The mirror scene. You know it. This is often used by beginning writers as a way to show the reader what the POV character looks like. It goes something like this:
Courtney peered into the mirror and gasped. Her makeup was smeared from her blue eyes to her rosy cheeks. Tears rolled into the creases of her full lips. Her blonde hair was matted and in desperate need of a brushing.
The reader can picture Courtney with blue eyes, blonde hair, and full lips, and will be able to do so even after she’s cleaned herself up. But at what expense? The reader’s been torn from the story in order to learn these things. Were they really that important and worth the risk of losing the reader? Does it matter that this character has blonde hair? Do her full lips or blue eyes move the story forward or cause conflict?
If the story were in deep POV, Courtney may notice the smeared makeup and the matted hair, but she wouldn’t think of her eyes as being blue, her hair as blonde, or her lips full. She sees herself every day and would only notice differences in her appearance, unless she’s vain, which she’s not. Would the scene work if the writer removed these descriptors? That’s subjective. Some might say it would, but the scene would be weak.
A better method of introducing physical attributes to a character is through the eyes of someone else. In this case, someone could walk in on Courtney and make the exact observation she did in the above sample. If this person was someone who knew her well, they wouldn’t necessarily notice the color of her eyes or hair either. However, they would notice she’s been crying and what that’s done to her appearance. A stranger could see more than that. Someone who’s attracted to her may see beyond the smeared makeup and matted hair, and only take in the vulnerability in her blue eyes and the poutiness of her full lips.
What if the story wouldn’t work to have someone come in on Courtney? This can drive some newbie writers crazy. The novel would start without the reader knowing what the POV character looks like. True. However, most stories begin with an inciting incident (or should), so the reader’s busy reading about what’s going on rather than worrying about the color of Courtney’s hair.
Focus on getting the reader hooked on the story and then sneak the physical attributes in when the pace slows.
Have you used a mirror scene? Why or why not? How do you feel when you read mirror scenes in the work of others?
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This is so true. Also, i think describing how a character looks is overated. You can get away with little to almost no character description as long as the characterization is there. It's more important for us to know if your MC is a liar, than it is to know if he has dimples.
ReplyDeleteUnless how they look is important to the story
I read early in my writing journey that using a mirror scene is cliched, so I've avoided them ever since for the reasons you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to say I have used a mirror scene. *hangs head in shame*
ReplyDeleteIt's something I struggle with - how to give the reader enough info about a character's physical appearance without beating them over the head. I detest mirror scenes now and I'm not sure how I ever thought it was a good idea!
I really don't like mirror scenes. It seems like a cheap trick. Sadly, I am guilty of using them in the past. Not anymore.
ReplyDeleteI've heard the argument that we as writers should put as little description of our MCs as possible so that the reader can draw their own conclusions of what the protag looks like.
ReplyDeleteI've used the mirror thing a couple times but none were for the purpose of describing what my MC looked like.
ReplyDeleteI do like some description of the MC though.
Never used a mirror scene. My MC are all men, and we don't really care what we look like!
ReplyDeleteI don't like mirror scenes. I always feel I'm copping out of being creative :)
ReplyDeleteI avoid them like the plague. Most of the time I don't have another POV character to walk in and observe the MC. So it just has to be up to the reader to imagine what the character looks like.
ReplyDeleteI mean, really, unless the plot hinges on her having blond hair and blue eyes, as in a case of mistaken identity, who cares?
I never use the mirror scene because it's just too cliche. I do have other POVs notice some aspects of appearance.
ReplyDeleteGreat tip. As you know fellow crit buddy, I have one mirror scene, but it's late in the book and I didn't describe hair color and all that--just the state of her hair. :) Maybe I'm rationalizing, but I think in real life if I (like my character does) woke up hungover in some guy's t-shirt in an unfamiliar place and don't remember how I got there, i probably would glance in hotel room's mirror, lol. (Now ppl reading this comment are going to be like, what kind of book is SHE writing?)
ReplyDeleteMan, that was really good advice. I think you're right. I'm going right now to fix-up the one mirror scene I have...she only mentions the hair because it's messy and she's angry about that and other things, but maybe I don't need it anyway...except for the talking toothbrush...
ReplyDeleteI've used a few mirror scenes at the beginning of the story, but when I'm writing from first person POV, I usually don't.
ReplyDeleteAs a beginning writer, I used the mirror scene a lot, and I have since come to loathe that entire idea. I'm with Falen on this one. The personality of my MC is more important than what she looks like, unless her looks have something directly to do with the plot.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of mirror-scenes. So I try hard to avoid them...unless they come across as absolutely organic and natural.
ReplyDeleteActually, the mirror scene is a pet peeve of mine. That said, I've used a reflection scene before. But it's late in the book so I'm letting myself off the hook. ;-)
ReplyDeleteNever used a mirror scene. (But then again, I write historicals and mirrors were pretty rare!) But even so, I think description needs to reflect the character who is seeing the person. What would that particular character notice about the other person and why? Those are the things I try to highlight.
ReplyDeleteOne mirror scene that was natural, needed and seemed to work, so I was told. : )
ReplyDeleteI agree with Falen. IMO, unless a character's looks are integral to the story, physical description is extraneous detail and limits the reader's imagination. I've read all fifteen of Michael Connelly's brilliant Harry Bosch books. All I know of Bosch's physical appearance is he's of medium height and has dark hair. Still, I know him inside and out. I'm convinced I'd know him if we met on the street - my reader's imagination has filled in the holes.
ReplyDeleteIn truth, I have used a mirror scene but not with the purpose of communicating physical description. As I recall, the reference I make is to how as we get older, more and more we see our parents faces looking back at us.
I normally don't use them, but...
ReplyDeleteIn my current WIP, I do have one, right at the start when my heroine is getting into disguise. It's an integral part of her character, and the fact that she has to *choose* what she'll look like on the outside and the dissonance that creates on the inside. She's creating the perception she wants people to have of her - thus she has to convince herself of it first. It's short...she's checking the wig she picked out to make sure the color/length/style do what she needs it to (and that it's straight - I don't know anyone who could put a wig on without checking the mirror). No other descriptors of her are included.
It was added into the revisions, and I'm keeping it for now.
As far as reading goes, mirror scenes don't bug me, as long as they move the story along, and exist for some purpose other than describing the character in detail.
Maybe I'm different in this but I don't really jump through hoops to make sure people know what my main character looks like right up front. I figure some things can be left to the reader's imagination. I do work in things about, say, her frizzy hair that she can never quite manage or her lips that are too thin, things like that. Maybe it's because I write young adult/middle grade. But my romances are almost always in both hero and heroine's point of view so I can work it in through the other person in those.
ReplyDeleteYa know, I like it when those details are left out. I prefer to go with my imagination as I read it. When too many details are given, it not only derails the story, but ruins the thrill of the read for me.
ReplyDeleteMany of you have said you'd prefer little to no details of the character's appearance. I wonder if that's because we're writers and we like to imagine these things? It would be interesting to know if readers (who aren't writers) feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteLynnette Labelle
The only time I've used a mirror scene is when my character had splotches of mud on her face not for a full description. I've read that it's a big no, no.
ReplyDeleteAnn
www.cozyintexas.blogspot.com
www.annsummerville.com
"It would be interesting to know if readers (who aren't writers) feel the same way."
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think they do. People like to imagine the characters their own way. My reader-not-writer friends agree with me, because they actually have active admirations (it would seem that readers aren't THAT lazy).
In my novel, the only thing we know about my main character (of sorts) is that her eyes are brown as dirt (yes, I was feeling romantic when I drew that comparison) and that she's fairly short. I could describe her in ten paragraphs but I chose not to because it would have been (more than) jarring.
The mirror scene is something I've mostly seen in fanfiction. I agree with every single one of your points. I never use mirror scenes; probably because I'm scared of them, and when I read a mirror scene that points out character traits the person normally wouldn't notice (ex: fullness of lips, cup size, eye color) I pretty much gag. It can be done well, but since it's hard I say no.