Hey, do you have anything on how to describe bodies? :D
Some Tips on How to Describe Bodies
Bodies can be really hard to get right. Humans have got to be one of the most complicated things to describe, since we come in such a variety! Unless you’re an identical twin, no one person looks exactly the same.
Describing bodies has a lot to do with timing and putting the important things first, while spreading out the rest over the course of your story to piece together more and more of your character like a jigsaw puzzle. Though this can seem like a daunting task, I’ve provided you with a list of tips and tricks that can help you out!
1. Don’t dump all your information in one go
Info-dumping about how your character looks the moment they walk through the door isn’t going to go over well for the rhythm and the pacing of your story, and will completely interrupt the flow.
Think about what you FIRST see when you meet someone.
Your attention is drawn to their face, their body, their clothes, or any distinguishing characteristics— it isn’t automatically drawn to a small birth mark on their neck that looks like a skull. Even though it’s super cool and might be a very important aspect of your character, it’s a small detail, and noticing things like that usually comes later during conversation, when you’re sizing people up and trying to get a read on their personality.
When you get a glimpse of a painting at a museum, the first thing you is the picture it’s making, and only when you get closer and start to analyze it, you begin to see all the individual brush strokes. That’s what a first impression is like.
Things You Can Describe During a First Impression:
Hair color/hair style
Age
Skin color
Height
Body type (Willowy, stout, muscular, scrawny, round, etc.)
Clothing (You can find my post on how to describe clothing here)
Assistive devices they may have if they’re disabled
Any distinguishable characteristics (scars, acne, tattoos, horns, wings, etc.)
(Note: Eye color is NOT on this list for a reason! Think about your friends and family. Do you even know what color eyes they have? Eye color is should only be described if it’s distinct, like red or completely demonic black or glowing, etc.)
2. Weave It Into Your Narrative
I didn’t want to say “show don’t tell” because I hate saying that on every single post I make........but yeah, it’s basically show don’t tell.
Using association to describe your character will work a lot more effectively after the first impression than a huge paragraph shoving details in your reader’s face, and it’ll also help you reveal certain aspects of your character’s personality on top of that!
Some examples you can use for association:
Your character’s hair sheds a lot. People find [color/texture] hair all over the place.
Your character runs their fingers through/plays with/twirls their [color/texture] hair.
Your character gets sick/injured and their [color/texture] hair is falling out.
Your POC character is wearing Black hairstyles, such as cornrows, locs, twists, etc.
Your POC character is the Vice President of the [Race] Student Union at school.
Your POC character has several aspects from their culture that affects their daily lives.
Your POC character experiences a microaggression.
Your white character can “go pale” or “white as a sheet” when they’re surprised or scared.
Sweat can glisten on your character’s [color] skin.
Get creative! There are more ways to inadvertently describe how people look than you think!
3. Educate Yourself
Make sure the words you use to describe someone’s body isn’t going to make anyone upset or offended! Hurtful language can be very off-putting, especially for communities that don’t get much representation in books.
Try your best to avoid stereotyping, and if you’re worried about it, don’t hesitate to ask someone! Tumblr has a very vibrant user population, and I know many blogs that would be happy to help!
For reference, here are some pitfalls that you should make sure you don’t fall into when describing bodies
1. Comparing the skin tones of POC to food (i.e. mocha, chocolate, coffee, etc.)
This makes many POC very uncomfortable and is rooted in the constant hypersexualization of POC in books. Don’t shy away from the word brown! It’s a widely accepted descriptor, and definitely more widely accepted than food comparisons. However, brown can be vague (since a color can come in all different shades), so make sure you specify! Don’t be wishy-washy.
Check out @writingwithcolor‘s FAQ!! It’s a big help.
2. Describing Black hair textures as “kinky,” “wild,” “unkempt,” “wooly,” or “nappy”
These descriptors automatically put a negative connotation on the appearance of natural Black hair, so steer clear!
3. Reverting to white as default
This is when you describe all of the skin tones of your POC characters but don’t describe the skin tones of your white characters. In doing this, you’re making white the default, and that your readers should automatically assume a character is white unless it’s stated otherwise.
4. Describing a character as ugly or unattractive just because they don’t meet unrealistic body type expectations
This is a big no-no! Imagine you’re reading a book and the author insults someone who looks just like you, claiming that because of how much they weigh/how their face or nose is shaped/ how they have a disability that they’re ugly! Imagine how much that would hurt your self-esteem. Be nice!!!
5. Describing boobs an unnecessary amount
I’m looking at you, men. Sure, if your character is wearing a very low-cut shirt and wants people to see their boobs, then fine. If your narrator is flirty and hyper-sexual, than maybe I’ll let it slide. If they’re meeting under promiscuous circumstances, then okay.
But if your character is just meeting a woman under normal circumstances, don’t describe her boobs! Don’t spend more than just a quick sentence and go on and on for paragraphs talking about their shape and size and UGH. Stop sexualizing women’s bodies please, and stop sexualizing girls and minors, too, or I’ll steal your kneecaps.
6. Do your research before writing characters from a group that you’re not a part of!
Hope this helped, and happy writing!
