Writing tips & tricks

Guide: describing clothing and appearance

DO:

• Provide enough detail to give he read a sense of the character's physical appearance.

• Highlight details that serve as clues to who the character is and perhaps what their life is like.

• Describe clothing to establish character or when relaxant to scene.

DON'T:

• Go overboard with too many details or take up too much of the reader's time describing one character.

• Repetitively describe features or fixate on certain characteristics

• Describe clothing every time the character shows up unless it's somehow relevant to the scene.

• Describe minor characters' clothing in-depth unless it's relevant

Choose a Focal Point

When describing a character's appearance, choose a focal point and work up or down from there. For example, you may describe them from head to toe, or from toe to head. Try not to skip around. If you're describing their face, start with their hair and work your way down to their mouth, or start at the mouth and work your way up to their hair.

Describing Race and Ethnicity

There is a lot of debate about the right and wrong way to describe a person's race. If you want, you can state that a person is Black, white, Hispanic, Native American, First Nations, Latino, Middle-Eastern, Asian, Pacific Islander, etc. Just remember that races are made up of different ethnic groups. Someone of Asian descent could be Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. If you're describing a character whose ethnicity is unknown or not important to the plot, you could just say that they were Asian or Black, for example. But, the rest of the time you need to be clear about whether they are Chinese, Chinese American, Korean, etc. Also, remember that not all Black people are African-American, such as someone born in England or Haiti, for example.

You may instead choose to describe a character's race through the color of their hair, eyes, and skin. It's up to you which you feel most comfortable with and is most appropriate for your story. Just remember, if you describe one character's skin color or otherwise make an issue of their race, you should describe every character's skin color or race.

Describing Clothing

Just like with physical appearance, when describing clothing you want to choose a focal point and work up or down. Think about things like the garments they're wearing (pants, shirt, coat) and accessories (hat, jewelry, shoes). Be sure to choose clothing which are both relevant to your character and to the time and place where your story is set. You can find out about appropriate clothing by Googling the time and place your story is set plus the word clothing:

"Clothing in Victorian England"

"Clothing in 1960s New York"

"9th century Viking clothing"

Be sure to look for web sites that aren't providing cheap Halloween costumes. Shops providing clothes for historical reenactors are often very accurate.

Looking for Inspiration

Just like with physical appearance, when describing clothing you want to choose a focal point and work up or down. Think about things like the garments they're wearing (pants, shirt, coat) and accessories (hat, jewelry, shoes). Be sure to choose clothing which are both relevant to your character and to the time and place where your story is set. You can find out about appropriate clothing by Googling the time and place your story is set plus the word clothing:

"Clothing in Victorian England"

"Clothing in 1960s New York"

"9th century Viking clothing"

Be sure to look for web sites that aren't providing cheap Halloween costumes. Shops providing clothes for historical reenactors are often very accurate.