How to Write Descriptions in Fiction

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: 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 moustache, then their moustache is a defining characteristic.
   
   Although any physical attribute that does not feature in the plot or events of the story is not defining, 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 write like a pro., 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 can't, then keep the detail to yourself. , 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.
2. 2

   Step 2: Does the character have any symbolic physical characteristics?

3. 3

   Step 3: If you want the character to have a particular physical trait

4. 4

   Step 4: then try to come up with a reason for it that is either defining or symbolic.

5. 5

   Step 5: Avoid getting carried away with physical description.

Detailed Guide

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