"Help" How to Discribe a character.

I don't know of a site, but maybe you can look in some books you think are well written and see how characters get described. Maybe you can get some ideas of what might fit your style.
 
Menion said:
I have been looking all over the internet for something to help me discribe a character in my Fantasy Novel, I havnt found any that helped me.

Basicly what im asking is if anybody knows of a good site that will help me?

Thanks

M
Click to expand...

Easiest, no bs book I've found Amazon.com: Elements of Writing Fiction - Characters & Viewpoint (Elements of Fiction Writing) (9780898799279): Orson Scott Card: Books

Also, describe through doing. Nobody sits around and just is, we all do something: His dark skin glistened with sweat from the jog; Her pale chest was still as she held her breath behind blue lips. Ect ect ect.
 
That's a very useful link, dwndrgn.

I think I would only take issue with an aspect of the last few paragraphs, where Ms Eliot says:
It seems to me that a key is whether the writer is seeing such characters from the outside, or from the inside. And I mean really from the inside, from the character’s own perspective of understanding themselves as a person of multiple identities.
Click to expand...

As I'm on a bit of a POV hobbyhorse at the moment, I would have to say that this analysis itself is only two-dimensional.

With our 1st person and close 3rd person POVs, we are meant to inhabit the POV character and observe what they do, through the prism of their prejudices. It is all very well having a slightly-bigger-than-minor character (Char A) with a full knowledge of, to pick a topic at random, antiques; but if the POV character (Char B) can't tell a Chippendale chair from a male prancer**, the narrative shouldn't really be dwelling on that Char A's love of inlay or marquetry. (Silly example, I know, but imagine Char A is an expert on armoury, but the POV has lived up a tree in the forest all his life and is only interested in the various uses of squirrels; Char A is not going to get a very rounded biography, unless they become a POV or meet one with a little more experience of arms.)

This is probably the biggest downside of close POVs: the writer must limit the view the reader gets to that of the available POVs. (And it means we, as writers, have to be careful which POVs we choose.)


** - spelling intended
 
Thanks for all the feedback. Ive got a good idea how to do it know.

I don't get it. You created a character you can't describe? I really don't get it.
Click to expand...

No no no its not that its just... My story starts off in the middle of a battle, I cant seem to be able to add a discription of my charecters inbetween all the fighting.

Well I have a good idea on how to do it so, Thanks again everyone
 
Yes, I was missing the point, too, but the explanation (fitting the character into the battle) makes sense. It is a bit of a stumbling block, especially when you don't want to lose momentum. I tend to just create a name, create a life (in no particular order) slot them in and let them describe themselves through participation in the scene. It's a bit of a generalised statement (I don't always work that way) but as a generalised thing, it does seem to work.

Anyhoop, glad you found your solution and best of luck.
 
Ursa major said:
As I'm on a bit of a POV hobbyhorse at the moment, I would have to say that this analysis itself is only two-dimensional.

With our 1st person and close 3rd person POVs, we are meant to inhabit the POV character and observe what they do, through the prism of their prejudices. It is all very well having a slightly-bigger-than-minor character (Char A) with a full knowledge of, to pick a topic at random, antiques; but if the POV character (Char B) can't tell a Chippendale chair from a male prancer**, the narrative shouldn't really be dwelling on that Char A's love of inlay or marquetry. (Silly example, I know, but imagine Char A is an expert on armoury, but the POV has lived up a tree in the forest all his life and is only interested in the various uses of squirrels; Char A is not going to get a very rounded biography, unless they become a POV or meet one with a little more experience of arms.)
Click to expand...

I think there are two points here. The first is that -- as far as I can tell from a quick read-through -- she isn't saying you need to present Char A in all his moving multiplicity glory. What is important is that you, as the writer, do not think of him as a one-dimensional cardboard character. If you have an idea of how he thinks of himself -- because after all he is the hero in his own story -- then you will write him in a more fully rounded way even if you never say anything about his background.

The second is, that even if Char B knows nothing about antiques, if he is meeting Char A in his (A's) home, then we will see the antiques through his eyes -- even if he can't tell a ming vase from a ginger jar -- so we will pick up something of Char A without a great deal of effort or without violating POV. ''Of course, my dear B, it's genuine.'' as B looks at the blue and white plate isn't an affront to POV, even if B has no idea what it's genuine of. (Cliched and stilted is a different matter!! :D)

J
 
descriptions can be a difficult thing to do, but once mastered is relatively easy i think. I could be wrong!
 
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the most clichéd of us all? tbought Char A.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
T I need help finding this book. Book Search 2
C Need help finding a Military SciFi Book from 2000-2010 era Book Search 4
D Series about a woman who helps people escape Book Search 4
P Help me? Book Search 0
Droflet U Tube help Technology 1

Similar threads


Back
Top