Short sentences speed up the action. They pack punch. They also draw focus to each event. Subject. Verb. Like a camera zoomed in close. Slow-motion shots. Good for fights and epic chase scenes. Don’t fear using sentence fragments. But don’t use it for everything. It can get exhausting for the reader.
Long, complex sentences slow down the action and can create suspense and tension. Imagine them like twisting corridors and long, slow camera pans following the action from beginning to end, moving smoothly from one image to the next without lingering too long over anything in particular. Whole years can pass in the duration of a long sentence; imagine them like those panoramic establishing shots where one season fades slowly into the next. Embrace semicolons; do not shy away from complicated sentence structure from time to time as necessary. But, like all things, practice them in moderation. Long sentences can slow the reader down too much, leading to boredom; they may wander away from the page.
Angsty, moody, or otherwise a typical “dark” personality - not saying an assassin character CAN’T be those things, but it’s a little bit of a tired concept
Kills for “teh lolz” - again, not saying the character can’t be those things, but it’s another tired concept and one that reinforces the idea that the assassin character has to like what they do
Mentally unstable or emotionally unstable - kinda goes along with the kills for “teh lolz”, but more attributed to the character having some kind of mental disorder (which is usually implied sociopathy) which is almost always portrayed incorrectly
Skilled in every single weapon imaginable, even the weapons they wouldn’t normally use - not only does this not make sense (i.e, why would an assassin be skilled with heavy lances or broadswords?), but even skilled assassins have weapons they favour; it’s fine if the character has a small arsenal of weapons they use, but they would all be weapons more within the realm of their character’s job (poisons, daggers and knives, darts, bow and arrow, lighter-classed swords i.e foils or katana, hidden blades, etc)
Brags about their assassin status outside of black market circles - also goes for thief characters, but there’s no way an assassin individual would be bragging about their kills outside of black market and assassin circles; if they’re trying to get hired by someone, it would still be within black market circles and not just floating around in everyday conversations
Their first kill is easy, despite never having killed anyone before - stupid because there are very few people who can take a life and not be affected by it in some way, be it emotional or otherwise
Automatically hates everyone they come across - this is kind of a weird one, but it’s basically where the character is PURPOSEFULLY sour toward everyone they meet (or at least, the people who might hire them); this isn’t to say that the character can’t be antisocial or stiff - I mean something more along the lines of the character purposefully being a dick to everyone, ESPECIALLY to the people who might hire them; this doesn’t make sense because the assassin would never get hired, or if the assassin is working for an organization then their comrades would either kick them out or just kill them for being too insubordinate
For thieves:
Skilled inevery weapon imaginable, even the weapons they wouldn’t normally use - I’ve seen this for both thief and assassin characters, but this doubly applies to thief characters; thieves would be much more limited to the weapons they use because thieves don’t go looking for confrontation - if anything, their choice weapons would be items to aid them in their thieving (like the rope arrow from the Thief series - a special kind of arrow that allows the player to reach higher locations), or weapons that would help cover their escape should they get cornered; thieves might carry a dagger or knife to help them in a pinch, but beyond that any heavier weapons are illogical (the usage of a bow and arrow is also acceptable)
Steals from the rich but doesn’t have any real motivations or purpose for doing so - ‘Robin Hood’ type thieves are just fine, but they absolutely need to have a good reason for doing so; a prince might have defected from his royal status in order to do some good in the world and turns to stealing from the rich nobles he was once apart of is a good example of the Robin Hood thief type done properly, or maybe even a street rat who wants to steal from the rich and make the lives of their community better; it doesn’t make sense if the character doesn’t have any reason to ‘give the wealth back to the people’ if that character is stealing for themselves or for people they know
Is an extremely skilled fighter - again, not that a thief character can’t be good at fighting, but when I say this I mean that the thief character in question can literally take on hoards of guards/bad guys/mooks without breaking a sweat - that is not the point of a thief character; it would be more realistic if the character could take on maybe one or two (or maybe even three) skilled fighters if they had to, but beyond that they’d rather just run; a thief character’s preferable method of taking out guards/mooks should be sneaking up on them and knocking them out, as the thief isn’t looking to really kill anyone
Angsty, moody, or otherwise a typical “dark” personality - it’s fine for a thief character be a stiff person or just not a people person, but it’s when they’re always, always, ALWAYS brooding about every single thing is when it gets annoying
Doesn’t go after a potentially large score, or goes after something is very high risk with a low reward -the only reasons why a thief shouldn’t go after something is if the risk highly, HIGHLY outweighs the reward; a big part of being a thief is the high risk, high reward factor - if the case was a high risk and low reward, it simply doesn’t make sense for the thief to go after it; a lot of writers have their thief characters risk their lives for something that the character knows is a shit reward in order to push the story along, but in reality it just doesn’t make sense
Pickpocketing is “below” them - this one is just stupid - even the most professional thieves rely on pickpocketing in order to get an item of interest, whether it be a wallet/coin purse/whatever equivalent, a key/electronic pass/equivalent, or anything else in between
Is a highly skilled thief, but has no reason to be or has no experience - this one irks me a lot, because often a writer will have their character just getting into the thieving business, and will just automatically be good at pickpocketing, lockpicking, sneaking around, etc without having any experience or familiarity with it - double points if the character is from a place of nobility, or isn’t use to having to resort to thieving to get what they want; this is unrealistic and also pretty Sueish
Brags about their thieving skills to people outside the black market circle - why oh why would a thief expose themselves to the normal people of the world - outside of other thieving or black market circles, any other people upon finding out that individual is a thief would freak the fuck out and probably report them; the only time when the character would be relaying their thief status would be if the character is trying to get hired - but again, this would be in black market circles and not just floating around in conversations with other people
Sometimes there’s a hero who is darker than an anti-hero. This character is amoral or morally challenged. We found this article on 109.com and we thought they came up with some great ideas to get your readers on this type of character’s side.
Nine ways to make readers care
Make their ends noble even if their means are evil
10. Have their ends neither ‘good/evil’, but morally ambiguous or for the ‘greater good’ while their means are morally questionable/can be interpreted as either good/evil
11. Have another character constantly trying to prove to the other characters that the amoral character is evil
12. Have another character serve as a ‘moral compass’ for the amoral character to remind them of their goals (who is either good or amoral)
13. Make them ‘win’, but at a greater cost to someone else/group of people or to themselves (this is called a ‘pyrrhic victory’)
14. Have another character/set of characters who believe the amoral character is evil/a villain
15. Have the amoral character working for another ‘evil’ character who constantly makes them do things against their own personal beliefs
Writing with Color: Description Guide - Words for Skin Tone
We discussed the issues describing People of Color by means of food in Part Iof this guide, which brought rise to even more questions, mostly along the lines of “So, if food’s not an option, what can I use?” Well, I was just getting to that!
This final portion focuses on describing skin tone, with photo and passage examples provided throughout. I hope to cover everything from the use of straight-forward description to the more creatively-inclined, keeping in mind the questions we’ve received on this topic.
So let’s get to it.
S T A N D A R D D E S C R I P T I O N
B a s i c C o l o r s
Pictured above: Black, Brown, Beige, White, Pink.
“She had brown skin.”
This is a perfectly fine description that, while not providing the most detail, works well and will never become cliché.
Describing characters’ skin as simply brown or beige works on its own, though it’s not particularly telling just from the range in brown alone.
C o m p l e x C o l o r s
These are more rarely used words that actually “mean” their color. Some of these have multiple meanings, so you’ll want to look into those to determine what other associations a word might have.
Complex colors work well alone, though often pair well with a basic color in regards to narrowing down shade/tone.
For example: Golden brown,russet brown, tawny beige…
As some of these are on the “rare” side, sliding in a definition of the word within the sentence itself may help readers who are unfamiliar with the term visualize the color without seeking a dictionary.
“He was tall and slim, his skin a russet, reddish-brown.”
Comparisons to familiar colors or visuals are also helpful:
“His skin was an ochre color, much like the mellow-brown light that bathed the forest.”
M o d i f i e r s
Modifiers, often adjectives, make partial changes to a word.The following words are descriptors in reference to skin tone.
D a r k - D e e p - R i c h - C o o l
W a r m - M e d i u m - T a n
F a i r - L i g h t - P a l e
Rich Black, Dark brown, Warm beige, Pale pink…
If you’re looking to get more specific than “brown,” modifiers narrow down shade further.
Keep in mind that these modifiers are not exactly colors.
As an already brown-skinned person, I get tan from a lot of sun and resultingly become a darker,deeper brown. I turn a pale, more yellow-brown in the winter.
While best used in combination with a color, I suppose words like “tan”“fair” and “light” do work alone; just note that tan is less likely to be taken for “naturally tan” and much more likely a tanned White person.
Calling someone “dark” as description on its own is offensive to some and also ambiguous. (See: Describing Skin as Dark)
U n d e r t o n e s
Undertones are the colors beneath the skin, seeing as skin isn’t just one even color but has more subdued tones within the dominating palette.
Mentioning the undertones within a character’s skin is an even more precise way to denote skin tone.
As shown, there’s a difference between say, brown skin withwarm orange-red undertones (Kelly Rowland) and brown skin with cool, jewel undertones (Rutina Wesley).
“A dazzling smile revealed the bronze glow at her cheeks.”
“He always looked as if he’d ran a mile, a constant tinge of pink under his tawny skin.”
Standard Description Passage
“Farah’s skin, always fawn, had burned and freckled under the summer’s sun. Even at the cusp of autumn, an uneven tan clung to her skin like burrs. So unlike the smooth, red-brown ochre of her mother, which the sun had richened to a blessing.”
Here the state of skin also gives insight on character.
Note my use of “fawn” in regards to multiple meaning and association. While fawn is a color, it’s also a small, timid deer, which describes this very traumatized character of mine perfectly.
Though I use standard descriptions of skin tone more in my writing, at the same time I’m no stranger to creative descriptions, and do enjoy the occasional artsy detail of a character.
C R E A T I V E D E S C R I P T I O N
Whether compared to night-cast rivers or day’s first light…I actually enjoy seeing Characters of Colors dressed in artful detail.
I’ve read loads of descriptions in my day of white characters and their “smooth rose-tinged ivory skin”, while the PoC, if there, are reduced to something from a candy bowl or a Starbucks drink, so to actually read of PoC described in lavish detail can be somewhat of a treat.
Still, be mindful when you get creative with your character descriptions. Too many frills can become purple-prose-like, so do what feels right for your writing when and where.
Not every character or scene warrants a creative description, either. Especially if they’re not even a secondary character.
Using a combination of color descriptions from standard to creative is probably a better method than straight creative. But again, do what’s good for your tale.
Now before you run off to compare your heroine’s skin to the harvest moon or a cliff side, think about the associations to your words.
When I think cliff, I think of jagged, perilous, rough. I hear sand and picture grainy, yet smooth. Calm. mellow.
So consider your character and what you see fit to compare them to.
Also consider whose perspective you’re describing them from. Someone describing a person they revere or admire may have a more pleasant, loftier description than someone who can’t stand the person.
“Her face was like the fire-gold glow of dawn, lifting my gaze, drawing me in.”
“She had a sandy complexion, smooth and tawny.”
Even creative descriptions tend to draw help from your standard words.
F L O W E R S
Pictured above: Calla lilies, Western Coneflower, Hazel Fay, Hibiscus, Freesia, Rose
It was a bit difficult to find flowers to my liking that didn’t have a 20 character name or wasn’t called something like “chocolate silk” so these are the finalists.
You’ll definitely want to avoid purple-prose here.
Also be aware of flowers that most might’ve never heard of. Roses are easy, as most know the look and coloring(s) of this plant. But Western coneflowers? Calla lilies? Maybe not so much.
“He entered the cottage in a huff, cheeks a blushing brown like the flowers Nana planted right under my window. Hazel Fay she called them, was it?”
These ones are kinda odd. Perhaps because I’ve never seen these in comparison to skin tone, With the exception of amber.
At least they’re common enough that most may have an idea what you’re talking about at the mention of “pinecone.“
I suggest reading out your sentences aloud to get a better feel of how it’ll sounds.
"Auburn hair swept past pointed ears, set around a face like an acorn both in shape and shade.”
I pictured some tree-dwelling being or person from a fantasy world in this example, which makes the comparison more appropriate.
I don’t suggest using a comparison just “cuz you can” but actually being thoughtful about what you’re comparing your character to and how it applies to your character and/or setting.
W O O D
Pictured above: Mahogany, Walnut, Chestnut, Golden Oak, Ash
Wood can be an iffy description for skin tone. Not only due to several of them having “foody” terminology within their names, but again, associations.
Some people would prefer not to compare/be compared to wood at all, so get opinions, try it aloud, and make sure it’s appropriate to the character if you do use it.
“The old warlock’s skin was a deep shade of mahogany, his stare serious and firm as it held mine.”
These are trickier to use. As with some complex colors, the writer will have to get us to understand what most of these look like.
If you use these, or any more rare description, consider if it actually “fits” the book or scene.
Even if you’re able to get us to picture what “rutile” looks like, why are you using this description as opposed to something else? Have that answer for yourself.
“His skin reminded her of the topaz ring her father wore at his finger, a gleaming stone of brown, mellow facades.”
P H Y S I C A L D E S C R I P T I ON
Physical character description can be more than skin tone.
Show us hair, eyes, noses, mouth, hands…body posture, body shape, skin texture… though not necessarily all of those nor at once.
Describing features also helps indicate race, especially if your character has some traits common within the race they are, such as afro hair to a Black character.
How comprehensive you decide to get is up to you. I wouldn’t overdo it and get specific to every mole and birthmark. Noting defining characteristics is good, though, like slightly spaced front teeth, curls that stay flopping in their face, hands freckled with sunspots…
G E N E R A L T I P S
Indicate Race Early: I suggest indicators of race be made at the earliest convenience within the writing, with more hints threaded throughout here and there.
Get Creative On Your Own: Obviously, I couldn’t cover every proper color or comparison in which has been “approved” to use for your characters’ skin color, so it’s up to you to use discretion when seeking other ways and shades to describe skin tone.
Skin Color May Not Be Enough: Describing skin tone isn’t always enough to indicate someone’s ethnicity. As timeless cases with readers equating brown to “dark white” or something, more indicators of race may be needed.
Describe White characters and PoC Alike: You should describe the race and/or skin tone of your white characters just as you do your Characters of Color. If you don’t, you risk implying that White is the default human being and PoC are the “Other”).
PSA: Don’t use “Colored.” Based on some asks we’ve received using this word, I’d like to say that unless you or your character is a racist grandmama from the 1960s, do not call People of Color “colored” please.
Not Sure Where to Start? You really can’t go wrong using basic colors for your skin descriptions. It’s actually what many people prefer and works best for most writing. Personally, I tend to describe my characters using a combo of basic colors + modifiers, with mentions of undertones at times. I do like to veer into more creative descriptions on occasion.
Want some alternatives to “skin” or “skin color”?Try:Appearance, blend, blush, cast, coloring, complexion, flush, glow, hue, overtone, palette, pigmentation, rinse, shade, sheen, spectrum, tinge, tint, tone, undertone, value, wash.
I tried to be as comprehensive as possible with this guide, but if you have a question regarding describing skin color that hasn’t been answered within part I or II of this guide, or have more questions after reading this post, feel free to ask!
Under the cut is a masterlist of 320 talents and passions for characters as requested by anonymous. I tried to arrange the list into categories as best as I could. Please like or reblog if you find it useful.
I tend to not be very descriptive of hot dudes but it’s not because I want the reader to be able to project their fantasies or w/e, it’s because I am really bad at describing the kind of dude I find attractive. I mean, I can try, but none of it turns out as the sort of thing that makes you go ‘hm yes that sounds like a hunk’. Like:
“He had a figure like stretched taffy.”
“His was the sort of face that you’d forget was strange, until you looked away from him for too long and had to reacclimate.”
“His hands attached to his wrists like an afterthought.”
“You could grate cheese on his collarbones.”
“His spine curved as he stood, as if no one had told him he didn’t have tits to stick out.”
“His fingers looked like he might have snuck some extra joints in there, somehow.”
“If you looked too closely at his shoes you would realize that, based solely on length, he was clearly part clown on his father’s side.”
“He was tall in the way of large dogs that forget they can’t fit in your lap anymore.”
“He loomed, but apologetically.”
“It wasn’t just that he had a nice bone structure – a phrase used almost exclusively to refer to skulls. It was that he had nice bones. If it were socially acceptable to compliment a man on his skeleton, he’d have received them daily.”
“Everyone said that his metabolism would one day catch up with him, even as it became increasingly clear that the day would never come. They said it, anyway, to make themselves feel better.”
“His nose looked like something an octopus would draw if you could describe a nose to it, and if pencils worked underwater.”
“Something had gone terribly wrong with his eyebrows. Were they the wrong shape? Was there too much? Too little? Scientists still don’t know for sure, but they advise against looking directly at them for your own safety.”
i posted this three years ago and all that’s changed is that my grammar is worse
