Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Basic Character Descriptions

Everyone makes mistakes—even writers—but that's OK because each mistake is a great learning opportunity. The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many mistakes over the years, so we started this series to help identify them early in the process. Note: The mistakes in this series aren't focused on grammar rules, though we offer help in that area as well.

(Grammar rules for writers.)

Rather, we're looking at bigger-picture mistakes and mishaps, including the error of using too much exposition, neglecting research, or researching too much. This week's writing mistake writers make is writing basic character descriptions.

You’re probably familiar with the kind of character description I’m talking about. They’re basically a list of bullet points that outline what makes up this person as soon as they appear on the page. Maybe it’s the narrator looking into a mirror and describing exactly what they’re seeing; maybe it’s a quick outline of the best friend/sidekick who needs to be distinguished as quirky and different in some way.

Not only do these descriptions give us nothing particularly interesting, but they also don’t give us anything about who this person is. You can learn a lot more about a potential love interest by the way they treat the waitstaff on a first date than you can by waxing poetic about how crooked their smile is.

But there are plenty of ways that writers can upgrade their character descriptions without making them overly long or involved. Here are just a few suggestions to get you started.

(Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Lifeless Side Characters)

Yes, it’ll be helpful if your reader knows your character’s race, the color of their eyes, and what they like to wear. But those are all surface things, and readers aren’t likely to care overly much about these details when they’re introduced in a single paragraph in the middle of a scene.

Instead, describe the whole person. Do they have some kind of personal item that’s always on them—something that’s tied to them emotionally? Think jewelry or fidget spinners (yes, some of us still use these!) or even a common item that’s been marked in some way. That a character wears glasses is a throwaway detail, but that they’re held together by a strip of duct tape for months or that the temple tips have teeth marks on them from bouts of anxiety are details that give us much further insight into who this person is.

To make this easier, go ahead and make a list of simple descriptions. Note down the obvious ones like hair and eye color, and then make sure to note the not-so-obvious ones like birthmarks, scars, and tattoos. Then make a list of the character’s psychological traits. This will help you to build your physical description of this character. For instance, if you have a character who knows they’re attractive and often uses that to their advantage when dealing with other people, they might dress in ways they know are flattering and change up their body language to be more flirtatious depending on who they’re talking to.

Body language is also a great way to introduce a character to us—movement is especially helpful in this regard. From the way a character moves through the world, we can learn a lot about their psyche, guess at potential backstories, and get to know the world a little more. For example, if you have a high-energy or anxious character, they might always be finding things to fiddle with, whether it’s tearing up the straw paper at a restaurant or chewing on the end of a pencil. Making these small details consistent will bring the character to life a little more for the reader.

How many hot guys clench their jaws when they’re angry in books? How many quirky female friends wear bright colors and laugh too loudly? Too many. Not everyone expresses emotion in the same way, and when readers come across these clichés, they’re much more likely to check out emotionally without giving these characters a proper chance. Why? Because they feel like they already know who they are without digging deeper.

Here's a short list of some cliché character descriptions that you’ll want to take care to avoid (Note: Most of these character types are stereotypically gendered, but that’s not always the case. For example, a next-door type can be either a boy or girl; it just generally describes someone plain, laid back, and generally nice.):

These are just a few—and I hope these are recognizable to you from pop culture. And I don’t mean to say that you can’t use some of these tropes in your writing. The key is to make sure that your reader’s first impression of your characters is unique. You want to draw them in and get them to love (or hate!) your characters depending on their role in your plot.

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