One-Liners

I read a description recently that really caught my interest and perfectly described the person. It’s a historical figure, so hopefully it’s accurate, but I thought it is a wonderful exercise anyway, to describe a character in one sentence.

John Ehle wrote Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation. This is how he described Andrew Jackson: “Andrew Jackson had been born with gunpowder spicing his veins.”

What an excellent image. It evokes a man who is quick to fight or fly off the handle, a man who might be explosive, belligerent. Everything I just wrote is true, but Ehle said it more succinctly.

Succinct and concise are not words often used to describe my writing. My descriptions tend toward the Dickensian, and most people don’t consider that a compliment. Let me try my hand at a few characters from my current WIP:

Tom Norton had the constant leftward tilt of a newspaperman used to holding the phone between ear and shoulder, in a world that had long ago moved to the digital. (not exactly concise)

Fern was of an age with Mia’s parents, if they’d been alive, who might have stepped out of a clambake movie, complete with pedal pushers, beehive, and red lipstick. She was one of those people who always managed to be a borough worker with access, and you didn’t realize that the dirt you were dishing would be stored in pots to grow grapevines later. (I’m getting more expansive!)

Kate gathered whistles and back-stabbing glances in equal measure.

Obviously I have some work to do, but that’s the point, isn’t it? We want to constantly improve our craft. Can you write a one-line description about a character in your WIP or a real person?