Lit Fest 2024

We often forget the importance of quick character descriptions. In our early drafts, we sometimes devote paragraphs describing our characters, even sliding into police-type descriptions: 6’4”, blonde, blue eyes. Yet, with all that description, we know nothing important about that character. But the best stories, novels, and essays have succinct descriptions that give us a strong sense of the character. We'll go through some examples of character descriptions in fiction and nonfiction, then do some exercises to find deeper descriptions of our characters that tell us more about who they are and help propel your story forward.