5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Character Descriptions
Do you dread writing character descriptions? Do you find yourself relying on generic words like beautiful or handsome? Have you ever put [insert great description here] in your first draft, hoping that your Future Self will have a revelation? We've all been there. Here are five easy ways to improve your character descriptions.
Tip #1: Choose Descriptive Details that Reveal Your Character’s Personality
Above: Jennifer Lawrence in the film adaptation of Winter’s Bone. Image courtesy of Roadside Attractions
A good description goes deeper than a character’s outward appearance: It also gives us a glimpse into their personality. Here’s an example of the opening scene from Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell. But there’s a twist. We’ve edited out all the “personality” details from Woodrell’s description of his protagonist:
“Ree, brunette and sixteen, with milk skin and abrupt green eyes, stood bare-armed in a fluttering yellowed dress. She stood tall in combat boots, scarce at the waist but plenty through the arms and shoulders.”
Pretty good, right? Beautiful language: Check! Details about her appearance: Check! But who is this 16-year-old with abrupt green eyes? What’s her presence like? Here’s how Woodrell actually introduces us to Ree. Personality details have been bolded for emphasis:
“Ree, brunette and sixteen, with milk skin and abrupt green eyes, stood bare-armed in a fluttering yellowed dress, face to the wind, her cheeks reddening as if smacked and smacked again. She stood tall in combat boots, scarce at the waist but plenty through the arms and shoulders, a body made for loping after needs.”
What do these details tells us? She’s defiant (“face to the wind”), despite her hard life (“cheeks reddening as if smacked”). She’s a caretaker (“loping after needs”). See how much stronger this is? With just two lines, we get a peek into who she is.
Tip #2: Use the Five Senses
We are often encouraged to use the five senses to describe a scene, but it’s easy to forget that we can apply that to people, too. Try asking yourself these questions:
Sound: What does your character’s voice sound like?
Scent: What do they smell like? Do they use a certain deodorant, perfume, or essential oil?
Touch: What do your character’s hands feel like — rough or smooth? Are their clothes silky and soft or handwoven and coarse?
Taste: This is probably only relevant if you’re describing a love interest. (Or a vampire situation.)
Sight: Go beyond the basics, and use visual details to create an entire presence. Think of Ree’s description, above. When your character walks into a room, what do people see? A defiant, strong caretaker? A rebel without a cause? A quirky artist?
An illustration of The Raven Boys by author/artist Maggie Stiefvater.
Tip #3: Repeat Key Details
When your novel has a lot of characters, it can be hard for readers to tell them apart. In the craft book Save the Cat, Blake Snyder offers a solution: Repeat a key descriptive “hook” for your side characters. Let’s look at this scene from The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, when our narrator meets three new characters:
“Three boys sat at (the booth): one was smudgy … with a rumpled, faded look about his person, like his body had been laundered too many times. The one who'd hit the light was handsome and his head was shaved; a soldier in a war where the enemy was everyone else. And the third was — elegant.”
This excerpt is not filled with facts about each boy’s eye color, build, height. Instead, it comes at the characters sideways, obliquely. Stiefvater uses metaphors which serve two purposes: a visual depiction of the character as well as — you got it — a glimpse into their personality. Then, as the series unfolds, she uses descriptive hooks that echo these metaphors. Look at how the three boys are reintroduced to us in the sequel, The Dream Thieves:
“Adam Parrish, gaunt and fair; Noah Czerny, smudgy and slouching; and Ronan Lynch, ferocious and dark.”
Smudgy. Ferocious/warlike. Elegant/fair. These visual tags repeat, like a musical refrain, whenever we need to remember what the character looks like and who they are.
Tip #4: Pretend You’re a Forensic Sketch Artist
Maybe you’ve seen this Dove commercial. A forensic sketch artist sits behind a curtain, unable to see the women he’s drawing. Instead, he asks questions: What do their chins look like? Their hair? Their eyes? When he’s finished with the first set of drawings, another person describes the same women. By the time the artist is done, he has two portraits for each woman: what she thinks she looks like, versus how she looks to others. Almost all of the women are shocked by the disparity.
If you’re writing a novel that features multiple narrators, you have the opportunity to be that forensic sketch artist. You can create two portraits of your characters: how they see themselves and how the other narrators see them. Ask yourself : How does your character’s self-image compare to how others perceive them? How is that image reinforced or challenged during their journey?
Tip #5: Practice
Take note of descriptions from your favorite novels. Swap manuscripts with your writing partner, and ask them where they would like to see more description in your manuscript. Explore descriptive techniques through side-writing and free-writing exercises. Soon, you’ll stop dreading descriptions — you may even grow to love writing them!
Remember, our team is always here to partner with you in your writing and editing journey. Explore our services to find out more about how we can help. We can’t wait to see how you bring your characters to life.
Emily Young loves talking about character. Contact her today for a free, 15-minute consultation! .