More tips for young writers ...

Describing characters: a worksheet

Jill McDougall

Writers often use similes to describe a character’s features.

These are similes:

His nose resembled an ancient potato.

She had hair like an exploding volcano. 

Her voice sounded like a howling werewolf.                   

His eyes were like a faraway sky.                                   

She ran as fast as a tornado.                                   

Authors use similes to give more information about a character. In my novel Jinxed!  the dad is a baker and he’s shaped like a giant bun.

Match the simile with the character type:

Face like a crushed cornflake                                    glamorous

Fists like giant rocks                                                puny and weak

Legs like skyscrapers                                                tall

Fingernails like polished jewels                        wrinkled and old

Thin as a nail file                                                big and strong

YOUR TURN …

1.On the back of the page, draw your character. Put in as much detail as you can. Think about their nose, lips, ears, legs, hands ….

2. Choose three features from this list:

hair  nose  face  lips  eyes  ears  hands  legs  voice  laugh             

3. Make up some similes that match your character's personality:

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