This is such a timely post. I am studying my craft, especially at my weakest point: description. Thank you so much for this post and the link to a more lengthy, detailed exposition. Reblogged from https://nicholasrossis.wordpress.com
NowNovel recently posted a great post on how to describe eyes in a story. As they point out, many beginning authors over-rely on eye color to create an impression of their characters, but this is merely a first step. Instead, you can follow these tips to create a memorable description:
1. Make a characters’ eyes a source of contrast
Drawing of an eye by Marigona Toma. Source: pinterest.com/pin/390124386447098306/
As any trip to the local coffee shop will tell you, people’s appearances are often full of contrasts. The man with the big, ruddy face might have small, delicate hands. The woman with the angelic face may have a trucker’s hoarse voice. And so on. One way to describe characters’ eyes effectively is to use them to create contrast.
This can be particularly effective if the contrast is used to highlight a character’s “third dimension” – ie what makes them non-stereotypical…
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I’m in the revision process with my novel and one of the areas I am focusing on is character development. When you hear character development, you usually think of main characters or supporting characters. Well my main characters do need some work, but for this particular blog I was talking about those ‘fly by’ characters that step into your novel, do what you want them to do, and then disappear never to be heard of again.