Did you ever watch a film adaptation of a book you loved and discover that the actors don't look anything like what you'd imagined? In the past, characters in a novel were left up to the reader to describe for themselves. And truly, what did it matter if I pictured the heroine as a redhead, when the author saw her as a brunette? The recent emphasis on over-describing a character's physical appearance is odd. I have no idea whether readers expect that or if authors need it. If it's the latter, I would suggest that writers focus more on the actual story.
Of course, some description adds color. I'm not positing that every character in a story should be translucent, but to me, a little goes a long way. Perhaps highlighting one feature is enough; maybe two. I'm not going to provide someone's exact measurements or the shape of their lips unless it's relevant. I suppose if their lips resemble a blowfish, sure.
In a previous post I mentioned that I made it about two thirds through my manuscript before mentioning that the main character has curly blonde hair. Is that too late? And if so, why? She's still the same person. I really don't care what the reader conjures in her mind about how she looks.
My current novel, in particular, would require a Chinese menu in order to ascribe distinct characteristics to the multitude of characters residing within it. Leah meets a lot of people in her travels; it was hard enough coming up with names for all of them, much less unique physical traits. Granted, a lot of them pop in one time and leave, so no one cares what they look like. There are, though, a few really important ones, and therein lies my problem ~ I'm not good at physical description.
It had bothered me that Leah's love interest, the man she can't forget no matter how hard she tries, was sort of just "there". No distinguishing features, not to mention that I'd barely even given him any lines. Granted, when I introduced him, I didn't know he'd become her love interest. He was just one of her three new band members, so I wrote him as around her age, and with a calming presence. (Well, that was to contrast him with one of the other band members, who's young and hyper.)
So, great. I moved on with the story. In fact, I wrote the entire rest of the story, which he wasn't present for, but his memory was. I admit I used him as a vehicle, but that seemed rather cold-hearted of me; thus, I set out to remedy that, starting with what he looks like. Easy, right? No. I ended up Googling, what makes a man attractive? Yes, I find my husband attractive, but I wasn't about to clone him for a novel. I was looking for a generic definition, I suppose. And he couldn't look like anyone else who'd already popped up. Seriously, I read several articles and even Reddit posts in order to come up with something. That's how bad I am at description. Even once I finally settled on his look, I still can't really picture him in my mind. It's more important to me how he acts, rather than how he looks. Leah's not going to fall in love with a matinee idol asshole.
Oddly, other characters came easily to me. The minute Leah meets Paula Barnes, the superstar, she describes her to a T, down to the lines on her face. And I didn't base Paula on an actual person (well, maybe an amalgam of a couple of people). Leah's friend Burt stands out because he's bald. That, plus the fact that he's older, are my sole descriptions of him, but it seems like enough. Again, it's more about how he acts that matters.
Physical description, like describing a setting, works best for me when it's woven in. Nope, not going to write a full paragraph detailing that a guy is five foot eleven, medium build, dark brown hair and eyes, no identifying scars...oops, that's a suspect's description...but that's how over-trying comes across sometimes.
I would say that if a writer needs to picture a character exactly in their mind in order to write the story, go ahead and write it up like a police blotter. Make it as long as you want. But go back later and trim it! As a reader, I find those minute details boring and skippable. Maybe just leave in one or two things that make the character unique. Self-indulgence has no place in a decent novel.
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