writing tips

character description

Some people struggle with describing their characters and I admit I have problems with it too. However, I've come across a few methods (cough more like two cough) on how to help a bit.

1. Describe through another point of view
Have person A tell the readers what person b looks like. Their relationship (ex: A and B are madly in love) can dictate how they describe the person. So, if A has a crush on B, have A say/notice the tiny little details that no one else would notice, like habits, small imperfections (like a dimple, for example). If they hate each other, have A describe B in a negative light.

2. Compare them to other characters
Using family is a key in a character describing themselves. Example:
Unlike my mother, I had a mop of uncontrollable brown hair. She had silky straight locks while I had a tangled mess plopped on my head. Loose strands of hair fell on the sides of my face, getting in my eyes or mouth often.

Now, here's a list of rules I think everyone should go by when describing a character:

1. Not too lengthy
Having long, winding character descriptions can get boring. I assure you the reader doesn't want the exact shade of blue the love interest's eyes are, or where each strand of hair is placed. Or the exact amount of freckles they have. Or anything too specific. Keep it short, maybe a paragraph of three to five sentences.

2. Show personality
The looks of a person can tell someone a lot about their personality, so do that. Don't have some flat character who wears sweatpants and a hoodie or something really expensive and formal just for the sake of it. Let there style and personal preferences shine through (ex: clean hair, no strand out of place because they're neat-freaks and dislike being messy).

*don't flat out explain it either. Throughout the story a character trait should (of course) not only be conveyed by what they dress like but also how they act, meaning these two should be connected.

3. Not all at once
This doesn't just apply to looks but also their character. I don't want to read why the protagonist is so kind and that they like to do charity work in one autobiography. Distribute it throughout the story. You can have it mentioned by the character themselves or you could show it through action (meaning the character is actually doing what they said they liked to do rather than telling the reader).

4. For the love of God cool it with the pics
I don't think it's necessarily bad to put pictures of what the protagonist/any other character is wearing, but please, don't use it as a substitute for a description. Granted, it's wattpad and nothing professional but it just appears better and that way you can learn to paint a picture in your readers' minds.

5. I don't need to know what your character is wearing 24/7
When an author describes the protagonist's OOTD! for the day every. Single. Time. it gets boring and routine. I don't think it's important for the readers to know the price, material, cut, style, color, etc. of the shirt they're wearing. Keep it quick-something simple like "I threw on a shirt, jeans, and shoes and high-tailed it out of the house."

6. Avoid is/was
Linking verbs tend to let us tell instead of show. Why? Because they don't show action.

While I'm not saying you never use them ever, you have to keep in mind when and how you use them. Instead of saying, her hair was curly, you could say, curls fell on her shoulders, framing her face prettily.

It's able to give a more accurate, less vague description of your character. It also helps lessen your word count, so you stay under that limit of "not overboard."

I think that's about it, I'll come back to this if I find out more things.
(credit to Shaelin Writes for the two methods in the first part)