H is for Height

I've read a few interesting comments on writing blogs where the commenter mentions that they think some authors give too many details about a character's appearance. And I can certainly see what they mean. Especially when the same type of paragraph is used for different characters about the hair color, eyes, face, body, etc. But the question asked by some stuck with me. Why is that information important? I'm not going to talk about most the details because I'm sure you all can give excellent reasons. No, I'm going to talk about one thing that may not seem like a big deal to some.

I'm talking about Height.

I am not tall. Not even close. I'm actually 4'11.5" or 151.1 cm. Recently, I started a job at a pizza place and because of that I came up with this topic. Height shouldn't matter when working with pizza right? umm yeah it does. My sneakers are those shape-up kind so they at least get me to at least 5 feet tall but I still struggle. It's hard for me to reach certain toppings. I have to stretch out the toes of one foot and reach to get things like pepperonis and pineapples. And doing dishes is worse. If the sprayer is put up in the wrong spot I have to stretch to reach it and putting away clean dishes, psh. So many things I struggle putting away because I'm too short. I sometimes stare at the tall people then the spot where it goes, hoping they get the message, or I ask them to do it for me because it takes too long to get out a step stool for the different dishes. So, height does affect how I do at my job.


What about in stories? Does the character's height affect anything?

It can. First, height can help distinguish different minor characters. In my YA novel, sometimes the MC refers to one of the agents (he calls them Suits) as the tall one. He doesn't know their name.  But it's a way for him to distinguish between the two when it's both men who visit him from the mutant regulation agency (or whatever I call it).

In romance, height can be used as both the way to distinguish between characters (since I write m/m it's tougher than f/m to keep the two apart at times) but it also has benefits. Scenes written that are important to the genre, like maybe a kiss, the height factor can bring in a good detail. This doesn't have to mean giving a stat like 5'10" or anything like that, just how a character has to lean down, or stretch up implies a difference between the two characters.

I've never fought. I can use a recurve bow and a gun (prefer the bow) but I haven't tried swords or anything like that, but I imagine height would have some influence in fights. The person has to know how to adjust and use height for their advantage or the other person's disadvantage. I'd imagine someone short like me probably shouldn't be using a long sword. I need a Hobbit one or something.

The last one I'll mention you often see in fantasy. Ever tried getting up on a horse and getting your feet in the stirrups when short? It's not easy. And getting off the horse is hard too. I don't jump down well, so had to use my friend's four wheeler because her mom had gone to fix a fence. And what about those young characters who have never ridden a horse before?


See. Height does matter. ;-)


How about you?
Does height affect anything you or your characters do?