Having it make sense when the MC describes something

[Kirbyman01]

A problem I tend tl have is when the main character is supposed to describe something about the other person or something they're experiencing. For example, describing breast or penis size. It seems odd to me that they would perfectly detail how the penis is so and so size. Another example aside from body shapes is when they describe clothing both male and female as if they wore it themselves.

Is there anyway to make this seamless or should some things just not be mentioned?

 

[SamScribble]

Everyone has their own way of approaching this. My way is to not describe anything in detail unless it is crucial to the story. Also, I find it helpful to ask myself: What would this character notice? What would they care about? If they have a thing about shoes, they might be able to 'talk' about style, brand, and everything in between. If they don't, they might not even notice that the other character is wearing shoes.

Good luck.

 

[Handley_Page]

A problem I tend tl have is when the main character is supposed to describe something about the other person or something they're experiencing. For example, describing breast or penis size. It seems odd to me that they would perfectly detail how the penis is so and so size. Another example aside from body shapes is when they describe clothing both male and female as if they wore it themselves.

Is there anyway to make this seamless or should some things just not be mentioned?

There's a body of opinion that says "don't bother'.

"Her breasts looked a real handful" rather than "She's gotta be 38CC", although I am
told there is a type of reader who like exact dimensions.

 

[Nezhul]

Don't describe it. The readers are generally imaginative enough to form their own perfect picture.

With breasts you may describe them as firm, round, or otherwise soft and tender to the touch.

With cocks you may just say that it went very deep, or streched her pussy perfectly, filled her up entirely - things like that. You don't need the measurements.

When the reader reads such line, they will imagine their own perfect size, perfect breasts, perfect sensations.

You should go into detail only when there's something abnormal going on. For example if the cock is exceptionally huge and won't fit in. Or if the breasts are small and the chest is flat.

 

[Kirbyman01]

I think it depends on why this person is supposed to describe those features. For me, there has to be a very good reason (e.g. going to the doctor); I would never do that to friends or family. And if I wouldn't do it, why would my character do it? But then, I'm a man, and I've heard rumors that this is different amongst women... What would you do?

What do you mean by describe clothing both male and female as if they wore it themselves? Something like: "I was wearing ragged jeans and a tight t-shirt that day"?

Oh my bad that las part of mine was a bit of a mess. I meant something like a man describing women's clothing, underwear, the like, even though they probably wouldn't know much of it otherwise. Like hair for example, I mean I barely pay attention to the stuff so I go by very basic descriptions of it which I assume is fine for my character to do so as well.

 

[Kirbyman01]

Don't describe it. The readers are generally imaginative enough to form their own perfect picture.

With breasts you may describe them as firm, round, or otherwise soft and tender to the touch.

With cocks you may just say that it went very deep, or streched her pussy perfectly, filled her up entirely - things like that. You don't need the measurements.

When the reader reads such line, they will imagine their own perfect size, perfect breasts, perfect sensations.

You should go into detail only when there's something abnormal going on. For example if the cock is exceptionally huge and won't fit in. Or if the breasts are small and the chest is flat.

I started gathering as much when doing exactly that. Doing this kills two birds with one stone, which means it's less repetitive

 

[SimonDoom]

I assume you are asking about a story in which the main character also is the narrator of the story -- a story told from the first person point of view.

I agree with the other comments, to the effect that your narrator should reveal only enough detail as is necessary for the story. But it depends as well on the nature of your narrator.

If your narrator is a teenage guy, then he should narrate like a teenage guy. He isn't necessarily going to know that a woman is a 38DD cup unless he's had the chance to check the tag in back, right? The narration should fit his personality, his knowledge, and his interests. If he's a typical teenage guy, then it wouldn't be unusual to have the narrator spend lots of words talking about boobs.

But what if your narrator is an obsessive, voyeuristic, lingerie salesman? Then offering excruciating detail about a woman's dimensions and sizes and brand names of lingerie might be an important element of telling the story, of conveying the story as the narrator sees it.

It all depends.

 

[Kirbyman01]

I assume you are asking about a story in which the main character also is the narrator of the story -- a story told from the first person point of view.

I agree with the other comments, to the effect that your narrator should reveal only enough detail as is necessary for the story. But it depends as well on the nature of your narrator.

If your narrator is a teenage guy, then he should narrate like a teenage guy. He isn't necessarily going to know that a woman is a 38DD cup unless he's had the chance to check the tag in back, right? The narration should fit his personality, his knowledge, and his interests. If he's a typical teenage guy, then it wouldn't be unusual to have the narrator spend lots of words talking about boobs.

But what if your narrator is an obsessive, voyeuristic, lingerie salesman? Then offering excruciating detail about a woman's dimensions and sizes and brand names of lingerie might be an important element of telling the story, of conveying the story as the narrator sees it.

It all depends.

Yes and no actually. I was just asking in general for future use, so I guess yes it would be for first person.

You know in hindsight the question was rather obvious to begin with but I'm still thankful you all were able to answer and help out. Really what this means is I should be giving more details about the MC which is definitely something I fail to do sometimes. All rights guys and gals, thanks

 

[LeandraNyx]

Put yourself in the narrator's shoes. Based on their personality and life history, what would they notice? How would they react? What would they be thinking/feeling? Write that down. Then, walk away. Don't look at your work for a few days. When you do go back, do you find that your words seamlessly transport you into the narrator's shoes? Or is there a disconnect? If there's a disconnect, try and pinpoint exactly what details--or lack thereof--pull you out of the story and adjust as necessary. Rinse and repeat until satisfied.

 

[BuckyDuckman]

Leave it general unless there's a reason to make it specific.

Better to say, "He had a big cock" than trying to define how big.

In general, when you find yourself using exact measurements, you're writing a recipe, not an erotic story.

 

[IrinaLobos]

Something I learned for things like this recently

Let's say you want to describe something just for fun to mention, well if you don't want to spend a whole paragraph or sentence on it what you can do is say said thing as part of another more important piece of information.

If it really is dick length then mention the size as you're doing something with it, that way you describe it and it doesn't sound like the same old stuff you hear elsewhere.