Spinning off from an earlier post on how to avoid hypersexualizing characters, what other ways can we describe a character other than their physical features.
We've covered:
Physical Characteristics:
Height
General Size
Skin
Hair
Eyes
Resemblance to their bloodline (such as an elf would have elf-like features)
And remember: DO NOT linger on the sizes and presumed textures of body parts. Try to avoid singling out body parts that are usually sexualized, such as breasts, hips, and legs unless you have a good reason that adds to the story.
Demeanor:
How they carry themselves
How they express themselves/the expression they always wear
How people react upon seeing them
How they react to a situation.
REMEMBER: Once more, keep in mind who is describing them and the POV. How these physical characteristics are described depends on who is speaking and whose POV we are looking from.
Clothing:
This is very important in pre-established genres, like fantasy and sci-fi, where certain classes and groups of people are identified by their clothing. Characters in those genres typically have a set archetype costume that we automatically associate them with.
Example:A Cleric will usually dress differently from a fighter. Even amongst those who do physical combat, a ranger will dress differently from a paladin. A scientist will dress differently from the top brass giving orders, and they’ll be dressed differently than the kid forced to use a mecha.
Clothing in fiction, like in real life, can express not only style, but religion, societal class, region, cultural identity, and basically any group.
Not only do we consider the basis for a style of clothing, but also:
Quality
New or Old
How is it cared for?
Does it fit them?
How they wear and take care of their clothes/belongings/people around them are also something to think about, as those small habits written into the story can tell the reader a lot of about how meticulous or lazy a character is, how much they value things or people, how much money they have, and how they were raised. These details can also show what a character is ‘made of’ during extreme situations.
Readers should be able to get a general idea of what a character is wearing almost as soon as they enter a scene. The finer details of clothing, as well as mannerisms, can be mentioned later and dotted throughout a scene or in comparison to another character’s clothing.
Throughout the scene or story, consider their physical actions, mannerisms, and speech patterns, including how and to whom. This can be telling of what kind of character they are.
How do they present themselves to others?
How are they interpreted by others?
Consider what faults they think they have versus what faults everyone else sees.
What insecurities do they have?
What would they like to change about themselves as we get to know the characters better?
Small details like these can make a character more relatable to the reader.
Which also brings us to: how does a character go about reaching their goals, and reacting to obstacles to said goal, will also tell us probably everything about that character.
Some of these descriptions can also be considered when writing about someone of another culture, religion, sexuality, etc.
