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Describing characters

How much detail should you go into to describe other characters if they are minor. It seems like every character my MC meets that is minor I just describe them as a grey haired woman or a scraggly bearded man.

It seems I just describe their hair and that's it. If you were reading my novel would you like or dislike this? D&should I leave it more open to you or not even go into detail? Again this is for minor characters who play a very small role.
 

Nebuchadnezzar

Troubadour
Not a problem. One of the best pieces of writing advice I ever got was from a Tony Hillerman interview where he explained that he doesn't even describe his main characters, so that readers can build their own picture of them in their mind. If he can't even be bothered to describe his MCs, how much should you sweat the secondary characters?

Lately I've been taking a page from the John Norman school of writing and describing my secondary characters as just "a man", "someone", or (much description here) "the courier with the mustache." I personally like how it reads and I don't sense that it detracts from the story at all. Of course I would say that since I'm the writer...
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
I also prefer that characters, including main characters, not get much description. I don't describe mine very much at all.
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
I'm in the same camp as the others so far. Minimal description allows the reader to be an active participant in the story. They get to fill in the details by drawing on their own experiences. I believe this aids in immersion.

For the most part, I will provide one or two (rarely three) descriptive details...hair color, eyes, nose, skin tone, facial hair, height, lips, potbelly...whatever I feel is a prominent detail about that characters appearance... What would someone notice about them first?

By providing few descriptive details, I'm hoping the reader will take the tall, hard man with a potbelly and color in the rest, forming a character which yields an increased understanding & connection.
 

The Unseemly

Troubadour
I personally think that adding the needed amount of description is appropriate. If there's a need for a particular characteristic to be shown, then by all means, don't restrict yourself and go for it. Specific descriptions can also give an overall idea of who a character is, sort of like T.Allen.Smith said. If I say, this particular character has red eyes and wears skulls and lives in a tower, you already get a feeling of who this person is, but if describing this isn't necessary, then don't do it. Immerse the reader in the writing. Keep the balance.
 

Nihal

Vala
I actually like descriptions, hah!

Anyway, why don't you describe their actions instead of only the generic appearance? The old man limped, the grey-haired woman had the habit of cleaning her hands on her clothing. From time to time give them a perk/quirck and describe a little of their behaviour. Gestures speak a lot about someone. The place they are - if owned by them -, the state of their belongings will also speak about what kind of person they are.
 

BWFoster78

Myth Weaver
How much detail should you go into to describe other characters if they are minor. It seems like every character my MC meets that is minor I just describe them as a grey haired woman or a scraggly bearded man.

It seems I just describe their hair and that's it. If you were reading my novel would you like or dislike this? D&should I leave it more open to you or not even go into detail? Again this is for minor characters who play a very small role.

Androxine Vortex,

You may have noticed from the answers on this thread and many others that, when you ask such a question, you get varied opinions. Truthfully, it's kinda impossible to answer "how much detail should you go into" without the answer to the following question:

What are you trying to achieve with your writing?

It seems to me that every decision you make as a writer hinges on the answer.
 

Ayaka Di'rutia

Troubadour
I personally like to describe my MC's in a lot of detail (but not purple prose). Minor characters, however, I give enough description that the reader gets a general idea of what they look like (like body type, height, and hair). I don't do this for all my minor characters, though. It depends on how relevant they are to the MC(s) at the time they meet/see them.
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
It depends. The trick isn't how many details you include, but on making those details interesting and distinctive. You've got a short amount of space to make an impression on readers, so figure out how to use it well.

Fred had short black hair and wore a red shirt.

If that's the kind of detail you would include, leave it out.

His geek friends told him that his short black hair reminded people of what the shrubbery must look like in Mordor. His red t-shirt was tucked in, as if he thought it was a nice sweater.

That kind of description makes an impression on readers and reveals something about the character. I'll note, it's longer than the basic one.
 

Taytortots

Minstrel
I think it's fine how you're doing it.
I personally like to give the reader one distinct thing to recognize a character by. It could be demeanor, appearance, personality, whatever. We'll say 'bright red hair' as an example. It leaves room for a readers interpretation, which is important (as discussed above, I think you shouldn't really overdue describing minor characters)
What it comes down to is a question of style. Your writing is different from everyone elses, do what come naturally and don't worry about it.
 
Minor characters don't need much description, but I think just hair color and clothes don't quite cut it. That kinda gives the impression that everyone looks the same otherwise. I would avoid that, it seems somewhat lazy.

How much detail you go into exactly depends on how much your viewpoint character actually cares about the person in question. If it's just "the man with the beard" or "the fat lady", it means he isn't really paying attention - just categorizing them by their most obvious characteristic. You look at a person and whatever you notice about them first become their main trait in your mind: "That one has a beard" or "that one is black." Etc.

If it's a minor character that the main character is actually paying attention to, I would describe them by their basic appearance, body type, age, and what general impression they give. Basically, anything your viewpoint character can see by a passing glance should be part of the description, even for a character of no great importance, because you want your readers to see the same thing as your MC.

Example: "The doctor was skinny and had to be around seventy years old, but he still had all his hair - grey as iron, neatly combed. At one point in time, he had surely been a handsome man. His slender fingers nervously stroked his clean-shaven chin as his cold blue eyes observed me through a pair of glasses."

There, that tells you everything the character sees right at that moment. But really, even something generic like "tall, dark and handsome" says more than "brown hair and red shirt."
 
A lot of it is the viewpoint character's (or reader's) impressions at the moment, matching the mood and pacing of the story. The more the MC's hurried and the character seems unimportant, the more someone gets glossed over; if the MC has a second to stop and look, one or two things might stand out, probably the things that fit the MC's snap judgment of how that person's going to affect him. (If the MC's in an emergency and needs a strong ally, he'll spot any trembling or weakness in him. If he's a monk in a tavern, a lot of women are going to be mostly "signs of immodesty.") Or if he's sizing up someone important, he can take in more pieces and show his thoughts working out why he reads them one way or another.

(One thing I rarely see is introducing a major character as "some guy" in passing and then giving more details when the MC has reason to take a closer look. :))
 

Addison

Auror
I've found describing a character is actually easier by interaction. Not flat-out description; "Tall, slender with long tangles of brown hair". But by interaction either with another character, with surroundings etc.

But recently I came across an interesting point in a 'print on demand' book. Seers, Demon and Witches I think...I don't have the book with me at the moment. At the end of most chapters there's a little dialogue between the author and possibly editor. In one quip the editor is sniping at the author for not describing the characters. The author answers that, "It's not important to the story whether the character is tall, short, blonde or red haired. It's what they do and how they get from beginning to end."

On the one hand he has a point. Unless the hair is magical, like Rapunzel, its color and texture is as important to the overall plot as the character's hangnail.

On the other, a description of the character gives readers a person to hold in their mind, a visual aid. But if they're seeing the story through the character's eyes, then why know what they look like?
 

Ophiucha

Auror
Things I think are important to mention:
  • family traits (if more than one family member is a character)
  • (fantasy!)race or setting traits (elves have pointed ears; people wear togas everywhere)
  • the character's gender (and if they are trans*, that is worth mentioning tastefully)
  • the character's race (most readers assume it is theirs by default)
  • things that aren't typical of a character's race, gender, or age (e.g. a Japanese man with blue eyes; an old person with no wrinkles or grey hair; a woman with a beard)
  • body modifications (tattoos, piercings, dyed hair if it's an odd colour or an unusual/elaborate haircut like a mohawk or something)
  • missing limbs, large facial scars, clipped noses/ears, etc.
  • things that aren't typical of fictional characters (being overweight and/or unattractive)
  • at least one trait indicative of their hobbies/profession (musculature, callous hands, etc.)
  • on the other hand, ironic appearance quirks (e.g. Hermione having bad teeth with dentists as parents)
  • anything important to the character/scene/story (e.g. Harry has his mother's eyes + the scar + 'looks like his father'; Tyrion Lannister is a dwarf; clothes can be this if they indicate wealth, profession, or the formality of a scene)

Things I don't think are important to mention:
  • hair colour; 99% of the time, it can be assumed or isn't important
  • hair style or cut; for the same reason as hair colour
  • eye colour; for the same reason as hair colour
  • clothing; for the same as reason as hair colour
  • height or weight; I think you're beginning to see a pattern here
  • minor scarring; if your main character's a warrior, of course he'd have battle scars
  • skin colour; race is important, but unless it relates to how much they work in the sunlight (which will depend heavily on your setting), I don't really care if your white character is like alabaster or has a golden tan

Things I think could be important but I'm not sure whether or not to mention:
  • facial hair; I think most people default to assuming male characters don't have facial hair (if it's a female character, see bullet 5 from above), but at the same time, is it really worth mentioning the five o'clock shadow or the scruff beard?
 
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Ireth

Myth Weaver
Things I think could be important but I'm not sure whether or not to mention:
  • facial hair; I think most people default to assuming male characters don't have facial hair (if it's a female character, see bullet 5 from above), but at the same time, is it really worth mentioning the five o'clock shadow or the scruff beard?

I think this one could go either way. It's worth mentioning, IMO, if your character starts the book with a short beard or a five-o'-clock shadow, then goes somewhere that time doesn't work as it does on Earth, and he notices after a week or so with no opportunity for a shave or a trim that his facial hair hasn't grown so much as a millimetre when it otherwise would have. Or maybe it grows faster than it should.
 
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