Thread: To what extent do you describe characters' physical appearance

My main characters I describe the first time I mention them, and then maybe make passing references later in the book, i.e. "his long legs hung over the arm of the chair." Minor characters I barely describe. One guy I know describes what each character (minor or major) is wearing for each and every scene. I think that is a bit excessive. What do you think is a good rule of thumb for character description?

I try to avoid description paragraphs. Normally I just give a general outline, and add details as my character notices them. Also, I only mention details that are particular, as in different from what the reader considers the average human being. I assume a character who's eye color's left unsaid has dark eyes, and so on. I would only put such unremarkable details on the page if it makes an impact on my main character or it's part of the plot.

I describe here and there as needed, but through the eyes of another character, especially when they are seeing them for the first time. I do mention eye color, hair color, height, clothing, particular habits, but as they come along and matter. My characters are not inclined to describe themselves and in third person I have no problem with this. I imagine it is harder in first.

It depends how much interest the main character takes in them. One character is known for sleeping around and when I'm writing from her POV I go into more detail when describing random attractive women. Another has a more innocent point of view and so I don't tend use words to make people sound hot and describe them more matter of factly.

The only thing I would add is 'don't save a major character description for late in the story.' The reader will form their own image of what the character looks like. If you give the reader details, the reader will use those details to form their own image, but if you leave something blank, the readers will fill that blank themselves. Do not dump all of the descriptive details at once, but complete your description in the first third of the book. Once the reader has decided that the character has brown hair, you can not say in chapter 27 that the character is blond without upsetting the reader.

That's a good point. I guess as long as it is in the first third it is soon enough, but some people say the first time you mention a character, the description has to come and that is not always a convenient time to throw in a description.

I usually don't worry about a protagonist's outward appearance. If it comes out in the writing, fine, but if it doesn't I'm okay with that, too. As others have said, the reader likes to have his own image of the character, and I enjoy letting them. Many things can affect the way a character is perceived. Word choice, story structure. More interesting than any list of character traits is a style that mimics the character's personality, and that is a very subtle thing, very challenging to do, but I think most rewarding. Suppose the sentence style becomes very straightforward for a character who is blunt, while for another character, in another chapter entirely, the sentences meander this way and that, stopping for little detours, mimicking her easy going, and slightly distractible, nature.

Sometimes I include it, if it's important to the story. I have written very detailed description -- and all at once too. So I think it can work. Here's an example, two paragraphs of it with physical description and even what the character is wearing.

I wanted to convey that the MC was awestruck by his ex-lovers beauty, especially because she'd been very ill and he didn't know what to expect. It's pretty stylized and poetic. The story is about a jazz musician in the early 50's and the language and rhythm throughout the story is written to reflect the era and music:

Alvy walked out into the club and saw Danni standing center stage in a dusty column of white light. She turned to him and smiled. He tried not to look surprised. Tried not to gasp or let his jaw drop. Because she almost wasn’t there. So thin, like a licorice whip, with cheek bones as sharp as a broken forty-five. Alvy swallowed hard and waited for her to speak.

“Hello, Alvy—Baby.”

But he was so overcome by all of her that remained, he could find no words. She was a dream wrapped tight in a white, strapless gown that sparkled like snow under a streetlight, showing smooth shoulders the color of café au lait, and slit up the side to reveal legs that went from the ground to paradise. Her body, less—but no less delicious. And a face as beautiful as anything in God's creation, with eyes the same as ever—sly, half-closed and sleepy. Lips, full, red and parted—ready to give birth to a soft whisper. Above it all, her signature—a single white dahlia, floating on a thick swirl of blue-black hair like the moon’s reflection on a pool of dark water. Beautiful. As always.

So guess the answer for me is -- it depends.

Note : I'm altering the actual words used. Below may be one way to get a touch of detail without a boring description.

“You’d think they’d learn,” Charlotte said as the boys started bailing out the water from their boat. Emma looked at the blond girl, uncertain what she was talking about. “Girl’s are much superior with a distaff, everybody knows that.”

You'll probably already notice that I wrote 'the blond girl' instead of repeating the word Charlotte. That saves a description.

But I don't believe you need much info on what a character's appearance; in fact a majority of characters normally don't need a single word.

I don't know Rust, I like some description at least. Something to go on. Deep eyes, broken nose, something.
Actually, no, I like about as much description as I give. If I'm given nothing, sure, I'll use my imagination, but I am very visual and enjoy character sketches, and as characters, we are influenced by how we see ourselves.

Physical description often isn't needed. Sometimes it works -- and in varying amounts. It's not a one-size-fits-all type of deal. Read your favorite authors or things in the genre you prefer and see how others do it, when and how. Some of my favorites, Carson McCullers for example, include quite a bit and leave little to the imagination. So does Richard Yates. Raymond Carver is good at dropping hints about what people look like, and sometimes he includes details if they are pertinent to the story. So it really does depend.

Originally Posted by JosephB

Physical description often isn't needed. Sometimes it works -- and in varying amounts. It's not a one-size-fits-all type of deal.

Indeed. I'd say to include as little as possible and as much as is needed... including too much is just going to bore me, including too little is going to confuse me; for example, in a story I critiqued recently there's no description of the main character and I'd been assuming he was fairly young but then discovered he has a daughter he hasn't seen in decades. The writer should have written something before that point so I'd know he was older, be it description or behaviour that better suited an older character... but more than that I didn't really need to know.

Similarly, if you character is going to die of a heart attack due to being overweight you probably want to mention that before it happens, or show them struggling to get around because they weight five hundred pounds.

I'll give the basics and go on from there. I do feel it's true that the reader will fill in the details themselves, and I prefer it that way!

Originally Posted by movieman

Similarly, if you character is going to die of a heart attack due to being overweight you probably want to mention that before it happens, or show them struggling to get around because they weight five hundred pounds.

This is slightly different. His obesity affects the story. To not include this detail before the event happens would be sloppy.

Originally Posted by fearsatan

This is slightly different. His obesity affects the story. To not include this detail before the event happens would be sloppy.

Well, that's rather my point: if it doesn't affect the story, then you probably should leave it out... but at the same time don't forget to include everything that does affect the story. A novel I critiqued a few years ago felt kind of like a fashion show because every new character got a paragraph or two describing their outfit in great detail even though it had no impact on the story.