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: wide, broad, muscular, bony, athletic, angular, stooped, slumped, curved…
Key Emotions and How the Back is Involved: Backs aren’t noticed very much because they’re always…well, in the back. But as a key part of the body, the back/spine is involved in many emotional responses. It will slump when a person feels sad, disappointed…
Clichés to Avoid: a shiver running up the spine; a crooked spine that curves like an “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: Miriam was stooped over almost double, eyes on the ground, her slippered feet feeling their way along the driveway. Getting from the front door to the mailbox was a real journey these days, and it made her back ache something awful. The new mailgirl had offered to bring Miriam’s things to the porch, but…She smacked her lips and jabbed the concrete with her walking stick. If she couldn’t make it to the mailbox and get her own bills, she might as well start picking out coffins.
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 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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Thanks you guys! What a crazy wonderful year it has been–I can’t wait to see what the next one has in store!
Interesting post about the back.
CONGRATS on signing with Marleen Seegers of 2 Seas Agency. That is awesome!
The “back” does play into a lot of our emotions/reactions, your’e right. Congrats also on the International agent!! I think your book is going to be a smash worldwide!!
CONGRATULATIONS!!! Y’all are gonna be even bigger rock stars than ya are now!
Yay! Congratulations! Awesome news. 🙂
Congrats to you!
Congratulations on signing for a foreign rights agent! Wonderful news! You ladies are awesome.