How to Write Descriptions in Fiction

Decide if the character has any defining physical characteristics. "Defining" is a term to be applied with discipline in writing fiction. If at a key moment in the story, the character has to reach up for an object on a high shelf, to give it to someone who could not reach it, then their height is a defining characteristic. If they are going to be mocked for their handlebar mustache, then their mustache is a defining characteristic. Although any physical attribute that does not feature in the plot or events of the story is not defined, and need not be defined, it will be more interesting. Try to use a thesaurus to think of better words (e.g.; large becomes huge or great). Though it will take you longer, you will be more prepared to write like a pro.

Does the character have any symbolic physical characteristics? Symbolic physical characteristics are those which communicate to the reader (and to other characters) something about the personality of the character. If the character is gluttonous you might want to say that they have bulging jowls and multiple chins. If they are dynamic and active you might want to say that they are spry or athletic.

If you want the character to have a particular physical trait, then try to come up with a reason for it that is either defining or symbolic. If you can't, then keep the detail to yourself.

Avoid getting carried away with physical description. The character needs to be built up gently, therefore, and with a minimum of physical description, and the reader needs to be allowed to "get to know them" through the character's actions and words, rather than through what you tell the reader about the character -- in much the same way as you get to know a real person that you have just met.

• Readers do not usually "picture" a character when they are reading; they don't imagine all the visual details of the person. They get a vaguer, more general "feel" for what the character looks like. Even when the character has an important physical attribute like being very tall, or very blond, or wearing round spectacles, the reader often won't imagine the character like that.
• This is because the character's personality is much more important to the reader. The way the reader pictures the character arises more from the reader's memory than from the description given by the author. As the reader gets a feel for the personality of the character, they will start to picture him physically resembling a person or people that they know with a similar personality.

When you come to write your story, and you introduce the character, you will need to "establish" them. The establishment is giving the reader a firm and recognizable picture of the character, so that next time the character appears you will not have to remind the reader of who they are. You should always try to do this with as little detail as possible. Select a defining and or a symbolic physical characteristic. Select a couple of defining personality traits, and use only those.

Try to refer to characteristics and traits obliquely or indirectly:

• instead of:
• John was tall and thin and wore his tee tucked tightly into his pants. He was always fastidiously neat.
• try something like:
• John's tight blue tee was stretched down his long, lean torso, and tucked fastidiously into his freshly pressed pants, whose knife-edge creases sharpened his long, thin legs down to his sensible Oxfords
  • A good trick is to avoid "was" or "is", for clothing to avoid "wear" and "wore", for eating to avoid “Eat” or “Ate”, etc.

Say what the character is doing when you introduce them, and use that as a way to tell the reader about their personality:

• instead of:
• John was the anxious sort; he was always worried about trivial things."
• try something like:
• John stood on tiptoes, just back from the curb, trying to hail a cab with one hand and keep his umbrella over him with the other, all the time watching for the next car that might pass to close and splash dirt over his clean Chinos.

Once you've got your character established, you can add more details about them at your leisure. You don't have to tell the reader everything right away. Just like getting to know a real person, let the reader find out more over time.