Hair Color

[OmnislashXX]

The main character in one of my ongoing titles has chestnut hair, which is somewhere in the range or red to brown. Problem is, I keep picturing her, in my mind anyway, as a very light blonde. I've written a lot about the character and have described her as having that chestnut hair, though still, I keep picturing her as a blonde. I also like to picture her as the kind of female who wears neat shades of makeup, usually pink to purple, which I think maybe a light blonde would emphasize more. So, should I just change her hair color altogether in the story or just stay with her chestnut hair?

Problem 1: If I change it, that means I have to go and find every instance where I described her hair and change it. That might mean I could overlook something.

Problem 2: Most of my female characters are blonde in at least two other stories. Maybe I have a thing for blondes. Should I not have her blonde for the sake of writing about someone with different hair color?

Any advice at all is appreciated.

 

[BuckyDuckman]

Careful editing and a beta reader should help you find every instance of hair color. Heck, even your writing software's search and replace function can help. Otherwise, I recommend listening to your inner Muse. Either you can trust her to know what's best or you need to develop that kind of relationship with the fickle bitch.

There have a been a few times when I've set out to write about a character with a certain color of hair. The reader shouldn't be able to tell. Mostly, I became concerned that I had fallen into a rut over hair color, that's all.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Write her as you picture her, I would have thought. If you don't believe her hair colour, something might not ring true.

Hair length, cut and colour can be key character traits, so you might as well get your mind's eye in synch with your words.

So what if you like blondes? Blondes are hot, so are redheads, brunettes, girls with black hair. To my knowledge, no writer has to satisfy any quotas here.

Wouldn't "find-replace" catch most of the hair references? How many variants of chestnut have you described?

 

[sr71plt]

Just put in a scenario where she dyes it for some reason and then decides to keep it that way. That could provide some plot/dialogue fodder for later if she doesn't do an all-over dye.

 

[Handley_Page]

What word processor are you using ?
Use "Find & replace" and change her hair colour to whatever you fancy.

 

[sr71plt]

You can't find and replace the memories of all of the readers who are following the series already--and don't count on them being forgiving if you do a switcheroo now. They all have their image of the character too.

 

[cfuhrer]

Just put in a scenario where she dyes it for some reason and then decides to keep it that way. That could provide some plot/dialogue fodder for later if she doesn't do an all-over dye.

This would be my course of action as well.

 

[Kantarii]

There's no need to change ever instance where her hair color is spelled out in your story. In the real world, women have their hair dyed and colored all the time. Just a few sentences written in the story as a trip to the beauty salon and presto, problem solved

 

[ElectricBlue]

The main character in one of my ongoing titles has chestnut hair, which is somewhere in the range or red to brown. Problem is, I keep picturing her as blonde...

Oops, missed that. On-going series - bit of a problem there, I agree.

Nobody spotted the chestnut die was the fake in the first place? If everyone is fooled but you, maybe you don't have a problem after all - if you've convinced your readers, convincing a single writer she was never a blonde should be easy enough to do.

Write yourself out of the story, I say, and let your woman with the chestnut hair take over!

 

[jaF0]

Barring the dye notion, are there any SciFi, mystical or fantasy elements involved where she could be somehow transformed?

Maybe an extended dream sequence where she appears different?

 

[hylas_]

Re problem 2: Don't worry about it, man. All my main characters are blonds, too