Describing Your Main Character (Writing Advice)

WHAT should you describe about your protagonist? HOW can you describe these things better? Find out in this video.

0:00 Intro
1:05 WHAT to Describe
3:41 HOW to Describe
6:11 HUNGER GAMES Example
7:58 CARRIE Example
9:50 Recap
10:19 Outro

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Credit to SkyDilen for my video intro.

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[moshecallen]

One thing I try to balance is providing details but limiting them to what my POV character would perceive and using words consistent with that character's voice.

[varanid]

#1 thing I hate about character descriptions of their physical attributes is when the author doesn't give them until several paragraphs AFTER you've already formed a subconscious picture totally at odds with what the author finally reveals.

[PuppetMaster-Blade]

How i describe my characters in certain scenes is through dialog, "I was expecting a more.. louder personality" may be a way to describe your main characters voice, just an example. Its a 1st person present tense Horror/Fantasy, so i wanted a way of describing the character without it being the typical "I glanced upon the mirror" approach. I also describe my character through how the word interacts with him, "My beard dampens in the morning mist" or something along those lines.

For a unique/specific detail about my main character is his injury burns along his body, not burn marks from a fire, but burn marks from something else within the world.

[NaDa-kwfu]

I've read a lot about character description over the last 12 months.
Mainly too much Vs too little. Reader demography and genera of the book have something to with do that as well. Female readers tend to want more description, especially on how the character is dressed. This is often strong indicator of the personality of the character being described. Guys don't need (or don't pick up on) this 'visual' queue so much and tend to judge the personality of the character by their actions and the 'tone' of their character voice.
These are obviously generalities and a bit of hand waving on my part but it is an observation I've made after reading a lot of comments by other authors who struggle with character description.
Dribbling out description over too long a period (some chapters) has the danger of the reader forming a picture of your hero in their mind's eye early in the story and then you come in and throw that mental image out the window with something left field.
I've taken the approach of thinking about what is plot relevant and what's not.
The specific clothing worn and eye colour are very relevant in my story but I've only mentioned his hair being tied up in a pony tail to keep it out of his eyes. The hair colour is just not mentioned at all.
Keep the videos coming Brandon - great topics and good listening.

[shmeebs]

A way I found to get around the main character just describing himself (first person POV) was to have him describe his father who happened to appear in the first chapter. He described him and noted the things they had in common and where they differed.

[ellennewth]

Rather than give a description of my female protagonist, my male lead (who grew up in the 1920s) says she resembles Mabel Normand (his favorite actress); "Same long wavy dark hair and big brown eyes." It is one of the reasons he is attracted to her. (For readers who aren't familiar with Miss Normand - there's always the Internet!!!) :)

[stevensandersauthor]

I appreciate when you use story examples that were both novels and movies like in this video.

[WriterBrandonMcNulty]

What is one specific detail about the main character in your WIP? Let us know!

[lopeztheheavy]

Lot's of great input here, Brandon. Great examples from Hunger Games and Carrie as well.

Personally, I like to take somewhat of a Shakespearean approach to character descriptions. Shakespeare often does not get into the details of what a character looks like and there's some great value to that. It allows the reader liberty to imagine the character for themselves and even allows for a greater variety of people, race included, to depict the character.

Unless there are features that are key for the story or expressing a character's personality, I'd say to keep the descriptions to a minimum and when you do describe them, describe them in action, or in emotion, or in their effect on other people.

"Gathering up his flowing blonde hair into a casual ponytail, he laced up his trainers and slipped on a snug tank top."
"Their eyes locked, her piercing eyes gazing into his soul."
"His eyes traced every delicate detail on her face, each freckle receiving his rapt attention."

Character descriptions are less about imagining exactly what the character looks like and more about expressing the character by their demeanor, preferences, and how they're perceived by others. Instead of piecing together a mental photo of the character they're now brought to life by emphasizing the character's personality.

There's also a case to be made here about the modern dialogue about racial diversity in stories. Personally, I'm not a fan of changing a character's race just for the sake of diversity, but as long as the core of character shines through, it doesn't matter what race they are. Of course, there are exceptions to this. Cultural folklore or myths—Lord of the Rings vs. Arabian Nights. Regional stories—unless the story is about a stranger in a strange land or about being a minority, your average character in Finland is going to differ from your average character in Kenya. Historical stories—The Revolutionary War vs. The Battle of Red Cliffs. And then of course, stories that explore racial and minority issues.

Ask yourself the question, "How important is it for this character to have X feature? How is that feature relevant to the story? What does that feature express to the audience?" For me, often it comes down to is personal preference. I'm attracted to red hair, green eyes, and a heart-shaped face so I'm more likely to use those traits in describing an attractive woman. Then there's how that feature is stylized. I have a character whose hair is shaved on one side, loose on the other, and the excess pulled into a top know—a clear depiction that the character leans toward a punkish attitude. Are the features consistent with the character's role or day job? A corporate executive is more likely to be well groomed. A retired drill sergeant is more likely to have close cropped hair and mechanical movements. Etc.

At the end of the day, character descriptions should be leveraged to enhance the character's persona and personality instead of providing their literal appearance.

[mattcavanaugh]

Prematurely gray side burns, indicative of many things. (Regarding The Hunger Games, I was greatly impressed by how Collins painted vivid scenes, revealed characters, and introduced an entire alternate world, with such parsimony!)

[PresidentHotdog]

It bothers me more than it should, that Catpiss puts her boots on before her trousers.

[ThatsJustMyBabyDaddy]

Never thought to include tension in my description. Genius!

[damianstarks]

Well I’m working on my main guy and he’s a young-ish 20’s noble that’s got little to no real chance of becoming king he’s got brothers and a sister, he is ambushed well backstabbed by his brothers who want to get rid of him for multiple reasons, he winds up being attacked by a decent sized wolf pack and the pack leader who by all rites should have been replaced years ago, so he fights the pack managing to survive with claw marks on his back and running down his right side of his face as well as a bite from the pack leader that he dew to adrenaline and being somewhat trained in combat which he wound up paying more attention to then his other siblings, he kills off this larger aged wolf. The night after the fight he has this horrifying nightmare were he is in a field and surrounded by millions if not billions of large black wolves and the only thing he can do is fight he is surrounded. After a while it’s day time and he’s seems closer to the castle he and his brothers left by carriage. As he’s getting closer he starts to notice there’s this odd and horrible taste in his mouth he try’s to get it out but all that dose is red blood though he doesn’t feel any pooling in his mouth must be something else’s or someone else’s…later on the sight of wolves terrify him bringing back the memories of his fight for survival against the wolf pack and his subsequent recurring nightmares were he wakes with the taste of stale copper. After a while he puts two and two together and figures out his situation and then realizing that he personifies the very apex of his deepest fear and he loathes and damn near hates himself fo causing such horrific fear and judging from what he tastes in the mornings deaths. That’s something I’ve got in my brain box also he becomes a really good cook to make the taste be a bad morning brevity.

[Manda_Kat]

My main character wears his hair super short and ragged- cut haphazardly- just to keep it out of the way, but every time he sees it he regrets cutting it, remembering that his mother loved how soft and lovely his hair was when he wore it long.

[junrobin]

The character from my current writing project is someone who is alienated from themselves and their looks. The prologue itself describes how they are stuck in the past and mental health problems. While the first chapter shows a change in their situation and the first time they see themselves in centuries. And they don't recognize the person in the mirror. It doesn't make them feel any particular way because as established in the prologue what is and isn't, is of no importance. What he prefers and shows in the first chapter is being an efficient tool. So he changes his appearance to match the expectation he has of himself.

I think I used some common tropes in the writing business. But I personally felt that it would help to give people an idea of who he is as a person. Someone stuck in the past, with ptsd and flashbacks who only values perfection and efficiency and has no specific sense of self or a moral compass.

I am still thinking on the build up and the reactions of those around him. And I think personally people would freak out if someone has entirely stopped feeling and doesn't express anything unless they're suddenly triggered and do something unexpected. And mostly I wanted to try and figure out how to write a character that comes over as unfeeling while in reality they just bottle everything up because they've given up on themselves and the world.

I am also thinking of toying with the pacing itself because how you read it can say a lot about the character's perception of the events too. I am even thinking of making specifically odd dialogue because the MC doesn't remember the last human interaction they had and they just go in blind.

[claudiag]

That was, once again, very, very helpful! Thank you

[titanblade]

4:59 I agree. For me, I give few details at a time. I start with the noticeable ones for readers to remember (hair, hair style, eye color) then overtime I drop more description in bits and pieces. I treat character description as a discovery in a way

[BidwellRunner]

As an aspiring indie writer who wants to release ebooks, my go to for description is to draw a picture.

[ParticleBomb]

It is the dawn of technology in my fantasy story and the main character wears goggles with jade colored lens that match her eyes, white boots with black stains, and the majority of the time she carries a scent with a mixture of brass and oil. During her trip to school, she carries two books, one about machines and the other whatever hot new romance novel happens to be popular that week. She likes to work with machines and yearns for a love out of her reach.

[keithprice]

I love your point about what the POV character notices tells us a lot about that character. As much as I loved Robert Jordan (my favorite author of all time -- until Sanderson took that spot in my heart), it drove me crazy that Jordan spent so much time detailing the clothing people were wearing when the POV character wouldn't have noticed those details at all.