: Re: Is this kind of description not recommended? I think I read somewhere that when writing, you shouldn't describe characters by their characteristics i.e. The tall man walked across the room

@Nimeshi163

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This reads completely normal to me and I don't really see anything wrong with it.

If "tall" is what identifies the person in this scene it would be normal to use that if the narrator doesn't know the name of the person or wants to emphasize this person being "tall" for whatever reason, such as a small room or something like that.

Don't necessarily listen to any writing advice you find online as if it was the sole truth. Not everyone is an expert and if I write in my own blog that something shouldn't be done then maybe that is simply my opinion - not what everyone else ought to take as the holy grail. Read lots of opinions and you will come closer to the truth.

Maybe there was a reason this person said that you shouldn't use such characteristics. Or there is missing context. If the narrator knows the name of the character, why would they use such a description? Again, there can be reasons like I mentioned above, but if there is no such reasons you should probably use the name.

But without any more context about the kind of situations where you shouldn't do this such an advice is far too broad and generic. There are lots of advices like that for every kind of thing you shouldn't do in writing. It's the same in other fields, too. There are lots of advices about what a programmer should never, ever do for example - unless, of course, they know what they are doing and have a reason. Often this advice is for people new to the craft - many edge cases where things can go horribly wrong, so better stick to the simple stuff and an easy to remember guideline than to learn about every possible pitfall yet. There are cases where it makes sense to do something, but you should know when to do it and when not to do it.

That you shouldn't do something is alone not a good advice.

There needs to be context about why and when not to do something. Otherwise such advice is pretty much useless as it just cuts off a path for you without teaching you anything about the reasons.

Obviously you should take this advice with a grain of salt - I, too, am just a random guy on the internet posting his opinion about how not to do something ;)

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