All Comments on 'Character Description Dos and Donts'

Indeed, I've complained about "wanted poster" descriptions for as long as I've been on Lit. Thank you for some positive suggestions. I'm so grateful that I won't quibble your essay.

I've been going to Fuckmesilly University for three years now."

lol, this cracked me up. I liked how you threw in humor to keep this essay from becoming dry. Your tips are helpful & examples not easily forgotten so mission accomplished & good job :)

you can do story setting the same way - for outdoors:

"I looked out the window to see what kinda day i had to dress for, the mist was think enough that I could hardly see the apartments through the trees."

or indoors:

"I put the worn towel in the old basket and stumbled down the sticky hall to the dingy kitchen."

both these two lose the antiseptic feel of the story with no descriptive setting.

I enjoyed this little essay -- it is so easy to fall into these bear-traps -- and so good of someone to point them out to other less-aware would-be scribblers.

Thank you -- I shall keep this one with my collection of writer's aids. 5 *s.

Thank you for the essay. Long ago I abandoned the wanted poster method of description, but I have struggled since then to develop alternate means of conveying the same info. I will use some of these ideas in future stories.

Damn it, Cruel, put some kind of warning so I know it's likely I'm going to spit soda all over my laptop! Fuckmesilly University... dear god, LOL. Great job with this and the humor kept it from being dry.

~M

i agree with avidreader

I don`t write erotica,but I do write and I was having a lot of trouble finding ways to describe my characters in a first person point of view. Thirs helped a lot!

Definitely useful! I knew about half of the ways by instinct, but reading them and getting new ideas has filled my head with... people! :D

Good work, thanks Cruel!

I'll pass my characters through your reality test on my next project.

I'm 5'2" with enormous... lmao! That was Great. PS: please don't hunt me... :D (I read em)

Thanks for the tips! It makes me see there are some I the resting alternatives to the standard description. A note - you used several exclamation points there, and I'd suggest avoiding those. Thanks again.

Very insightful to all upcoming new authors. Maybe this will help me get past my to critical stage as i write.

Great image. I have a thing for redheads...

One thing that really does drive me crazy about many stories on this and other story sites of its ilk, is when the author deems it necessary to bring the story to a screeching halt to give us all THE STATISTICS.

I liked that you gave examples for each of your points, because just saying, "Don't do this," is rarely sufficient.

Of course, I've received criticism in the past because I DIDN'T halt the progress of the story to give the rundown on the characters. Without that paragraph of numbers, this person couldn't visualize what my characters looked like, so you can't please everybody.

One thing I don't believe you mentioned, that you see in these stories all the time: Don't get hung up on numbers! I understand that a lot of writers want their characters to trip over their cocks, and be able to use their tits to buoy up the car if it goes into a lake, but it ISN'T necessary to throw an armload of exact measurements at the reader. If you keep things somewhat vague, it's easier for the reader to place themselves, their spouse, the girl behind the counter at the convenience store around the corner, into the action. If all these hard-and-fast statistics are there, then the characters must remain the (usually) unrealistic legends that they're portrayed to be, and make it harder for the reader to relate to.

Ive somehow missed this How To despite napping in the section on many occasions. This is great advice but I was more struck by how well it was presented. Clear, concise, without being preachy. And a little bit clever at times to boot.

I know you dont do many how tos but if you ever find the motivation to do more, you should. Your knowledge is certainly an asset more than a few here could use.

Euph

I really like your articles and I'm sure they'll help me write better. Sorry to nitpick, but I have to mention this. It's something that always annoys me:

" Me and Rachel both pull on sweaters, ..." Should be "Rachel and I."

You are spot on. I would add that there is almost never a reason to use body part measurements. They are usual ridiculous and greatly cheapen a story. Such numbers are the ultimate tell instead of show.

I have no lessons about writing to learn from someone who confuses "your" with "you're."