Do you focus on the eyes to see the character?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell

Do you believe the eyes are windows to the soul?

Whether you believe this cliché or not, eyes are important. How you describe the eyes of a character can reveal a lot to the reader.

“Eyes that sparkled like sapphires glanced my way.”

This sentence tells us only that the person is blue-eyed.

BUT…

“Cold, blue eyes locked with mine. A chill rippled down my spine.” 

Tells us the character has blue eyes and may be dangerous.

“Her blue gaze froze me in place.”

Lets us know the character is a woman and she ain’t happy.

“Lines crinkled at the corners of her sapphire eyes as they danced with mischief.”

This last one, again indicates the character is a woman and she may be laughing at or with another character.

If a body part is as important as William Shakespeare contended, we need to make certain our readers see into the heart of our characters. Through their eyes.

Thanks to Chris, my favorite Ape for directing me to a great blog post with terrific examples on how to bring a character to life through their eyes.

65 Ways to Describe Sight and Eyes in Your Writing  by 

Me Let's Discuss - Jeanswriting.com

  • What do you think?
  • Do you like the list of eye descriptions?
  • How would you write a sentence to show a character’s personality or attitude?

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13 thoughts on “Do you focus on the eyes to see the character?”

  8. Yes; even if you descibe little about a character’s appearance, to start with another character noticing his eyes can tell us a lot; a deep thinker or someone appearing to be cheerful, but his eyes tell of secret pain?

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