I am talking about physical features, though not in so much detail, just enough to give an idea.
When should you describe a character upon introduction?
Thoughts and feelings?
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Well, Iâve been told that the way I describe characters sounds too much like a checklist, so I donât know. No one ever gave me advice on how to fix that and do it right, just told me I do it wrong.
just like any other description, it should have some sort of relevance to the plot/storyline. for instance, when characters meet each other for the first time, if thereâs a moment where they admire one anotherâs features. physical descriptions work especially well when used as dialogue tags, orâŚidk how to call them, spacers? eyes are also really good for emotions. you can also do it when relatives are introduced, and you can note (dis)similarities.
generally speaking, I would say itâs best to introduce character descriptions gradually, a little bit at a time, after we start getting a feel for what the character is like. otherwise a reader wonât care to remember that the characterâs eyes are blue or their nose big or whatever.
I second this
When is always situational, but to me itâs whenever it makes sense in the story. The reader is going to be curious about appearances soon after the character is introduced, so why put it off? I have the friar take note of the main characterâs appearance as soon as he encounters him:
Somehow it was easier when a convict looked the partâcruel, angry, ignorant, dangerous. But this prisoner was obviously an aristocrat, with the boyish good looks of one whoâd lived an easy life. He wore the calfskin breeches currently so fashionable with the younger set, a poet shirt, and jackboots with tassels near the knee. His unpowdered hair was tied back with a ribbon. The friar guessed his cravat and other accessories had been taken from him soon after his arrest.
Thatâs all the description you ever get of him in the book, and it happens a few paragraphs into the first chapter when the friar first arrives at the dungeon.
Thereâs nothing wrong with gradual descriptions either, or maybe holding off on a description for the purpose of creating mystery, but thereâd be no reason for that in my books. At least not so far. ÂŻ\_(ď˘)_/ÂŻ
That makes sense.
So, gradual is better. Thank you for this.
Really?
Well, hopefully the comments here help both of us.
Well, 0 draft, I rarely do any at all.
When I do, the earlier the better, but more importantly, HOW I do it is the key. The only time Iâll describe a character looking at themselves in the mirror is when the mirror is important to the story. Itâs got to be well handled.
Another issue is so vague of ethnicity posting that no one has a clue what the characterâs background is. That is starting to get people up in arms because it can potentially whitewash a black character. Vague inclusivity. (If I hadnât come across those arguments, Iâd not even think about being more than vague or to-story because Iâm not visual. What characters look like IS vague to me.)
But if itâs a one-and-done description, people can âInsert their own assumptionsâ. Unfortunately, touchstones on looks and culture will have to come up a few times to keep people on track.
I like when the look of a person does more than give you her curves, but gives you her mind and her emotional stateâŚlet me pull up one that might not ever be finished, since itâs from last November:
Agda Jennifer Whitmore stood in front of her mirror, in her beautiful, expensive bathroom, watching her wavy hair pull off her scalp with each brush stroke. She fought against biting her lips. âI just got that the right ash brownâŚâ
AJ refused to panic, as tears would make applying her mascara all the harder. It wouldnât run, as she knew better than to wear anything less than waterproof, but it had to cure on a fairly dry surface to stick. But the clumps of hair made her stomach twist with grief.
Hopefully enough hair would remain on her head in order to preserve her confidence, but if not, sheâd resort to a scarf around her head today, before picking up a wig. Agda needed to be presentable. The case was too big, way too big.
Lawyers were seen as phonies any which way she went, even over hair. No one believed the hint of gray, although her experience spoke for itself. She chose it to represent her strengths, what truly mattered to her.
Never in her life had she lost hair, weight or anything else over a trialâŚusually not even the case. And she was set to win this one, too, but the man she was defending was clearly guilty as hell, and had already told her that if she screwed his case up, there would be hell to pay.
[event that caused this moment]
It wasnât that day that pushed her to question her goals in life. Today was the sign she said sheâd always look for. AJ had promised her grandfather sheâd retire, if there was ever any hint of her not being able to handle the stress. She didnât care if it was called a midlife crisis or a fear of this man, although she had the strength to go toe-to-toe with him in most arguments, as long as it was words. Her decision must be a lifestyle choice, and it had to remain that.
It couldnât be the nails that raked the side of her neck. And it couldnât be the hair loss.
Otherwise her hands would start to shake over the scattered remains of her confidence.
And see? Itâs not a ton of description. Itâs mostly focused on her hair.
Thanks for this.
I hope it gives you ideas on the mechanics of it all.
Yes. 
I have a pet peeve with characters being introduced like someone is really staring at them from the top of the head to the shoes 
Unless thereâs a point to do the full top to bottom gaze, I would say donât
I think in the beginning, itâs okay to be sparse. In a book Iâm reading the character was first described as not looking at all like his twin sister although they both have dark curly hair and a similar shade of brown skin. I donât know how tall they are or what color their eyes areâŚbut it was enough to give me a vague idea about what they look like. I learn much later that the boyâs hair is long and messy, and the girl braids her hair.
But the boyâs hair being long and messy was described when heâs comparing himself to some well-to-do children who have short hair and feeling lesser than them. The girlâs braids didnât come up for four chapters, but it really wasnât important until then. And it wasnât the end of the world to not have known if the girl had braids or not. Braids or not didnât affect the plot.
As long as your character is human, I wouldnât worry about not describing their entirety from the start unless itâs really, really important. Like, maybe they have an underdeveloped hand, or are blind in one eye, or they are unusually short, or something like that which would affect their actions.
But if you have to deal with non-human characters or humans with some non-human elements (winged or has a tail, or something), it might be important to get right in there in the first paragraph of the first chapter. Iâm trying to incorporate Pintiâs description into her scene.
If I have her in a tree, I can say she balanced with her fluffy tail, or that she was glad for the bluiesh leaves making for good camouflage for her sky-blue fur. Maybe she twitches her ears at a sound, maybe she grips the bark with claws extended. Maybe she tightens her hold on her spear to the point where her thumb aches⌠Where is her sister hiding and will the enemies see her?
I give a general appearance more for my own sake than others tbh
Could you explain?
When I first introduce my characters, I say stuff like eye colour, skin colour, hair colour / type, sometimes clothing if I think itâs important. I also mention obvious features that stand out (eg scars, tattoos). I mention this stuff because it can be important (eg Xixâs âfamily eyesâ, Amnerisâ changing eyes that change with her power + her scar, Nikkiâs tattoos, Kek having a cocky smile, etc.). I guess it can add personality 
What I mean when I say I do it for myself is that this way, I personally have a record for what the character looks like. I try not to overdo it, of course, but I find it personally helps with the imagery and imagination
Ahh, I understand.
Thanks for explaining.
it depends on different factors
if they are then
when, where, how, and why they describe their features or a feature of theirs should develop and or reveal their character as much as what you describe about them.
if they are not
the above can apply. but also consider who is narrating. it should develop and reveal stuff about the narrator (especially if its limited 3rd or first person) and their relationship to said character as well.
do we (the reader) need to know this information (aka character feature) to be able to literally comprehend and follow what is happening right now?
if yes then give them just as much as needed. if no see above.
dialogue
does any character have a reason for describing or mentioning a characterâs features in dialogue.
3rd person limited.
So, thereâs a time and place to reveal their features?
yep but its going to depend on your character- like what makes sense to who they are within.
Honestly, when I describe a characterâs features itâs like I have to force myself to remember that I didnât state anything about what the character looks like, because I might forget to mention that. Iâll go through most of the story without stating anything about their features other than they removed their hair from their face or what clothing they are wearing for the day.
When Iâm writing I donât think about that stuff until I need to think about it. Plus itâs not describing anything just saying what they are doing to themselves.
Although I do have it wear they are studying themselves in the mirror or saying someone looks attractive or not.
Itâs hard because I end up forgetting to mention it or show it in the story. Itâs like I know they are a person or some humanoid, but I forget to show what they look like. Or rather I forget to state what their important features are.
I guess I donât want a reader to go through the whole story wondering what the character looks like and etc.
It gets clunky when I just add that, because I do forget.
I rambled too much. LOL!