Thread: How far to go in describing a new creature?

I am writing a fantasy novel and need to create a new creature. I am confused about ow to inject him into the novel. Should I just visually describe him and his powers or do I have to go into his origin etc...how much should I tell the reader about him?

He and his kind will be important since he will be the key part in helping the MC resolve her conflict.

I wonder about this when introducing any new character, fantastic or real. I wonder whether your novel is told from the perspective of an all-knowing narrator, in which case a discussion of the creature's powers and history seems relevant. On the other hand, particularly if your story is told from the perspective of a character within it, the powers and history may not be accessible to that character and so couldn't be legitimately discussed.
You can know what your creature can do without telling me, if you see what I mean. You don't need to enumerate its powers to show how powerful it is. That happens as it does things in the story.

Thank you.

The story is told in first person. Perhaps I will flush out the creature for my own benefit and let the story reveal him.

Injecting and flushing. That creature sounds like it's giving you some seriously interesting literal trouble, Dark.

Originally Posted by Candra H

Injecting and flushing. That creature sounds like it's giving you some seriously interesting literal trouble, Dark.

You don't know the half of it! I had not planned on this creature. I was going to use a vampire(no explanations necessary. Everyone knows about vampires) but a vamp didn't fit the story line no matter how hard I tried.

So I've got to create a new creature with no real idea yet how to do it. I can't go further with the story until I get pass this.

Technique-wise I'd avoid a lecture. Let the reader get to know your creature--maybe even as you discover him/her.

An info-dump shoved down your throat is rarely welcomed as a reader....

Originally Posted by KarlR

Technique-wise I'd avoid a lecture. Let the reader get to know your creature--maybe even as you discover him/her.

An info-dump shoved down your throat is rarely welcomed as a reader....

Exactly: it identifies the fact that you're happy with your new toy and want to show him off, but might not be right for the story. Could one of the characters give us a bit of info?

I'm no expert, but here's an example of how I introduced a main character in my first novel. After stealing a large warship anchored in port, Felipe and his newly freed slaves need recruits. The island of Tortuga was occupied mainly by pirates, they go to a tavern there...

The drunken men finally finished their song and much laughter and clapping erupted. In a corner four men were engaged in a game of cards. One man, the largest was getting loud and angry banging his fist on the table and screaming at another. Felipe nodded toward them and they all moved to a close table and sat down, “Look at this character.” Felipe said. Three of the men, including the large, angry one were typical of the crowd, unkempt with shaggy beards and dirty clothes.
The man with all of the winnings in front of him had a neatly trimmed red beard and mustache. His long, curly red hair was clean and he wore a black cavalier hat at a cocky, rakish angle on his head. The hat had one side pinned up with a silver emblem that represented crossed swords. A feather was sticking up from the hatband. His white shirt was clean and had ruffles down the breast as well as at the cuffs. He dabbed at his nose nonchalantly with a white handkerchief that had lace along it’s edges and stared calmly at the large screaming man with his eyelids half lowered over bright blue eyes.
Batu said, “He looks more like a woman. We need sailors and fighters, not a pretty boy.”
Felipe said, “He is obviously very shrewd, look at his winnings.” He had a large pile of reales in front of him. “His manner of dress suggests that he is also very meticulous.”
“I think it suggests something else.” Batu said and wiggled his eyebrows up and down.
Andreas added, “He certainly isn’t showing any fear. The other man stands a foot taller than he.”
The large man was complaining that the red haired man had taken all of his money and the others agreed. The man calmly raked all of the reales into a leather pouch which he then tied and secured it to his belt. Taking a puff on his thin cigar he blew the blue smoke toward the ceiling while the other three men glared at him.
He spoke with a French accent and in a cultured voice, “Well then messieurs if I have taken all of your money, then I guess that this game is over.”
The large man shouted, “You must give me a chance to win back some of my money! I cannot even buy a drink now!”
The man calmly looked at him and said, “How can you gamble with no money? You played and you lost. So if you will excuse me now, I need another drink, I will buy you each one as well” As he reached for his handkerchief that was laying on the table, the large man grabbed his hand roughly and pulled it toward him. When he did, three aces fell out of the handkerchief onto the table.
“You French bastard! You have been cheating us all this time!” The large man screamed.
The Frenchman replied, “Oui messier, for over an hour now, you are as stupid as you are fat and ugly.” He yanked his hand away and the large man stood up and threw the table to the side. The Frenchman’s sword was already out and he took a professional stance. All three of the men drew their swords. The bar fell silent as everyone watched.
Batu asked, “Should we help him? He is outnumbered.”
“No, let us watch and see how he handles himself first.” Andreas said.
The large man attacked first using more strength than skill. The Small Frenchman easily sidestepped and parried all of his wild swings. The other two men spread to either side of him to flank him. He kicked his chair out of the way and got his back into the corner so they could not surround him. He took two steps back.
“Look” Andreas said “He is luring him in.“
“Just as you taught me to do” Felipe replied.The Frenchman arrogantly took a puff on his cigar as his blue eyes slid from one man to the other. His sword was as steady as a rock out before him. He blew a smoke ring toward the ceiling.

I would say it's up to you - you're the writer, do as you see fit. Personally, I would start with description, then add in any other details such as origin as and when necessary.

Add as the character notices, and preferably, in the terms said character would use.

Originally Posted by seigfried007

Add as the character notices, and preferably, in the terms said character would use.

I love the way this sentence is written. I had to think myself backwards to get the jist of it.

Nice tip though. Even if I only skimmed the majority of the thread, it's how I might do it, write a new creature that is. I figure if you're going to put the time and effort into creating one, then write from its point of view. It's only fair.

If your story is in first person, and the creature is jumping right in the middle of the action, you might want to make things fuzzy.

Not every time you have to describe everything about what your character is seeing. Consider this, a person's sight can only focus on one thing at a time, and some times it cannot focus at all. Some times you just cannot depict what it is, and some times you can't even describe it. More often, you will confuse one thing with another, assuming it is something else. It also depends on your genre, in a horror novel, you might want to avoid descriptions at all. The unknown is scarier, and a creature of unknown dimensions, shape, form or ferocity is just downright scary.

On the other hand, if your character has a much clearer perspective, then you should describe what he is actually looking at, avoid describing things in the usual fashion. Make your descriptions dynamic, and make them reveal only the details that are needed or observed.

Those are my two cents!

I believe that if your creature is giving you that many problems to describe then perhaps you should draw it, and place it into some sort of index of the story so the reader knows what the creature looks like without having to read endless amounts of text that are attempting to describe a creature unlike anything else.

First Person POV will mean that the reader can only know as much as your POV character does. The reader can learn as the POV character observes and learns, or if the POV character already knows about the creature, such knowledge can be reflected in thoughts and actions.

Also, keep in mind as to how much does the reader really need to know, and when? It's perfectly okay for the reader to not know everything about this new creature, even if the creature is pivotal in the story's plot/action. And there is nothing wrong with allowing the reader to fill in some of the blanks/picture/vision of the creature with their own imagination--actually it's a good thing.