Comments on: Does Description Work For Your Reader, or Against Them?

By: C.S. Bower

C.S. Bower — Wed, 09 Aug 2017 15:33:41 +0000

I enjoyed this article. As someone mentioned above, Stephen King's advice on describing characters is excellent, especially where he says, "if I describe mine, it freezes out yours". As soon as a writer describes a character in too much detail, the reader's own imagination is constrained and they are shut out of the experience. In my WIP I'm trying to describe characters by the way they 'carry' themselves, rather than visual descriptions, so readers have an idea of what they are like, but still get to create their own mental image. However, the physical appearance of certain people is important to the plot of my mystery, so unfortunately I need to provide a little more detail in some cases than I would probably want to.

By: Les Edgerton

Les Edgerton — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 13:30:34 +0000

Lionel, I'd say you are going to be a successful writer if you aren't already. A single detail like that tells us volumes about a character and those "volumes" are going to be different for every reader.

By: Metempsychosis (@Lionel_Nashe)

Metempsychosis (@Lionel_Nashe) — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 00:20:36 +0000

Great article. I think minimal description is best alright. I'm writing something at the moment where I want to carefully (and early) reveal the detail that the main character has a nose that was broken a long time ago. I think it will give the reader something to build their mental image around, and also help me to show that the guy is a bit battered and worse-for-wear due to his past experiences. All of the rest of his physical features I'm going to leave to the reader's imagination.

By: Metempsychosis (@Lionel_Nashe)

Metempsychosis (@Lionel_Nashe) — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 00:11:05 +0000

In reply to Laura Drake. It's so long since I read Stephen King that I'd forgotten the bad guy's name was Flagg. I remember The Eyes of the Dragon much more clearly. Might have to read some of those books again.

By: Les Edgerton

Les Edgerton — Tue, 30 May 2017 19:12:39 +0000

In reply to Wendy Pearson. You just made my day, Wendy! Thank you so much for your kind wordsl

By: Wendy Pearson

Wendy Pearson — Tue, 30 May 2017 17:17:05 +0000

That's cool, Les. I appreciate you letting me know. Your bio hit a ball out of the park. I admire your honesty and transparency. Being real and secure in who you are in the good times and the bad times, takes a lot of courage. It also helps others who are struggling with their own demons. Thanks for being real.

By: Les Edgerton

Les Edgerton — Tue, 30 May 2017 15:17:21 +0000

In reply to Wendy Pearson. That's exactly what I do, Wendy. That's why you never need backstory or setup. How the character acts and reacts tells the reader all they need to know and they'll apply their own description as well.

By: Wendy Pearson

Wendy Pearson — Tue, 30 May 2017 14:02:36 +0000

I prefer to give my characters distinct personality traits over description. I find readers stop asking about descriptions, if you do this. I know some writers who make laborious descriptions of every character in advance. I could never do that. I'd be so bored I'd go in into R.E.M. or a coma. 🙂

By: Les Edgerton

Les Edgerton — Tue, 23 May 2017 15:10:44 +0000

In reply to tyreanmartinson. Hi Tyrean--It looks as if you followed the advice I give my students--when push comes to shove, trust your instincts. People who become writers are almost always people who were avid readers before they began writing... which means you have a finely-tuned critical apparatus in place about what's quality writing and what's not. When the little red light begins to go off in your head when you're considering others' advice, learn to trust that instinct. Looks like you fall into that group. Kudos!

By: tyreanmartinson

tyreanmartinson — Tue, 23 May 2017 03:23:09 +0000

Due to the advice of other writers and some writing classes, I started describing my characters in more detail ... and I decided to stop because I was boring myself with those descriptions. It's good to have an idea (for myself) but my readers, like yours, probably don't want to know. I only had one reader complain about not knowing what color hair my protagonist had. I think it disappointed her to find out that the MC in that story was strawberry blonde (not my hair color or hers) - that was just how I pictured her.