physically describing characters (or not)

[Rubberwolf]

Overall, I agree with all of the comments that say you should leave a lot to the readers own imagination. However, you can not let the reader stagger too blindly. Who knows what mischief they might get themselves into.

For myself, I like to give a sketch, elaborating on background a little, but I will also try to add hints as to their personality (EG She was also quite rare in that, unlike other girls of her age group, she was still comfortable to wear her hair in plats.). I think that what I am saying is that it is best to give the reader a general outline, where you also hint at the emotional charactor, rather than the usual hair colour, vital statistics and job description (At 24, Cherry considered her looks to be one of her best assets. Although she was quite a successful lawyer and enjoyed the power that this career choice gave her amongst her fellows, long blond hair, a 24" waist and 34DD breasts gave her an even greater advantage, in and out of court, Blah, Blah, Blah).

Rubberwolf

[Alex Bragi]

Rubberwolf, I believe you are correct in wanting to give your readers a least a basic idea of what your characters look like, however it's important to remember that, here on line, you're writing for www. I live in Australia--we're in metric measurements, so a 24 " waist isn't going to mean much to most Aussies. Also, male readers who aren't as savvy about women's bras as you, aren't going to be clear on how big 34DD tits are. This is the reason people who know a whole lot more about writing than me always say: Avoid using exactly measurements.

[Rubberwolf]

True Alex. However, that is the point I was making. Many descriptions of a female charactor by authors tends to describe their vital statistics, age and job. It is less common to sescribe sombody as slight, lanky etc.

You are probably right about the bra size, but the UK still usues inches for it's clothes sizes. I would have difficulty visualizing metric in writing about a constricting corset, since it would mean little to me or my local readership. But a fair point and I will bear it in mind in future.