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amandaonwriting:

We are often asked if characters should describe themselves at Writers Write. We are asked how they could describe themselves. When we came across this post by Stephanie Orges, we wanted to share some of her ideas with you. (If you want to read the full article, follow the link at the end)

Six Ways First Person Narrators Can Describe Themselves

By Stephanie Orges

1. Don’t describe him at all
Do your readers have to know what the protagonist looks like to understand the plot? If not, consider leaving it out altogether. 

2. Give it to your reader straight
If you are actually telling the story with frequent quirky asides to your “dear reader”, your hero can simply describe himself during introductions. But be warned: don’t try to force it if this isn’t your style.

3. Embarrass them
Make them self-conscious about a physical flaw. She only smiles close-mouthed because she’s embarrassed by the gap in her teeth. He wishes he had biceps like the head jock.

4. Compare and contrast with another character
‘My daughter has my crooked smile, but her father’s blue eyes’. These can even create a poetic effect, as you can simultaneously compare and contrast personality traits as well.

5. Use dialogue
Her best friend gently explains dark roots are out of fashion. His father remarks he really ought to cut his hair (he looks like a hippie). Her enemy asks if she’s a natural redhead. Use compliments and nicknames.

6. Show, don’t tell
If they are short, have them struggle to reach something most others could get. If tall, have them duck through doorways. If they are unattractive, make them self-conscious around people of the opposite sex. Your hero’s appearance is reflected in the way other characters react to it.

Read the full article: Source

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Literary Birthday - 26 April

Happy Birthday, Bernard Malamud, born 26 April 1914, died 18 March 1986

10 Bernard Malamud Quotes

1. I work with language. I love the flowers of afterthought.
2. I’m an American, I’m a Jew, and I write for all men. A novelist has to, or he’s built himself a cage. 
3. A writer is a spectator, looking at everything with a highly critical eye.
4. First drafts are for learning what your novel or story is about. 
5. Revision is one of the exquisite pleasures of writing.
6. Life is a tragedy full of joy.
7. The purpose of a writer is to keep civilisation from destroying itself.
8. Those who write about life, reflect about life. You see in others who you are.
9. We have two lives… the life we learn with and the life we live after that. Suffering is what brings us towards happiness.
10. If the stories come, you get them written, you’re on the right track. Eventually everyone learns his or her own best way. The real mystery to crack is you.

Malamud was an American author of novels and short stories. Along with Saul Bellow and Philip Roth, he was one of the great American Jewish authors of the 20th century. His baseball novel, The Natural, was adapted into a 1984 film starring Robert Redford. His 1966 novel The Fixer won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.

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by Amanda Patterson for Writers Write