Show DON'T Tell III

Last tip described how to find mannerisms to describe a character. Tip III piggybacks on the mannerism theme and will provide you with a unique way to describe what a character's looks.

Describing a main character's physical attributes is important but a long list of descriptors will put a reader to sleep, if they do more than scan through, that is.

Make use of mannerisms and habits of your character to describe physical attributes (if they are important).

For instance, one main character is bald or balding. Don’t give us a point by point description of the man, show it: Lex ran a hand over his bald head before he answered the question.

Smoothly included in the narrative, this statement not only shows action, it gives a crucial piece of the character's description and let's us know that he paused and considered before answering.