Photo of the Week: It’s in the Details

Copyright © 2012 by Brittiany A. Koren

When describing main characters, remember to include little quirks that make them stand apart from other characters in the story. This is important because it will help your readers “see” these characters, and therefore relate to them on a deeper level.

If you look closely you’ll see, for instance, the girl in this picture has a scar in her eyebrow. Her eyes are bright green and her hair almost white blonde while the hair in her eyebrow is darker.

These questions leap to mind. How did she get the scar? Does she color her hair, or is it natural?

And then from there, the story begins to develop. What is she looking at so intently? How old is she? What is it about this girl that makes her special?

Have fun with it, but don’t get too carried away. These little details, if not added in your first draft of the story, should be layered in during the second or third draft phase before the story is sent to an editor for review.

Good luck! 🙂