How to Introduce/Describe Characters

[Neo Emolga]

I tend to pair actions with descriptions so the story at least feels like it's moving along. I definitely find that this is WAY easier to do in first person than third person when it comes to making it sound interesting. Take this for example:

And as luck would have it, Dave pulls up right behind me with his stupid white Prius that looked like it hadn't seen a car wash since the Dark Ages and was parked every day in a horse stall. As soon as he turns the ignition off and steps out, I just sighed when I saw he was wearing that same groan-inducing Minecraft t-shirt he seemed to wear all the time and the cheap blue jeans he must have gotten from the bargain bin at Wal-Mart.

"That your car, Nathan?" Dave laughed as he shut the car door behind him before pointing at my red pickup. "I feel bad for the poor redneck you stole that from."

Yeah, leave it to Captain Halfwit, his hay-colored flock-of-seagulls haircut, and his stupid habit of thinking he was the funniest guy on the planet when he was the only one laughing at his own excuses for jokes here. I didn't feel like dealing with this crap today and I was already running late, so if Dave could just hurry up and trip and bash all his teeth out, that would save me from having to deal with him for a while.

I like doing this kind of introduction format because:

• Keeps the story moving along without pausing to go over descriptions. In this example, things are still happening in the parking lot.
• Character physical and personality traits can be done at the same time by showing, not telling. You get an idea of how Dave looks and behaves from his speech to how little he takes care of his car.
• In a first person perspective, like in this case, the main viewpoint character can drop in their own colorful and interesting remarks along the way, which can be used in a lot of fun ways like this one. In this example, you know the viewpoint character, Nathan, knows Dave but hates his guts.