My New Boy Toy
When I worked on the It Girls miniseries, mine was the first book. One of the other writers, the wonderful Vicki Hinze, suggested we each email each other pictures of who our characters looked like so that if our characters cropped up in someone else's book, we'd all know exactly how they looked (for the record, my heroine looked like Sienna Miller, my hero like Benjamin Bratt). This seemed like a remarkably sensible suggestion, but it threw me into a panic. I had never, ever picked out what a character looked like. They were just in my head.
As I worked with these other writers (including fellow Nocturne author Michele Hauf), I soon discovered that a lot of writers do this. Karmela Johnson always is posting her new heroes and heroines. But not me.
Until today.
It was purely by accident, but I stumbled on this guy, Josh Stewart. And he has the faintly tough guy, pale boy from Hell's Kitchen look I need. So . . . he's my Jimmy in my new wip.
Never did this before, but now, I might like having a boy toy or two.
And you? Do you pick out someone in your mind, or is it all in your head? What about scenes, restaurants, apartments? Do you cut out pictures, remember someplace special, or is it all imagined from the vault inside your brain?
Labels: characters
posted by Erica Orloff at 5:40 PM
10 Comments:
Is that the guy from Dirt?
I do this sometimes....I try not to deliberately but sometimes I'll see a photo and keep because they project an image I like and feel might come in handy at some point.
I've tried the photo thing, but it never really worked out for me.
For one thing, it's always a bit unnerving when I read a POV character describing another character--or herself--in photographic detail. Unless she's looking in a mirror (lame), or actually viewing a photograph (works in some contexts), it's just not how real brains work. We remember certain details about how a person looks, telling details.
Any police officer will tell you that eyewitness descriptions are very limited in detail, and often those details are wrong. Sketch artistry is hit-or-miss.
Can you even describe you own face, in detail, without looking at a mirror or photo?
My suggestion would be...if you do find a photo that represents the character you want to physically recreate, look at the picture a few times and then throw it away.
That way, the description from your POV character might ring true.
Amie:
Yeah, though I never saw that show--I just stumbled on his picture. Cute!
E
Jude:
I didn't say I was going to have a 500-word desription in the book. It's something for the imagination as you play out scenes in your brain. Like I said, a lot of authors do it--doesn't mean they actually describe it anymore than what ends up in the book.
Pretty much I keep my descriptions to hair and eyes, and occasionally some feature--but USUALLY I boil a character down to mannerisms and let people fill in the blanks. However, my editor will occasionally ask for a little more here and there.
I also don't describe race--in my mind characters are black, white, Hispanic. Sometimes there's a hint, sometimes I will describe olive toned skin or pale skin or black skin--but not always or often. However, my cast of characters is always a mix of races, none of which I describe too much.
E
Erica:
I know. My comment wasn't directed at you or anyone in particular. Just saying that I do see characters (settings, etc) overdescribed sometimes, and it rather irks me. A certain mystery author comes to mind. But, she's sold millions of books, so some people must like it that way.
Anyway, I can see how photos are useful to some writers. I was mostly speaking to newbies (like myself) as a reminder to not overdesribe.
Hey, Erica! And remember the comeback if someone sees the pic of that guy on your computer or desktop: "It's research, honest."
:-)
My husband has quite asking about the faces he sees on my monitor. I usually have both hero and heroine posted. Sometimes I'll give them a glance, other times, not. And then sometimes I find myself staring at them as I write, almost channeling them. Which is strange, because if you chose a picture of an actor you're not familiar with, then that really means you've given them your character's attributes, and the photo is working with that.
Okay, I'm weird.
M
Michele:
That's it exactly. He's not my character. I have never even seen him act. He might not have a Hell's Kitchen accent. Nothing might work. But as a picture, it's working for me--and like I said, it's the first time that has ever happened to me.
Love the comeback, BTW. Yes, yes, it's ALL research.
:-)
E
Erica he plays a great character--very torn, very caught between a rock and a hard place (Dirt is my guilty pleasure).
Character description is hard...and one thing I stress over and over (When I crit) is to not make description lay on the page (Lie in the page?) but make it work, make it do something, show the reader something about your character. SOrry I think I just preached to the choir LOL
Hi Amie:
I think that's why I stick, for the most part, to dialogue and quirky traits. I feel mannerisms show more of what I want readers to take away than description. I get into cadence of speech, all sorts of things. Even, when I write about Hell's Kitchen, difference in what the men say, curse-wise, around women versus what they say around men.
E
It's always all in my head. Even if a character has been inspired by someone, they morph until they are their own person. I live my books rather than witness them, so description is definitely not my strong suit.
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