Description of characters within novels/stories.?

Question

Okay, this question is a combined question, I need some thoughts and opinions on how to describe my characters, both pyshically and psychologically. So all you writers out there, your help is much appreciated.

1. I have a hard time describing my characters, their physical image is important to leave a reminder on the reader, so, how could you describe some ones face if you want them to look a certain way, or their certain body types to get a real good image into the head of the reader without over expanding and explaining what they look like?

2. How do you bring your characters to life? Like how do you develop them so they gradually mature their own personality?

Answer 1

Oh gosh why not just ask how to write a story?

1) Usually start with the eyes. And try to show in the description a hint of their character and emotion. For instance simply saying, "A man with blue eyes stands in the corner" will bore readers because that is just about every single person on earth being described. So add character, "The light blue eyes of a slim figure darted at a nearby, eagerly waiting for her husband to come and unlock the door so she could get out of the rain"

Naw that last part is only meant for a little humor. Okay but just think about each part, like the nose, and then what type of nose is it? Long, pointy, crooked, busted up, aquline, large nostiles, etc. Are the eyebrows trimmed or bushy, is there any hair between the eyebrows or is it bare? Is the character's hair long or short, silky or rough, worn up or down to the shoulders, or does it fall down to their back? Are the tips of the hair curled like most people, or is it perfectly straight? Is the person slim, athletic, lean, or fat? Is the character's breathing slow and steady or fairly quick and noisy? Does the person have a large knife scar on the cheek? Does the person wear an eye patch? Is one lip larger than the other lip? Do the ears stick our like an elf? Endless things to write about.

You have to be careful though about how much info you add. If you don't say "the character is 6'8" until page 50, the reader may have already created their own image of a person 5'2. But you don't want to list every single feature about the person, sometimes it is better to simply let the reader create it in their own mind, just get certain details across that you really want to imprint in their mind.... i.e. "GREEN eyes" or "SIDEBURNS" etc etc. But if you list every single detail imaginable, the reader may get bored because they wont be able to create anything in their own imagination because you would have created everything for them. Just give them certain details and let them decide the rest.

2) Have stages of development. For instance after a certain instance, have the character react, and let the reader know how the character reacted, and then they reader will naturally put the pieces together. For instance maybe a drunk man gets sober when his girlfriend gets pregnant, there is stage one, then he leaves his lawn mowing job and gets a better job. Then at the end of the book, when your main character is grieving the sudden loss of his son, the reader will have seen the ways the character has progress from a drunk to a loving father.

Don't try to "force" much when you write. Simply make the scenarios realistic in some extent and if the reader can relate to it, the reader will understand perfectly how and why the character is maturing.

I am probably not making any sense it is 1:30 am.

Night.

Answer 2

It took a while for it to sink in, and I'm not completely sure how I feel about the book, but overall, I liked it. I agree that Bella seemed out of character when I read it. Obviously, she's not going to act the same way she did in Twilight, when she didn't even know Edward was a vampire, but something about her seemed strange to me. Ironically, when she was a vampire, I began to recognize Bella more and feel like maybe she was the person I'd gotten so used to. I think part of this might be that, once again, I was reading her reaction to danger. Bella was so perfectly happy for so long that she almost seemed like a different person. However, when I scanned through the book again, I started to feel like she was less out of character, even in the beginning. About Renesmee: First, let me say that even though the name seemed weird at first, I think it's actually really pretty. She was a little too perfect, but only in book three. After all, in both books two and three she was more of a liability than anything else; she was the almost the reason for so many people's deaths. In my opinion, that sort of makes up for her perfect personality. I was surprised that she could even exist, but I don't think it's so bad that she does. After all, Bella WAS human, and it's the girl that really needs to change during pregnancy, not the boy. Jacob's point of view was very cool, as was him separating from the pack. It may be a bit late for us to decide that he's NOT really a werewolf after all, but I guess I knew that. The imprint was weird, and I'm wondering if it's actually making everything harder, instead of easier. I'm really curious about how that will work out. I wish there'd been more on their relationship. Charlie did not need to be there. It's nice of Steph to try & give him a happy ending, but she went a little too far with him. Personally, I don't mind that there wasn't a full-scale fight at the end. Garrett's speech WAS cool, and I think that the book came as close to a fight as it could without a battle. I wouldn't really mind if it had gone further, but I don't see why it would have to. The talking was pretty dramatic on its own. Those were just a few points I wanted to get out there. Mostly I think that this book is better if you take time to let it sink in. There were a few pieces that Stephenie could have done more with, and I wish that some of the characters had been developed more, especially the ones in relationships, but it wasn't so bad. It was just a little too happy sometimes, but I'm satisfied with the way everything was wrapped up.

Answer 3

1. It's important to get out of your own head -- and to try not to think so much in adjectives. What would other characters say about him or her? What does s/he say about him or herself? What does the character do with that "telling" body he or she has?

2. Characters change in response to insight that comes from experiences. (Ah, just as humans do.) And you are so right! Development (gradual maturity) is an important measure of a literary character.

I'm not a writer. But I admire people who are. Best wishes.

Answer 4

Here is an interesting character building workshop you may find useful:
http://www.writersvillage.com/character/index.htm

It includes 3 character building tests, a list of some common character archetypes (although there are many more), character poles, and corresponding character disorders. This is a psychology based workshop, but it may help stimulate some ideas.