For readers to connect with your characters, they must get a sense of their appearance. The appearance of a character can communicate many key features to the reader. For example, personality and quirks. Here are 5 helpful tips for writing the appearance of your characters:
Incorporate Physical Flaws
The most important tip to remember when describing the appearance of a character is: don't make them perfect. As a writer, you want your characters to be believable and feel authentic to readers. This won't happen if your characters are written as being physically perfect. Instead, when writing the appearance of a character incorporate physical flaws. These flaws can be as small as a ketchup stain on a blouse or as large as a missing joint. Also, characters with physical flaws/blemishes let readers feel represented and allow readers to relate to them. Giving your characters flaws helps them feel realistic and also identifiable to readers.
Scatter Descriptions Over Time
Even though describing your characters is essential, it shouldn't be dumped in one scene. If a reader has to endure several pages of descriptions, it can bore them, instead, you should spread descriptions throughout the novel. Start explaining the appearance of a character with what makes them stands out then later further elaborate on their apparence. Scattering brief descriptions over time, allows a character to seem engaging and slightly mysterious to readers.
Showcase Their Personality
Whenever you are describing the apparence of a character, think about their personality. Though we might not realize it, our personality greatly impacts our apparence and how we dress. Two characters might look similar, but based on their personality they would be wearing different clothes and you would describe their apparence differently.
Contextualize the Character Through Apparence
The appearance of a character can tell the reader a lot about the setting and time period. As you write the appearance of a character, consider ways you can drop clues about the setting and time of your novel. Weaving the time period or setting into the appearance of a character, may sound difficult, but it is quite simple. The clothing worn today reflects the trends and styles of our time period, which should also occur with your characters. For example, a character wearing boxing gloves and shorts can signify that they work as a boxer. Another example: a character wearing fuchsia-colored lipstick and neon green eyeshadow suggests they are living in the 80s. While describing the appearance of your characters, make sure their look fits into the time period and helps the reader
Include Bias
If you are writing in the first or third person, you should consider the biases and judgments your narrator has. Showcasing the biases your narrator has about apparence, not only describes a character but gives readers insight into the narrator. If you insert the opinions of the narrator, readers can learn how the narrator views other people or (possibly) how they view themself. When writing the apparence of a character, make sure to inject the narrator's biased opinions and judgments.
Describing the appearance of your characters is super important for readers to understand and visualize them. The appearance of a character should relate to their personality, make sense to their job and setting, plus be realistic. Although, it can be difficult to explain the image of your characters, utilizing these 5 tips will ensure readers get to know your characters. For tips on how to describe the clothing of a character, click on the button below:
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