Writing a nameless figure

[Nara]

Hi, so basically what I want to know is what pronouns do I use when writing a person or silhouette that a character is looking at, and how should I describe their movements etc...

 

[HareBrain]

If sex isn't obvious, I'd use "they/their", for sure (as you already have) -- but try to make the initial use clear that it's singular rather than plural.

Not sure what you mean about how to describe their movements?

 

[Toby Frost]

If it's just a tiny figure I'd call it "it". If it looks obviously male or female I'd go for "the man" or "the woman".

Oddly, I'd be more inclined to describe an outline or figure as "it" and a person as "they", but that's probably just me.

 

[Nara]

If it's just a tiny figure I'd call it "it". If it looks obviously male or female I'd go for "the man" or "the woman".

Oddly, I'd be more inclined to describe an outline or figure as "it" and a person as "they", but that's probably just me.

So as the writer I know it's a male, but from far since he's a rather lean character it would be hard for someone to gender his silhouette.

 

[Toby Frost]

Well, it depends on whose point of view the story is being told from, I guess. If it's the point of view of an observer who can't tell that the silhouette is a man, I'd say "it" or "they". If it's from the point of view of the man in silhouette, I'd go for "he".

 

[Nara]

What about when the figure starts to speak? It seems odd to say it or they
(P.S.- Sorry to bother you with all the questions...)

 

[.matthew.]

What about when the figure starts to speak? It seems odd to say it or they

Maybe just talk about the voice or avoid the "they said" part altogether and write the sentence around the ambiguity?

 

[JS Wiig]

Amorphous shadow

 

[Wayne Mack]

In those cases, I avoid pronouns and just refer to the figure, the voice, the shadow, etc. If it's a really long sequence, my preference would be it, followed by he or she from the POV character's viewpoint. I usually keep these types of sequences short, so avoiding pronouns is not that difficult.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Some good points, but also a few things to consider.

What type of book is it? If it's a horror story you may describe the unnatural length of the fingers. If it's a detective story it may be something pertinent to the investigation such as smoke rising from a lit cigar or a bowler hat.

How is the story being told? If from the point of view of a character, then we need to know a little more about them; their age, sex, occupation etc. Different people will notice different things, or describe them in a different way. A policeman will give you an entirely different to a child.

The other thing is location. Is it in the daytime and the person is in a dark place (ie a tunnel). If at night, what lighting is there? A figure stood under a lamp post at night will look different to a figure caught in the headlights of a car.

 

[Abernovo]

For a person whose gender is unknown, 'they' works. It's been used for centuries. I'd agree with Toby, that a shadow, etc, could be an 'it'. And you can of course use the impersonal, "I couldn't see who it was". But I personally don't like using 'it' about a specific person, even if one cannot tell their gender. I wouldn't normally even use 'it' about a specific animal.

Their movements could be fluid, or gentle, or fast, or very still except for their hands, or eyes. Often, it's the little things that grab me as a reader, rather than the grand gestures.

When it comes to speech, not all voices are identifiably masculine or feminine, especially if the words are spoken softly or whispered. So 'their voice', or even 'the voice' can be used in certain circumstances, but that said, speech can give indicators, from sex and gender, through accent, to health and mental state (pausing, hesitant, staccato, breathless). So, it could be a place to bring in clues - if you want to,

At the end of the day, unless you're going for a third person omniscient narration, then you're writing what the central character of the scene can discern, and how they interpret it.

 

[BlueDragonSapphire]

Hi, so basically what I want to know is what pronouns do I use when writing a person or silhouette that a character is looking at, and how should I describe their movements etc...

In situations like these, keeping up the mysterious character type is key, you don't necessarily have to assign them a gender or appearance, you can just simply use descriptive words like.
"In the darkened blanket of night stood a shadow wearing a face of glass that reflected off the moon-"
descriptions and imagery are very useful when writing an unknown character.