Good stuff. I should keep a log of my favorite telling details in novels I’ve read. I love the idea of seeing what a character looks like not from the static description you mention but how other characters look on them. One that comes to mind: “He looked as if he were genetically engineered to wear tracksuits and carry cash bundles in gym bags.” I read that and got a complete, detailed picture in my mind of that guy’s face and physique in a way a conventional rundown of his height, weight, body type and facial features never could.
Great post, agree on describing only the most important or telling details, especially for secondary characters. I always try to keep 2 things in mind when I'm writing tangential characters: 1. The Coen Brothers often make their secondary characters memorable, whether it's something they say, do, or look like. Who can forget Chet the bellboy in Barton Fink? 2. Chuck Palahniuk writes in his craft book about how your character should describe things/people in a way that reflects his/her own world view. For example, the main character shouldn't describe someone as "six feet tall," but more like "he was as long-legged as a ladder."
Wow, yes. Great comparisons. So many of the Coen's secondary characters are memorably. Like Jesus in Lebowski. Or the woman who stares down Chigurh in the trailer lot, or the store owner who wins the coin toss.
Palahniuk's craft book Consider This is required reading.
A detail about clothing can be useful--a character wearing a leather jacket, for instance, versus one wearing a suit--but you need to be careful. Walter Mosley does it well.
If an author starts describing a character's beauty regimen, though, I'm out. Unless it's to indicate *just* how vapid the person is.
It can be, yes. But only if told in an interesting way, and not the full list of what they are wearing. I've got a couple of Mosley books around, I should take a look.
That's some great advice! I try to at least make my descriptions meaningful to the story or to the character, but I'm certain I could tighten it up with a little more focused effort.
Good stuff. I should keep a log of my favorite telling details in novels I’ve read. I love the idea of seeing what a character looks like not from the static description you mention but how other characters look on them. One that comes to mind: “He looked as if he were genetically engineered to wear tracksuits and carry cash bundles in gym bags.” I read that and got a complete, detailed picture in my mind of that guy’s face and physique in a way a conventional rundown of his height, weight, body type and facial features never could.
That description is great - sounds like Leonard.
Great post, agree on describing only the most important or telling details, especially for secondary characters. I always try to keep 2 things in mind when I'm writing tangential characters: 1. The Coen Brothers often make their secondary characters memorable, whether it's something they say, do, or look like. Who can forget Chet the bellboy in Barton Fink? 2. Chuck Palahniuk writes in his craft book about how your character should describe things/people in a way that reflects his/her own world view. For example, the main character shouldn't describe someone as "six feet tall," but more like "he was as long-legged as a ladder."
Wow, yes. Great comparisons. So many of the Coen's secondary characters are memorably. Like Jesus in Lebowski. Or the woman who stares down Chigurh in the trailer lot, or the store owner who wins the coin toss.
Palahniuk's craft book Consider This is required reading.
A detail about clothing can be useful--a character wearing a leather jacket, for instance, versus one wearing a suit--but you need to be careful. Walter Mosley does it well.
If an author starts describing a character's beauty regimen, though, I'm out. Unless it's to indicate *just* how vapid the person is.
It can be, yes. But only if told in an interesting way, and not the full list of what they are wearing. I've got a couple of Mosley books around, I should take a look.
Somehow, the way he does it transmits something about the character.
And obviously, if someone is wearing a ballgown at the beach, it's probably important.
That's some great advice! I try to at least make my descriptions meaningful to the story or to the character, but I'm certain I could tighten it up with a little more focused effort.
So much of my work is asking myself… is this character authentic? Why, or often, why not?