" package, even though she is a noble. She's not pretty like her sister Sansa who lives her early life wafting from gown to story to minstrel to charmingly handsome and gallant knight. Arya wants a sword and scabby knees over which she can feel a kind of pride.

    And yet, in every Arya chapter (3rd limited, btw), here come the ridiculously elaborate descriptions of other peoples' clothing. It makes no sense because the writer has gone out of his way to tell us that all that crap bores Arya to tears. She should not be reporting it through the narrative, yet she does.
     
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  9. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

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    ^ There's heroic fantasy, high fantasy, many other types, and then there's Fashion Fantasy, which seems to have been ushered in through Anime. Along with Giant Weapon Fantasy.
     
  10. Anton Anderson

    Anton Anderson New Member

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    Thanks for the input, everyone.

    You're really inclining me here towards slower and more graduate description of characters. I did that in my first draft, but then I just scrapped it and simply described them here and now. Hopefully my beta-readers will say if they like that, of if I need to roll-back (if I can find those betas). Any examples of decent books/short stories with straight up, simple characters descriptions/finer, more complex graduate descriptions?

    I don't describe too many traits, no.

    Exactly so, I want it natural. Yet I don't usually describe a lot of side characters, the main ones are the priority.
    My first book is in 3rd person, so the narrator can easily describe everyone I want, but it doesn't always go as natural as I would like. The second book I plan in 1st person, so it would have to rely on other characters to provide descriptions.

    As I said, I've got the info that some readers just can't visualize characters at all until given the description, reading like that is cumbersome for them. Sure, I can't indulge them all, but if the descriptions will be more or less natural then most readers will be satisfied.
     
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  11. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Which 3rd person? Omniscient or Limited?
     
  12. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    I'm not so sure readers are really looking for physical descriptions of characters all that much. There are better ways to flesh out a character than including their eye and hair colors. And if you have a good story and realistic/relatable characters, that's going to go a lot further with readers. I'm just saying don't think physical descriptions are the fix to underdeveloped characters or storyline.

    That said, there are times when physical descriptions are called for. In a well populated story small details can help keep the distinction between characters. But don't go generic with traits. If he has blue eyes, maybe up close you can tell they're not the same shade. If he's tall, maybe his legs (though long) are different lengths, causing a slight limp. If he's losing his hair, what shape is starting to form in the absence of his hair? These sort of things are more memorable. So, think outside the box.

    Also, the reason you are probably having a problem with these things interrupting the flow of your story is because they are. You have to feel out where they're needed and if they belong at all. Readers aren't looking for you to describe a character the same way you would describe how a person looks to a friend. It's a different game when writing. If you want people to take an interest in your characters, do it with the story and the traits that are unique. No one wants a written snapshot of each character as they enter the scene. Work it into the story and give readers a reason for it to be there. I don't think these things always need to advance the plot, but they should build character and they should feel like they belong. If a piece doesn't fit, take it out. In my experience, these things aren't always needed and if they are should come in short spurts.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2020
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  13. Fervidor

    Fervidor Senior Member

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    Well, depends on what you mean by "affect the story." If you mean just the plot, I certainly wouldn't go that far. Obviously character descriptions are just as important as describing, say, a room or a building: They're necessary for allowing the reader to visualize the story. This is why I think you should aim for the level of detail a person might reasonably pick up on if they were actually witnessing the scene.

    I assume that's what you meant, but I wanted to make this clear just in case.

    This is a good point and something I wish I had thought to elaborate on in my original reply: Different perspective characters may have different observational habits and varying eyes for detail. Like, a guy like Sherlock Holmes is going to take notice of a lot more details about the people he encounter than a guy like Doctor Watson would. And Watson is probably going to notice more than some average person, for that matter.
     
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  14. OB2611

    OB2611 Member

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    Right - yes, I suppose that seems a little extreme. But I would stand by it insofar as some physical descriptions tell us something about a character (I said story, which sounds like plot – I suppose I meant character AND plot). For example, someone with bad scars on their face has a backstory, and we wonder how they got the scars. Their physical appearance may potentially alter their interactions with others. Perhaps the scars make them shy, or perhaps they use them as a tool to intimidate people if they were battle scars, for example.

    Whether or not someone has green, blue or hazel eyes tells me very little. For me personally it would be the type of detail I would wish they writer had edited out.

    Edit: I accept that this may be personal taste, of course!!! :p
     
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  15. Anton Anderson

    Anton Anderson New Member

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    3rd Omniscient.

    To think of it, there were only, like, 2 times when physical descriptions of main characters were important for the plot. But then I got rid of some stuff, and now there's only one such place.
    Describing side characters was much easier for me, I guess because it was more relevant for the plot than describing main ones. It does correspond to what you were saying, but I still do want to describe main chars as well.
    I'll try to use your input to weave-in descriptions more naturally in my next revision, even though it would most likely require to spread them out over several pages which I don't really like.
     
  16. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    In my opinion, the best and least intrusive way to describe characters ...and you can actually include a lot of detail if you want ...is via another character's impression of this person. What impact does a character's looks have on your POV character? Is the POV character attracted, repelled, intrigued? If so, what provokes this reaction in your POV character. (Leave out the stuff they don't notice!)

    You can also pull in some description of your POV character ...yeah, okay, they can glimpse themselves in a mirror. But the question is, what will they see? I mean, when you look in the mirror you probably don't say to yourself, "I have brown eyes, curly brown hair and I'm 5 feet 2 inches tall." You're more likely to say, "Wrinkles. Grey hair. Saggy jowls. And crepey neck? When in hell did this happen? What's he going to think when he sees me? It's been over thirty years. Shit. Shit shit." Or, "My hair is so ...beige! Bleah! Why didn't I get black hair, like my sister? We've got the same parents! It's not fair." If you're going to use the mirror thing, make sure it serves a purpose beyond the laundry list description.

    But, you can also have characters react to how your POV character looks. It can be something as simple as somebody saying, "Red isn't always the best colour for a blonde, but it sure works on you. Is that a new dress?" Or somebody observing, "You look just like your mother." (If we have already got an idea of what the mother looks like.") Or, "You're way too short to reach that top shelf. Here, let me."
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2020
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  17. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    I think @jannert gives great examples here. You're no longer working with a character sheet or anything like that. You are now writing the story.
     
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