physically describing characters (or not)

[Mad Lews]

I remember reading Stephen King (in On Writing) say that there was no need to describe what a person was wearing. The very next book of his that I picked up started with: He was a big, broad-shouldered man in a worn and scuffed corduroy jacket and plain twill slacks


I think this shows that there is no hard and fast rule but, for me, there is also nothing worse than a sentence that includes: She had 48DD breasts

Dearest Isabella (no relation?) King

Either that or Stephen King was having a rough time getting the story rolling.
I suppose we should be grateful the character wasn't admiring his budging biceps under the straining denim work shirt as he stared into the cheap motel mirror.
You are partially right though, while anyone can think of a few hard and fast rules, nobody should follow them all the time.That would be boring.
Knowing when you can get away with rule busting, that's the key.

Yours
Mad & Lews

[underwhere]

You are partially right though, while anyone can think of a few hard and fast rules, nobody should follow them all the time.That would be boring.
Knowing when you can get away with rule busting, that's the key.

Yours
Mad & Lews

I guess thats really the heart of the question I was asking, though. What, exactly, are "the rules" here? One can't, after all, effectively engage in "rule busting" without knowing what rules there are to be busted in the first place. Based upon this discussion, it seems to me that one simply CAN'T generalize at all because different authors and different readers seem to have differing expectations for what they like.

Which leads me back to my original question, I guess. What is an author to do: go with what works for the author, whether that happens to include physical descriptions or not, or go with a perceived expectation of the reader which, as an author, one simply can't make any rational or reasonable guesses at? I'm currently leaning towards "write for the author, and if the story and premise is good enough, no matter how the story is told, the reader will come along for the ride". Is this a reasonable assumption to make?

[Mad Lews]

I guess thats really the heart of the question I was asking, though. What, exactly, are "the rules" here? One can't, after all, effectively engage in "rule busting" without knowing what rules there are to be busted in the first place. Based upon this discussion, it seems to me that one simply CAN'T generalize at all because different authors and different readers seem to have differing expectations for what they like.

Which leads me back to my original question, I guess. What is an author to do: go with what works for the author, whether that happens to include physical descriptions or not, or go with a perceived expectation of the reader which, as an author, one simply can't make any rational or reasonable guesses at? I'm currently leaning towards "write for the author, and if the story and premise is good enough, no matter how the story is told, the reader will come along for the ride". Is this a reasonable assumption to make?

Dearest underwhere,

The quandry as you view it comes down to a question of why you write. Do you write to tell a story (write for yourself essentially.) or do you write to be read. Probably most people do both to varying degrees. You have a story you want to tell and hope others will read and enjoy it. The second motive is a social act that requires your ability to manipulate the thoughts and feelings of your audience in a predictable way; you want them to think, feel, and react to your story in the way that you intended. That is where we run into common rules loosely based on social expectations.

OK listen up, The long, hard, and fast, but not too fast, rule is. You use descriptives of your character if and only if.

1) It is essential to the nature of the character(blind, peg legged, pirate)
or

2) the description advances the plot of the story.(blind, peg legged, ethnically diverse pirate with a soft spot for bleach-blond Hispanic transvestites)

Now you have a rule to violate, enjoy yourself.

Mad