asparklerwhowrites:

describing appearances without making it too weird

You want to describe your characters in the by-the-way, but somehow, you can’t seem to nail it, and it seems out of place. here’s a couple of tricks to help you out!

#1. Tie in descriptions with backstory and character

A steady rule to follow is - two lines of description, one line of inference. What this means is, that after your character has been described (for example, a girl with red hair and freckles) then you follow up with an inference your character makes about the character being described (for example, that the red-haired girl is from Europe, and that she’s fairly young in age) This way, the description doesn’t get monotonous, and we get inner dialogue!

#2. Use figurative language

Don’t go overboard with “her blue orbs rolled backwards into her skull” - but a few metaphors and similes never hurt anyone. It can help your description go deeper, and try to make interesting metaphors, rather than old, overused cliché ones like “her blonde hair shone like the sun” but rather, “her honeycomb-gold hair was tucked into a bun” (it’s 2am so excuse my bad examples)

#3. Talk about facial expressions

Facial expression show a lot about a character! Are their eyes twinkling, or somber? Are there eyebrows relaxed or knitted tightly in tension? Are they smiling or chewing on their lip in nervousness? What is something about their facial expressions that immediately catches the eye of your reader? Does their smile reach their eyes? There are a lot of little details you can incorporate along with regular description.

#4. Use body language effectively

Are they standing with their arms crossed, defiant? Or are they meekly smiling? Or do they have a forced smile as their hands are curled into fists with rage? Body langauge and facial expressions go hand in hand - use them well!

#5. Try to talk about a single unique feature about your character that will help your readers remember and differentiate them.

Do they have a coloured streak in their hair? Coloured lenses? Or dimples when they smile? Continually reference this one aspect of their appearance to help solidify this character’s appearance in the mind of the reader. Maybe have the POV character call them “pink-haired girl” until they learn their name. That way, the character can easily imagine them with this definable trait and keep track of the different character!