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Writing Meme Day 27 - Looky looky
27. Along similar lines, do appearances play a big role in your stories? Tell us about them, or if not, how you go about designing your characters.
Well, that's a tricky one. Appearances are important to me as a reader. I like to have a strong mental image of the characters I'm reading about, but I hate it when an author spends pages and pages lovingly describing a character's hair, eyes, clothes, facial hair, nail varnish, boots, perfume... etc... And I especially hate it when authors do this via the medium of a character studying themself in a mirror. Subtlety is okay, people!
As a writer, I have very clear ideas of what my characters look like, but I don't want to bludgeon my readers over the head with my version, because of how I feel as a reader. And chances are, my idea of what they look like will differ wildly from yours anyway. Since my characters' appearances very rarely have any major impact on a story, I just don't worry about it too much. I mean, I know that Ethan has a constant five-o-clock shadow and rumpled clothes, but those things are hardly essential to the reading of the story, so why spend a lot of time discussing it? I have a bit of a private joke about how Scarlett is a redhead, but does it matter that she has a name is also her hair colour? Probably not.
Anyway. I honestly don't spend an awful lot of time "designing" characters. Usually a mental picture of them comes to me without much thought: either the appearance is triggered by the name or vice versa, and that's all there is to it.
28. Have you ever written a character with physical or mental disabilities? Describe them, and if there’s nothing major to speak of, tell us a few smaller ones.
29. How often do you think about writing? Ever come across something IRL that reminds you of your story/characters?
30. Final question! Tag someone! And tell us what you like about that person as a writer and/or about one of his/her characters!
Well, that's a tricky one. Appearances are important to me as a reader. I like to have a strong mental image of the characters I'm reading about, but I hate it when an author spends pages and pages lovingly describing a character's hair, eyes, clothes, facial hair, nail varnish, boots, perfume... etc... And I especially hate it when authors do this via the medium of a character studying themself in a mirror. Subtlety is okay, people!
As a writer, I have very clear ideas of what my characters look like, but I don't want to bludgeon my readers over the head with my version, because of how I feel as a reader. And chances are, my idea of what they look like will differ wildly from yours anyway. Since my characters' appearances very rarely have any major impact on a story, I just don't worry about it too much. I mean, I know that Ethan has a constant five-o-clock shadow and rumpled clothes, but those things are hardly essential to the reading of the story, so why spend a lot of time discussing it? I have a bit of a private joke about how Scarlett is a redhead, but does it matter that she has a name is also her hair colour? Probably not.
Anyway. I honestly don't spend an awful lot of time "designing" characters. Usually a mental picture of them comes to me without much thought: either the appearance is triggered by the name or vice versa, and that's all there is to it.
28. Have you ever written a character with physical or mental disabilities? Describe them, and if there’s nothing major to speak of, tell us a few smaller ones.
29. How often do you think about writing? Ever come across something IRL that reminds you of your story/characters?
30. Final question! Tag someone! And tell us what you like about that person as a writer and/or about one of his/her characters!
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