Speaking of NaNo... I'm thinking about my plot, and I think the grand climax is a bit of a deux ex machina. These two characters who haven't actually done anything (though they'll be mentioned from time to time) will be brought in to save the day... but since that's the solution I'll be writing toward, I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on making it seem like the inevitable conclusion rather than a cop out?

I need some advice

I'm having problems describing my main character, I was actually well into the story when I realized that I hadn't described him at all, I usually have this problem, I assume that since I know what he looks like, everyone knows what he looks like my problem is I don't know how or where to descibe him. Description is generally not one of my strong points and now I'm a little stuck

Well, how important is the description to the story? I've read through multiple books were there is very little, if any, description of what the main character looked like. (Prydain being the best example.)
But you can slip bits of description in here and there. Like 'he pushed his brown hair out of his eyes', or 'her eyes were blue, like his'

I think the description is pretty important, my main character is a skittish easily frightened boy, he's small and short for his age, in the story he grows and matures and I somehow want the reader to really see what my main character (Jeff is his name ) looks like. Also I'm gearing this book to children and I want them to identify with him, of course I know this is possible without describing what he looks like, but I still should like to somehow have him described, I'm thinking of maybe doing it a little later in the novel, I'm not sure that is the perfect choice, but it is an option in my head

I think LH was refering to physical descriptions. Does it really matter if the MC has long blonde hair, freckles, or smooth hairless skin? Sometimes you can include that, but sometimes it may not be necessary. But in terms of characteristics, is your character skittish and easily frightened? Show what happens during a thunderstorm. Have him do a task that is scary for him. If he's scared of hights, show his reaction to looking down over a bridge. Just don't tell us he's scared. Give us a scene that makes us understand that he is scared. You can then gradually give him things that will help him overcome it and eventually conquer it.

Like I said, I think it's important that he is described (his physical appearance) but then maybe it's not important, I don't know ,(I'm very double minded when it comes to this) I guess I'll see how the story goes and see if it's necessary or not, usually I do like it for my readers to be able to know what my main character looks like, for some reason it's important to me, but with this story, somehow an opportunity isn't really coming out, I guess I'll just keep writing and see. It never did occur to me that the main character's physical appearance didn't have to be described, thanks for pointing that out Lady Haleth, it will really help me as I keep writing, cause I have a tendency to over describe (ad since I'm really bad at description, it can sometimes come out REALLY corny)

thanks Fencer, I do have a problem with bluntly telling my readers everything without letting them discover it for themselves, I think I did just write that he was scared of everything....I'm going to go back and edit a bit

Me and my sister grew up always writing very detailed descriptions of everyone we wrote about, and it wasn't worth it. You should be able to put the kinds of description that Fencer and Lady H mentioned, just throughout the book and stuff. By the end of most good books, though they don't describe the character, I can still see and feel what they're like.

That being said, there are important places where said descriptions are necessary. For example, it was very important for CS Lewis to describe Shasta as a blond-haired, fair-skinned lad because Calormen was filled with dark-skinned people. It made him stand out. In the Bible, we don't get much of a physical description of King David but we do get one of his son, Absolam. Why? Because Absolam's long hair is what led to his demise. Every single word in the story should be there for a reason.

I recommend against giving physical descriptions in a list-like format. "He was 5' 10", about 170 pounds, slender build, curly brown hair..." This is stuff reader will skip over. Is that information important for the reader to know who he is? If the character is very aware of his short height, you can mention it, but do so through an interaction. I have a fencer friend I compete with who is 6 foot 9 inches. I met him when he was 13 and he was 6' 7" then. If I were to describe him, I wouldn't just say he was 6' 9". I would describe how I had to look up at him and keep a very long distance from his long arm when it has a 3' blade attached to it. I could mention the actual height but do so in this encounter. In my book, I have a 13-year old character who fearlessly stands against a villian the size of an adult bear. The size contrast is important to the scene. But I don't mention it until that point. It wasn't important to mention it until then. The reader only knows the age up to that point.

Now there are times where a physical feature reveals a lot about a character. A brunette with sun-bleached hair shows the person gets out a lot. Bulging muscles in the thighs reveal an athlete in a sport that requires a lot of legs. Fencers have huge thighs, especially in the 'rear' leg (for righties, it's the left leg; for lefties its the right leg) due to the extensive lunging they do in footwork drills and competition. A scar reveals an injury or a surgury, or an identification. You don't need to go into extreme detail unless it is necessary to do so. But think about what makes this person unique and describe what is necessary to make that person unique. It takes practice, this I know.

those are good points fencer, I didn't mention my main character's height until he meets with a girl who is a little shorter than him even though she is a great deal older than him (she's from a different world where the inhabitants are very short )
Like I said description is a very weak point for me and sometimes I wish I could just skip it I'm just so bad at it, but I guess practice makes perfect
It's so nice that there is a place I can come too for advice

FencerforJesus, I've heard that its best to give out descriptions of the character right away. That way, a reader won't have to constantly readjust their image of a character as new information is given. Its interesting that you suggest differently. Do you find that to be a problem?

I also agree that its best not to describe character traits with a list. It can be tedious to read and even to write.

It really depends on the context. I do understand where that is coming from. If something like height or a scar is a big point, it is not necessarily a bad idea to mention early. My point was not to mention it for the sake of mentioning it. For example with my character I never actually list his height. I describe his age, which gives the reader an estimation about his size and what he does (karate) so the reader knows he is physically fit. But the height is described more like to give the contrast between him and a foe he is fighting.

And it is also important to realize that different authors will suggest different things. What you heard is no less valid than what I have to say. What you don't want is for readers to skim over parts. This is a big part of show vs tell. Keep the reader inside the story. The reader doesn't want to be pulled out of the story and given an expose from the author. I've only read one book where that was done successfully and that was The Devil's Sword by Douglass Richards. He will pull out of the story to explain fencing terms and actions but nothing beyond that.

Does that clarify what I was saying?

Yes, that helps a lot Fencer. Thanks for the explanation.

Yeah I learned about character description when someone was giving me pointers on fanfiction.net. Usually in the beginning especially with the book I am currently writing I squeeze in the main characters age. About a few paragraphs later I mention that when she bends down she brushes her light brown hair behind her shoulders. Does this give good enough reason? She's bending over because she is visiting a grave sight.

I actually found nothing more fun than writing a very detailed description of all of my characters, in the front of whatever I was writing, and my sister did the same. And then I occasionally read books that had them, and I was

I have a tendency to tell everything about my characters right in the very beginning, I tell the reader everything, from what they look like, to what their personality is, their history, their goals, their dreams...everything . I do discover though, when I am editing, that it gets very boring to have everything told all at once. When I read a book, I like to discover the character, I do like it when the character is described, but naturally I don't want to know everything about them at once. I am slowly learning how to desribe characters so that you get to know them well and it is interesting at the same time. It's tricky for me cause I am so hopelessly bad at description .

I'm at writer's block right now, which is TERRIBLE, cause I've only got three weeks of CampNaNo left to write and I'm only on 10,157 words what to do