Shapeshifting Characters Rule

As a reader, how do you connect with characters in a story? What pulls you into the chat, the treasure hunt, or the car careening down the mountain with no brakes?

For me, character description plays a part. But less is more.  Too much detail all at once will prevent me from participating in the story because I’m trying to picture the character instead of holding the ladder for his or her escape.

Here are the rules I use.

Add physical description details if:

• It will further the story – You’re making a police report on a culprit or missing person
• It emphasizes a quirk of the character – the empty space where there should have been a finger had to have been a challenge when he shaved his head daily to keep it shiny.
• It sets the mood – I focused on the moon reflecting from his shiny head, not the black circles around his demonic eyes. That’s how I played dead.

Work the shapeshifting details in when it’s appropriate to give your characters dimension.

A private eye might list the height, weight, hair color (or none), clothing, and stature. But have you ever met someone on the street and walked away with a detailed physical description? If you do, that’s your quirk. Write yourself into a story!

Physical description can be worked in with memories.

 ‘I pictured the limp, the flowered cotton dress that swayed and flounced with every step. It drags the ground on her short body. I shivered at the cleaning nightmare for that dress. When I saw the dress dragging the ground, it blanked out the hairdo that looked like she’d stuck her finger in a light socket.’

Flesh out the character’s physical description through the actions – the limp, the dragging dress, and the unruly hair. The physical description, detailed relevantly, adds to the rounding out of a character’s personality.

And there you have the next crucial step to building a character readers can connect with.

Happy tales and trails,

Alexie Linn, the Author

P.S. Since this new, finely focused blog is just getting started, the easiest way to get updates is to follow me on Facebook. New posts should post on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my chin right… 😊