I'd go for a gradual reveal for the MC. Whatever you do, do not go the mirror route. How many times a day do you see you reflection and say: "Oh look, I'm a 25-year-old man with short brown hair and green eyes wearing a white T-shirt emblazoned with a popular band logo." It doesn't happen, all you think when you look in a mirror is: "Oh my God! Look at my hair, did I go out like that? Why the hell didn't anyone tell me I had custard all down my face? Phish t-shirts are still cool, right?" Same goes for characters who your MC already knows, unless it's a first impression, an info. dump is going to sound very unnatural. If you just mention stuff briefly, like "Sophie push a strand of her auburn hair away from her eye," or "despite his obesity, Frank still managed to go on the bobsleigh," or "the bullet whizzed six feet above the ground, which was quite fortunate since I'm five-foot-ten." Get creative, and no reflections!
Just imagine someone like george lucas or unusual looking celebrities and google up a list and describe then.
I tend to keep character descriptions to a minimum personally, because I really hate how a lot of writers do this. It's just a massive chunk of infodump. I would try and draw a general picture by saying how the POV character perceives said features on the character you're describing, or if said character would do something, like "flick her blonde hair behind her shoulder" or something. I also don't like a list of details - I try to vary it between saying someone has blue eyes and a smile that makes one's heart stop, so in other words, between factual physical detail and a general idea of the effect said detail has on my POV character. And I try to keep it within about 3 lines.
People notice what is different, so a man isn't going to look at his wife and think 'she has blue eyes and long black hair, and is quite pretty' he's going to think 'she's wearing a new dress and has a lot of makeup on - who's she trying to impress?'
Yeh, I was just giving an example of what I mean, not that one should give every perceivable physical detail regardless of the character's relationship with the one being described. Agree with you completely - personally I think your example of the new dress and loads of make-up tells me a lot more about the character than direct lists of physical attributes would. And more interesting too. And besides, personally I can never actually visualise characters in the first place, no matter how hard the author tries to describe him/her - perhaps that's why I never bother too much with describing characters either. I find it much more helpful to form opinions about a character and thus having an idea of the character's "presence" and personality. The truth is, I almost never have a face, just an idea, whenever I read character descriptions.
I am a little like this when I write as well. For instance, for ages now it has been bugging me that I cannot picture the face of my antagonist (big bad) - I know he's mid fifties, short, not big built but hard and sinewy like someone who has spent his entire life on campaign, and has deep brown skin like tanned hide from spending so much time in the Egyptian sun, but it's as if his face has been blurred out like the cctv footage you see on crimewatch. It annoys me, but then I guess it doesn't matter to my readers because the above info is the only stuff that's relevant to his character or the plot. I still keep trauling google images for Bedouins and Tuaregs though, just on the offchance that his face will jump out at me.
I write almost exclusively from the first person, so I tend to focus on what characters OTHER than the viewpoint character look like. Most people don't fixate on what they look like or think about what color their hair is on a regular basis. I mean I could always throw a scene in where the MC is at Wal-mart picking out hair dye when ninjas attack...Which would work for my urban fantasy where the MC has solid white hair ("she" is a shapeshifter and all of them have ONE trait that they can't alter with their power) and likes to change things up now and again. But frankly how often does a character need to be described in graphic detail? Does it matter what color their eyes are or what their shoe size is? Will that change their ability to wield magic or hack that database or win the big dance contest? Worry about the personality of a character. The reader will form an image in their mind of what the MC looks like anyway. Part of the joy of reading fiction is IMAGINING the world in your own head anyway. Too much detail and you are robbing the reader of that.
Honestly it all depends on the POV that the writing is in, if its in 1st person you could do it like* _It began to rain hard, and in no time at all, all the curls in my hair had been straitened by the weight of the water, and the light brown color had turned to black._ And the same could be down with the eyes, or u could have another character comment on it. like* _ "I must say i have never seen eyes quit that shade of blue before, stunning"._ Either of these might work.
Make sure your observations remain in character though. Really, who thinks of "the light brown color" of their hair unless they change it every few days, or they are exceedingly vain. I agree with Crimson Reaper, including the point that most of the time, description isn't even necessary. Sue Grafton manages to convey that her character, Kinsey Millhone, is a brunette with somewhat untidy hair, but the actual hair color isn't explicitly stated until the twentieth novel in the series - and even then, through the eyes of someone who detests her.
The question you most ask is "Why does the reader need to know how a character looks?" If it's a romance novel then describing characters in detail, usual in terms of sexual appeal, can add the the story. It also usually done as one character contemplates another. As others have said, in most cases there is no need because it doesn't play into the story or one of the subplots. When it is required, it's done though someones eyes for a reason, even if it's just taking the measure of a stranger or noticing how tired the person in the mirror looks.
Actually, I would do just the opposite. I wrote a short story a while ago that was basically romance, and I barely described the woman at all. I felt the reader's imagination would supply their idea of a beautiful, sultry stranger far better than anything I could push on them.
I usually give a very rough idea of what characters look like. Hair colour, clothing style, any distinguishing features, but yes, people are good at filling in visual gaps. One recent one I can think of is the short story 'Clay' by James Joyce. You get barely two lines of character description, but I still have a vivid image of Maria in my mind.
For me as I reader I need at least a general idea what the character looks like to spring board off of. Otherwise its really hard for me to really get into the story. Body type, I actually do like reading about hair and eye color, don't ask me why I just do, and a basic overview of what they're wearing and I'm good to go.
You could try and weave the information into the story. For example, if someone is muscular you could write something like "Jared pulled open the heavy truck door with ease", then the reader can infer stuff about him/her. I also see a lot of characters complaining about how they look, or they describe themselves or what they're wearing as they get dressed in the morning. I guess it depends on your genre a lot of the time too. Sometimes readers really need information about appearances to get into the story and imagine it vividly. But sometimes you could also omit information like that and let them imagine something for themselves through their personality, actions and through the readers expecations or needs. For instance, I've never read Gone With the Wind, yet I imagine the character has long wavy red hair, as I've heard that she is 'wild'. Sometimes the ambiguity created from not knowing what a monster looks like, for instance, can also make the reader imagine what they would find most scary. I guess it's your call.
I find that when a character's appearance is described to me right at the start, I pay those words little attention. When those descriptions are mixed in with action, I tend to remember them better.
I used to be told I didn't describe my characters enough and now y'all say we gotta do less description. lol I say find a balance. Not too little, but not too much. Common sense, but sometimes that's the best.
Without giving away too much, I did not explain how my character looked, rather, I took care of that by explaining how my character had changed. Kind of a compare and contrast idea. Then again, I had the job quite easy. First of all, my lead was a corpse. Second, he was just as eager to examine and describe himself as most people might in those circumstances. For example, he became taller. I accomplished that by having him realize he's of larger stature when standing next to an object with which he's familiar.
I don't feel the need to describe by characters in detail. Think about it. Usually, it doesn't matter what a character looks like. There are times when some aspect of their appearance makes a difference (the character is obese and can't run very fast, or she's very short and can't reach the highest shelf), and in those cases, you mention that. But otherwise, let you reader's imagination do the work for you. I wrote a short story once about a young boy listening to the first American Mercury space mission on his homemade radio. To me, he was about nine years old, white, and blond. But I read it later and realized that I had never described him at all, and I didn't care. Maybe a reader thought he was Asian or black or Hispanic, or fat or thin or freckled or whatever. All I wanted was for the reader to imagine a bright and excited young boy. I will let my readers imagine my characters however they please. I believe a writer's greatest asset is the reader's imagination, not his own. You don't have to write something unless it's important to the story. Let the reader be a partner in the creation.
Ahhh, that I had to do. It sets up the foundation of just who my lead truly is. Even he doesn't know until the end.
It depends if it is POV character, or someone POV knows well at the beginning of the story, or a new character. Easiest to smuggle in, at least for me, info about the POV character's love interest - about his/her eyes, hair, hands, etc. The trick here is to be romantic - if you're in love, you don't think - she's 175 cm high, her weight is 50 kilos... no, you'll think about the spark in her eyes, her smile, etc. But at the same time, you have to avoid cliche. If POV character is introduced to a new person, they can comment on their looks; here it will depend on who your POV is. A teenage girl will give a different description of a character than a detective or an editor of a fashion magazine. In case it's someone who POV knows well from the beginning, it will be more difficult, but it can be done - e.g. they can notice, because of some stressful situation, that their mother is thinner and more grizzled than she used to be, etc. POV character can add info on their looks, when necessary. E.g. a character goes for a first date, or for a job interview, they can think carefully what will be the best choice to wear to make a good impression. I often hear the advice to 'sprinkle it' through the story, so e.g. if Mary heard something funny, 'her blue eyes glistened with joy'. It doesn't work for me, I find it too clusmy and lazy. In 9 cases of 10 it's enough for me to stop reading the book and to add the author's name on the 'To Avoid' list.
I did it myself, I think. For example, my lead has a best friend. That friend is introduced as a "wheel man" on a crowded loading dock. My lead spots him due to a particular hat he wears and the fact that he is taller than most in that crowd. I thought it dovetailed to the story. Both of these guys hold jobs not suitable for 'Niles Crane.' While implied, isn't some explanation and description necessary?
That's not what I mean. That's ok, because it fits the situation. When one friend is looking for another in a crowd, it's normal that they look for something they know like hat. What I mean are the random bits, that are not related in any way to what's going on, they're just there because the author didn't find a better way to put in information about the look. E.g. in one story I read, a man whose son was kidnapped (POV character) met with a detective. In the middle of his line, the detective scratched his "strong, square jaw". It ruined the whole atmosphere for me, and it seemed so unrealistic that a man would notice a jaw of another man, especially when he's worried for his only child.
The instant I saw this thread posted, I wanted to recite to you a passage from Father Brown. Crap, those late 1800s, early 1900s had some great narrative! "At this crucial moment of the controversy it was that John Raggley, the stormy petrel of a hundred storms of controversy, red-faced, white haired, his antiquated top-hat on the back of the head, his stick swinging like a club, entered the house like an invading army. John Raggley was generally regarded as a crank. He was the sort of man who writes letters to the newspaper, which generally do not appear in the newspaper; but which do appear afterwards as pamphlets, printed (or misprinted) at his own expense; and circulated to a hundred waste-paper baskets." Introductions like that make me crack up. You don't even have to go into too much physical detail, as you can always describe the character's actions and let the reader put their own image to the personality.
Whether you let the reader fill in their details or paint them a vivid picture, one thing's for sure! You are almost certain to make a choice that will turn somebody off!
+1 I've been recently taught this as well. What I was told is that readers actually like to imagine their own things when it comes to characters or else it starts feeling like you're being held by the hand like a kid. Obviously general details are important, but to go in-depth is not necessary and will take away from the experience.
