I am The Morning and Evening Star, always rising

Tips on How To Describe Clothing

1.  Don’t Go Overboard

Over-describing clothing can get in the way of the flow of your scenes, so keep it short and sweet.

Do your readers really need to know what each of the five rings your character is wearing looks like? 

Do they really need to know that your character’s jeans have exactly five rips in them or that they’re wearing this very one specific Gucci shirt that you saw online and are now describing in depth for no reason?

You don’t have to info-dump everything about a character’s outfit the moment they walk in, because being completely honest, your narrator probably won’t notice all that stuff right off the bat. Stick to the basics and defining features for the first look, and you can always sprinkle in descriptions during the dialogue.  

2. Clothing can help the readers get to know your character: Make It Count!

Saying that a character walks in wearing jeans and a T-shirt doesn’t say all that much about them. I mean, you can infer some things, but it’s pretty basic and could be worn by anyone. Clothing is an excellent way to show and not tell your audience about your character, and you should utilize it to the fullest!

Take this example:

A character walks in. She has eight studs in each ear, holographic Doc Martens, ripped jeans, and a T-shirt with some obscure band logo on it. The shirt is discolored in places from when she’d spilled bleach and tried to use her black hair dye to re-stain it.

Before she’s even opened her mouth, you already have a good idea of what this character is going to be like in a matter of two sentences. Readers can piece together assumptions about a character just by their outfit alone, and it can save you a whole lot of time later.

Things you can describe about an outfit that can help give it personality:

Certain logos or patterns

The color

The condition (stains, rips, frays, etc.)

The style (Doc Martens and leather jackets to go for a more grunge/goth/punk aesthetic, loose-fitting sweaters and glasses for academia, sweatpants and sweatshirts for people who don’t care much for the status quo, etc.)

The fit (loose, tight, etc.)

Self-alterations (ie T-shirt cut sloppily into crop top, jeans rolled up, addition of pins/patches/paintings, etc.)

3. Setting Counts!

A character that lives in Minnesota isn’t going to go strutting around in booty shorts and a tank top in the dead of winter. 

Someone from a different country may not wear the same things as people in America. 

People from cities may be more fashion-forward, while people from the country choose their fashion more based on usefulness. 

People from different time periods will wear different clothes depending on gender presentation, social class, and country of origin—so research accordingly!

Scene-by-scene setting also counts! 

If a character walks into an important meeting in pajamas, it’ll tell the readers a lot about who they are as a person, so dress your character accordingly for every situation. Do they not care about how they look, or are they very dress to impress for every possible occasion?

4. Stick to What Your Narrator Knows

You might’ve researched all different kinds of fabric and styles from around the world, but unless your character is a cultural anthropologist or a fashion major, they probably won’t know what you know!

Will your character who lives off the land, has no internet, and hasn’t gone to school since the 60s really know what chiffon is, or will they just say “translucent mesh fabric”? 

Will your character who doesn’t normally don feminine clothing know what an A-line drop hem fit and flare dress is? Will your character know the minute technical details of clothing from different countries or cultures?

The chance is that they won’t, so don’t try to dump all your research onto your readers: some of them might not know these things, either!

Some Tips on How to Describe Bodies

Bodies can be really hard to get right. Humans have got to be one of the most complicated things to describe, since we come in such a variety! Unless you’re an identical twin, no one person looks exactly the same. 

Describing bodies has a lot to do with timing and putting the important things first, while spreading out the rest over the course of your story to piece together more and more of your character like a jigsaw puzzle. Though this can seem like a daunting task, I’ve provided you with a list of tips and tricks that can help you out!

1. Don’t dump all your information in one go

Info-dumping about how your character looks the moment they walk through the door isn’t going to go over well for the rhythm and the pacing of your story, and will completely interrupt the flow.

Think about what you FIRST see when you meet someone. 

Your attention is drawn to their face, their body, their clothes, or any distinguishing characteristics— it isn’t automatically drawn to a small birth mark on their neck that looks like a skull. Even though it’s super cool and might be a very important aspect of your character, it’s a small detail, and noticing things like that usually comes later during conversation, when you’re sizing people up and trying to get a read on their personality.

When you get a glimpse of a painting at a museum, the first thing you is the picture it’s making, and only when you get closer and start to analyze it, you begin to see all the individual brush strokes. That’s what a first impression is like.

Things You Can Describe During a First Impression:

Hair color/hair style

Age

Skin color

Height

Body type (Willowy, stout, muscular, scrawny, round, etc.)

Clothing (You can find my post on how to describe clothing here)

Assistive devices they may have if they’re disabled

Any distinguishable characteristics (scars, acne, tattoos, horns, wings, etc.)

(Note: Eye color is NOT on this list for a reason! Think about your friends and family. Do you even know what color eyes they have? Eye color is should only be described if it’s distinct, like red or completely demonic black or glowing, etc.)

2. Weave It Into Your Narrative

I didn’t want to say “show don’t tell” because I hate saying that on every single post I make........but yeah, it’s basically show don’t tell.

Using association to describe your character will work a lot more effectively after the first impression than a huge paragraph shoving details in your reader’s face, and it’ll also help you reveal certain aspects of your character’s personality on top of that!

Some examples you can use for association:

Your character’s hair sheds a lot. People find [color/texture] hair all over the place.

Your character runs their fingers through/plays with/twirls their [color/texture] hair.

Your character gets sick/injured and their [color/texture] hair is falling out.

Your POC character is wearing Black hairstyles, such as cornrows, locs, twists, etc.

Your POC character is the Vice President of the [Race] Student Union at school.

Your POC character has several aspects from their culture that affects their daily lives. 

Your POC character experiences a microaggression.

Your white character can “go pale” or “white as a sheet” when they’re surprised or scared. 

Sweat can glisten on your character’s [color] skin. 

Get creative! There are more ways to inadvertently describe how people look than you think!

3. Educate Yourself

Make sure the words you use to describe someone’s body isn’t going to make anyone upset or offended! Hurtful language can be very off-putting, especially for communities that don’t get much representation in books. 

Try your best to avoid stereotyping, and if you’re worried about it, don’t hesitate to ask someone! Tumblr has a very vibrant user population, and I know many blogs that would be happy to help!

For reference, here are some pitfalls that you should make sure you don’t fall into when describing bodies

1. Comparing the skin tones of POC to food (i.e. mocha, chocolate, coffee, etc.) 

This makes many POC very uncomfortable and is rooted in the constant hypersexualization of POC in books. Don’t shy away from the word brown! It’s a widely accepted descriptor, and definitely more widely accepted than food comparisons. However, brown can be vague (since a color can come in all different shades), so make sure you specify! Don’t be wishy-washy. 

Check out @writingwithcolor‘s FAQ!! It’s a big help.

2. Describing Black hair textures as “kinky,” “wild,” “unkempt,” “wooly,” or “nappy”

These descriptors automatically put a negative connotation on the appearance of natural Black hair, so steer clear! 

3. Reverting to white as default

This is when you describe all of the skin tones of your POC characters but don’t describe the skin tones of your white characters. In doing this, you’re making white the default, and that your readers should automatically assume a character is white unless it’s stated otherwise.

4. Describing a character as ugly or unattractive just because they don’t meet unrealistic body type expectations

This is a big no-no! Imagine you’re reading a book and the author insults someone who looks just like you, claiming that because of how much they weigh/how their face or nose is shaped/ how they have a disability that they’re ugly! Imagine how much that would hurt your self-esteem. Be nice!!!

5. Describing boobs an unnecessary amount

I’m looking at you, men. Sure, if your character is wearing a very low-cut shirt and wants people to see their boobs, then fine. If your narrator is flirty and hyper-sexual, than maybe I’ll let it slide. If they’re meeting under promiscuous circumstances, then okay. 

But if your character is just meeting a woman under normal circumstances, don’t describe her boobs! Don’t spend more than just a quick sentence and go on and on for paragraphs talking about their shape and size and UGH. Stop sexualizing women’s bodies please, and stop sexualizing girls and minors, too, or I’ll steal your kneecaps. 

6. Do your research before writing characters from a group that you’re not a part of!

E.A. Deverell - FREE worksheets (characters, world building, narrator, etc.) and paid courses;

Rach Academia - FREEBIES (workbook, notion template, games, challenges, etc.);

Hiveword - Helps to research any topic to write about (has other resources, too);

BetaBooks - Share your draft with your beta reader (can be more than one), and see where they stopped reading, their comments, etc.;

Charlotte Dillon - Research links;

Writing realistic injuries - The title is pretty self-explanatory: while writing about an injury, take a look at this useful website;

One Stop for Writers - You guys... this website has literally everything we need: a) Description thesaurus collection, b) Character builder, c) Story maps, d) Scene maps & timelines, e) World building surveys, f) Worksheets, f) Tutorials, and much more! Although it has a paid plan ($90/year | $50/6 months | $9/month), you can still get a 2-week FREE trial;

One Stop for Writers Roadmap - It has many tips for you, divided into three different topics: a) How to plan a story, b) How to write a story, c) How to revise a story. The best thing about this? It's FREE!

Story Structure Database - The Story Structure Database is an archive of books and movies, recording all their major plot points;

National Centre for Writing - FREE worksheets and writing courses. Has also paid courses;

Penguin Random House - Has some writing contests and great opportunities;

Crime Reads - Get inspired before writing a crime scene;

The Creative Academy for Writers - "Writers helping writers along every step of the path to publication." It's FREE and has ZOOM writing rooms;

Reedsy - "A trusted place to learn how to successfully publish your book" It has many tips, and tools (generators), contests, prompts lists, etc. FREE;

QueryTracker - Find agents for your books (personally, I've never used this before, but I thought I should feature it here);

Pacemaker - Track your goals (example: Write 50K words - then, everytime you write, you track the number of the words, and it will make a graphic for you with your progress). It's FREE but has a paid plan;

Save the Cat! - The blog of the most known storytelling method. You can find posts, sheets, a software (student discount - 70%), and other things;

I hope this is helpful for you!

Also, don't forget to check my gumroad shop, where you can find plenty of FREEBIES (from notion templates for writers to workbooks and sheets).

-> Check out my freebies

The Navajo have a unique tradition. When a baby is born, it is regarded as the ultimate, precious gift and must never be abused. From the moment of birth, the child is watched over continuously by family and friends, who patiently wait for the child’s first…laugh.

“Has your baby laughed?” is common question posed to parents who have infants around the age of three months. The first laugh of a Navajo child is a very significant event. It marks the child’s final passing from the spirit world to the physical world, meaning he or she is now fully human. This milestone warrants a party, and what a party it is!

Whichever brother, sister, parent, cousin, aunt, uncle, or passing acquaintance is present at the first laugh is deemed to have caused it.  The laughter instigator then receives the honored privilege of preparing a special ceremony to welcome the child into society.

Once a baby has laughed, training in generosity begins immediately—a value held in high regard among the Navajo people. At the party, where the baby is considered the host, the parents or person responsible for the first laugh help hold the baby’s hand as he or she ceremonially gives the rock salt, food, and gifts to each guest. There are also bags of candy, money, and other presents that the child “gives” along with the food. [x]

a black girl character growing her hair out long breaks more stereotypes than a black girl character having short hair

a black girl character getting to be soft and fragile breaks more stereotypes than a black girl character being strong all the time

a black girl character being protected and comforted by others breaks more stereotypes than a black girl character having no one to look out for her but herself

a black girl character being considered pretty or cute by other characters breaks more stereotypes than a black girl character being considered unattractive

not everything that is empowering for white girls is empowering for black girls

- Colors of summer -

But studies show otherwise: Black women are killed and sexually assaulted by the police, and incarcerated at almost three times the rate of their white female counterparts. Yet news coverage of these cases are focused largely on the relationship between law enforcement and black men.

From the linked article above. None of this diminishes the importance of any Black Lives Matter protests or the lives of black men.