Do you struggle with introducing a large cast of characters in memorable ways? Recently, I read several Agatha Christie novels, and one of the things that popped out to me about her writing style was her character descriptions. Since she wrote mysteries, it was important to her stories to introduce a large cast of characters as quickly and as memorably as she could in order to start dropping clues and red herrings for the reader to try and piece together who done it.

Take a look at some character descriptions from Agatha Christie’s book Murder on the Orient Express. I compiled these from the book. You can see character pictures from the movie here.

The Princess

Princess Dragomiroff declined to take this course. She appeared in the dining car, inclined her head slightly and sat down opposite Poirot. Her small toad like face looked even yellower than the day before. She was certainly ugly, and yet, like the toad, she had eyes like jewels, dark and imperious, revealing latent energy and an intellectual force that could be felt at once. Her voice was deep, very distinct, with a slight grading quality in it. She cut short a flowery phrase of apology from M. Bouc.

The Count

The Count, however, entered the dining-car alone. There was no doubt that he was a fine-looking man seen face to face. He was at least six feet in height, with broad shoulders and slender hips. He was dressed in very well-cut English tweeds and might have been taken for an Englishman had it not been for the length of his mustache and something in the line of the cheekbone.

The Countess

Countess Andrenyi entered the dining-car. She looked timid and extremely charming. She lingered, her eyes watching him curiously. Lovely eyes they were, dark and almond-shaped with very long black lashes that swept the exquisite pallor of her cheeks. Her lips, very scarlet in the foreign fashion, were parted just a little. She looked exotic and beautiful.

The Italian

Antonio Foscarelli came into the dining-car with a swift, cat-like tread. His face beamed. It was a typical Italian face, sunny-looking and swarthy. He spoke French well and fluently with only a slight accent.

Further down in the same scene: This was not a man who had to have information dragged from him. It gushed out. His good-natured, childish face beamed with satisfaction as, with a last eloquent gesture, he paused and wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.

The Big American

Mr. Hardman, was the big flamboyant American who had shared a table with the Italian and the valet. He wore a somewhat loud check suit, a pink shirt, and a flashy tie-pin, and was rolling something round his tongue as he entered the dining-car. He had a big, fleshy, coarse-featured face, with a good-humored expression.

The Valet

The pale Englishman with the inexpressive face stood waiting very correctly. Obedient and polite.

Mrs. Hubbard

Mrs. Hubbard arrived in the dining car in such a state of breathless excitement that she was hardly able to articulate her words.

Miss Debenham

She was tall, slim and dark—perhaps twenty-eight years of age. There was a kind of cool efficiency in the way she was eating her breakfast and in the way she called to the attendant to bring her more coffee which bespoke a knowledge of the world and of travelling. She wore a dark-colored travelling dress of some thin material eminently suitable for the heated atmosphere of the train.

M. Hercule Poirot, having nothing better to do, amused himself by studying her without appearing to do so. She was, he judged, the kind of young woman who could take care of herself with perfect ease wherever she went. She had poise and efficiency. He rather liked the severe regularity of her features and the delicate pallor of her skin. He liked the burnished black head with its neat waves of hair, and her eyes—cool, impersonal and grey. But she was, he decided, just a little too efficient to be what he called “jolie femme.”

Lady’s Maid

Hildegarde Schmidt came into the restaurant car and stood waiting respectfully. Poirot motioned her to sit down. She did so, folding her hands and waiting placidly till he questioned her. She seemed a placid creature altogether—eminently respectable, perhaps not over-intelligent.

Later in the same scene, Poirot asks her:

“You understand?”

She did not seem to. Her broad, kindly face remained set in its expression of placid stupidity as she answered: “I do not know anything, Monsieur.”

The Colonel

This was a tall man of between forty and fifty, lean of figure, brown of skin, with hair slightly grizzled round the temples.

Used in several places later on: He spoke with brevity. He replied dryly. He replied coldly. He gave a cold stare.

As these characters interact with Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie makes consistent use of her descriptions and tags to help remind the reader of that character’s looks and behaviors. This reminded me of the way J. K. Rowling uses descriptions in the Harry Potter books. Both authors give a short description of their characters up front, then use character tags that relate back to that initial character description and remind readers of certain traits throughout the story. Character tags are words that help characterize over time as you repeat them (hopefully not too much) in your story. They help the reader see and remember your characters.

Here are some examples of character tags J. K. Rowling used in her Harry Potter books:

Harry Potter: lightning-shaped scar, broken glasses, messy hair, clothes that are too big (because they’re Dudley’s hand-me-downs), looks just like his father but for his mother’s green eyes.

Ron Weasley: red hair, freckles, poor, uses a hand-me-down wand, wears shabby clothing, has a shabby pet rat… everything he owns is shabby.

Hermione Granger: buck teeth, bushy hair, clever, often carries a book or seven, has a pet cat.

Rubeus Hagrid: half-giant, eyes like black beetles, has a wild beard and hair, loves animals, probably has some animal food or an actual animal in his pocket at all times. Is a terrible cook.

Draco Malfoy: blond, pale and pointed face, wealthy, arrogant pure-blood, has two minion-like friends who follow him everywhere.

Do you use character tags? Do you like or dislike them? Share in the chat some examples of character tags from your story.

Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms, and the author of several young adult fantasy novels including the Blood of Kings trilogy. She loves teaching about writing. She blogs at goteenwriters.com and also posts writing videos on her YouTube channel and on Instagram. Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant. She grew up in Alaska without running water or electricity and now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two kids. Find Jill online at jillwilliamson.com or on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.