Write On! :: When an attractive person walks onto the stage, the first thing I notice is his/her:

Good article. Thanks for posting it. I was glad to read it, to find out someone has got something to say on this topic, on characterization.

I was confused myself at first. I didn't know how much to write about a character. Should I write a paragraph, a line, a page, a book, a whole encyclopedia britanica? I mean, there is no end. What are the parameters of a character description?

But thanks to you, I now know. Three things and that's it. Roughly speaking, of course. But nevertheless, a hard number, three. I like that. I am into statistics myself. My philosophy is - if you can't quantify it, it's bad. And if not bad, at least not good. A good description is with three items you say. Yes?

When I was reading your article, dear, I was thinking of Chekhov. He was very good in character descriptions. He always made seemingly superfluous descriptions, which always turned out to be enriching - in some mystical way.

I wish I knew how to write like Chekhov. But hey, maybe I will someday - who knows? Now with your little advice perhaps I can reach new hights in my writing. Oh, it's a clever tip.

By the way, I sensed a spirit of sensousness in your style. Do you enjoy giving alot of attention to detail?

But thanks to you, I now know. Three things and that's it. Roughly speaking, of course. But nevertheless, a hard number, three.

No, a rule of thumb is not a hard answer. A rule of thumb means 'start here and adjust to fit.' A good rule of thumb rarely needs much adjusting, but the option is still there and that is why it is a 'rule of thumb' and not a 'rule.' I personally find that, for the purposes of introducing a character, three details fits very well with little adjusting. You might find that four fits better, and that's fine. You might even find that ten fits your style better; I may not agree, but then writing style is a personal thing.

It also varies with the situation; my WIP starts with a deluge of description - but then the opening scene is a child 'playing pretend' with all the detail of her imaginary world actively in her attention. When most people talk to someone they know already, they don't usually have the looks of the person they're talking to foremost in their minds; the point I was trying to make in this article is that choosing what a person notices about another tells a lot about the person doing the watching - the '3 items' rule of thumb was incidental.

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Who needs to be big and burly when you can just apply physics?
[ Parent ]

As far as descriptions communicating something about the observer, this is only true if the observer is not an omniscient one. Otherwise, if the observer is omniscient, the observer knows how everyone looks from every side, dear.

Also, as far as picking material for description, I think (I just got the idea) that points of description can be compared to hash keys. I mean it. You see, friend, our brains, have a faculty called memory, which works in a weird fashion, such that by thinking of a hash-key idea your memory recalls a whole network of information.

They say that to memorize a bit of information it is useful to imagine an image that is somehow related to the data you want to memorize. And the more memorable, colorful and remarkable an image the easier it will be, in the future, to recall the bit of info that it connects with.

So, I'm thinking, now, do character descriptions serve this job of a hash-key for our memories, helping us to remember the characters we read about? (Afterall, reading is learning, isn't it?)

Accordingly, it is logical to conclude that the points we want to describe are the points that make the character somehow outstanding, remarkable, different, unusual, strange, or even silly.

In any case, points of description are points of contrast relative to other characters. Like, if both Jane and Jill satin dresses, I don't want to describe them in the same way - I'll make sure to describe those aspects of the dress that are distinct, unless, of course, I want to communicate a sense of lacking individuality, like, let's say, in an army, where everyone wears the same type of clothing, where everyone is equaly as bald shaven as the next guy, and where everyone, pretty much, listens to orders.

[ Parent ]

I think that as long as the descriptions do not violate point of view, then you're safe. Now, that's far easier to deal with in 1st person or limited 3rd person than it is in omniscient 3rd.

The trick is in knowing what the viewpoint character would notice. A short person, for instance, would perhaps obsess on height. A vain person might go on and on about faults, while a jigolo might notice and internally comment on everything striking. Thus, in this case, the rule you gave would perhaps be restrictive.

Also, I would not like to consciously apply that rule, lest my readers pick up on it! I think that it is a far more valuable rule when I am editing than when I am writing.

A favorite author of mine is C.J. Cherryh. Wandering around on her website I found her "advice for budding authors" list. Most importantly the glaringly obvious mistakes, or literary devices that make her cringe. Mirror effects made the list - like nails on blackboard make the "most painful noises" list. Her belief was that it should only be used once in an author's lifetime, if that. This includes window reflections, still waters and even eyes.

And since I haven't yet published, the following advice is suspect: think real life. Think back to past first meetings with people. What are your first impressions, second, and third? And how you noticed them.
Words and Time my life's Obsessions.

Honestly, it's pretty rare that using a mirror to describe somebody is appropriate. I can remember offhand only once that it didn't make me cringe... in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight (the main character happens to see a decent mirror for the first time in her adult life right after bathing, and she uses it so she can see what she's doing while trying to tame her hair).

If it fits the story, then it can be used in moderation, but it so rarely fits the story... and really, even if you're writing a scene where the character is brushing her hair in front of a mirror, she's probably paying more attention to watching the knots in her hair than her eye colour ;-)
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Who needs to be big and burly when you can just apply physics?
[ Parent ]

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When an attractive person walks onto the stage, the first thing I notice is his/her:

hair	36 votes - 16 %
face	110 votes - 50 %
chest	21 votes - 9 %
waist	4 votes - 1 %
hips/bum	7 votes - 3 %
legs	3 votes - 1 %
shoes	1 vote - 0 %
clothing	20 votes - 9 %
voice	7 votes - 3 %
other (comment)	7 votes - 3 %

216 Total Votes