Weekly Writing Tip

Back to our Characters...

   It's important to develop your ability to 'paint' interesting characters. The last two articles covered naming your character and figuring out your character's personality. 

    This week lets work on describing characters without sounding like you're filling out a questionnaire and marking off a checklist. 

    She had blue eyes. Check. 

    And long, brown hair. Check.  

    Two hands. Check.

    And a head. Check. 

    I can see a woman in my imagination with the above listed traits but I don't feel this character. She's bland. A blank canvas. 

    Who did she inherit the eye color from? Can you see them behind glasses? Are they sad? Has her brown hair ever blew wild in the wind or has it been confined to a strict regime of hair gel and rigid bun? 

    Are her hands rough from a much beloved hobby? Or tired and worn with the ravages of her life? Has anyone ever slipped a ring of love around her finger? Or has she stripped her fingers bare of any mention of love? 

    Use your imagination for the head. I'm still stuck, very unfortunately, on zombies and all I can come up with are wherever she has brains or not. (grin)

    Add feeling and history to your descriptions. Don't pull out a book of adjectives and go crazy like a kid who has been given free access to a candy store. Pace yourself. More is not always better. (Especially when drinking coffee. Caffeine buzz.)

    This week challenge yourself. Pick someone, either in real life or from fiction and write a description on them. Feel it. 

    Example: She had to be rigid. Her students expected it, the parents demanded it and she would fail if she didn't. A ballerina was perfection from the bun tightly binding her hair to the clothes that fit snugly over her smooth stomach and curve less form. Her smile was tight, given when earned but never reaching her cold blue eyes. And it would be unsightly to slouch, sit or relax. She must always hold her shoulders back, her hands gracefully folded in front of her and her head tilted lightly in elegant form. She was demanding but fair. Not overly critically with her words and her praise given quietly without fanfare.

      She was a ballerina. 

Happy Writing.