Do your characters take care of basic hygiene?

Favorite Answer

My characters don't do any of those things, because they live in a pseudo-mediaeval fantasy world that hasn't discovered bacteria yet.

Don't put in any of that mundane stuff, unless it has some bearing on the story - something important happens while the character is doing one of these activities, or they miss something important because of it. Readers will assume that your characters wash and use deodorant and brush their teeth regularly, unless someone complains that they stink.

One of the film adaptations of The 39 Steps has the main character going into a men's public lavatory. That scene surprised me, as I'd never seen it shown in fiction before then. The reason for showing it was that there was only one other man in the room, so the main character sneaks up on him, clouts him on the back of the head and steals his clothes. That's the sort of thing I mean by "something important."...Show more

It depends on the character and their situation. I almost never say when my people are going to the bathroom (lav? ha-ha!) because frankly, nothing important happens in the bathroom and no one wants to hear about the unimportant stuff. (If something important does happen in the bathroom, you obviously can and should put your characters there. But we don't want to know what they did in the toilet as a general rule.)

I am currently writing a story where one of the characters is essentially homeless, so I made a point to mention that she brushed her teeth, but didn't have any toothpaste since that makes her situation more real. I also plan to mention when and where she showers, but I won't do it often because again, it's not important. Washing hands and washing dishes...probably not at all since my girl is homeless and both of the boys have a mom who does the 'kitchen things'...although it wouldn't be out of the question to mention her washing the dishes.

Wear deodorant: I've never mentioned it before.

The important thing about the little things is that you mention them when they matter. Only say it if it adds to the character or the scene. Otherwise, no one will care if someone brushes their teeth, and we'll wonder why the author bothered to mention it. This is the kind of stall that can break the reality of the story....Show more

If the author doesn't mention it in the story then I automatically assume the characters have good personal hygiene; I don't read a story and say 'hey, I never noticed Sally bathing...she must be dirty,' and that's because it's not important. If a character is wearing a different pair of clothes in the next scene (if you're one of those authors that describes those things) then I'll automatically assume they're clean. If their kitchen is clean or it's not mentioned that their house is filthy then I'll automatically assume they're doing dishes and wiping the counter and all that good stuff.

In all of my stories I have my characters bathing at least once in the plot, one after being caught in an explosion and being all bloody and in my other story she takes a shower with the door open because she's trying to seduce another character. There's only one character in all my stories that doesn't bath and that's because he's poor and living on the streets and I make it a point to mention his bad hygiene. I don't mention anything about washing hands, dishes, brushing teeth, wearing deodorant or anything, because that's not important and I think the reader will automatically assume those things are being done....Show more

Try looking at it this way:

A giant forest represents everything that has happened in the lives of your characters, and all the events that could ever possibly relate to the plot. Your job is to shine a light on those parts of the forest that are relevant, so you illuminate the path we need to walk to know the story.

If that analogy doesn't make much sense, keep in mind that everything you write should be written for a reason. It should in some way contribute to the overall story. Often times, it will accomplish more than one thing, such as moving the story forward and telling us something about the character we should know.

So, if your story is about a newbie reporter who is about to break a big story, none of the mundane details above would add to your story, unless, it added to the overall story. Although all of the above could be considered mundane, I could also think where each could be relevant in certain situations and gave examples below:

1) Tell us about them using the lavatory if, say, they overhear a key conversation in the next stall.
2) Tell us everytime your character washes her hands if, say, she suffers from OCD but doesn't recognize it.
3) Tell us about them taking a shower if during this time someone sneaks into their apartment to steal something
4) Tell us abotu your character brushing her teeth if she does it immediately after making out with a guy and regrets it.
5) Tell us about your character's deoderant wearing habits if, say, he never wears deoderant and therefore always carries a bad body odor around with him.

If you can use the mundane event to improve the story, then you should use it. If it does nothing except move the character along from getting out of bed to getting to the office in the morning, we don't need to know it. We will assume they do the normal things without having it pointed out. On that note, if they DON"T do something normal, like they don't shower, then mention it, because it adds to the uniqueness of the character....Show more

I think it really depends on the action they're doing, the character doing it, and the style of book you're writing. If you're writing a family type book, washing the dishes and fighting for the bathroom in the morning can be great for showing the character's relationship with their family, and personal grooming, like brushing teeth et cetera, can give a moment while the character thinks and reflects. Bathroom trips at schools can be a sour moment between two girls meeting by themselves. However, you don't want to write about you're character's hygiene habits all the time, it's repetitive and boring when used often.
If you're writing a fantasy type of book, maybe you shouldn't include these habits as much. They aren't really exciting, and aren't usually missed when not included. Be mindful that when a character takes care of their hygiene, it really can add a human quality to the character. Maybe a simple washing of the face with water is negligible (or can just represent a character thinking and clearing their mind, or exhausted and turning in for the night), but some things aren't appropriate for certain characters. Especially villains, I think. Yes, there are always exceptions, but could you picture Voldemort slathering on some deodorant? Maybe Harry on his way to one of Slughorn's parties....Show more