How To Describe Characters

Another good "how to" article is long overdue. However, the the long gap may have been warranted since I've learned a substantial amount since I published the "how to describe a room" post and my writing style has changed since then. I find myself cringing a lot at my old writing and old blog posts precisely because my older style was rather weak--I had a tendency to overuse adjectives, over-describe certain aspects, and at times I was too try-hard. Regardless, I feel that I have learned enough now to talk about another sticky hang-up in story writing: how to describe people.

The power of AI has brought my character descriptions to life!

Characters are the most important aspect to most stories, and chances are that you may have a clear image of your characters in your head. You might have a strong compulsion to fill up pages and pages describing every physical aspect of your characters, from their measurements to their clothing, or the backstory behind a birthmark. On the other hand, you might forego the description altogether.

For better or for worse, there is no set standard for how much character description a story needs. Different writers will handle this in different ways. Some authors do not describe their characters. I just double-checked Cormac McCarthy's The Road and indeed I can't find any detailed descriptions anywhere (heck, these characters don't even have names). For this book, it's appropriate because the characters are blank slates, and the author is leaving it up to us to determine what they should look like. Ernest Hemmingway does the same thing.

Trade books, like those by Clive Cussler, Dan Brown, Michael Crichton, or James Patterson, tend to use a sparse amount of details. Their focus is more on action and dialogue, so they offer only a few passing lines of description with a few specific details to paint a quick picture, then move on quickly. These passages are to-the-point and straightforward. Often times, the rest of the book reads the same way--simple and easy to read.

Then, of course, there are some books that indulge in more artistic levels of description. Some of them might be regarded as literary masterpieces and have breathed life into memorable characters. The varied cast of JRR Tolkien's books are a grand example--the man indulges in substantial flowery prose to vividly visualize all the hobbits, wizards, elves, goblins, and more. Stephen King touts using only the descriptions that are necessary, but he can be wordy when he wants to be.

You have the choice to describe as much or as little as you want. The decision should hinge on these factors:

• Your writing style. If you indulge in slower-paced stories that paint vivid pictures of every scene, then more character description might be warranted. Pulp and trade novels warrant less description for the sake of pacing and readability. Omitting description can be an artistic choice, or simply a personal one.
• Your target audience. Are you writing for people in a hurry who just want a quick and easy pulp adventure, or are you writing for the people who want a fat, juicy literary experience?
• The genre and type of book you're writing. Granted, some genres like sci-fi and fantasy can befit any type of writing, but contemporary literature may demand meatier prose, while action/adventure writing can be barebones. 

I strive for that middle road of providing a quick description with only the necessary details or impressions before moving on. I have probably over-written some descriptions before, but this can be quite a chore to write (and read). The only reason I want to describe a person in the first place is the same as scene-setting: I want to paint a picture for the reader, so I tend to provide a fast and loose description and move on to the next thing. There are a few techniques I like to toy around with, but I'll mention those further down the post.

How To Describe

Although some writers will disagree, I believe it's important to describe your characters in the same instance they are introduced. First time they appear, they will either be observed by the POV character (in a third-person POV story) or they are the POV character (first or third POV). 

I suppose it's possible to describe the protagonist in second-person POV, but it'd be weird because then you're telling the reader they're somebody else. Maybe that could work, I dunno. The chose-your-own-adventure books I've seen don't describe the main character, leaving the reader free to fill that space.

When you need to write the description, you'd do so through the senses of the POV character (even if it's the same character you're describing, meaning they're describing themselves). When they encounter the character (or themselves), consider what they're seeing and write it out. You could write this top-down, describing the hair, face, eyes, body, or bottom-up, with the body and clothing first, then the face, eyes, hair. Depending on the scene, the character being described could be making a grand entrance, in which case you could describe all the relevant details as the character struts into the room. Your character could also have a more low-key introduction, and it can be just as interesting if they're just sitting at a desk focused on work, or sitting in front of a TV eating Cheetos. This is a case where a slice-of-life could be leveraged to add some dimension to the character.

Description should be done in the same narrative voice as the rest of the scene you're working in. If the POV character has a snarky tone, then they'd describe a character in a snarky way. A stiff and formal POV character might use more floral language. If you're flexing vernacular, then you can continue using slang and colloquial language for the description. The important thing is to be consistent with the voice.

In the same vein, a description means your character is making an observation. When there's an observation, there should be introspection (just as every action has a reaction, and every scene has a sequel). When your POV character observes another character (or even themselves), there is an opportunity to describe their impressions. If they observe a celebrity in the flesh, they could either be starstruck or disappointed, and that reaction will warrant a paragraph of introspection. If they reunite with a long-lost friend, there is an opportunity to delve into thoughts and feelings about that reunion, and there might even be space for a flashback scene. The length and depth of introspection is its own topic, but it's another tool you can use to describe the impression a character leaves. These impressions can be influenced by physical appearances and the way characters carry themselves.

The neat thing about introspection is that this not only reveals an impression on the focus character--it could also reflect the attitude of the POV character. If your POV character snorts and thinks cynically about a younger person, then you've suggested that your POV character has some kind of agist bias (which is hopefully done on purpose).

If your story has multiple POV characters, you also have the opportunity to show different viewpoints by having completely different introspection on the same observed character. If character A sees the observed character as dumb, but character B sees them as smart, then you've created a more rounded view of the subject (and possibly revealed more about the attitudes of characters A and B).

With every physical description you give to the characters, you are making a conscious choice that can contribute to their characterization. Sometimes it's fair to be straightforward--maybe the villain should be ugly, a hero can be handsome. A rich person could be dressed in a fancy Armani suit. A working-class person could be smeared in soot wearing overalls. However, you have the option to go against the expectations if it means underscoring a specific characteristic through contrast. Imagine how interesting it'd be to make a villain virtuous and a hero more wicked? This is what happened in the film Ladyhawke, where the story's villain is a priest wearing white, and the hero is a rugged knight wearing black. Aside from overtly turning the knight into an antihero, there are implicit themes behind villainizing a man of the cloth--it suggests the abuse of power. Similarly, a rich person wearing a plain tee-shirt could suggest humility. A blue-collar worker wearing Gucci clothes could suggest pretension. These details can emerge either through the natural progression of the story (especially as twists come up recontextualizing the characters), or can be immediately identified by a very perceptive POV character.

What To Describe

When the moment comes when you feel it's necessary to start sketching the character's description before the reader's eyes, you have the option to focus on these details:

• Hair. Color is usually the singular thing worth mentioning, but I find that hairstyles are worth bringing up if they make the character stand out. Having one or more characters with an unusual style can be fun, but you wouldn't want to populate the whole book with wild styles unless you're writing a crazy world where that's normal (like it is in the film for A Clockwork Orange). I find that many authors describe bangs and braids a lot, especially for female characters, but I rarely read about quiffs, mullets, or other specific hairdos.
• Eyes. Once again, color is a prominent detail, and you can easily Google eye color charts to find the most basic descriptors for the most common irises. You can make a character stand out vividly by giving them exotic eye colors (like amber, red, violet), but overusing this can come across as trite. In fact, the most common eye colors (like brown) seem less common in fiction, and it makes me want to use it more (honestly I think I flip-flop between something wild like purple eyes then everybody else is brown-eyed). Eye size can be as simple as "big" or "small" (although you can flex character voice to make this stand out better). I don't think I've ever read a passage that described eye spacing, although if they're spread out like Halle Bailey or something, it might be worth mentioning. Eye shape can come into play as well, whether they're wide, narrow, or otherwise (although some descriptions, like "almond-shaped" or "slanty," could be construed as racist). One interesting condition I rarely see in a story is Heterochromia--though rare, it is entirely possible for characters to have two different eye colors, and it might be worth researching for something a little more different.
• Skin color. I'd only bring this up if it's really important to differentiate (and it might be if the character's ethnic background contributes to their development). If skin is not important to you, you can omit this detail and let readers imagine the skin color on their own. When I do signify specific characters' color, I tend to keep these descriptions simple (white, black, tan, brown, are all perfectly fine). I never really dipped into further details, but it is entirely possible to discuss skin texture and undertones. Distinguishing details, like scars, tattoos, zits, bruises, are all worth mentioning.
• Facial shape. I find it's easy to skimp over this aspect, but you can distinguish characters by mentioning unique facial shapes. They can be rounded, chiseled, soft, or hard. Skin could be tight or saggy. More importantly, the cheekbones, jawline, chin, and forehead can go a long way to make a memorable face.
• Body shape and build. Can be as simple as whether they're tall, short, skinny, rotund, muscular, lean, broad-shouldered, lanky, or any other type. This is also an opportunity to suggest through their physique whether they're physically active or not, and what their role in the story could be. Strong characters may demand muscular builds (although you could craft an interesting struggle if an unfit character must fight for their life). Different careers and life choices will shape how their bodies turn out in the end.
• Gender, as it is perceived outwardly. If the character is a total stranger, the POV character likely won't know the character's actual gender if they're gay or trans. Description is about how the character looks though, so the description should report on the male, feminine, or neutral aspects of their appearance. For cisgender characters, their identity will align with their appearance, and for them it's as simple as specifying if they're male or female. Unless your POV character is rather bigoted, it'd be wise for them to never assume another character's gender or sexuality until it is confirmed. But if these aspects aren't integral to the story, then it's also entirely reasonable to omit these details entirely and let the reader fill in the gaps themselves.
• Clothing. Obviously this will be influenced by the character's social standing and professional capacity. Some will have to wear uniforms befitting their jobs. Some might just be slumming on their wardrobes. Everybody should be wearing pants, a shirt, shoes, and maybe a jacket or coat, and these can come in all different materials and styles. High fashion is something that I never really considered for my characters, but it could be considered if the story/character warrants it.
• Unique characteristics. Your character has a scar, or a birthmark, or a cool tattoo? Then it's definitely worth mentioning if it's visible or known to the POV character.
• Age. When sizing up a character for the first time, the POV character will have no way of knowing an exact age (unless they're describing themselves), so they might generically describe people as young, old, middle-aged. They might even peg people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and so on. What's more important, however, is to suggest age by focusing on the details that betray age: whether their skin is wrinkled or not, the color of their hair, their gait, and so on.
• Hygiene. If you want to flex some of those sensory details more, the scent of characters can be a clue on their cleanliness, which in turn reflects how well they take care of themselves. This can reflect their sense of self-worth, or it could simply be an indicator of their social status. Heck, the film Parasite made the smell of characters an important plot-point (which, in turn, correlated to social themes).

The real fun part about all these descriptors is that they should all contribute to the character in the end. If you're writing a gruff military commander, he would probably be a mature man with a muscular stature, wearing a BDU, with a scowl across his scarred, weathered face. Writing about a ballerina? She'd probably be a young, dainty girl in a pink tutu with her hair tied to a bun. It doesn't always have to be so obvious, however. If you describe a man in a trench coat, he can either be a troublemaker or an innocent person, we really can't tell from description alone.

It is entirely possible to use physical characteristics to hint at deeper aspects of a character. A scar or amputated limb will have a backstory to go with it, and it could be background that influences the way the character acts. These traits will certainly impact the way the character presently acts, since they might be self-conscious about such injuries or traumatized by their cause. 

Obviously, the focus of this post is the physical descriptions, but this is only one dimension of a character (the surface dimension nonetheless). Depth is ultimately achieved based on how characters move and talk. These are aspects that warrant a completely different discussion. But the combination of looks, action, dialogue (plus motivation, wants and needs, emotions, background) is what will bring them to life vividly. 

DO:

• Consider the option to leave some details up to the reader to imagine, or to simply not describe a character at all.
• Consider using differences between POVs to paint a more complex picture of a person. Nobody looks at the same person the same way, and if you have multiple POVs in play, it's an opportunity to leverage different perspectives. One character might look at a character positively, another could be negative.
• Consider contrast. For example, it is entirely possible to have a beautiful villain and an ugly hero. There are implicit characteristics in this kind of contrasting portrayal--a beautiful person who is ugly in spirit might be inundated with ego, whereas a homely-looking protagonist could be seen as humble.
• Be up-front with the description, revealing important details in the same scene the character is introduced.
• Be specific with the descriptions you do use. Strong verbs and specific nouns will make your writing more precise and the image becomes clear.
• Become familiar with common and specific terms for body parts, hair styles, eye colors, skin color and texture, body and face shapes.
• Maintain the same voice used in the rest of the scene.
• Let characters change their appearance over time.
• Consider aspects beyond the physical, and work in ways to show those details through movement, dialogue, expression, and whole scenes.
• Work in details that can hint at their occupation, hobbies, or personality.
• Work on fleshing out characters, giving them nuance and depth. Even side characters can stick out with a little bit of a reason behind their actions.
• Write what you know, especially when it comes to experiences of other cultures, races, genders, and faiths beyond your own. If you don't know enough to write on them accurately, then it's an opportunity to learn through research and exploring other people's stories.
• Have fun with it. The more you engage with the character's appearance, the more likely they are to stand out and be unique.

BE CAREFUL ABOUT:

• Adjectives--details described by adjectives can be revealed with stronger words/verbs, or by seeing the characters in action.
• Having characters look in a mirror or other reflective surface and narrate their description. This is an over-used cliche that will irritate readers (and heck, I'm sick of it too).
• Optionally, you can use introspection to reveal the POV character's impressions. I'd recommend caution that the narration doesn't become shorthand for telling (and not showing) broad characteristics that can otherwise be revealed with action.
• Using traits as shorthand. One of the most common might be using scars to suggest that a character is tough and rugged. This can be effective if there is a fleshed-out background to substantiate the scars, but having the scars with no thought to how they received them could come across as shallow and cliched.
• Sprinkling the details throughout the book. It will throw readers off if you describe hair or eye color long after a character's introduction, because by then the reader will have made up their own image in their heads. Those details should be up-front, but other things (such as, say, a hidden tattoo) can be revealed later.
• Describing side characters--if they have little impact on the story, it may not be worth drawing that much attention towards them. Stock characters in particular have their purpose and don't necessarily need description.
• Using famous celebrities in a story. Fair use and the First Amendment does allow it, but it can be a sticky legal issue if the celebrity considers it slander or commercial exploitation. In spite of this, I also wouldn't bother comparing a fictional character with a well-known celebrity in the prose (although I have referred to actors to envision characters behind-the-scenes).
• Sexy details. If your character is horny, they will hyperfixate on certain details. And this is fine if your goal is to focus on a romantic or physical relationship. However, I distinctly recall one or two books (including one by Crichton) where women characters are described as having "good legs," and something about it rubbed me the wrong way. It runs the risk of making the characters objectify other characters, and in turn, it might make it seem like the author does the same. It might be wise to avoid starting with "the male gaze" or even "the female gaze," especially if it means your characters are acting like peeping Toms. It's better to save these intimate details for when spicy scenes are actually important.

DON'T:

• Compare skin color with food. That's just wrong.
• Broadly generalize the eye shape of Asian characters. This might only come to mind because of the epicanthal fold. However, their eyes are as varied as anybody else's. Focus solely on eye shape and size, with no influence from the character's race. To do otherwise may be considered offensive.
• Build characters based entirely on stereotypes and cliches, especially regarding race and gender. More importantly, those aspects should not be the sole characteristic that defines the characters. Every character should have deeper characteristics--motivations, backgrounds, hopes and dreams, likes and dislikes--that determine their actions.
• Infodump the details and attributes in one long passage.

There are many tools and many uses for simply describing a person's physical looks. There are many techniques and no real right or wrong way to do it. It's even fine to not do it at all. The only failure you can run across is if the description reads disingenuously or becomes offensive. Sticking with factual physical details (free of assumption) will help you avoid those pitfalls. Great writing, however, can achieve these descriptions with a strong narrative voice that commands attention, even during something as mundane as description.

Naturally, the best way to learn this is to practice for yourself and read broadly. Learning from multiple writers can inform you on what techniques work and which ones don't. For me, the way I've described characters has changed dramatically over the years as my understanding of the craft changed. It might always be a learning process, and I hope that my lessons learned will be helpful to your learning experience.