Okay, for our characters and settings, we need descriptions.

We're making a book. Books have a story that's being told, and in these stories, they have to have characters, and if they have characters, they have to have a look. A look we can imagine, of course.

Some of the people on here fail at describing the look of their characters.

example one
Sometimes I have to stop the food in my microwave and stir it around and put it back in there because that shit don't be hot yet it do all that damn popping though.

Anyway, how rude of me, I didn't even introduce myself. My name is Collardia Greenae Neckbone, I am seventeen years old, and I'm a bad bitch. I stand at 5'4, I'm light skinned and highkey look like a fried Caucasian. I got "Grass Ain't Greener" hazel eyes from my fresh off the boat from Barcelona, Rollercoaster, Ginuwine Anxious, Mexico, mixed with every country that's far away from America daddy and my black momma. I got juicy big lips, big ass titties (a 78ZZZ), a slim, anexoric waist, and a dumb fat, ridiculous booty that sit up real good. My hair is long and thick like a dick, and goes all the way down to the corner store round the way by Ray Ray'nem house.

Cut it the fuck out.

example two
Characters

Dandruffia Coconuit Oila:
17 yrs old
Light skin
Blue eyes
Hair all the way down to her back,
Friends: Chevy, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Escalade, and Toyota.
Sisters: Jamaiciana Blackish Castoria Oila, Grapseedisha Oila, Marcujia Oila, Teasha Treena Oila

Stop, goddamn it. STOP.

You do not describe a character like this. It's pathetic. This goes for physically describing a character as well as describing a character's life and background.

Think of describing your characters as if you're meeting somebody for the first time. Do they sit and describe themselves like, "Hi, my name is Zakiyah. I'm five feet and ten inches, I have brown skin and brown eyes. My hair is shoulder-length and I have two deep dimples in my cheeks. I was born on November 6th, 1998 and I'm nineteen years old. My mother is black and my father is black too. He was born in Miami, and my mother was born in Georgia. I'm not in school right now but I work and I barely make anything but I'm getting by."

No. People do not sit and describe themselves like this. It's robotic and unnatural, and if you know anybody that describes themselves like this: call up a mental asylum, seal they ass in an envelope and mail they ass off.

When you meet somebody for the first time, they don't physically describe themselves to you; you physically describe them in your mind because you are at looking at them.

In a story, fleshing out character descriptions from multiple characters' viewpoints is helpful. This means you use other characters or a point-of-view to describe a character.

DESCRIPTIONS
IN FIRST & THIRD
POINT-IN-VIEW
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example one [first person point-of-view]

         I push on, moving my legs a little faster as I'm able to now get a better look at his features – a sharp jawline and defined chin with a patch of hair, thin pink lips, a fresh and trimmed mustache, and small, beady dark brown eyes that always hold a glint of mischief.

      "Lil' crack boo-boo. You gone ignore me?" He asks, and I quickly dart my attention away from his face as he smiles at me, his teeth seeming to clash in a confusing manner—a top row of perfect, and a bottom of jagged, sharp shards.

       I step to the right side of the sidewalk to move out of their way, but of course, Buns shifts to the left, blocking me from walking down the concrete, and towering over my five foot, seven inched build with his six foot and one inch height.

       "Can you please get out of the way, Buns? I have somewhere to be," I speak, hoping the annoyance is clear as day on my face and in my voice, even though I know he could care less.

        He shrugs his shoulders, crossing his arms over his chest, and pressing his lips into a squished smirk as he turns his head to the right, eyes on me, "Now you know damn well I'on give no shits about where you gotta' be—all I'm worried about is where Doongy lil' pissy, musty ass at with that 76 dollars she owe me," he presses, moving closer to me.

         I back up a few steps, and shake my head. I don't know what to tell him. I haven't seen my mother in a week, and probably won't be seeing her anytime soon.

        "I haven't seen her in a week, and she hasn't lef-"

       Buns groans, shaking his head and cutting his teeth. "Yo'! You tryna' play me, Crack boo-boo", he reaches and grabs the collar of my shirt, pulling me to him until our noses begin to touch, "cause I'on like for nobody ta' play me. That's what you not gone do!"

        "I'm tellin' you I haven't seen her!" I notice the look he gives me and the frown on my face grows deeper.

       "And I for sure don't have a damn dime for you. I'm just as broke as she is!" This earns me an amused smile from Buns and a few cackles from his friends.

       He pats my head, his fingers lingering longer than I like in the natural curls of my hair before he smiles back down at me, "Yeah, alright Lil' crack-baby," he responds, shoving his hand in the pocket of the clean, boot-cut jeans covering his legs,

         "Make sho' Doongy have my money when she bring her punk ass back from wherever the fuck she went, or you gone have to pay it back for her," he adds before he walks down the sidewalk with his friends in the opposite direction and leaves me standing there like a puzzled fool at the suggestive tone in his voice before I start my walk again.

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You see that? You got somewhat of a description from both characters and it flowed off each other with comparisons and contrasts. Instead of being unnatural and robotic, it flowed.

The main character's characteristics:
towering over my five foot, seven inched build
natural curls of my hair

Though it's not a lot, you get something, and you have your whole book (if you're doing first-person-of-view) to write and expect more encounters, and you can add more to the main character's characteristics. Don't try to describe your main character all in one sitting; do it little by little.

Buns' characteristics:
I'm able to now better look at his features—a sharp jawline and defined chin with a patch of hair, thin pink lips, a fresh and trimmed mustache, and small, beady dark brown eyes that always hold a glint of mischief.
his teeth seeming to clash in a confusing manner—a top row of perfect, and a bottom of jagged, sharp shards.
with his six foot and one inch height.

This is what I meant when I said, "You physically describe them in your mind because you are at looking at them." This is what the main character sees.

Usually, I don't write in first person point-of-view because it's a little tricky; I'm more comfortable with third person point-of-view, but I have started writing in first because I wanted to challenge myself, and I'm starting to like it.

example two [third person point-of-view]

         Stepping out the sports car dressed down in a white, crisp Burberry Oxford Polo shirt, bleached denim Cavalli jeans that sagged lowly on his waist, and a pair of Air Jordan 11 Retro low Cobalt's on his feet was Cartier. Tunja took in his lean, but muscular five foot, eleven inch build as he ambled towards her; his skin the color of Kalahari sand with a touch of honey, eyes deep and dark brown, along with a tapered fade on his head leading down to a thick, perfectly trimmed beard on his sharp jawline and chin.

         "What's happenin', baby girl?" He greeted, his eyes on her as well as he eyed her appearance with a casual gaze. A thin white wife-beater, grey Nike joggers, and a pair of Yeezy Moon-rock Boost 350 sneakers on her feet—Cartier would have assumed her as one of the rest of the little nappy headed niggas that strolled around the block if it weren't for her curly tendrils of hair, ample 36D breasts, broad hips and feminine features.

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To some people, writing and describing in third person point-of-view is easy. You can say anything without sounding crazy, vain, and obnoxious, right?

Wrong as shit.

Third person point-of-view is just as tricky and maybe even a little harder than first person. In first person POV, you are writing as the main character. Their thoughts, their opinions on things and what they see have to be written, and in this situation, you have to put yourself in these shoes and write as if it's you.

With third person, you're writing as if you're a cameraman. Meaning that feeling of putting yourself in the shoes of your characters is non-existent. Your opinions and commentary should be dormant, and some of y'all like, "Well, duh. That's easy."

But then you slip and say some shit like, "From afar, Chelsea could see Micheal walking alongside another woman with his arms wrapped around her shoulders, and she felt an anger that surged through her body. You know the type of anger that makes your face red."

Some shit like that is what'll have your book looking a hot ass mess. I jumped from trying to help y'all with descriptions to giving y'all a lesson on point-of-views, I'm pathetic.

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AUTHOR'S
NOTE

This is just part one, I'll be making a part two on how to be more descriptive without being bland or going over the top.

Lemme' know some descriptions that made you wanna' delete the book and Wattpad from your life.