Physical description of characters

[Lovepotion69]

I was reading Dr. M's thread about quality instead of quantity when describing character's physical appearances.

So, am I the only one who almost keep forgetting to describe their physical attributes? Perhaps it's because when I read stories I often don't bother much about the character's looks myself.

When I start to write a story the first thing that pops into my head isn't what they look like, but what they ARE like. Usually I'll keep writing until I suddenly remember that "oh, perhaps I should at least mention her hair colour".

How much do you really describe your character's physical appearance?

 

[whispering_surrender]

I very rarely put much of a description of physical appearance in my stories.....more a "she tipped her head back to kiss him", or "her breasts more than amply filled his palms".....
He was 6'4" and she had 42DD tits sounds too much like the back of a baseball card to me.

And if I don't give specific hair colour, eyes, etc....it's easier for the reader to picture their sweetie in it instead of being stuck with me and mine. *grin*

Whisper

 

[Reshbod]

In the case of physical descriptions I generally believe less is more. It gives my imagination a chance to work. Give basic information but let the reader fill in the details.

 

[A7inchPhildo]

Unless the story has a specific meaning to me. Better to leave the character vague. I have asked many people what they prefer and they tend to like to use their own personal experiences to place into the story. If I say Brown hair and brown eyes that just takes away from the blue eyed blond they were thinking about.
Sometimes I never describe the characters only mention pertenant things to the reader as they apply. (The length of her hair was such that it was caught in the car door.)later on I might write (Her cute as a button nose touched mine as our lips kissed.)

If it is a personal thing then I am writing the story for my own kicks and screw the ratings. I like to be very descriptive to the point it could be a photograph etched in the mind. That is only for my own kicks to exploit a certain person more than a story.

Both ways do have advantages and certainly disadvantages.


The Dr. M. was really giving a different perspective all together. I agree with him completely. It does not take 195 words to explain the quanity of cum ejaculated. On the same note men do not cum in gallons. More like teaspoons. Simply put a quality description that makes a real picure in the mind is worth much more than rambling exactness.

I can still leave my characters vague just when I do describe something make it worth while. Not the never-ending story or too precise or far fetched.


Phildo

 

[wildsweetone]

...It does not take 195 words to explain the quanity of cum ejaculated. On the same note men do not cum in gallons. More like teaspoons. Simply put a quality description that makes a real picure in the mind is worth much more than rambling exactness...

Phildo

She half lay across his belly, holding his cock firmly in one hand, stroking. Moaning, he thrust his hips off the bed, her hand pumping him faster and faster. Searing hot pain shot up her arm and she knew her tennis elbow had returned. His final estatic groans echoed around the room as six teaspoons of creamy warm cum shot through the air landing with a dull plop against his hairy stomach.





sorry, couldn't help myself

 

[Guest]

Physical

 

[A7inchPhildo]

She half lay across his belly, holding his cock firmly in one hand, stroking. Moaning, he thrust his hips off the bed, her hand pumping him faster and faster. Searing hot pain shot up her arm and she knew her tennis elbow had returned. His final estatic groans echoed around the room as six teaspoons of creamy warm cum shot through the air landing with a dull plop against his hairy stomach.





sorry, couldn't help myself

Damn six! I thought I was doing great with two, every so often. (how full were they cause I measure with capillary action.)
That was funny!'Tennis elbow,' 'Searing hot pain,' 'six teaspoons'.


Lime,
That works good for me, That is what I like to read. I know the character/person I am going to molest in my mind just give me the details to fill in the blanks.

 

[Aaron Dazer]

um

I often wonder about this my self. and reading the Replies i've come to a new conclusion. Describe what's important to the plot. He was taller then average she was shorter which made them really look mismatched. when describing dicks and breast try to say Larger then average or proportionally. do you really know how big 42 DD are? do most me understand how bra's work anyway? I've heard some women don't for that matter. he couldn't cover them with both hands and took a nipple in his mouth. She placed both hands over his cock and there was still enough to gage her. He had and 10 inch dick. What’s better to you?

 

[Quasimodem]

In my stories, I give out physical descriptions on a need to know basis only:


Grabbing hold of each jug-handled ear, she kissed him expertly on his bulbuous nose, as he palmed both of her oversized globular breasts, muttering, "Herro Tokyo, Herro Tokyo."

It was an old joke, but it always got her hot.

"Pecker Head," she grinned, passing one hand over his bulging bald cranium, "You do know what happens to guys who do that."

He nodded in agreement so rapidly that his fleshy dewlaps flapped audibly.

She reached down and patted him where his loose blue jeans passed tightly over his swollen love hammer.

It was that caress which later proved to be her undoing, while his eyes glazed over and acrid smoke poured out of his ears.

"You finish with your chores, and I'll let you get in my panties," she promised, as she started to jump from the cab of his pickup truck. "You'll look cute in pink satin."

His foot slammed down upon the gas petal, in a reflexive reaction, as the truck burned rubber peeling out of the truck stop, dragging her forty blocks by her long blonde locks caught in the closed door of his accelerating truck.

 

[Hooper_X]

Re: um

I often wonder about this my self. and reading the Replies i've come to a new conclusion. Describe what's important to the plot. He was taller then average she was shorter which made them really look mismatched. when describing dicks and breast try to say Larger then average or proportionally. do you really know how big 42 DD are? do most me understand how bra's work anyway? I've heard some women don't for that matter. he couldn't cover them with both hands and took a nipple in his mouth. She placed both hands over his cock and there was still enough to gage her. He had and 10 inch dick. What’s better to you?

A 42DD is a bra owned by a bbw. The number (e.g. 42) should be closer to 34 if the description is of a young slender yet shapely tittie-monster. The cup size is what matters!!!

Personally I like specific descriptions. It's not a mutually exclusive thing. A description can be well written and include specific details.

 

[Quasimodem]

Bra sizes must only be an approximation, anyway.

I understand some bra manufacturers have begun to supply their product in half-sizes.





"I asked, "What size bra do you wear?"
She said, "Six and seven-eighths."
"My Gawd! What'd you measure it with?"
She said, "A stetson."

~~~ Jerry Jeff Walker

 

[raphy]

Show don't tell - Same old adage. My physical descriptions are usually fairly sparse and as Quasi says - on a need to know basis. Because so much of my stuff is written from 3PL perspective, the reader only gets told what the narrator feels is important to look at:

He hadn't noticed. Hadn't noticed the rain, except for the way it ran down the curve of her cheek. Hadn't noticed the wind, except for the way it moved her long dark hair. Wasn't paying much attention to anything except for the look in those big pale blue eyes. Unreadable.

So, we now know she has long dark hair and pale blue eyes, but I didn't have to say "She has long dark hair and pale blue eyes."

Besides, I'd rather describe a certain memorable part of the person than their actual description. When you look at someone, they usually (if they're an interesting person to look at) have a feature or two that first strikes you. That's what I'll mention, not their height/weight and bust-size.

One of them had crazy ass hair, real short all over, and dyed like a chessboard. The other guy was much more ordinary looking. They both had pamphlets and leaflets spilling out of their jacket pockets. Chessboard guy let his partner bend down to pick up the leaflets. Stared back at Marshall, or tried to, anyway.

Both of those are excerpts from my Nano-in-progress (closing in on 60k words now, yay!)

 

[whispering_surrender]

Re: Re: um

A 42DD is a bra owned by a bbw. The number (e.g. 42) should be closer to 34 if the description is of a young slender yet shapely tittie-monster. The cup size is what matters!!!

Personally I like specific descriptions. It's not a mutually exclusive thing. A description can be well written and include specific details.

What a generalization! That is not necessarily true. Although it quite often is, it is not the case for all of them. Trust me. *wink* Noone would put me in the bbw category.....

Whisper

 

[Hooper_X]

Re: Re: Re: um

What a generalization! That is not necessarily true. Although it quite often is, it is not the case for all of them. Trust me. *wink* Noone would put me in the bbw category.....

Whisper

Perhaps bbw was a poor choice of words. What I meant to say is that the 42 refers to the measurement around the torso. It is the cup size, in this case DD, that solely indicates the size of the boobies.

I'd hazard to say that most guys don't know that.

 

[raphy]

Re: Re: Re: Re: um

I'd hazard to say that most guys don't know that.

I'd probably agree with you there. Luckily, I used to date a girl who's mother worked in the lingerie deparment of a high street clothing store.

Suffice to say, her bras always fitted perfectly

 

[McKenna]

.

 

[Hooper_X]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: um

I'd probably agree with you there. Luckily, I used to date a girl who's mother worked in the lingerie deparment of a high street clothing store.

Suffice to say, her bras always fitted perfectly

My ex is a somewhat petite titty-monster. Her bras had to be custom fitted. That's where I learned about cup size vs. back size.

 

[KillerMuffin]

I don't forget. I just don't do it.

 

[A7inchPhildo]

Re: Re: Re: Re: um

Perhaps bbw was a poor choice of words. What I meant to say is that the 42 refers to the measurement around the torso. It is the cup size, in this case DD, that solely indicates the size of the boobies.

I'd hazard to say that most guys don't know that.

That's me funny I just sent out a letter stating the numbers mean nothing. Try ABCD or flat, small, small medium, medium, medium big, Big, or OMG freak!

Now if you were talking about guns or the cc. of an engine numbers are everything. Some how women just do not fit as a number even rating 1 - 10 either she is hot, pretty, nice, ok, or barf.

 

[Uther_Pendragon]

When I do use descriptions they tend to be subjective.
The hero thinks of the heroine's breasts as sweet or
lovely, not 34DDs.
WRT the complaint of a previous poster about men coming
gallons in a story, I once wrote a story in which the
hero wore a condom. When he was coming, gallons were
pouring out; when he removed the condom, it held only a
few drops.

 

[Guest]

Cup Size

 

[McKenna]

.

 

[Icingsugar]

When I do use descriptions they tend to be subjective.
The hero thinks of the heroine's breasts as sweet or
lovely, not 34DDs.

Sounds wise, sonce most men, niether fictional heores, or readers would have the slightest idea what those numbers mean. Besides, they're tits. That's enough for me.

 

[RenzaJones]

Re: Just a thought:

What might be interesting is for a few writers to write up a description of the same person/picture. I doubt they'd all be the same, and it might be useful to see how someone else would handle the description. Anyone up for it?

I'd be up for it is some one going to provide a picture

 

[Icingsugar]

Re: Just a thought:

What might be interesting is for a few writers to write up a description of the same person/picture. I doubt they'd all be the same, and it might be useful to see how someone else would handle the description. Anyone up for it?

Sure. I'll play.

We did this in a workshop I attended to many years ago. We were shown a picture of a man and were asked to describe him. Then we'd compare notes. I immediately started jotting down details, shape of face, color of hair, style of clothes... My description sucked. Another paticipant killed the competition though with this (I still have it saved.):

"You want to know what that guy looked like? Walk out the door. Take a cab to the airport. Fly to London. Rent a huge bulldozer. Drive to Trafalgar Square. Knock down the big stick in the middle of it. Take that Nelson statue. Paint it's face with, you know, skin color. Put on a suit and tie. That's what the guy looked like. Just like that, but fatter."