What Does That Character Look Like?!

My wife is doing the first of four edits on my new book. In it, El Dorado County Sheriff's Office Sergeant Bains is featured, and what he looks like is described. My wife said, "I don't remember reading what Bains looked like in past books." 

"That's because I don't think I've ever described him before," I said. (If I have, I forgot about it, and I'll get emails from people telling me I got him wrong!)

When writers begin writing novels, we often assume we have to say what all the characters look like. But it isn't necessary.

The first book in the Owen McKenna series was the fifth novel I'd written (those books are unpublished). 

Owen McKenna's sidekick Spot

I'd described a lot of characters by the time I began Owen McKenna. With this new series, I decided I wouldn't describe what McKenna looks like other than to say he's 6' 6" and weighs 215. And, just once, Glennie, the reporter, refers to his blue eyes.

But mugshot stuff? Nada. Nothing  about his looks.

There's no rule about this. If you want, you can describe a character down to the hair on their knuckles.

What happens when you don't describe characters? Readers fill it in. I can't count the number of times readers have referred to McKenna's looks. When I say that I never described them, they tell me I'm wrong. They know I'm wrong because they know exactly what McKenna looks like. Which is, apparently, proof that I've thoroughly described him!

Same for Sergeant Diamond Martinez of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. All we know about him is that he's got brown skin (he's a Mexican immigrant). Yet readers seem to know exactly what he looks like as well. They even think he's handsome. I know this because I've gotten quite a few emails from women proposing marriage to Diamond. (I know - I didn't see that coming.) In their surprisingly earnest proposals, they make it clear he's an attractive guy.

Incidentally, I do describe other characters like Street Casey and FBI Agent Ramos and of course Spot, and many many bit characters. 

Stay tuned... The next McKenna (#19) is due out this coming August. You'll know what Sergeant Bains looks like then!