: Re: How best to describe multiple alien species in a short amount of time? I am in the beginning stages of writing what might be a space opera. The story starts in a society that consists of

@Si5022468

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In this context, these aliens are probably going to be very domestic and familiar to this character, just as familiar as dogs, birds and cats are to us in the real world. If she lives in this society of aliens, she has probably seen them before and interacted with them before. Therefore, if you're introducing many of them in quick succession, you don't need to go into great detail about what these species are like yet, not until it becomes directly relevant to the story. Details should only be included when they are important to the narrative.
Maybe a quick blurb would suffice if an alien is being interacted with, just for description's sake:

Larima took the identification card from the clerk. "Thank you," she said, in its tongue. The Oolongian blinked slowly with its five mustard-yellow eyes, evaluating her, then slithered off to attend other customers.

And do the same for the other species that are encountered - little snippets of description, only where necessary and relevant. Mention that the burly Gasnian trucker has four arms and orange scales, maybe, but don't go into any more detail than that. You want to leave some things to the imagination. Keep it brief.
However, if you have a major character who belongs to one of these alien species, that would probably warrant a full description. It doesn't have to be overly long - just as long as you would give for a human character she encounters. Or, if an alien's anatomy or quirks are directly relevant to the scene, i.e. if an alien is doing something unique to its biology, that would also be the time to provide a fuller description, if only just for humor or shock value.

The K'tarian stared at her for a moment, then coughed violently, its throat sac expanding; a streak of green, bubbling saliva dripped down from its mouth. Larima jumped back just in time for it to pool on the floor in a spreading, stinking puddle that burned slowly through the floor. "What the hell?" she asked, disbelievingly. The K'tarian shrugged carelessly and wiped its mouth on its sleeve. Apparently, for its kind, this was something akin to sneezing.

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