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WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

Physical Feature Entry: Noses

December 16, 2012 by ANGELA ACKERMAN

Physical description of a character can be difficult to convey—too much will slow the pace or feel ‘list-like’, while too little will not allow readers to form a clear mental image. If a reader cannot imagine what your character looks like, they may have trouble connecting with them on a personal level, or caring about their plight. 

One way to balance the showing and telling of physical description is to showcase a few details that really help ‘tell the story’ about who your character is and what they’ve been through up to this point. Think about what makes them different and interesting. Can a unique feature, clothing choice or way they carry themselves help to hint at their personality? Also, consider how they move their body. Using movement will naturally show a character’s physical characteristics, keep the pace flowing and help to convey their emotions.

Descriptors:  large, small, bulbous, aquiline, Grecian, spreading, squashed, bumpy, humped, crooked, broken, bloody, straight, hooked, pert, button, flat…

Noises Noses Make:  sniffle, snuffle, sniff, whistle, huff, wheeze, snore, snort, blow, honk, gurgle, puff, inhale, exhale

Key Emotions and Related Nose Gestures: 
When someone is feeling defensive, smug, or proud, the nose will lift, along with the head, shoulders, and overall bearing. It also lifts when a smell is detected. Noses run when people cry, giving the voice a stopped-up, nasal quality to indicate sadness. Disgust or contempt is displayed…

Clichés to Avoid: someone looking down their nose at you; big noses being compared to Pinocchio’s or Cyrano de Bergerac’s…

HINT: When describing any part of the body, try to use cues that show the reader more than just a physical description. Make your descriptions do double duty. Example (in honor of the long-awaited Hobbit movie): 

    Round the corner came a black horse, no hobbit-pony but a full-sized horse; and on it sat a large man, who seemed to crouch in the saddle, wrapped in a great black hood and cloak, so that only his boots in the high stirrups showed below; his face was shadowed and invisible.
    When it reached the tree and was level with Frodo, the horse stopped. The riding figure sat quite still with its head bowed, as if listening. From inside the hook came a noise as of someone sniffling to catch an elusive scent.

I like this example because there’s no real description of any physical features. Tolkien only uses the Black Rider’s crouched posture and its nose to underscore the creature’s evil.

BONUS TIP: The Color, Texture, and Shape Thesaurus might help you find a fresh take on some of the descriptors listed above! 

Describe your character’s features in a way that reveals more than just a physical description. Show what he looks like while also reinforcing his personality and emotional state, thereby doing more with less.

Need concrete examples of how to describe your character in a compelling, magnetic way? Good news! This thesaurus has been integrated into our online library at One Stop For Writers. There, you can find help with metaphors and similes, as well as the best ways to describe your character using movement. The entire Physical Feature collection is cross-referenced and linked for easy navigation. If you’re interested in seeing a free sampling of the updated Physical Feature Thesaurus and our other descriptive collections, head on over and register at One Stop!

ANGELA ACKERMAN
ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. PoetryPagan says

    December 21, 2012 at 2:12 pm

    I’ve never really paid attention to what I make a character’s nose do. I’m more paranoid about making the same sounds (sighing, grunting, etc) or referring to someone’s eyes too much.

  2. lbdiamond says

    December 18, 2012 at 4:18 pm

    EXCELLENT!!!!

  3. Traci Kenworth says

    December 18, 2012 at 8:55 am

    I just had to do a nose description on a character a few days ago. I settled for bent and crooked. These descriptions help so much!! You two really are doing an amazing job with these thesauruses!!

  4. Wendy's Writing says

    December 18, 2012 at 8:00 am

    Hi. Just to let you know tht I’ve nominated your blog for the ‘Very Inspiring Blog’ award. (Details on my blog).

  5. Juhty mirzza says

    December 17, 2012 at 9:17 pm

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

  6. Sharon K. Mayhew says

    December 17, 2012 at 5:32 pm

    Hmmm, this is something I need to work on. I rarely mention the noses in my books unless they are sneezing, sniffling or can’t breathe. Great post!

  7. Saumya says

    December 17, 2012 at 2:59 pm

    AMAZING!! I always talk about noses (yes, weird) and how they are the midpoint of a face. This is a wonderful post.

  8. Michael Offutt, Speculative Fiction Author says

    December 17, 2012 at 1:54 pm

    Noses are so important too because they define everything about the face.

  9. Karen Lange says

    December 17, 2012 at 11:33 am

    Good stuff, as always. 🙂 Thanks a bunch!

  10. cleemckenzie says

    December 17, 2012 at 11:22 am

    Great suggestions. Thanks for reminding me that characters have noses. 🙂

  11. Marcia says

    December 17, 2012 at 11:07 am

    This really makes noses come to life! 🙂 And I love the two sample simile/metaphor sentences.

  12. Melissa says

    December 17, 2012 at 10:56 am

    Great post! 😀

  13. naveed qumer says

    December 17, 2012 at 10:01 am

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

  14. Donna K. Weaver says

    December 17, 2012 at 9:06 am

    This is great. Made me think of the lyrics to a song from a play popular when I was in college: a nose is nose if a rose is a rose, as everybody knows. Silly, I know.

  15. Amir jamil says

    December 17, 2012 at 4:59 am

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

  16. Nikki Diehm says

    December 16, 2012 at 6:05 pm

    In loveee with this! I now plan to scour your blog in hopes that there are more attribute pages to find. Thanks for a great post!

  17. Carrie Butler says

    December 16, 2012 at 4:21 pm

    Another great one! 🙂

Trackbacks

  1. Physical Attribute Thesaurus Collection | WRITERS HELPING WRITERS says:
    October 11, 2013 at 9:29 pm

    […] Noses […]

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