Write Better Character Descriptions (With Examples!) | Writers Start Here

PS. Sorry for any audio issues!

Are you a new writer who wonders how to write a story? Or simply how to write? Are you a beginner writer who needs a push in the right direction as your write you plan your novel? Are you a practicing writer who just wants some inspiration?

Writers Start Here is a comprehensive series on writing. It's about writing stories, novels, books, fiction, and nonfiction. It breaks down how the greats like Brandon Sanderson or Stephen King or George RR Martin put together their complex stories. While this is the first of the series, Writers Start Here will cover every aspect you've ever been curious about with writing.

BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO:

TIME STAMPS:
Introduction Skit - 00:00
Essay - 02:42
Ugly Love - 04:00
It Ends With Us - 05:28
Ember Blade - 07:05
Ender's Game - 10:00
The Vampire Amand - 12:50
Actionable Takeaways - 14:25

[dcle]

This is why you should go back and revise the description after the first draft since we know the characters much better then.

[lupper]

this is crazy to me, i came to this video not knowing it was about novels but it made me realize why i never read books my whole life. i have really bad ADHD and can't visualize what the author is describing, which makes me lose focus and have to reread the same page over and over again until i get frustrated and give up, so I've always hated books and would never read one willingly. now i'm realizing it's probably because the books i read probably focused on dumbass shit that isn't even relevant like the colour of someone's shoelaces or something, and my brain is wired to discard information that it deems irrelevant THEREFORE i would immediately forget everything i just read or the words wouldn't make any sense, making it incredibly difficult to ingest any story. anyways sorry for that personal rant idek if that made sense to anyone but me. awesome video man the way you describe things is really easy to follow and helped me understand alot :D

[never_stay_pink]

The best advice i ever got on writing descriptions was, “Write what your narrator would not only notice, but take note of.”

When we meet people in real life, the first thing we take into account isn’t their hair color or eye color. It’s the strange things about them: the things that differentiate them. That’s what i like to point out.

[bilbeauxbaggins]

Brother is our generations Madea with these openings

[thesoupofthebrain]

Writing Theory! King of the best openings

[LAL]

I'm just at the start of the vid but I looove the sketch! It shows that descriptions are not just about the character being described, but also the character doing the describing and the relationship between them.

[raina]

Great advice! I always liked when descriptions meant something rather than just described for no real reason.

I like a description from an East of the Sun West of the Moon retelling. At the midpoint, the female character finally finds out what he looks like (no one's allowed to look at him cause of a curse, but she's fallen in love with him and sneaks in with a candle to see who he is). She realizes he’s a dwarf and the description makes sense with the fact that the dwarves live in the mountains, so the nature comparisons aren’t random. And it also fits his personality, the way he speaks it's as if wherever he comes from he's considered attractive, but makes fun of tall people all the time, now it all makes sense.

“His cheekbones were the marbled cliffs of the mountains. His beard brown and warm as the earth. Long lashes fanned out over his cheeks and tumbling curls of dark locks spread across the pillow.” It's a love story, but I liked that we didn't know what the male lead looked like until the midpoint on purpose. The cover of the book is a bear because he's a bear by day, only his true self at night and no one is allowed to see him.
It's also a great way to make people care about what they look like- make the audience wait a long time to know!

[rollierollout]

This is so valuable! I love your point about Peter's character description! "Telling" that deeper understanding of his personality made "showing" all of his later actions so much more clear to the reader.

[bluecannibaleyes]

IMO what the character looks like does matter even if it’s not directly ‘important’ to the plot, because the author is sharing the universe they created. How they imagine their characters to look is a part of that universe. Would you say that how the setting looks is unimportant unless it’s directly plot-related? It’s all part of painting a vivid picture for the reader. Some readers enjoy being immersed in an author’s vision like that.

Of course, how closely the readers need to see the character like the author’s vision of them can vary depending on the genre and the author. I could definitely see how the insert-your-own-description model could work more in romance than in fantasy.

Having just read the entire Vampire Chronicles recently, trust me, Anne Rice goes into just as much detail about their hair and eye colors as she does the clothes. After a couple books, you’ll never forget that Lestat has blond hair and blue eyes or that Armand has auburn hair. And yeah, Marius kind of always dresses like that, so it is almost a part of his character. Only thing that ever really changes is that he actually prefers wearing red. LOL

[JoshKings-trvc]

Literally writing a new story right now. Came in just in time.

[Astra-zpgb]

I think it could be argued (for the last example), that vampires, how they present themselves and unveiling’s are always a constant theme in vampire stories. That description gave the impression it was meant the chapter was wearing luxury clothes therefore it’s an element of his charisma. It might have been written better if the author’s intentions and/or POV were clearer to the reader. Putting the description in the correct context to know why it matters.

[heavymetalelf]

When I started as a teen, I took example from the Vampire Lestat- full rundown in the mirror. I still sort of fall into that if I'm not careful. Thanks for some tips!

[grandpaix]

i always loved ender's game and how acute the descriptions were, from ender's point of view. i remember there being very little fluff in the way things were written. i need to go find a copy.

[jerricabennett]

Ooooh interesting note about the character descriptions being vague in some stories, allowing the reader to attach their own physical traits. Loved this intro! And the Ender's Game voiceover was on point.

[kenward]

Really got a lot out of the advice in this one, thank you.

[ModernDayPoeBoy]

Great video! Will certainly be using this series going forward to aid in my writing. I really appreciate the analysis and what types of descriptions matter in a novel as well as mentioning the genre/style of novel helps to determine what type of description matters most. Also really enjoyed that opening skit. Hope that kid gets some good deodorant soon!

[Toasty_Britches]

Yeah physical descriptions always bug me for the reason you mention: you should only mention them if they're important. But there's a little extra piece that stems from that that I think so many people are unintentionally disregarding. Physical descriptors of characters that show a deliberate choice of that character. How did they do their hair? What clothes did they pick (or settle with)? How do they cover up or emphasise their features? These can easily be disregarded as irrelevant from a superficial perspective but can be an overlooked tool.

[radicallyindepedentauthor]

That first description sounds like it's meant to tell us more than what the person looked like. He was nice-looking and disposable. I'm guessing he's not the love interest.

[bakhshishsingh]

Laud and clear lesson. Thank you -Subscribed

[Red-in-Green]

Most of my characters have kind of subtle descriptions, except their eyes (which matter). Then there’s Lezzeren. His physical appearance defines and separates him from everyone else, (The fastest way to non-diegeticly describe him is Blue Teifling with Scales) so it matters. I decided to do it over the course of three chapters in bits and pieces, first as a literal silhouette, then mentioning the things about him that he doesn’t like from his perspective while getting dressed, then face on from another character’s perspective.

I also have physical reminders for him throughout, like how he rubs his horns when (awkward) nervous or wraps his tail around his chest when scared or upset. His physical appearance wasn’t too hard to get in the end just because, as a source of anxiety, it’s something he pays attention to.