I am not well today and haven’t had much of a chance to work on this blog, sorry.
As a result, I thought that I’d just quickly cover something that I have been thinking about for a few weeks – how a character looks.
I was taught that we should know our characters inside and out.. The inside I’m generally happy with but the outside always seems a lot harder to control. So this is a technique I use when I’m struggling…
I start with a style – dressed up/hippy/frumpy. Clothes help contain the appearance in a structure, so to speak. This often comes from the people I have seen in work /university/school or just walking about in town. Once I have ideas of a personal style that goes with the personality I can then research details – the designer touches on a suit or the colours of cheap t-shirts, for example. Be careful not to stereotype but know when your character would/would not wear something.
Once I get to painting in the faces I have to have a model.
One person might have (for example) Helena Bonham Carter’s face shape with Madonna’s ‘Ray of Light’-era hair, and the build of Katy Perry. Or one might look like Jennifer Connelly, except they have their hair dyed Julianne Moore red, and they always wear Marilyn Monroe-style Hollywood starlet makeup. You can pick and choose, mix and match as you like!
This helps with continuity – making sure you don’t change their eye colour or hair colour throughout a story without explanation, and allows you to incorporate details over the course of the book so you don’t have a page of description dedicated to each character’s appearance when they are first introduced.
Finally, make sure the names of the main characters work together. I choose names very early but have been known to change them as the tale progresses either to expand on a motif or because they are too similar in sound.
This is my way of managing a writing issue, but if you have other methods please share them in the comments!
Happy writing,
EJ
🙂
These are great tips. Thanks, EJ! 🙂
Thanks 🙂
I actually tend not to bother describing my characters too much physically. As readers we always imagine people our own way anyway, and it can be incredibly jarring to go back and read a detail we missed that changes the way they look (perhaps we imagined them blonde, but then read a passage about their black hair), or that a man we imagined clean-shaven turns out to have a beard.
Of course, as writers we create everything else, so of course we should describe characters if we want to. When I have specific details that make them interesting, I will add those in, but generally I like to allow my reader to shape my character’s appearances as they see fit. It doesn’t harm the story in any way, and I think it allows them to assimilate themselves into the story better if they can insert their own images of my characters into my settings, plots and dialogue.
Hello 🙂
I agree that too much info can be off-putting, and have been known to skip large descriptive sections!
This technique is more for me as the writer to keep track of the character. I might never mention their hair colour, but I know what it is – and if I do mention it, I have a reference point.
On the other hand, I have written one character who is very superficial, and her appearance is extremely important to her, so description of changes over the course of a story has been an important part of her character’s transition from start to finish. There’s also a parental theme in that book, which draws the characters into reflection on the traits they pass on. That’s having its first read-through by my ‘critical friend’ so if I’ve got too much description in I’m sure I’ll be told!
Maybe this is one of those areas where the subject matter and genre guides the degree of description?
EJ
🙂
That’s a very good point. I expect genre certainly does come into it, especially if we start talking historical, or fantasy and science fiction. For a novel set in the present, we all know what jeans and a t-shirt looks like, for example, or we can all imagine a reference to a character’s appearance being similar to that of a particular celebrity, but a kitchen maid from the 1600s, a robot pilot or an elf wearing chainmail certainly need painting in more detail in the reader’s mind.
And as with your example, it depends on the character as well. I’m currently reading the last book in Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy, and she describes a lot of people who use magic to talk to animals, because of the way their appearance and mannerisms have started to mimic those of the animals they communicate with. Details like that are very important.
I guess as with anything in writing, the real golden rule is ‘does it add to the story?’ If describing the shape of each of your main character’s teeth is vital to the story, then we should do so, if it isn’t, then leave it out.
When you mentioned teeth, the first thing that came to mind was Hermione Granger!
I think that’s exactly it though – if it adds something, it’s worth having in the book.
I’ve never heard of the Farseer trilogy, but that sounds like an interesting take on the impact of magic.
I am not a writer myself and must confess that the material I read is purely for relaxation but I have to say that I think some physical characterisation is a good thing. For me, it helps to picture the characters and the setting and gives me a greater sense of belonging to the story.
Hello CA,
Thanks for commenting, it’s really good to get different opinions on these things.
I think that good description does exactly what you say – brings readers into the book. Do you prefer description when the character is introduced, so you have a picture in mind as you get to know the character?
EJ 🙂
I suppose if I stop and think about it it is good to have some description when a character is first introduced to help conjure the image, but perhaps additional information being drip fed throughout the plot keeps you engaged. I do believe though that what it boils down to is personal preference and context. To describe a battle between a beast and a man for example there needs to be a physical description to bring to life the scale of combat. But equally physical desciption can be used to depict an emotional state. For me personally I enjoy being fully immersed in a story and part of getting to know a character is knowing what they look like.
Thanks CA 🙂 It’s interesting that you’ve mentioned emotional states, as that’s definitely an area where physical descriptions can be valuable, and indeed necessary.
You’re right that there’s a lot of personal preference in this subject, it’s certainly led to an interesting discussion!