Kovalin - How to Write Descriptions of Hair and Skin

By

Val Kovalin

Copyright 2011 by Val Kovalin

Obsidianbookshelf.com

Obsidian Bookshelf blog

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Cover art Copyright 2011 by Val Kovalin

This book is for fiction writers who love physical descriptions of characters.

Here, you get an abundance of descriptive terms for hair and skin. Each section centers on a type of description, such as Hair Color (for example, "Bleached blond hair") or Hair Type (for example, straight, wavy, curly, and kinked). Each section lists its descriptive terms alphabetically with full explanations. You can read the lists to learn new terms, or you can look up a specific term.

The hair section starts with hair type and hairstyle. It details how the appearance of one's hair can shape one's gender identity and ethnic identity. The next sections show how your fictional character's hair might move, feel (for example, brittle, greasy, silky, or springy) and smell (for example, like cigarettes, deep fryer oil, perfume, or wood smoke). All this leads to more than 2,000 words explaining 72 different color names to assign to hair that is black, blond, brown, gray, red, or white. There is also a section on highlights and lowlights.

The skin section continues the emphasis on sensory description with sections on what your fictional character's skin might feel like, smell like, and taste like. Learn how the placement of wrinkles can show whether your character has spent a lifetime smiling or frowning.

There is a section on the erotic aspects of skin. Other sections list ways in which your fictional character might modify his or her skin, including tattoos, piercing, and cosmetic surgery. All this leads to more than 2,000 words explaining 43 different color names to assign to skin that is dark, medium tone, or pale.

Who may benefit from this book? Anyone who wants a quick prompt or idea so as not to lose his writing momentum. Readers for whom English is a second language may enjoy the in-depth explanations of American English terms. Authors writing in genres that demand much physical description (for example, fantasy fiction and romance fiction) may also find this book useful.

A few years ago, I created a website, Obsidianbookshelf.com, where I posted book reviews and articles. (Since then, I have turned it into an author website and moved most of my articles and all of my reviews to my blog, http://obsidianbookshelf.blogspot.com/.) My how-to-write articles became the most popular content by far, especially the lists of descriptive words.

Since the blog traffic on the how-to write articles was going through the roof, I realized I'm not the only one who finds this sort of information useful. I decided to expand and organize the information presented in my articles, and make them available as low-priced Kindle documents in a how-to write series. Nowadays, more people than ever before read fiction and want to write fiction. I hope you find this series useful.

Q: How is this book different from a dictionary?

A: To use a dictionary, you have to know the words first to look them up. This book provides you with words already grouped within a descriptive context so that you can find what you might need and evaluate it further by reading its definition in the dictionary. My dictionary of choice is The American Heritage Dictionary for its synonyms listings that distinguish between subtleties in meaning. See References.

Q: How is this book different from a thesaurus?

A: Thesauri tend to have fewer synonyms than I offer here, especially words for specific colors. They also do not explain the words or analyze connotations.

Q: How much physical description is needed for fictional characters?

A: That depends on what you prefer and on the expectations built into the genre for which you write. Many readers prefer minimal physical description because they would rather imagine the characters' appearance for themselves without the distraction of the author's version imposed on them. This preference is typical of readers of literary fiction, mainstream fiction, mysteries, and science fiction. Readers of fantasy fiction will want more description. Romance fiction, which centers on love and sexual attraction, typically requires the most extensive physical description to celebrate how beautiful the main characters are.

Q: Why are some descriptive terms marked as clichs?

A: Unfortunately, some descriptive phrases such as "raven hair" are so popular they get overused. Soon they are words with a dull, worn-out feel. I mark terms that seem clich to me, and you can decide if you want to use them as they are, avoid them, or improve the terms with additional description. For example, to improve the clich "nut brown eyes," you could expand the description to something more specific and vivid. One possible example is "Eyes the black-flecked deep brown of pecan shells."

Q: Why are there no color photos?

A: People see colors differently depending upon their eyesight and perception, their computer monitor setting, the light in the room, and other influences. The important thing is for you to have the various words themselves. Then you can do internet image searches and color comparisons.

Q: Why is there repetition of some material?

A: Certain passages I may repeat in this how-to-write series. That way, readers can buy only the individual books that interest them, while still having access to material that pertains to all of the books. You may notice certain passages repeated book to book, including the introduction and questions sections, and some of the color definitions, though I have made them specific, where applicable, to hair, eyes, and skin. However, you are guaranteed at least ten thousand words of unique, topic-specific content per book.

You may also notice color definitions repeated between color categories that can overlap within a single book, such as blond hair and brown hair or blue eyes and green eyes. This is for your convenience so you can read the definition wherever you happen to be in the text and not have to refer back to earlier sections.

I define the terms bright, clich, connotation, subdued, and undertone as follows:

Bright is the opposite of subdued. These vivid colors reflect light rather than absorb it.

Clich is an overused expression that no longer holds much meaning for the reader. Examples of clichs include golden hair and sky blue eyes. I mark terms that seem clich to me, and you can decide if you want to use them as they are, avoid them, or improve the terms with additional description.

Connotation is an additional association beyond the literal meaning that a word picks up over time. For example, hair described as "berry-black hair" may make you visualize dark hair with purple or blue highlights like the blackberry. It also carries positive connotations of sweetness, summer, lush ripeness, and a good scent. Many connotations may be irrational, and you will not find them listed in the dictionary, though they do exist.

Subdued is the opposite of bright. These muted colors absorb light rather than reflect it.

Undertone is a color seen through another color. Examples include the pinkish undertone to the warm gold of a peach, or the cool blue undertone to milky white.