Writing physical descriptions

[TC4816]

I apologize if this has been covered before, but I am new to this.
In writing a Sci-Fi story and describing the physical characteristics of a humanoid who would have the equivalent of an Afro type hairstyle, how do you phrase that without using the word Afro?

 

[dwndrgn]

Fluffy helmet of hair? That's a toughie. Good luck with it!

 

[Erin99]

I believe you've posted this in the wrong section...

Anyhow, how about just describing what the hair looks like, not giving it a name? Something like, His curly mop of hair made his head appear too large for his body. Or something like that, anyway, but with less pronouns (insert character's name in instead). I like Dwngrn's description, to be honest.

Good luck!

 

[Sapheron]

The mass of head that crowned his head gave it the rough shape of a giant lightbulb.

 

[Culhwch]

'The mass of head that crowned his head...' Now that's the haircut of tomorrow!

 

[Sapheron]

Meanie. You all knew what I meant.

 

[Culhwch]

You wound me! I wasn't being mean, merely flippant!

ANyway, to get the thread back on track, I'd go for something like, 'tight mass of curls', or even, 'His black hair was thick and bristly, like a wire brush'...

 

[Lith]

What's wrong with calling it an afro?

The first word that always pops into my head when I see one, is "puff". Like a big, round Cheeto.

Incidentally I saw someone with a large fro today on a skateboard, and got to wondering what would happen if a good gust of wind came along. Would his head act as a parachute? Would it knock him off his skateboard? Would he fall down into traffic (since he was already in middle of the road)? Would it pull him up into the air?

 

[lin robinson]

Coin a word, like "fro"
Call it "natural"
Nappy?

 

[Lenny]

Fluffy helmet of hair?

You don't know how right you are with that statement!

It might have been the hair, or I might just have a very thick skull, but the other day I leaped onto the back of a container, through a two foot gap, and smacked my head on the top of the door frame. Not just a glancing blow, but full on. People a few hundred yards away, on the factory floor, heard the bang.

I didn't notice until I got to the back of the container, and the other person on it looked at me and said, "Lenny? Are you OK?". Not a cut, not a scracth, not a bump, no dizziness, no concussion. I didn't feel a thing. Hair for the win, says I!

---

But yeah, to describe an afro... "...a sphere of hair crowned his head"?

 

[TC4816]

If I use "Afro," or even just "Fro," it describes/references something (quite possibly) unique to a particular form of Earth inhabitant. If you are describing a character on a completely different world/time/space, how do you justify the usage? If someone said, "he looked like a Klingon," in a Darkover series book, you wouldn't get the reference either.
Any suggestions?

 

[TC4816]

Thank you for some terrific springboard ideas! Perhaps I can create a merge of some of your suggestions or create a "new" word specifically to the story and define it with some known references.

 

[Interference]

Like a big, round Cheeto.

Perfection!!

 

[Gothmog]

I once took a Sub-Saharan Africa history course at the University of Toronto. When we approached anthropology, my professor (and the texts on the syllabus) described the hair as wooly.

I think `afro` or `fro` has too many modern connotations as does `nappy`. Nappy seems almost slang-like as well. If I were you, I would go with wooly. It sounds neutral, has a scholarly utilization, and can`t be pinned down to modern times.

 

[lin robinson]

I kind of like the old Brit colonial term "fuzzy wuzzies"

 

[Birol]

If I use "Afro," or even just "Fro," it describes/references something (quite possibly) unique to a particular form of Earth inhabitant. If you are describing a character on a completely different world/time/space, how do you justify the usage?

In the particular case you mention, I think I'd go for a description if it is important, but speaking generally, while you want to stay within the boundaries of your universe, you also have to get the people of this universe to be able to visualize what you're talking about. You don't have to create a completely different language or descriptions for things that already have names or descriptions. You wouldn't describe a drinking glass. You'd say that it was a glass.

If someone said, "he looked like a Klingon," in a Darkover series book, you wouldn't get the reference either.

This is a different matter entirely. You're taking a character from one pre-existing universe and inserting it in another. Unless it's a pertinent cultural reference for your characters or done tongue-in-cheek, I just wouldn't do that.

 

[lin robinson]

Good point, Birol. Any word you use will come from English or some other earthling tongue.

Dialogue is one thing, narration is another. (Unless the narrator is first person. Or a Klingon)

 

[dustinzgirl]

Coin a word, like "fro"
Call it "natural"
Nappy?

I wouldn't use the term nappy no matter what, or you might wind up being the next Don Imus. And definetly don't use the word nappy in the same sentence as a word for a gardening tool. Thats just not a good idea.

How about just tight curly hair? Simple, and most people get it, and also most people know what an afro is its been in books since the 60's as far as I can recall.

 

[Green]

I've never understood the origin of "nappy haired." I take it it's not a nice term? What is the gardening tool it's taken from? Or whatever. It's a term I've only ever heard in American films.

 

[Giovanna Clairval]

On his head tightly-winding black curls fanned out like a woolly turban.

(I can come up with something worse with some encouragement.)