# What does your main character look like?



## valiant12 (May 16, 2016)

What kind of body shape does your main character have? How old is (s)he ? How would you describe your character's face? How would you describe his height, hands, eyes, hair, skin color, etc?

How relevant to the plot is the way your character look?


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## Svrtnsse (May 16, 2016)

Here's the introductory description of my MC from my current WiP:


> In the lounge waits the ship’s commander.
> 
> A woman in her thirties. Short and stocky — dressed in army green. Sturdy boots and combat fatigues. Knitted sweater and infantry cap.
> 
> A daughter of the north. Eyes of blue and steel. Tattooed vines climb her neck, across her right cheek, and disappear into her hair — long blonde dreads tied back in a bundle. A small silver ring pierces her lower lip on the left side of her mouth.



Later on, another character in the story describes her like this:


> Something wasn’t right. “What did she look like?”
> 
> Ali’ast frowned. “Some kind of hippie chick. You know the kind. Short and chubby.” He held up a hand at about eye level, for him. “She had tattoos all over her face, and dreads too.”



As you see. There isn't much detail provided. There's a bit of framework and some notable characteristics, but overall, there's a lot of details for a reader to fill in.

Edit: 
The way this character looks is not essential to the story at the moment. However, it might be later, like if someone decides to judge her by her appearance.
The tattoo is very important for her back story, and it obviously affects how others perceive her.


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## glutton (May 16, 2016)

I have many MCs but the one in my current WIP is a 5'1, 160 lb scar-covered battle tank of a 27 year old girl who carries around a hammer with a head as big as her torso and is often filthy.

Her appearance isn't so much relevant in itself as the traits it implies... she is basically the grown up version of an over-the-top anime loli warrior, who is no longer skinny as her massive appetite has caught up with her but still kicks plenty of giant monster butt.


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## AJ Stevens (May 16, 2016)

Average height and build, short cropped grey hair and blue eyes (which are different to the grey eyes that most of the local population has). Sharp features. Appears to be in his late forties by modern human standards, but he is roughly 150 years old - he's a mage, therefore lives longer than normal.

Sports a tattoo that runs up the middle of his torso, from his navel to the top of his sternum - a line, about two finger widths wide, bisecting circles of various sizes along its length.

Overall, not dissimilar to many popular depictions of Julius Caesar.


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## Demesnedenoir (May 16, 2016)

Blond, Tall, but not as tall as his brothers.

Importance: He takes after his mother, not father.

Might be other details from other POV's, but anything else is superfluous. 

I tend to describe secondaries, or even one shot characters, more than POV characters.


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## Garren Jacobsen (May 16, 2016)

Jude: Brown hair, brown eyes, the dude be huge though muscle wise. He is about 1.5 times as wide as an average person but it is pure muscle garnered from a workout regime and using a forge from a super young age. He is super strong, like doing a workout power clean of about 300lbs. Square faced. 

Garren: brown hair and eyes. Skinny but well toned. Average height but he can activate a purple fle on his arm so he can steal bits of people's souls.


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## ScipioSmith (May 16, 2016)

Dagmar is a short-ish elf girl (or aelfa) with pale blonde hair and unfashionably pale skin. I haven't decided on the eye colour yet because the entire book is written from her POV and so there hasn't been an occasion to work it into organically. 

Her looks are important inasmuch as I'm doing the 'heroine thinks she is plain/ugly even though she's totally hot and two people are in love with her' think as part of the YA influence upon my current work (also doing the 'heroine thinks she is a friendless loser even though a small army of cool people are completely devoted to her safety and happiness' thing, but that isn't so dependent on appearance).


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## Chessie (May 16, 2016)

valiant12 said:


> What kind of body shape does your main character have? How old is (s)he ? How would you describe your character's face? How would you describe his height, hands, eyes, hair, skin color, etc?
> 
> How relevant to the plot is the way your character look?


Hey! What a fun thread. 

I wish that I had quotes for you but I tend to thread descriptions of characters throughout the narrative. So let's see...Zina is around 17. She's petite, frail, and very thin due to malnutrition. So...she's a weakling and it affects her emotions. She's kind of a crybaby which she's very aware of and tries to change. Long black hair she wears in braids and wrapped by scarves. Olive toned skin, dark eyes, sharp facial features, innocent looking until she steals your purse. 

Her people are an indigenous tribe from tundra lands. She dresses like a boy sometimes with pants and her boyfriend's long shirts, a cape, and jewelry she steals. Rather a sharp-tongued gal, too for when it counts. And boys. She really likes boys.


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## Heliotrope (May 16, 2016)

Andomeda is 13, an eighth grader from Brooklyn. Spanish/Mexican/Caucasian mix. 

Olive skin, mousy brown hair, hazel eyes. Athletic.


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## Laurence (May 16, 2016)

My WIP is based around a family. I may occasionally state facts about their appearance if they indicate which child is more similar to which parent, but even then, usually only if I'm describing said body part interacting with something (easy to do with hands.) 

I may also describe other details to give a general idea of the look of different races, as the parents are from differing backgrounds. Again, I try to weave descriptions in to actions...and occasionally insults.


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## Malik (May 16, 2016)

Looks are completely irrelevant to the overall plot. 

My MC is a southpaw so the fencing and horsemanship get a little funky -- some horses won't let you mount from the right; they'll sidestep and drop you on your ass, and you won't know until you try -- and you can't mount from the left wearing a sword on your right side. (If you don't believe me, try it sometime. Just have 911 on speed-dial first.)

I poke some fun because the MC is on the short side of normal, so he doesn't always get his share of the sidewalk. But it really doesn't impact the plot other than to deepen the immersion. I hope.

The MC's description on Page 6:

*With a ponytail and goatee the color of the wet sand behind him, he was on the small side of medium-sized but his proportions were exaggerated with slabs of long muscle, catlike.*

There are 90,000 more words and I don't describe him again, except for what he's wearing, and later when he dreadlocks his hair. I let the reader fill in the rest. I do this with most of my major characters; one paragraph of general description and the rest is on you.

--
The MC's sidekick. I went for a Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser / Mutt and Jeff trope, here:

*Nearly seven feet tall and so immensely muscled as to appear capable of pulling locomotives with his teeth, his head and goatee were shorn equally close and flecked with gray. Tanned biceps the size of footballs shoved at the turned-up sleeves of his T-shirt, a vast expanse of black across which faux bloodstains marred the stencil GET UP.*

I make occasional references to the size of this guy because, like the left-handed MC, his physique has effects on his daily interactions with the world.

--

A female knight commander:

*Tall and tough with a tangled black pixie cut and a muscular neck, she was an immense presence. Her face was honest and athletic; her nose, tan and freckled, had been badly broken and never set. But what she lacked in cheesecake she compensated for with a striking sexual power: earthy, hungry, rough-and-tumble. Carter liked her on sight.*

--

The MC meets the Faerie:

*Jarrod forgot most of their names when a young Faerie woman, mind-shatteringly beautiful and smelling for all the world like fruit punch Jolly Ranchers, hugged him to her and kissed his cheek.

“Welcome,” she said. “Call me Karra.”

Her eyes were mostly blue and her hair was mostly blonde, because she had braided the dark stripes into wiry dreadlocks with feathers tied at the ends. The result was both wild and delicate, a dangerous feral creature suspended in that moment where young women are softly, breathtakingly beautiful.*

--

The chief badguy is *a jumble of blue-black hair over dark skin rippling with muscle and entirely scarified with patterns and symbols.*

And when the MC meets him, we get their takes on each other:

*Ulo sidled up to Jarrod. His voice was deeper and slower than Jarrod expected, monotone and calm, with a haunting subtone that reminded Jarrod of Tuvan throat singing. Definitely going for the spooky evil wizard shtick, Jarrod noted.

Ulo’s first words were, “I thought you’d be bigger.”

Jarrod looked down and shrugged. “This was the only size they had left.”

“I trust you’ll join me at my table.”

Looking into the hood, Jarrod could just make out the dark features, high cheekbones, and shrouded, electric blue eyes. Ulo looked Native American, shamanistic. And a little bit nuts. Okay, yeah. He’s terrifying.

The sword on his belt had a ring below the crossbar for his finger; a trigger for surgical precision. The handguard was a simple bar in the shape of a D. The sword rode in a silver-inlaid scabbard with black jewels. “They let you in here with that sword?” Jarrod asked.

“You don’t trust me.”

“Right,” said Jarrod, motioning toward the door. “Walk ahead of us.”*

--

So, the interactions sometimes serve as a filter. 

The princess is *a blonde woman in white lace and far too many jewels* later described as having *azure, trusting eyes and a smile like warm cocoa* when the MC finally sees her up close.

Also, *Her voice was all projection and patient warmth, with the slow sweetness of caramel.* I try to capture this in her speech patterns, as well; the dialogue I write for her I always read aloud to make sure it sounds right when spoken slowly. (I do the same with the antagonist and his intimidating spooky voice.)

But other than a moment when the MC locks eyes with the princess, *a moment as awakening and sweat-inspiring as stepping on a rake*, I don't describe her again. I really just go for one good paragraph per character -- and adverbs be damned -- and then leave the rest up to you.

Anyway, I hope this helps.


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## skip.knox (May 16, 2016)

As Malik said, appearance has very little to do with plot; the influence is really in the other direction. I know there are writers who like to have a very clear picture of their MC (at least) before beginning, but that ain't me.

My characters tend to be malleable in their appearance. I do usually get their age about right, because choices about age drive much else. If they have something remarkable physically, that tends to stay put. Gender rarely changes. But much of the rest changes around as the story develops--hair color, height, weight, handedness. Also changeable are major aspects of dress, for I might change the individual's tribe or city. Patterns of dress are fairly significant in my world.

Any time I think of how appearance can change as one writes a character, the Summoner Geeks bit (courtesy of the Dead Alewives) always comes to mind. Just Google it for a chuckle.

At the other extreme is Mike Hammer. Mickey Spillane deliberately never describes his main character. I heard him give an interview in which he said he did this so the reader would always imagine himself (I don't think Spillane ever thought women would read his books) in the role of the hero.


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## Malik (May 16, 2016)

One more: I personally think that the best image I've yet written is when one of the MC's meets a traveling wizard in a coffee shop. 

*Carter eyed Crius up and down clinically, then guessed. “Chris Cornell stars as the moody young Gascon?”*


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## Miskatonic (May 17, 2016)

6'2, 200+lbs, dark gray hair, amber eyes. Looks like a man in his mid 30's.


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## Chessie (May 17, 2016)

Maybe looks aren't important to the plot but they do make up the character as a whole. We're always told to make our characters more relatable, have them be real people. Well, real people look like...someone, right? 

So while I may not describe my characters beyond a few sentences or a paragraph, I see them in my head as I write and knowing what they look like helps me relate their mannerisms to the readers. And those mannerisms give readers a sensation of who that character is.


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## Miskatonic (May 18, 2016)

If you're hulking barbarian that looks like you can kill a hundred men without breaking a sweat, with a reputation to boot, it may cause people to come to you to take care of a problem. I'd say that has an effect on the plot. It's influencing another character's decision to interact with you.


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## glutton (May 18, 2016)

Miskatonic said:


> If you're hulking barbarian that looks like you can kill a hundred men without breaking a sweat, with a reputation to boot, it may cause people to come to you to take care of a problem. I'd say that has an effect on the plot. It's influencing another character's decision to interact with you.



Or if you can't get anyone in your social class to date you because you're a young noblewoman, but are built like a tank and covered in scars since your hobby since you were a kid was hunting monsters lol.


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## Darkfantasy (Jun 2, 2016)

I have no idea. I know she's female. Between the ages of 19 and 24. Black-skinned But other than that I don't work on what she looks like because me my book appearance is really irrelevant. Blonde hair isn't going to save her arse. I worked more on her flaws, goals, passions and ambitions. Her desire to solve a mystery.

But we all have a distinct look. Something that makes us stand out. So I focus on those things. My main character is black skinned and that is a HUGE privilege in my world.


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## skip.knox (Jun 2, 2016)

Character appearance is not usually important to the plot. Agreed. Then this happened.

I have a story about an ogre and a sprite who accidentally steal an island. It's a good story, novelette length, and I am going to self-publish. I am hiring an artist company and am in discussion right now. They wanted to know what the sprite looks like. In truth, I barely describing him, but the company wants to know what color are his wings, what does he wear, skin color, size and build, distinguishing marks, even what weapon he favors.

Yeesh!

So, keep that in mind. One day you may publish, and some wretched artist somewhere is going to ask you some awkwardly pointed questions.


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## CupofJoe (Jun 3, 2016)

I think visually so I have a very good idea what my MCs look like. Hair colour, build etc... 
I will come across an image somewhere,sometime the whole person, more often than not a face, occaisionally just a part of a face. I store those images away [in one big pit of images - that are deliberately not storted] for use later. 
When I come to a story I start assembling the characters in my head and usually a memory of a saved image comes to to the front as being exactly what I need.
For one recent MC, the character's image is the eyes of The Stranger [Clint Eastwood] in High Plains Drifter. That's it just those thin half closed sharp eyes taking in everything...


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## Miskatonic (Jun 3, 2016)

CupofJoe said:


> I think visually so I have a very good idea what my MCs look like. Hair colour, build etc...
> I will come across an image somewhere,sometime the whole person, more often than not a face, occaisionally just a part of a face. I store those images away [in one big pit of images - that are deliberately not storted] for use later.
> When I come to a story I start assembling the characters in my head and usually a memory of a saved image comes to to the front as being exactly what I need.
> For one recent MC, the character's image is the eyes of The Stranger [Clint Eastwood] in High Plains Drifter. That's it just those thin half closed sharp eyes taking in everything...



Clint Eastwood during his spaghetti western days is also a big influence on my MC. The man with no name, etc.


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## CupofJoe (Jun 3, 2016)

Miskatonic said:


> Clint Eastwood during his spaghetti western days is also a big influence on my MC. The man with no name, etc.


I wanted that attitude and [implied] world view even though I didn't want my MC to look like CE.
[I did have a character say 'You've gotta ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk? 
' but that was a deliberate quote/in-joke]


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## Miskatonic (Jun 3, 2016)

CupofJoe said:


> I wanted that attitude and [implied] world view even though I didn't want my MC to look like CE.
> [I did have a character say 'You've gotta ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?
> ' but that was a deliberate quote/in-joke]



Same. That kind of presence and confidence, as well as the ability to show compassion at times and then be completely ruthless the next is what makes that type of character interesting. My MC is close to a thousand years old so the years would have a tempering effect that might very well produce that type of outlook on life.


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## glutton (Jun 3, 2016)

Miskatonic said:


> Same. That kind of presence and confidence, as well as the ability to show compassion at times and then be completely ruthless the next is what makes that type of character interesting. My MC is close to a thousand years old so the years would have a tempering effect that might very well produce that type of outlook on life.



My MC is a jaded old warrior at 27 - she's been fighting big monsters since she was a young teen - and tries to act mysterious around strangers at times, so she has some of that aura... but being 'fun sized' and chubby isn't the best for that type of presence lol.

Hey, what can you do if you're powered by protein overconsumption as she claims...


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## TWErvin2 (Jun 3, 2016)

I think it's important to give the reader some ideas of character looks/appearance, etc., but to let them create it on their own.

From my descriptions to the artist who did the cover art for my novels, this is what my main character ended up appearing like...with the first, the hair length isn't quite as long as I imagined (See Krish...aka Flank Haw, the man with the spear)...but remember, cover art isn't meant to be an exact rendering:








For my SF series, with the same artist, I think she was very close to how I had imagined via my description. Maybe a little differently shaped nose, but build and such, pretty much on target.


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## Holoman (Jun 4, 2016)

I give absolutely no description of my MC. I imagine that he looks a bit like Gerard Butler, but I'm leaving it up to the reader to decide what he looks like. All they know is he's 27 years old.

For my other characters I have a clear picture in my mind of them. Usually they are based loosely on real people, sometimes actors/actresses with different features added. Other times I know the general physique of them but don't really imagine a face.


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## BrainMatter (Jun 4, 2016)

MC1 - Piscao Te'Lop (race-Siahmin) in his Normal Form. Standing at 6'10", 400lbs, with black beaded scales, trunks for arms and legs, a long tail and golden eyes. 
War Form same as normal except adding on Brilliantly white Plates, spikes, and armor. Imagine a everyday lizard gaining the armor from a triceratops/ ankylosaurus /stegosaurus. 
Nechmin Form standing at 6' with dark brown smooth skin, gold eyes, brilliantly white hair on his head and eyebrows. 

MC2- Jayden Moon (Race Nechmin) Extremely pale skin, almost as white as snow, Long Golden hair, and Silver eyes. Standing about 5'8", Thin with medium sized breasts and no butt

MC3- Stupid (real name- Stuella Pidinskie) (Race Elmin) Light green skin, Bright almond shaped Blue eyes and short red hair. Standing at 5'5", heavier set, small handful breasts, and pear shaped body.

MC4- Dra'Et Malai (Race Dyimin) Dark Brown skin, but due to being heavily tattooed  looks almost black, No hair at all, a long scar running from above left ear to under his right chin. one eyes is Silver the other is Brown. Standing around 5'9", well built for his height.


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## AveryPierce (Jun 4, 2016)

My MC is of medium height, 19 yrs young, small-framed but toned(she once trained under an acrobat so think dancer's body). She's got chestnut brown hair, bronze/tan skin, dark grey eyes and a bit of freckles cover her face. These things add charm to her otherwise average face. She has exotic features and a nice silhouette, but she's below average in the "assets" department.

I'm already in chapter 4 and I haven't described her features yet. since she's my POV, I probably won't. We'll see. Right now how she looks is less important to the plot than it is to me being able to picture her and write her authentically.


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## Reilith (Jun 4, 2016)

I have a big weakness for tall, slim, pale, long and black-haired men. So usually at least one of my MC's is gonna fit the type. I also like characters that leave impact - so depending on the theme, and where the character's from, it's going to affect their looks.
In my current WIP I have around 4 protagonists, two main and two side protagonists (if that makes sense) - two Elven-type men and one Human male and one Human female.
One of the Elves is the tall, black haired guy, with elongated but angular features and pale green eyes; the other Elf is more plump in the face as he is younger, and has brown eyes and light brown hair, and is also tall. The Human male has brownish blond hair, blue eyes I believe and kind of softer features, and is of medium height and small frame (he is sort of the bookworm type). The Human female is the brawler of the group - the tallest of them, with brownish hair, pale eyes, very athletic and muscular.

I love to describe my characters, but I am trying to edit myself as I go, because a few details here and there are usually enough for the reader to paint their own picture with your guidelines.


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## JCFarnham (Jun 4, 2016)

Catherine is very much your typical "bean pole". Tall, thin, almost to a fault, not overly malnourished but doesn't necessarily look after herself, with very subtle curves. 

Aside from that I have very few specific details. She's a first person pov and doesn't tend to describe herself, or others, in too much detail. She's also quite fond of making one maybe two stand out observation(s) about a person and leaving it at that. Potato headed thug. Cross between a rubbish stage magician and Gomez Addams. That sort of thing... You get the picture.


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## Thokk Nightshade (Jun 6, 2016)

I am visual when I write. I picture what a person/place/item looks like and then try to describe it as if I were talking to a sketch artist..  I want to be able to draw a picture with words so anyone reading it can picture the characters.

I have noticed two seperate thoughts on this topic within the thread. Some people want to give the reader the information and some who want to leave it to the reader to draw that picture him/herself.  

To me, either is acceptable and is personal choice. However, I am interested in WHY you chose one over the other.  Why did you limit the information to just age and gender?  Or why did you decide to explain the scar on his right forearm was from an anthromorphic panda bear attack when you were 6 years old visiting your uncle the sorcerer, along with his/her height, weight, facial features, body type, sandal size, etc.?


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## Malik (Jun 8, 2016)

If you give the reader too much information, then eventually the reader's mental image of the MC will clash with your description. No one likes to be wrong, or to feel misled.

You can also describe people without describing them. No, seriously. 

I once read a description -- I've posted it in these forums before, so forgive me for reposting --

*"He was the kind of man you'd expect to see standing alone in the middle of a wrecked biker bar, calmly sipping a beer as the sirens grow louder." *

No height, no weight, no hair color, no clothing description. But I can see this guy as clearly as if you'd drawn him with five pages of exposition. That's writing, dammit. That's fine writing.


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## Trick (Jun 8, 2016)

My MC is short, by RW standards, but about average for his race (maybe 5'6" at best). He has black hair, green eyes and he's very pale. He's thin but wiry, think martial artist/gymnast. 

I don't do too much actual describing other than colors and basic build in the book. For some reason, colors are important to me as a reader. If a character has tan skin, dark brown skin, or green skin, or milky white skin - I want to know right away because I hate to form an image and then have it dashed to pieces later. Same goes for eye and hair color. I've recently read a book where I pictured the character as dark-skinned, based on environmental factors, and the description finally given was of pale skin - totally disconnected me from the book. 

I like to leave actual features to the imagination. 

At a point in the book, my MC starts getting tattoos - those are important so they get descriptions plus a clearly indicated body location. 

His looks are important because he is a member of a race that looks the way they do due to a history of enslavement and being forced to live at night. They are generally malnourished and he starts that way (he's 7 at the beginning) but has plenty of money later (as a mob-employed thief). His tattoos are important because they directly relate to the magic in the world and what they look like is sort of the point of making the magic work.


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## Miskatonic (Jun 9, 2016)

Malik said:


> If you give the reader too much information, then eventually the reader's mental image of the MC will clash with your description. No one likes to be wrong, or to feel misled.
> 
> You can also describe people without describing them. No, seriously.
> 
> ...



All very true. You can tell a lot about a person just from their mannerisms, what they can and can't do physically, etc.


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## Lunaairis (Jun 10, 2016)

I wanted to add to this thread sooner but I was super busy.

Turns out there is only one scene in which I describe my main character, Erin Quinn. Normally I do most of the describing through actions. Like playing with a lock of dark hair, or noticing how vibrant someone's eyes are.

So here it is.
(PS. On phone and auto correct  likes to act up  )


Detective Erin Quinn was dressed in a black suit with dark leather shoes and a red tie, that had been finely pressed that morning, although it didn't look like it when she walked into the station house six to sign out for the day.  She smelled of the musky rotten scent  of dragon shit, a scent she never wanted to smell again. Her legs slunk with each step and her clothes clinged  to her skin thanks to a fine layer of sweat, from climbing skyscrapers all day.  She wanted a glass of rum on ice and a warm bath and for this day to be done already.


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## Jerseydevil (Jun 10, 2016)

In the heroic fantasy, Rawl is tall (6 feet or so), lanky, and has olive skin, mid twenties. He has a constant exasperated expression after dealing with the psychotic secondary character Bora. 

In my Urban fantasy, William, is tall (6'4") and heavily built (240 lbs, mostly muscle), late twenties. He has pale skin, light brown hair, and brown eyes. His overall appearance is average. Not handsome, but not ugly either. One character describes him as looking like an accountant that spends too much time in the gym under normal circumstances. When angry, he looks like a serial killer.


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