Do you always describe your MC?

Just enough to spark the reader's own imagination.

i rarely describe any of my characters. If pressed I could tell you that they are 'tall' or 'blond' but that's about ti.

Like most of the people here, I tend to give a very brief description, or no description at all.

Age figures itself out, more or less. Gender is a necessity for efficient writing. Beyond that, it just never seems to come up. Funny thing: I actually have a clear mental picture of every character except the MC. I think he has brown hair... sort of average length... beyond that, who can say?

I go into a fair amount of detail, but that's expected in my genre (fantasy). Usually I'm writing complex books with lots of different POVs, so I can describe characters from the POV of another character (by far the easiest and most natural way of doing it). I do have one book where it's all told from the MC's POV, so I had to work in the details of her appearance more creatively.

I like to tie character description into my world-building (this probably won't work if you don't write fantasy). For example, in one culture they have a religious tradition of never cutting their hair, so when a character shows up with short hair I get to explain about the Progressive movement and how they refuse to obey tradition. In another book one character's elaborate way of dressing marks him as ruling class, which lets me explain the class structure of the country. In both cases, the world-building is very important to the plot, so I get to kind of weave it all together (description, world-building, and plot).

Doing good description takes some practice. I went through phases of having both too much and too little before I figured out how to balance it right. You need the relevant stuff (like class distinctions) and to show the POV character's personality through what s/he notices.

OneWriter said:

This is very helpful. So, can ask you how you did it in the first person narrative book?
Like other people have pointed out, I describe my MC through the way other people see him and how he reacts in certain situations.
I think my editor wants a bit more of a physical description because rather than having a fantasy world, my MC is my only fantasy element: he is different, and while I explain why and how he is behaviorally different, I don't do that about his physical appearance.... But then how can I, if he's the narrator???

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In my one FP novel i used the age of the her characters to give an inidcation of the MC. How she spoke, the things she did.

I am very descriptive and I tend to describe how my characters look. As a reader,I like to see detailed descriptions.

I do the same for my own characters.

It really depends on what I'm writing.

The story I'm currently working on, no.

when I go back and add some meat onto the bones of a story I started working on a few years ago, yes.

Funny thing--up until this thread made me think on it, I thought I always mentioned hair color. I know my big thing with visualizing characters is hair color, and it drives me nuts when I think a character is, say, brunette and turns out s/he's blonde, so I used to be really careful about hair color. But pretty much nothing else. I've never been one for atom-by-atom descriptions.

But now that I think about it, I haven't been doing much hair description, either. Except in two WIPs, where the magic system made hair/eye color into an important detail.

I think it's preferable to have as little description as possible, like many people here. When an author gives an elaborate description--often including cheekbones--I spend maybe five minutes trying to picture it, get it, and then keep reading and go straight back to what I had in mind the first time. So I figure lengthy character descriptions just detract from the story.

Although, as Chasing the Horizon and others have mentioned, some details should be noted because they're so intriguing.

I try to give peripheral/general details from which you can draw the more specific ones.
Example: One of my characters wields a really big hammer (keep your minds out of the gutter) and the armor he wears isn't plate, but it's not light. So saying that he's a big, muscular guy is kind of pointless, he couldn't use the hammer and run around in the armor that he does if he wasn't.

To a degree this depends on genre. Some genres don't seem to encourage much description, some do. I prefer to know what characters look like, but I don't need enormous amounts of description, and I usually don't like it all in one big wad.

With a main character I like, within the first few pages, to establish gender, a very rough age category, hair (and perhaps eye) colour, and unusual physical characteristics. I don't see the value in _not_ telling my readers that this person has kinky black hair and brown eyes. The reader can interpret exactly how that looks, but I would feel that I had failed in conveying the character if their mental image of that person was a Nordic blond.

Certain things don't have to be described unless they are unusual. For example, a reader will assume that the character is average in height and weight unless told otherwise. If the person is unusually tall or short or fat or thin or has a facial scar or is missing one arm or anything which varies from the norm, then not telling the reader that is obviously a problem.

How the character _feels_ about how they look is perhaps more valuable than a simple block of text. In my current piece, one of my two pov characters resents anyone who suggests she's short, but rather than just saying she's short, I can use a paragraph like this:

She had no wish to have them tut over her again with all their comments about how adorable she'd look in a dress and what a shame it was she didn't grow her hair long. They could take their dainty and shove it up their petite.

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I usually won't get into a great wad of exact details in one paragraph because that often reads as awkward. But my characters are people - they have specific appearances. Other people in my characters' worlds are able to see exactly what they look like and react accordingly.

And it's important to note that if your character is depicted on the cover of the book, your reader is all too likely to think that is what they look like, no matter what words you use to describe them. Covers have a big impact.

I'm with the majority I guess and prefer to imagine MCs in books myself.

I like a description of gender, age and any physical characteristics that stand out. Unique hair style for example or Harry Potters star.

I hate when a MC is constantly described with cliche terms and it constantly been pointed out how beautiful he/she is.

OneWriter said:

This is very helpful. So, can ask you how you did it in the first person narrative book?
Like other people have pointed out, I describe my MC through the way other people see him and how he reacts in certain situations.
I think my editor wants a bit more of a physical description because rather than having a fantasy world, my MC is my only fantasy element: he is different, and while I explain why and how he is behaviorally different, I don't do that about his physical appearance.... But then how can I, if he's the narrator???

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My book's 3rd limited with a single narrator, not first person, but it's probably a very similar problem. Can't describe from someone else's POV either way.

I had to look up how I did it, lol. I actually described her clothing first, related to how it interacted with her environment. She uses her heavy snake-proof boots to kick her lazy dragon awake and the guns she's wearing are in the way when her lover goes to hug her in one scene. Then I describe her police uniform (very different from what our police wear) when she's thinking about how she's supposed to be off duty, but is still in uniform and still working. I describe her eyes when she's talking to her father in the next scene, because she has his eyes, and then I describe her hair when she's arguing with her brother. So the description is kind of spread out over the first two chapters, wherever I can slip it in without it feeling like a violation of POV. You could go back through your MS and look for little opportunities in your opening chapters to slip in details about your POV character's appearance.

CommaSplice said:

. , and never, NEVER fall prey to the old "mirror scene."

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Except your name is Jacqueline Carey.

I'm not that dead set against mirror scenes. Sure, there is probably a bunch of badly done ones, or the Don't Do It rule would not have been born, but there are situations where a mirror scene could work. Take for example a culture where mirrors are rare and have a character see his reflection after a lomg time. He may well notice a change, greying hair, the way that scar makes him look like he's sneering, without the scene coming across as contrived.

I usually spread glimpses of information through the first chapters, so the reader can get some basic check points like size, hair colour, markers like tatoos or scars if he/she registers those things while reading. But I never give a detailed description.

As reader, it depends on the sort of book. A novel rich in description like fe. Kushiel's Dart can do with more details than say, something Abercormbie has written. And he's pretty good at introducing description by action. You see the crippled Glokta labour his way down those stairs and you know how badly damaged his body is.

I remember several mentions of the size of Jamie's large hands in the Outlander books. Now, l find huge hands very NOT sexy and so Jaime never came across as attractive to me. Claire' mileage varied, of course. So less details are less danger of giving the reader an image he/she doesn't like. But if a detail matters, put it in.

My one cent (a cent in Euro contries probably makes for two US ones these days )

job said:

But, at heart, this snippet is not 'about' sharing hair color and clothing with the reader. It's 'about' the female MC's emotional reaction to seeing the male MC. The physicality of this man is being linked to her judgement of his nature, (which the reader now shares,) and to her uncertainty about her situation.

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That's a very good point (and a nice description). It's often less about detailed physical features than about the impression someone makes. People note a lot at first glance without reigistering every detail, and they will remember what stands out for them - and that can be very different 'triggers' depending on the POV's character.


Here's one of mine, halfway into the first chapter of SONG OF THE NORTH WIND. The scene takes place after a battle, the POV is Cailtharn.

"Friends and comrades, men of the Selgovae ...." Talorcan's clear voice sounded over the camp and everyone turned towards him. The long cloak of his rank made him appear even taller as he stood in the flaring shine of the torch before the midnight blue sky, his long, dark hair moving in the wind.

"Hunters we are, our name says it, but now we hunt a game more noble than deer ...."

Cailtharn only half listened to Talorcan's speech, regarding him instead. The memory of his childhood friend with the easy smile blended with the image of the man standing on the knoll, lips now too often pressed together in a tight line.

Talorcan helt his sword aloft. "This blade, the shining heirlom my father Feraic received from his uncle, the great Cailgarcan, conqueror of the Romans, is dulled anew by the blood of Rome. And never shall it shine as long as any of the hated invaders still puts a foot on the land of our forefathers!"

The voice of a bard, yet Talorcan had not sung since his father died.

"Death to the Romans!"

A chorus of voices roared among the trees. "Death to the Romans!"

"Death to the Romans," Cailtharn shouted, carried on by the wave of excitement and hatred. The Romans were not invincible, this day had shown it. He grinned at Talorcan walking towards him, followed by Urcail who flashed him a wolfish smile. Talorcan only nodded.

Urcail joined the men at the nearest fire and accepted a slice of bannock handed to him. Cailtharn stayed close to Talorcan, resisting the urge to offer his shoulder as support for his friend who swayed with weariness. After a day like this, Talorcan might be tempted to accept the help and later hate himself for it.

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Chasing the Horizon said:

You need the relevant stuff (like class distinctions) and to show the POV character's personality through what s/he notices.

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Works for historical fiction as well. I have some fun with that uppity Roman character noticing details like clean fingernail when he first meets Arminius who, as German, is supposed to have dirty nails.

BTW I'm arachnophobic, yet oddly fascinated by that critter in your sig.

I write in the POVs of my main characters, so it's hard to justify describing them in great detail unless it makes a difference to the story how they look. Think about it -- if you're in a character's POV, they wouldn't have much reason for ruminating on their physical appearance, would they? They're pretty familiar to their own selves -- and we tend to notice and internally remark upon only those things which are outstanding to us in some way, whether it's new, changed, raises a strong emotion, etc.

Furthermore, I don't think it's really important that the reader have precisely the same mental image as I have of my main character. I'm happy for them to make their own detailed mental image. I know from my own experience as a reader that it can be distracting when an author insists on specifics of physical appearance that conflict with the image I've developed of a character. For example, I recently read a book set in ancient Egypt that gives Nefertiti gray eyes. I have a very definite picture of what Nefertiti looks like, and I found it quite annoying that the author repeatedly interjected this mention of gray eyes. What color Nefertiti's eyes were made no difference at all to the story!

I do describe my MC's appearance if it makes a difference in the story. In my first novel, my main character is a very young woman and feels insecure about being compared to her older and more mature sister. I show my character's insecurity over her very small breasts and boyish hips, and her short stature. This helps the reader form a picture of the MC as a person with a young, still-developing body, without forcing my own personal detailed image of this character into the narrative.

I picture my main character with a dark olive complexion, black super-curly hair that borders on kinky, and a Caucasian facial structure. But I don't care whether readers picture her as African with dark brown skin, or as the "Elizabeth Taylor" Hollywood idea of an Egyptian, with very pale skin and blue eyes and European hair. Those things won't change their understanding of the story, so I am content to allow them to fill in those blanks as they please.

kurzon said:

I don't see the value in _not_ telling my readers that this person has kinky black hair and brown eyes. The reader can interpret exactly how that looks, but I would feel that I had failed in conveying the character if their mental image of that person was a Nordic blond.

How the character _feels_ about how they look is perhaps more valuable than a simple block of text. In my current piece, one of my two pov characters resents anyone who suggests she's short, but rather than just saying she's short, I can use a paragraph like this:

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Why is the colour of the character's hair important, so important that you would have failed in conveying the character if someone didn't see them as having brown hair? Yes, if their looks are relevant to them or to how that character is treated then physical details like that would be but just because you see a character as looking one way doesn't mean a reader won't see them differently, however much you repeat the hair colour/eye colour.

I agree about your second point

Describing the narrator in first person is hard. Too much of 'Ah, I see you've put your glossy raven hair into a plait! It compliments your baby blue eyes!' can get irritating.
One has to be careful with mirrors The character needs to have a proper reason to look in the mirror beyond the writer's desperate desire to fit in a description. For example, the character might have gone through a break-up and be having some self-esteem issues, or they've been in a fight, etc. Try and give some valid reason for the character to look in the mirror.

If it's first person past, the protagonist is essentially re-telling events which have already happened, therefore they might wish to add description.

OneWriter said:

ask you how you did it in the first person narrative book?

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I've never written First Person, in part because it is a minefield of just such technical problems.

First off -- you might make a list of what bits of the MCs description are important. What do you have to get across?
One way to do this is to imagine somebody describing this guy to somebody.
"Bill? Big guy. Blond. Wears his hair long, in a braid. And he's got a nasty scar on his face."

-- Then you put the description in dialog.

"Oh, Bill. Glad I caught you. There's a Detective from Major Case asking for you. I told him to look for a Blond Hunk stuffed into an Armani suit."

" . . . even setting aside the scars, I've no taste for tall blonds myself." Ralph licked his lips and watched a strapping servant lass lean over to pour wine. "At least not males."

". . . if I were six foot three and blond and looked like I'd been through the wars," Susan ran eyes across his face, lingering on the jagged white line that slashed from eyebrow to jaw, "I wouldn't worry about getting mugged either. But I'm more in the five foot two category and . . ."

-- Or fold the description into the reaction of another character.

". . . if you're going to walk in here looking like two years of gang warfare and an infantry charge," Susan ran eyes across his face, lingering on the jagged white line that slashed from eyebrow to jaw, "don't be surprised when the receptionist wants to kick you out."

"I want the name of your hairdresser." Ralph pursed his lips, being critical of the long blond braid. "So I can avoid him.

-- Or add it to internals.

The vllage maidens glanced at his face, then away, quickly. You don't like big, blond, scarred fighters, do you? It's the little dark cowards with a handful of gold you're looking for.

Cindy turned back to her typewriter, oh, busy as hell.
I could cut my hair, dye it black instead of blond. But you're still going to hate the scar. Right?

He sat down on a rock to brood, something he was fairly good at.
The Sawtash Confederacy wasn't going to accept him as War Chief. Oh, he was respected. A man with his size and strength was always welcome on a raiding party. The scar, slashing across his face like jagged lightning, said he was a fighting man.
It was his hair. Braided with ribbons, carrying the eagle feather of the Viper Clan -- But blond. The hair of an Akebei. An enemy.

In First Person I think I'd be inclined to skimp on self description, if only because it is so awkward to add.

Lady Ice said:

Why is the colour of the character's hair important, so important that you would have failed in conveying the character if someone didn't see them as having brown hair?

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Unless their head is covered, the first two things anyone will see of a person are basic body shape and hair colour/style. For the androgynes, even gender will come in third to those two things.

During the course of the novel other characters will be seeing my pov's hair colour (and basic body shape, which I can get away with not describing if their shape is 'average'). Hair is a major, basic identifying item, even in countries where large portions of the population have the same or very similar hair colour. And the longer I go without describing a basic major identifying item, the more chance the reader has to pick one of their own. If that major identifying item then turns out to be long, brown and kinky when my readers have been assuming it's short, blonde and silky, then that reader will have a moment of dissonance and go "That doesn't match what I was picturing!". Hair doesn't seem to cause as much dissonance as gender, but it is still a tripping point.

By choosing not to mention these major identifying items at the outset, I am creating an opportunity for dissonance. I am creating an opportunity for the reader to be pulled out of the story.

There are some genres where it can be argued that the reader is going to pretend that they are the pov character, and suppressing major details is of value. But otherwise, my pov is not an amorphous floaty window on the world, and I find it important to establish such a major identifying feature because otherwise I would not be treating my character as a whole person, but rather as a window. This is especially important if I have more than one pov character, where the chances of my character being seen from outside are increased.

Lady Ice said:

Yes, if their looks are relevant to them or to how that character is treated then physical details like that would be but just because you see a character as looking one way doesn't mean a reader won't see them differently, however much you repeat the hair colour/eye colour.

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Number of repetitions is a slightly different issue. For most pov characters, I doubt I would mention it more than twice in a novel (unless, of course, the character is Rapunzel or there is some other plot point involved).

As for a reader choosing to ignore (or missing) a description of the pov character in the first couple of pages of the novel - it happens. And then they'll get to the scene where a hank of the pov's hair is stolen and burned ritually over a banefire (or she just complains about it frizzing up in the humidity) and they'll go: "Kinky black hair? The pov doesn't have kinky black hair!" And then, if they're anything like me, they will flip back to the first page of the novel and go: "Oh...yes she does."

But if they go back and scan through my novel and there is no description of my pov character until chapter twenty, where she's caught in the rain and her kinky black hair turns into a puffball of frizz, then I will suffer the light sting of their scorn and resolve to convey my character better next time.

OneWriter said:

OK, so you are all basically reflecting my view... Then let me ask you: has an agent and/or editor ever requested you to add in a description for the MC? And if so, what did you do?

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yes. i had an agent suggest that i describe what my MC looks like, his hair color, etc...

i carefully consider all revision suggestions, but this one i did not use. i describe what matters most about my character in great detail - his weight. i give a poundage.. show how his body looks sitting on couches, seats, stools.. describe how he fits (or doesn't) into clothes.. identify all hefty parts of him down to his chubby fingers.. and give his height, as it relates to his weight. but i do not give hair or eye color or other descriptors. that is intentional and i think important to the theme of the book, so i left it.

and for what it's worth, almost all of my betas and one other agent all gave me the comment that they could totally picture him. so that helped solidify my decision.

however, i am adding some description to another character, based on a beta's suggestion. she pointed out that his job indicated one age, but his manner of speech another. so i am giving him some physical description and an age to help fix that disconnect.

ETA: i have a VERY specific idea in my head of what my MC looks like, and i bet it's NOTHING like how others picture him. and that's okay with me, because i want the readers to see a little bit of someone they know or themselves or whatever.