# Character descriptions?



## Clnow3088 (Jun 19, 2013)

I am having some difficulties with character description. How do you describe a hair style? Facial features? All of it! I have a picture of someone who is inspiration for the male character in the piece I'm working on and I am currently trying to describe his hairstyle through the eyes of my female character. He's Australian also (which is gonna take some hard work for me, I want to get it right.) I am adding a photo of this actor who is my inspiration.. please help me put him into descriptive words!! Thank you all!


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## Kyle R (Jun 19, 2013)

Hairstyle? I'd call it "sleek and messy."

Features? I'd stick with the most noticable: thick eyebrows, pointed chin, playful grin, wide eyes. You could go with the tried and true description of guys with lean faces: "chiseled." You might also want to add that he has a youthful smile.

Generally, I think the best way to score points with your readers, when describing characters, is to funnel the description through the eyes, and the perspective, of your main character. If she sees this male character and thinks, "Oh, my goodness," then that's probably what you should put, even though it doesn't seem "literary" or an example of exceptional prose. If it's in a voice that seems authentic to your character, then it will serve as good characterization and, in my opinion, works as good writing.

Even better if you attach emotions to your MC's notice of the character. I like complicated emotions, so for me, the character might remind my MC of someone from her past, giving her conflicting emotions. But attraction is also a direct emotion that also works. Suspicion, envy, fear, et cetera, any of these emotions work well if you weave them in when introducing a new character, so the reader not only gets a visual image of the character, but also gets an _emotional_ bearing from which to regard to character's arrival.

From then on, whenever the character is in the story, your reader will have a feeling assigned to this character, to go along with the mental image of them.

Hope any of that helps! :encouragement:


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## JosephB (Jun 19, 2013)

"Sleek and messy" seems like an oxymoron.


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## Jeko (Jun 19, 2013)

Less is more, in my opinion. Craft your character in a way that you don't have to describe their appearance much; the reader visualizes them because of the way they behave.

Unless his hairstyle comes to life in the story and takes over the universe, I don't think describing it in detail is essential. 'Sleek and messy' would do fine for me.


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## Terry D (Jun 19, 2013)

Carefully tousled?
Stringently random?
A carefully crafted nest?


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## PiP (Jun 19, 2013)

Hi Terry,

I was also thinking his hair had the tousled look.


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## Staff Deployment (Jun 19, 2013)

Smiley McChinjock, pictured here with his lovely bride, Hair Gel. (she's asian)



(also she is literally hair gel)


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## JosephB (Jun 19, 2013)

Ken sported the shellacked, artificially unkempt hairstyle of an aspiring male model.


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## shadowwalker (Jun 19, 2013)

As a writer, I'd be asking myself why it's so important to describe his physical features. As a reader, I'd be wondering the same thing.


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## JosephB (Jun 19, 2013)

Well, somehow you have to let people know how fabulously dreamy he is.


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## shadowwalker (Jun 19, 2013)

JosephB said:


> Well, somehow you have to let people know how fabulously dreamy he is.



Yeah, therein lies the problem - if someone were to describe this guy accurately and in detail, I wouldn't find him dreamy at all. I'd much rather read that other characters find him attractive or are drawn to him, and therefore they must have the same tastes as I do. :-D


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## Skodt (Jun 19, 2013)

Looks shaggy and windblown to me. I would also mention he looks as if he woke up from bed and gel found its way onto his head.


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## Al D (Jun 19, 2013)

Unless the reader's exact understanding of a character's features is essential to the success of the story I wouldn't worry about the minutia of his appearance. I doubt there's a writer anywhere who has ever managed to impose his mind's eye on his readers. This isn't a visual medium and the reader makes the visuals. Too many details are often more distracting than helpful.
The guy in your picture is healthy, youthful and handsome. His only real distinguishing characteristic is heavy eyebrows. Just seed in a few descriptive phrases and you'll be okay.


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## Folcro (Jun 19, 2013)

It's important, if at times difficult, to come to terms with the fact that we are not movie makers. We can not show exactly what we see. What we _can _do, in my opinion, is so much more powerful. We can make the reader see this character the way we see the character. You like this guy, I can see why; he's attractive, the heavy footprints of a bright if ponderous smile bracket his mouth. Deep eyes which, on any other man, would look scary. Wiry figure, loose, casual posture of a carefree youth. Any one of these descriptions shows something specific, and the reader's subconscious will construct a full image. 

But the real trick is not to show the reader what you are seeing, rather to make the reader feel how you feel when you see him. A lot of that will come in the description in his personality. The image you show us shows personality, and _that _can easily be described in your writing... if that helps at all.

It's not what the character looks like, it's who they are.


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## Clnow3088 (Jun 19, 2013)

I love his personality. I want to portray his goofy, never really take things serious attitude. He's a proud Aussie, happy, he puts off a relaxed sort of vibe. My character's just met. And I described his eyes because it's the first thing my MC sees, then she gets a good look at him and I wasn't sure if I should be describing his physical features or his clothing or what. My MC has been wandering alone and was more worried about these horrendous creatures called the Wicked, than other humans. So when she runs into him she's a bit shocked. He doesn't seem all that phased by it at first, but she isn't sure what to make of him, or if she can trust him. So I was struggling with when she first gets a good look at him, what does she see that makes an impression on her? His hair, his clothes, his eyes. I think those were the three main things. And I've never been good with describing styles of hair.


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## InkwellMachine (Jun 19, 2013)

When I write, I tend to dance around physical descriptions. People expect them, so when physical descriptions are thrust upon the readers it doesn't hurt the flow so badly. _It can still hurt the flow, though_. If it's not necessary to describe an aspect of the individual, don't. You're not trying to paint a perfect image for the reader--like Folcro said, this is not a film-- you're just giving them enough to work with. If certain aspects of their physical description are relevant, by all means, describe them. If not, and they're only mentioned to for aesthetic purposes, skip them over.

In your case, I would ask myself whether hair, clothes, and eyes are the most important first-impression attributes of this character. I usually spend more time defining characters by their actions, and maybe provide one sentence of descriptive text. What he's doing when the protagonist first meets him will say _volumes_ more than his clothes or hair or eye-color. If you find that those three attributes really seem necessary, though, then consider why that may be. Is it because she's so unaccustomed to seeing humans, now? If so, you'll want to focus more on the fact that he's human than how hunky he is--that would more than likely be the more important issue. 

You can worry about sexual tension/attraction later on. Right now just do what is necessary to show the reader why this character is relevant to the story (and thusly the main character).

Sorry if that was a bit disjointed.


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## FleshEater (Jun 19, 2013)

You don't. A dump of physical description will make me stop reading and throw the novel away, unless it's absolutely pertinent to the story; i.e. American Psycho. 

I hate more than anything a detailed description of a main character, or a surrounding area. It's just so zzzzzz...


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## Folcro (Jun 19, 2013)

FleshEater said:


> You don't. A dump of physical description will make me stop reading and throw the novel away, unless it's absolutely pertinent to the story; i.e. American Psycho.
> 
> I hate more than anything a detailed description of a main character, or a surrounding area. It's just so zzzzzz...



It isn't a matter of feast or famine. The OP never proposed an information dump. Your explanation seems to indicate that such description should be lightly applied over an extended period of time. Or are you saying no physical description at all unless it directly affects the plot? 

I don't disagree with this entirely, but I would say, don't describe it if it is useless. In which case, obviously. But directly affecting plot is not the only form of usefulness. A person's description, more importantly, a character's interpretation of another person's physical description, can apply to character development. The whole point is to make our characters relatable.


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## Terry D (Jun 19, 2013)

How the OP's female protagonist sees this character will speak volumes about who she is, and what is important to her.


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## Leyline (Jun 19, 2013)

It depends on how you use the character description, the POV and even the tense. I generally very lightly brush in character description because, like FE, a sudden block of adjective laden descriptive text will often annoy me when reading. When I do use description, I tend to find a narrative device that allows it to be something other than the narrator (be that first or third) suddenly stopping and describing characters for no other reason than 'this is what the characters look like.'

Here's an example from my WIP _Things God Does To Us_: I used the device of the first person narrator describing a picture of herself and the other main character. This not only gave me a 'voice-appropriate' way to handle the description, but allowed me to introduce the picture -- which will become important later on in the story:

*There was this photograph of Susie and myself that I kept for years and years, until I lost it in some hole in the wall or another. It was taken by my Dad, just a week or so before we found that damned thing.  In the picture, we are sitting on the couch in my house, watching TV.

Susie is hogging most of the couch, and has her bare feet in my lap. She has her head propped on her hand, elbow on the armrest, and is engrossed in whatever we were watching. She's wearing cut-offs and a Nike t-shirt that had seen better days. Her hair, straight and red and beautiful even when tangled, falls over her cheek and shoulder, catches the sun from the window and gleams so that even the muted tones of an old Polaroid can't hide the rich color.

I'm slouched at the other end, pretending to be engrossed as well, but the picture catches my eyes flicking to the left to look at her, the slant of my eyes made obvious by the magnification of glasses I'd been doomed to wear since kindergarten. I'm wearing jeans and a plain white t-shirt, mouse brown hair hidden by a Wildcats ball-cap and a  ponytail that was the truce between my wanting to shave it into a crew-cut and my Mom's absolute refusal. 

I still remember, clearly, what I was feeling when that picture was taken. I was feeling warm and strange and good because Susie had her feet in my lap. I was feeling sad that whenever I snuck a glance at her she was never looking back. And I was feeling the familiar ache of thinking she was just the prettiest thing that ever lived, and that she only liked boys and I wasn't one.*


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## Clnow3088 (Jun 19, 2013)

I really appreciate everyone's input I suppose my best bet is to just write out the rest of chapter 3 in this book and post it so you can all have a more clear idea of what is happening. I'd love to hear more opinions on the descriptions!


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## wancow (Jun 20, 2013)

Clnow3088 said:


> I am having some difficulties with character description. How do you describe a hair style? Facial features? All of it! I have a picture of someone who is inspiration for the male character in the piece I'm working on and I am currently trying to describe his hairstyle through the eyes of my female character. He's Australian also (which is gonna take some hard work for me, I want to get it right.) I am adding a photo of this actor who is my inspiration.. please help me put him into descriptive words!! Thank you all!



He smiled a boyish-friendly smile, brown eyes sparkling under thick brows and short hair styled to look tussled.  It was a strong smile.  A friendly smile.  A smile that would make women swoon on a face that was somewhere between pretty and handsome.


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## JosephB (Jun 20, 2013)

I don't know that I'd want women swooning on my face. That could be painful.


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## wancow (Jun 20, 2013)

Heh, you'd make a good trial lawyer, JosephB


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## JosephB (Jun 20, 2013)

I've heard that before. Too bad you have to know all that stuff about the law.


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## wancow (Jun 20, 2013)

InkwellMachine said:


> In your case, I would ask myself whether hair, clothes, and eyes are the most important first-impression attributes of this character.



In the real world, all these things matter very, very much.  You see two guys walking up to you.  One is wearing a polo shirt and pleated pants.  His hair is blown dry and big, not one out of place.  The other has his pants hanging below his hips, walking funny to keep them up, his polka dot boxers show and he's wearing his ball cap sideways.

How someone dresses speaks to the character of the person you're describing.  It might be a very deceptive appearance, but the lions share of people are exactly who they appear to be.  That guy with the gaunt face and filthy hair who moves so squirly you wonder what drugs he's on?  Oh, he's been busted doing meth?

So I have to disagree with you.  Descriptions are very, very important and should be well integrated into the narrative.


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## JosephB (Jun 20, 2013)

No need to disagree. He said ask yourself if it's necessary. I think the point people have been making is that if is says something about the character -- then include the description -- but not necessarily all at once. Although I've seen that done to good effect and have done it myself. In the two examples I can think of -- my MC was bowled over by someone's appearance -- and it made sense to relay it at once to get across the emotion and sense of surprise. I used a little simile and poetic description -- so it didn't come off as a straight-up info dump. Like we say around here so often -- it all depends on how well it's done.


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## InkwellMachine (Jun 20, 2013)

wancow said:


> In the real world, all these things matter very, very much.  You see two guys walking up to you.  One is wearing a polo shirt and pleated pants.  His hair is blown dry and big, not one out of place.  The other has his pants hanging below his hips, walking funny to keep them up, his polka dot boxers show and he's wearing his ball cap sideways.
> 
> How someone dresses speaks to the character of the person you're describing.  It might be a very deceptive appearance, but the lions share of people are exactly who they appear to be.  That guy with the gaunt face and filthy hair who moves so squirly you wonder what drugs he's on?  Oh, he's been busted doing meth?
> 
> So I have to disagree with you.  Descriptions are very, very important and should be well integrated into the narrative.


In the 'real world' you're constantly bombarded by signals from all five of your senses at once that give you a million different impressions. If you'd like to write like a chinchilla with ADHD, then fine, describe everything that could possibly give your character an impression. Otherwise, pick your battles. If the impression her main character gets from this guy's appearance and dress-code is the most important thing the reader should take away from the first encounter with him, then physical description would be important. Otherwise, if we want to know something about this character other than their lifestyle choices right off the bat, I would skip over it entirely.

By the way, the first quote in your signature is hilarious, Joseph.


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## wancow (Jun 20, 2013)

InkwellMachine, just let me add to this, because I think it builds upon your point.  There are people who make an impression and people who do not.  Either can be important, and either can be unimportant.  Working them in is an art form.  It's one of the problems I'm seeing with Hemingway in "The Sun Also Rises".  He does not give you an impression of the characters at all save for the guy the narrator is focused on.  Such and Such a girl is beautiful, and you get that impression with the way they talk.  But this story is told in the first person, and it's bothering me a great deal that I can't get a clear picture of the characters.  They all come across as perfectly costumed people who have the same perfect hairstyle.  At least I know the main character is a Jew with a broken nose.  But that's about it.

All stories should be character driven.  People make stories, stories do not make people.  I hear a lot about Plot Driven stories, and it irks me every single time I hear this.  Having a great plot is fine and dandy.  But the characters make the story.  If that's not the case, then you're creating paper thin characters.  If a person is beautiful or ugly, or skinny or fat it truly does affect and speak to who that person is and what they do, what they're capable of, and how others react to them.  If a person is sloppy or neat, if a person dresses for success or wears his underwear for two weeks without changing it, all these things matter.

Yes, pick your battles, I completely agree.  But when we're talking about important characters, I need to be a little more clued in as to who that person is.


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## JosephB (Jun 20, 2013)

InkwellMachine said:


> By the way, the first quote in your signature is hilarious, Joseph.



I had a real Einstein quote in there for a good while -- I just wanted to see if anyone was paying attention.


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## Jeko (Jun 20, 2013)

> Descriptions are very, very important and should be well integrated into the narrative.



Also, you can tell a story entirely with dialogue.


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## FleshEater (Jun 20, 2013)

Folcro said:


> It isn't a matter of feast or famine. The OP never proposed an information dump. Your explanation seems to indicate that such description should be lightly applied over an extended period of time. Or are you saying no physical description at all unless it directly affects the plot?
> 
> I don't disagree with this entirely, but I would say, don't describe it if it is useless. In which case, obviously. But directly affecting plot is not the only form of usefulness. A person's description, more importantly, a character's interpretation of another person's physical description, can apply to character development. The whole point is to make our characters relatable.



I never tell a reader what my character looks like. And, a lot of what I read doesn't either. It really has no affect on how I perceive what a character may look like. 



Terry D said:


> How the OP's female protagonist sees this character will speak volumes about who she is, and what is important to her.



This COULD work if written properly. 

When considering this is a young woman's perspective she'd probably simply say he's hot, or has a great body or nice eyes. None of this wavy hair stuff though...that's where my opinion lies, I guess, over exaggerating something making it seem more like narration than an actual character assessment.


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## FleshEater (Jun 20, 2013)

I would also like to add that if this is _romance_ you're writing, layer as much description on as you want...I don't think anyone will care, as long as the intimate scenes are "hot."


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## Folcro (Jun 20, 2013)

FleshEater said:


> I would also like to add that if this is _romance_ you're writing, layer as much description on as you want...I don't think anyone will care, as long as the intimate scenes are "hot."



What if it's not a romance entirely, but has romance elements?


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## FleshEater (Jun 20, 2013)

Folcro said:


> What if it's not a romance entirely, but has romance elements?



What does it matter? If it isn't romance then the author can use my previous opinion describing a character if she so wishes.


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## luckyscars (Jun 21, 2013)

FleshEater said:


> I would also like to add that if this is _romance_ you're writing, layer as much description on as you want...I don't think anyone will care, as long as the intimate scenes are "hot."




I am by no means a fan of the genre, but you do know romance is not the same as erotica right? You can have perfectly good romance novels which are not heavy in physical description. I remember awhile back I read a short story - cant remember the title by now - which was a romance between two people, one of whom was in jail, and their entire relationship was conducted through letters. Not really my kind of thing, but it was decent enough and had a good ending. And it was definitely a 'love story' but there was next to no physical description of anybody and certainly nothing 'intimate'. It is silly to generalize that way.


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## wancow (Jun 21, 2013)

luckyscars said:


> I am by no means a fan of the genre, but you do know romance is not the same as erotica right?



Every time I pick up a romance novel I'm struck by the amount of porn in it


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## luckyscars (Jun 21, 2013)

wancow said:


> Every time I pick up a romance novel I'm struck by the amount of porn in it



Haha, yes, there is porn aplenty in romance. But I figure we shouldnt tar the whole thing with the same brush.


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## InkwellMachine (Jun 21, 2013)

> I would also like to add that if this is _romance you're writing, layer as much description on as you want...I don't think anyone will care, as long as the intimate scenes are "hot."_


So, because she's writing a novel with a scene wherein one of the characters is admiring how attractive another is, the novel is instantly romance? That's a slippery slope you're walking, friend. There's sex in Patrick Rothfuss's "The Wise Man's Fear," and it is still a fantasy. A single element does not distinguish a book's genre. I will agree that, since we're establishing an attraction in this scene, it is romantic. On top of that, she's making a promise to the reader that additional romance will develop in some way.



> I never tell a reader what my character looks like. And, a lot of what I read doesn't either. It really has no affect on how I perceive what a character may look like.


That's great, but certain aspects of a person's physical description mean a lot for what they are capable of. Folcro pointed this out to me while we were talking on a similar matter. If you're writing a a character who presents himself as a gentle, wise individual with much experience, the readers may assume that he is an old man. If you happen to have that same character engaging in sexual activities with women obviously much younger than himself, confusion may ensue. So it is relevant if you wish to avoid breaking the novel's hold on the reader by making them question the circumstances that you've already 'described' to them.


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## wancow (Jun 21, 2013)

InkwellMachine said:


> If you're writing a a character who presents himself as a gentle, wise individual with much experience, the readers may assume that he is an old man. If you happen to have that same character engaging in sexual activities with women obviously much younger than himself, confusion may ensue. So it is relevant if you wish to avoid breaking the novel's hold on the reader by making them question the circumstances that you've already 'described' to them.



I'm looking at this characterization you just wrote, and I'm inspired... A Gentle, Wise, Lecherous Old Man... hmmmmm... there's a story in this!


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## FleshEater (Jun 21, 2013)

luckyscars said:


> It is silly to generalize that way.



Not at all. You get the idea, even though you feel it necessary to pick out one short story over the thousands of _Romance_ novels written. I was generalizing my opinion. The OP has vanished from this thread so I find it irrelevant to write an essay NOT generalizing what I mean. Everyone generalizes. It isn't silly.



InkwellMachine said:


> So, because she's writing a novel with a scene wherein one of the characters is admiring how attractive another is, the novel is instantly romance? That's a slippery slope you're walking, friend. There's sex in Patrick Rothfuss's "The Wise Man's Fear," and it is still a fantasy. A single element does not distinguish a book's genre. I will agree that, since we're establishing an attraction in this scene, it is romantic. On top of that, she's making a promise to the reader that additional romance will develop in some way.
> 
> That's great, but certain aspects of a person's physical description mean a lot for what they are capable of. Folcro pointed this out to me while we were talking on a similar matter. If you're writing a a character who presents himself as a gentle, wise individual with much experience, the readers may assume that he is an old man. If you happen to have that same character engaging in sexual activities with women obviously much younger than himself, confusion may ensue. So it is relevant if you wish to avoid breaking the novel's hold on the reader by making them question the circumstances that you've already 'described' to them.



I never said she was writing a romance. Re-read it. I said "if."

Nope. Physical description is irrelevant in the example you have given, unless you're going to completely negate any mention that this twenty or thirty-something-year-old-man has been through a lot in such a short time. But even then, there are many ways to distinguish age without the use of physical description. 

I am 29, my co-workers are 50-66 years old. I could make a list of differences to instantly pick out the age differences without using description of appearance. 

Regardless. I've voiced my opinion. It's my opinion, so why the banter?


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## Folcro (Jun 21, 2013)

FleshEater said:


> I've voiced my opinion. It's my opinion, so why the banter?



No banter here, friend. But it may be to the assistance of the OP to analyze the input of one another. A thorough discussion will better help the OP make their decision. It's what makes a forum a forum


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## wancow (Jun 22, 2013)

luckyscars said:


> Haha, yes, there is porn aplenty in romance. But I figure we shouldnt tar the whole thing with the same brush.


Heh... I referenced a portion of Pride and Prejudice in another post, which, I believe, is the model for romance novels... and there's no sex in it... and it's NOT boring!  Go figure...


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## Apple Ice (Jun 22, 2013)

Personally I would just give a brief outline, such as the colour of his hair for example.There's little point in trying to explain exactly what he looks like because the audience will go with their preference anyway.

If you say someone is ugly, the reader will make them ugly. If you say they are handsome, the reader will make them handsome. Don't try too hard. Let the people use their imagination, because they will anyway


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## Pennywise (Jun 22, 2013)

Hi, thanks Clnow3088 for starting this thread, I have gained a lot of insight from all the suggestions, as I was wondering whether I should describe the character in detail or not.


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## OurJud (Jun 22, 2013)

Cadence said:


> Less is more, in my opinion. Craft your character in a way that you don't have to describe their appearance much; the reader visualizes them because of the way they behave.



I think this is fair advice. Remember, you're not some victim of a crime who's having to describe their attacker to a police artist.


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## Jon M (Jun 22, 2013)

Sometimes the way a piece is written helps me visualize characters. If the prose/voice is punchy, edgy, immediate, in general has an attitude problem, that all bleeds over to the characters. The same goes for a story's setting. I tend to see this kind of thing in cyberpunk a lot.


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