How to describe physical appearance

Question: I have all my characters pictured perfectly in my mind but I'm not sure how I would describe them when writing. One of my fears is that even though I know they're all different and I know how they look, I'll describe them too similarly and they won't come off as different. Most of the characters I think I would describe similarly with their body type but they're not the same, one character might be slightly bigger than another or something. How do I say that? Or I have plenty of characters with similar hair color but is styled differently. How would I say that? Do I just mention how one character has black hair that falls into their eyes sometimes while the other character with black hair is spiked up?

I always feel awkward about placing description like this in my story. How do I know when it is right to start describing parts of someone? The only feature that ever seems easy is eye color.

Answer: Here's a simple approach...

For each character, try to identify 3 distinguishing traits.

By distinguishing traits, I mean traits that no other character shares. They can be anything someone would notice about a person, including physical features, hairstyle, clothing choices, mannerisms, speech habits, etc.

Three different traits per character is often enough to create a distinct picture of the character in a reader's mind, but you could have more if some are less tangible (e.g. speech habit). Just don't feel obliged to include a complete set of traits for each character.

Bear in mind that one of the main reasons you describe your characters is so readers can keep track of who's who. So you want each character's traits to be distinguishing (unique). Similarities among characters can usually be left out, unless you want to show a family resemblance or confuse two characters (e.g. in a murder mystery). For instance, if all the characters in the story have brown eyes, there is probably no need to mention eye colour at all.

If you have a group of characters who are similar (e.g. they are all 16 year old female cheerleaders with athletic builds and light hair), your task is to find those traits that will set them apart from each other and make those the focus of your character descriptions.

If you are having trouble with this, you might look for photos of people that remind you of your characters. You can use magazines or any other source. Ask yourself, "If a policeman asked me to describe this person (for instance, if they were at a crime scene), what are the three most distinguishing traits that leap out at me?"

Of course, you can have more than three traits per character. But two or three distinct traits can often create a more vivid image than 10 mediocre traits. For instance, if you have a silver-haired woman with a black eyepatch, those two traits alone may be enough to distinguish her from every other character in the story.

describing your main character

by James
(New York, New York )

Question: How do I properly describe my main character's physical appearance when I am telling the story from his/her point of view?

Answer: This is a common dilemma when writing in first person.

The reader's experience with first person narration is rather like sitting down over a drink with the main character and listening to him/her tell the story of his/her life. The reader becomes the main character's confidant.

In this scenario, the main character has little reason to rattle off his/her physical traits to the reader.

In fact, if I am telling you about my life in a one-on-one situation, it would be strange for me to start saying things like, "I am five feet eight inches tall with bluish eyes and brown hair, and I have scar over my left eye." You could see these things for yourself.

Let's remember that one of the main reasons for describing a character's appearance is to distinguish him/her from other characters so that the reader doesn't get the characters confused with each other. In first person narration, confusion is unlikely because it is clear to the reader that the main character is the narrator. The main character is the only one referred to as "I," so there is less need for the reader to learn about the main character's physical appearance.

Here are a few possibilities to consider...

1. Some authors provide very few details about the main character's appearance, and it's not a problem. If a trait is relevant to the story, so that it comes up naturally, that's fine. Otherwise, you may simply not worry about it. Some authors actually see this as an advantage in some genres, because they feel the reader gets to imagine themselves as the main character more easily.

2. Consider introducing traits at various points in the story when they become relevant rather than doing an infodump-style description in the beginning.

3. Look for situations where appearance matters and your main character's attention naturally goes to her traits. For example, your main character might visit a theme park and worry about meeting the height requirement for the roller coaster or being too fat to fit into the seat. She might need to audition for a TV commercial, intimidate an opponent, go on a first date or job interview, put on a disguise, etc.

4. Consider having other characters mention aspects of the main character's appearance. For instance, another character might point out that the main character is unusually tall, ask about his crooked nose, or mistake him for a homeless person.

5. Show traits in action. For instance, can your main character reach into a crevice no one else can (because of long fingers and thin wrists)? Does he take the time to shave his head once a week? Does he have trouble reading fine print without his glasses? Is he out of breathe after walking up half a flight of stairs? Can he hold his own in a bar fight or does he get mugged by a teenage girl?

5. The mirror cliche. Generally, you want to avoid the cliche of having the main character stand in front of a mirror and give a rundown of all her physical features. This would be too much like an infodump. However, there may be a context in which it would be appropriate to mention one trait in particular (for instance, if your heroine is getting ready for her daughter's wedding and makes an effort to hide her crow's feet).

The Mirror Technique

Question: I've often been told that the most cliché way to describe a character's appearance is to use the mirror technique. That is, opening the story with him or her looking into a mirror and commenting on what they look like.

While I agree with this piece of advice, I'm also at a loss of another way to get a person's appearance out of the way that doesn't seem too jarring or random.

For example, if I go through the beginning of the story without addressing my POV character's looks and then another character who is looking for him/her later on asks, "Say, have you seen a woman/man with short brown hair?" Wouldn't that seem too sudden?

I understand that there must be a character establishing moment fairly early on but is there also a way to establish a character's appearance without breaking up the narrative?

Answer: You're absolutely right about the mirror cliche. The worst cases are those in which a male writer has a female character look in the mirror and describe herself in the way only a male would. so the scene becomes voyeuristic.

My best advice is not to worry too much about getting your character described early in the book. It's not actually a requirement. Keeping the narration real is more important.

In some first person novels, the main character's appearance is scarcely mentioned in the entire book. It's actually not a problem, since the reader isn't likely to confuse this character with anyone else.

If you're using third person, it's a little easier to find places to insert character details and more important, since your narrator needs to use them to distinguish between characters.

Either way, when the main character's appearance is important to the story, you must look for opportunities to describe it in a natural, in-context way.

Sometimes a character may have reason to think about her appearance, for instance if she is self-conscious or vain - or is being made self-conscious by another character.

Sometimes you can create an incident in which there's a reason to mention a key detail about the main character's appearance.

And sometimes it makes sense to have other characters say things to or about the main character that imply aspects of the main character's appearance. Some examples:

"I like your tattoo."
"Can you get that vase from the top shelf? It's out of my reach."
"Were you on holiday recently?"

For instance, there's a scene in one of Kelly Armstrong's YA books where a teenage boy gives a sweatshirt to the main character - a teenage girl. She looks at it and, disappointed, points out that it's a boy's sweatshirt. The boy then says that he didn't think it would matter on her. She is mortified, of course.

It's a brilliant way to work in the fact that the girl is flat-chested, because it brings out her insecurity and advances the relationship between the two characters.

Fortunately, you may only need a few distinguishing details about a character to set him/her apart. And because they are the most noticeable details, it is easier to find natural ways to introduce them.

What's really hard is if your character has something like a birthmark which no one ever sees and the character never thinks about, but which becomes important at some point in the story. In that case, you may be forced to be a little creative about working it into the story early on.

Describing Male Characters

by Allison
(Corning, New York)

Question Yes, as silly as it sounds to me, I'm not good at describing male characters. Every time I try, I feel I make them too feminine sounding. Especially with their hair style. I get that boys like their hair long but is there an easy, simple way to describe them in general?

Answer: Unfortunately, there's no general way to describe men, or women, or anything for that matter.

The key to description is to find the specific, telling details that make that character unique. You don't need a lot of them, just enough to make each character distinct from the others in you story.

For instance, not all boys have long hair. And the only reason for mentioning that one character has long hair would be to set him apart from other characters who do not. If they all have long hair, then long hair would scarcely be worth mentioning.

This is why there's seldom a need to mention that a character has two eyes. It's not distinct. (Of course, if he has one eye or three, or he is the only character who has two eyes, that would be a good telling detail.)

If you want to make the point that your male character is masculine, look for the details that convey masculinity, but also that fit with all the other aspects of that character - his age, social class, occupation, hobbies, attitude towards life, etc.

Of course, there are masculine cliches (a square jaw, stubbled chin, sizable biceps, poor grooming, smelly feet, pot belly, hairy legs, chest, back, etc.), but the trouble with cliches is that they are recognizable and not specific to the way you want to portray your character (and they're not always kind).

Here's another exercise to try. Go to a mall and spend some time watching men/boys go by. For each one, jot down his two or three most striking/unique characteristics (positive or negative). You may only have a few seconds if they're walking quickly, so pay attention to what you notice first about each stranger. Is it something about their clothes, attitude, mannerisms, gestures, facial features, hair, body shape, or how they treat the person they're with? Maybe it's how they talk or what they remind you of.

You should find, if you really look, that your descriptions are all different.

Or, if you are lucky enough to find a photograph in a magazine or on a website of a man who look exactly like how you picture your characters (or perhaps several that come close) take note of the most outstanding specific traits of the person in the picture.

Picking Physical Traits

by Alys
(America)

Question: I have all the personality (major) decided on for my characters but when I go to choose their out words appearance I can't decide. I'm a very visual person, so I prefer to see what I want I front of my eyes rather then in my head. First, I tried to let it go, assuming it would come as i wrote, to no avail. Then I tried googling because for me, Google usually has everything. When that came to a frustrating end, I tried dress up games where I just focused on the hair/eye color. That didn't end well either. Any tips or suggestion so I can finally say he/she has this in this and not have to leave blank spots in my writing?

Answer: You might try looking through photographs. I recommend magazines such as National Geographic which show people from many cultures as they really are rather than the phoney air-brushed photos in fashion mags.

All you need are a few traits per character that makes them truly unique. The trouble with things like eye or hair colour is that they are seldom distinctive. I mean, there are millions of people in the world with brown eyes or blonde hair. So brown eyes is only a distinctive trait if no other character in your story possesses it.

Looking at photos of people, or perhaps people on the street, you can start paying attention to what traits make them stand out. It can help you get ideas for your character. For instance, you might find photos of two people that resemble your character and take one or two traits from each. Or you can take a photo of someone in a different country or time period and tweak their traits to fit the setting of your story.

It's also the case that some physical traits suit certain characters better. For instance, if you are writing about a ballet dancer, it would make sense for her to be slim with good muscle tone. If you're writing about a computer geek, it would make sense for him to be pale and chubby (since he spends all his time indoors in front of a screen). Other times, you might want to deliberately work against expected traits. Maybe your computer geek works out in his apartment because he's lonely and wants a body that will attract women. Maybe your ballet dancer is overweight and is fighting to overcome the prejudice of her industry.

In this way, you can use the personality traits you've chosen to determine the physical.

Mention a Character's Physical Traits

by Ann Bakes
(Burnie, Tasmania, Australia)

Question: Where in the story would you mention a character's physical traits? I am new to all this. I have started and I am on chapter 3 and the story is rather lifeless.

Answer: Think about when you meet someone for the first time. What do you notice about them? Probably their most striking features or something they do or a style of speech that makes them stand out.

When your reader meets a character for the first time, they expect to get a similar impression.

If you are telling the story through a particular character's eyes, then you describe what makes an impression on them as they perceive their world and the people around them (bearing in mind that you need to confine their observations to what's relevant to the story).

You may need to mention a character's traits other times the character crops up, until the image of their appearance is established in the reader's mind

With your point-of-view character, it's a little more difficult, but it's usually best to mention his/her physical traits when they are relevant to the story.

For instance, if your main character is tall and he walks through a small doorway, you may need to mention that he has to stoop. If he gets in a car, you may mention he needs plenty of legroom.

Describing body types

Question: I've been struggling with this for a while I don't know how describe my character's body type. I can picture it in my head and then I find the right words to use but then for my next character I picture their body type and it's similar to the one before but they have a slight difference like they're broader or they're skinnier but I can't think of the right words to use besides the ones I already used. Can you help?

How would you describe these body types?

Answer: I suspect the reason you are having trouble with your descriptions is that the differences between your characters' body types are so slight that "body type" is not a distinguishing trait for them.

You may be focusing too much on the characters' similarities and not enough on their differences, on those traits that set them apart from each other.

Your aim should be to give each character his or her own unique physical tags (traits) that distinguish him from other characters. You do this in part because it helps the reader keep track of who's who. For instance, if all of your characters have black hair, there would be no need to ever mention hair colour, because that would not be a distinguishing trait. You would have a lot of trouble trying to explain how each character's hair was a slightly different shade of black in a way that the reader could picture.

If you were writing a story in a world full of identical clones, rather than repeatedly mentioning the traits they all share in common, you would instead assign other types of tags that help the reader tell the characters apart. For instance, you might mention things like scars, tattoos, or signs that indicate different ages. One character might use a unique perfume. One might constantly scratch his ears. One might have a speech impediment. Another might walk with a slight limp. Or you might give characters different tastes in clothes, different haircuts, or distinct voices.

It's no wonder you are having a hard time explaining slight differences in body type, because English vocabulary is not that precise, unless you want to give a detailed scientific analysis with precise measurements (and I don't think that would be fruitful).

Most adjectives are, in a sense, comparative. We say someone is tall if he is six feet tall and everyone else in the village is under 5'8". On the other hand, if the average height is 6'2", we would say is is a little short. It's what sets a person apart from the crowd that makes him stand out, not the similarities.

It's okay to mention that two characters have similar builds (if that sets them apart from the other characters), but then tell us what traits each one has that the other does not. That will make it much clearer for the reader.

How to describe hair styles?

by Marissa

Question: How do you describe hair? Both guy and girl hair. I really have no idea how to describe different hair styles. What words do you use? I can picture the way the hair looks in my head but don't know which words to use.

Answer: If you have a specific hairstyle in mind for a character, you might try asking a good hair stylist what it is called. Hair stylists have to know these terms because they have to create these styles for their clients. You might also look for articles about hairstyles in fashion magazines or books about hairstyles.

Keep in mind that many people do not have such specialized knowledge. For instance, if you are writing from the point of view of a character who is a hair stylist or who is obsessed with fashion, it would make sense for them to be up on all the latest hairstyles and use the correct terminology.

On the other hand, if your main character is a "redneck" male with no interest in fashion, it would seem odd for him to know the correct terms for dozens of hairstyles. He might simply perceive someone's hair as long or short, straight or curly, black or blonde, etc. Even if he describes someone's hair in great detail, he probably won't use the same language a hair stylist would.

And plenty of people fall in between these extremes. They may know the terms for hairstyles they've had, or styles that were very popular at some point, but not other terms. For instance, they might know what a French braid is, but not know what any of the variations are called.

In other words, you have to fit your description to the narrative voice.

Problem Describing the Antagonist

by Lawson
(Texas)

In the book that I am writing the antagonist is medieval public official who is trying to take the throne because he thinks that the current king is to young and childish and thinks that he would be a better, more responsible ruler. So he kills the king, convinces the queen to commit suicide, and tries to(personally) assassinate the queen's teenaged girl before she can become queen. I am basing his looks off Judge Claude Frollo but the only other descriptions of the antagonist is: Stoic, sociopathic, sinister, vicious, cunning, and extremely intelligent. Also he is a master swordsmen and tactician. But aside from that I'm having trouble describing the antagonist. Any ideas?

Answer: It sounds like you've made a fine start. I tend to think about characters having three layers.

1. The External Layer.

This includes all the physical traits or sensory impressions the character exhibits--their appearance, how they move, how they speak, how they dress, how they smell, etc. It also includes their name (since that's an important way your narrator will distinguish characters).

The external layer also includes props (the items characters have with them), means of transporation (do they have a car, horse, bicycle, spaceship, etc), and their environment (what does their neighbourhood, house, office, etc. look like?).

2. The Middle Layer

I call this the middle layer because it includes aspects of a person that are not 100% inside or outside. It includes things like...

Quasi-Exterior Aspects
- relationships
- affiliations (organizations they belong to)
- typical activities (work, school, crime, etc.)
- cultural/ethnic background
- socio-economic class
- family background

Quasi-Interior Aspects
- skills a character has or lacks
- interests (or disinterests)
- education
- likes and dislikes
- beliefs (philosophical, religious, political, etc.)

3. The Interior Layer (based on Dramatica)

a) Purposes: What do they want (short-term and long-term)?
b) Methods: What are they willing or not willing to do to achieve their purposes? What's inside or outside their comfort zone? What's their typical modus operandi?
c) Motivations: How are they compelled emotionally to behave because of their basic personality or past experience?
d) Evaluations: What are their beliefs? How do they judge themselves or others?

You can use this list to create a questionnaire for any character. But after you've considered each aspect, it usually works better to write out a character's backstory. (Storylike descriptions stir the imagination better and help you find the logical connections between the different aspects.)

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