Character descriptions for first person

Okay, the best way you can do this is to put it in dialogue:

"I hate my hair. It's all...poofy!"

"It looks nice and soft to me. Besides I like curly hair."

Okay, maybe that wasn't the best example but I think you got it down.


Another way would be to describe a secondary character.

I had always liked her hair. She had complained about it being so kinky, but I liked it. I liked the way it just kind of cascaded down her shoulders in those little whorls. And besides, the dark color made her look a bit mysterious, a bit sexy.


Hope this helps!

DW

Thanks for your advice! It's really helpful ^_^

Yeah, just try to make the descriptions subtle and natural... Think about when your character would most likely be thinking about their appearance, like if they were comparing themselves to someone else, contemplating themselves in the mirror, etc. But as someone's already mentioned, you don't necessarily need to describe your narrator. When I write in first person, my MC typically describes others in more detail than them self.

I know it's been mentioned, but this is a pet peeve of mine:

Omigosh! Please, please, please do not use a mirror. It has got to be one of the worst ways to describe a character, first person or any other form of viewpoint.

*deep breath*

Seriously, it is not attractive and throws the whole story out of whack. The people posting here had suggested many alternate ways to describe a character, all much better than a mirror.

It might even work just to leave the descriptions kind of light. Pick the character's most distinguishing feature (using "The Princess Bride" as an example: Fezzik's abnormally large size, Inigo's being very thin, and Westly's eyes) and point that out through action or dialogue.

ex. Bob is very short.

"I climbed up my stool to reach my keys on the counter. Well, one of my stools. I have stools everywhere in my house. They litter the floor, and people who aren't used to them tend to trip. But I jumped down into the small space between the counter stool and the sink stool without a second thought. It's an art, navigating my maze of stools and I'm, in a way, proud of my accomplishments. I sometimes feel sorry for tall people and how they don't need stools."

See? We never say that he is short, but we get the idea through the fact that he is very short. We also got a bit of characterization in there. He's fine with being short and actually pities tall people.

You can leave it at that. Readers tend to form their own image of what the character looks like anyway. You can shape that image a bit, but you can never really shatter it. (<--One of the reasons I am never satisfied with the casting of characters in movies. There have been some books where I imagine the character as darkheaded and when they are described as blond, I conveniently ignore that passage. Maybe I'm just crazy though.)

Hope I helped and my rambling didn't get too irritating. I am very passionate about this particular subject.

~GryphonFledgling

I just read a chapter about first person POV in a book I picked up from the thrift store called Writing the Modern Mystery by Barbara Norville. She says that having your characters describe themselves makes them sound self-centered. The best way is to go on with the plot, letting your characters live their lives. When your character buys clothes, orders food or drinks, gets movie tickets, listens to music, etc., their lifestyle and inner makeup will eventually come through.

Also, letting others point out your character's attributes through compliments/insults/etc. and letting your character respond to it accordingly.

The example given in the book was:

"You handle a gun well," the sergeant told me.
"You pick up a lot of skills in Vietnam," I answered.

or

"You're pretty tall for a woman," he sneered.
"It gives me an advantage in dealing with creeps like you," I retorted.

So just play around with it, but don't force anything. I also agree with the "whatever you do, do not use a mirror" notion. Unless your character looking into the mirror is substantial to the plot, don't just throw it in there to be able to describe them.