#WordWeavers 2025.07.22 — As a writer, do you use the same level of description you prefer to read? If not, do you use more or less?
My preference is only essential description, read or written. It differs for me between the POV and the supporting characters, less for the former, more for the latter.
Since I want the reader to see themselves in the story, I often give the POV character little or no description, other than what matters for the story, or what they think about themselves.
I took this to an extreme in Mars Needed Women in that the main character has a name that sounds like Mary† though written as if Asian, was named that because she's an atheist in a theocracy, has one child whose hair is described as resembling hers, is obviously not at all curvy because of her comments about a curvy character, and works out so is comparatively muscular. And that's it.
In Reluctant Moon, there are two main characters who are very into each other, sometimes poetically going into description of their partner in intimate detail. Empathy in action is more important to this story, but with two characters, I get to cheat somewhat: one gets to have a complexion like porcelain and the other is as dark as midnight. Oddly, it's not their skin color for which they face prejudice.
In another story in the reluctance series, the only thing I think I'm going to fully describe is the character's horns since they cause her trouble. They're the size of a crooked index finder, greatly resemble rusty rebar including the dangerously sharp point, and are positioned at her temples pointing back. They destroy hats, but can be hidden in the devil-girl's hair, which implies some sort of red. She'll describe her complexion simply as olive and considers that she's so average she could disappear in the slightest crowd, were it not for her height. I am going to get rid of her scene looking into a mirror because it kind of annoys me that she would enumerate her features simply because she can, especially since she really doesn't care about them (except when she is disguising herself).
As for non-POV characters, I describe them as much as they need to be described for story purposes. As an author pointed out yesterday, if we later learn that the murderer in the mystery has bright red hair, somebody will be neutrally described with the clue, as in, "'That yellow dress really doesn't go with her freckles and ruddy hair.'" I moderate the need to describe in Dickensian detail with a desire, again, for the reader to see themselves and people in their community in the characters of my stories.
I especially enjoy the POV tagging other characters' eye color. For example, in Inklings, Wintereyes characterizes her love interest, after seeing his eyes in the sunlight, as having caramel eyes, like the hard candy, then later nicknames him Caramello despite learning his name. I can't help but describe him as a looking like a pacific islander, for in his world he is essentially an exiled chieftain's son, so his build and bulk and general appearance tag along. As for Wintereyes, the POV, judging by her name, her eyes could be anything from crystal blue to grey, and I'd not be surprised if most readers assume her hair color is white or light blonde. In the story, she is accompanied by Mother Wolf, who is a white wolf. Maybe someone will joke that Wintereyes resembles her mother? Maybe…
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† About the name: I was checked to ensure Googling the name will make the it apparent it isn't a name commonly used in the culture it sounds like it came from.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
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