Characters - How do you visualize yours?

[MNGuy]

When writing, do you use create a unique mental image of your characters, or do you match up what you want your character to look like with someone you know or a celebrity?

I was trying to describe my main character to a friend, who then e-mailed me a link to a Mia Kirschner photo. So now my current non-Lit project's main character has morphed into looking like Mia Kirschner:

http://www.mia-kirshner.com/images/photos/mia-tlw01.jpg

She fits my character description almost to perfectly. Just a little short. But now when I try to write, I picture Mia doing all the things my herol is doing.

 

[lucky-E-leven]

I operate almost entirely on mental images. Of course I get these mental images from bits and pieces of real people, photographs or other such things. I've only had one character that fell into a celebrity body and while Portia de Rossi is really beautiful, I wish I'd never associated my character with her looks. I now think of Portia when I want to be thinking of Savanna. It's kind of a bugger. For some reason its less intimate. After all, I don't know Portia de Rossi at all, whereas I am privvy to the inner workings of all of Savanna's feelings and thoughts. Sigh...

~lucky

 

[pop_54]

When writing, do you use create a unique mental image of your characters, or do you match up what you want your character to look like with someone you know or a celebrity?

I was trying to describe my main character to a friend, who then e-mailed me a link to a Mia Kirschner photo. So now my current non-Lit project's main character has morphed into looking like Mia Kirschner:

http://www.mia-kirshner.com/images/photos/mia-tlw01.jpg

She fits my character description almost to perfectly. Just a little short. But now when I try to write, I picture Mia doing all the things my herol is doing.

Umm... Mn, please can I base my next story about a young girl creeping into my bed each night on your lovely picture here... it's all very artistic honest

As I write mainly based on factual events in my life, or anecdotal info from friends, (so far), I know my characters in advance, I just change the names, the faces and mannerisms stay the same.

The couple of fiction items I have written, I've found myself inventing the character completely, visualising her / him as I want them to look, trying to paint their picture in words. Unfortunately this painting can take up some space, and I often get slated for too much descriptive blurb.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

My characters are all mental. I may go looking for a picture for reference to a specific body part or body type when writing descriptive stuff, but I never look for a "look-a-like" photo. I also may consult porno pictures if i need visual reference to where body parts would fall in certian acts.

For example if I have a very tall character and a short character and they are necking standing up, I may go looking for a photo to give me some reference as to where their bodies lineup.

-Colly

 

[KarenAM]

I tend to start from the inside, what the character feels, what their personality is like. When I write a POV character, I try and be that character. This has taken me to some interesting fantasy places. Appearance is secondary; I actually like the thought of the reader supplying their own mental image. Hence the fairly sparse descriptions of people's outsides in my work. It's their emotions and thoughts that I dwell on.

 

[CharleyH]

My best stories are usually describing someone I have . . . intimately known . . . what can I say - things resonate for me. I did write a flash piece once, about two strangers, but I never felt like I could really get into it. Tertiary characters are usually in homage to to friends, if only just using their names.

In this way I can see a whole character, good or bad, and not just a look.

 

[Guest]

What she said! Oops! Edited to add, by "she" I mean Karen.

I do exactly the same thing as Karen. I rarely have an actual visual of my characters in my head, but I know what they're thinking and feeling.

Lou

 

[Guest]

My characters are all mental.

.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

.

Hey Dita!

*HUGS*

I should probably point out the author is also mental

-Colly

 

[pop_54]

Hey Dita!

*HUGS*

I should probably point out the author is also mental

-Colly

That makes at least three of us dear

 

[lewdandlicentious]

Hey, I've seen some of the stuff all three of you write!!!

 

[Wills]

I'm writing a blind character at the moment. Trying to verbalise the characters 'images' without resorting to visual references is challenging. I have a firm grasp on the character, motivation, attitude, emotions. It is for the moment taking over my life, I'll let it continue whilst the flow is there.
W

 

[MNGuy]

I like to mentally picture my characters, using bits and pieces from people I have come across in life, pieces of me, what I want the character to be. But the when my friend, for today I call her 'The Wicked Woman', sent me the picture, once I saw it, I couldn't get the image out of my mind. Now I guess I have to write a screenplay as well, so Mia can play the lead role.

 

[MNGuy]

Re: Re: Characters - How do you visualize yours?

Umm... Mn, please can I base my next story about a young girl creeping into my bed each night on your lovely picture here... it's all very artistic honest

She is lovely, isn't she? I think I need to update my wallpaper.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

That makes at least three of us dear

Aww pops, don't tell me tha parrot is too?

So sad.

-Colly

p.s.


HUGS!

 

[Guest]

Aww pops, don't tell me tha parrot is too?

Colly, you made me laugh very loud (I'm at work), thanks! Mental parrot, love it. And you, and Pops; and the odd non-mental bloke who made me laugh earlier ( ).

Perdita (cheering up by the laughs and grins)

 

[pop_54]

Aww pops, don't tell me tha parrot is too?

So sad.

-Colly

p.s.


HUGS!

Fraid so love, several feathers short of the full ticket that one

 

[Guest]

 

[minsue]

I operate almost entirely on mental images. Of course I get these mental images from bits and pieces of real people, photographs or other such things. I've only had one character that fell into a celebrity body and while Portia de Rossi is really beautiful, I wish I'd never associated my character with her looks. I now think of Portia when I want to be thinking of Savanna. It's kind of a bugger. For some reason its less intimate. After all, I don't know Portia de Rossi at all, whereas I am privvy to the inner workings of all of Savanna's feelings and thoughts. Sigh...

~lucky

Dammit Lucky! I'm not quite done reading & now I'm going to start seeing Portia, too. Which is not at all as I'd seen Savanna in my mind's eye so now I'm going to have to start reading it all over again.

- Mindy the obtuse (You'd think that'd stop amusing me by now, wouldn't you? still laughing unashamedly.)

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Fraid so love, several feathers short of the full ticket that one

I should introduce him to my moms cat, he's been a few fries short of a happy meal for years and for some reason loves birds. Just be careful cause he's up to around thirty pounds and if they both decide to perch on your shoulder it could get ugly

-Colly

 

[lucky-E-leven]

Dammit Lucky! I'm not quite done reading & now I'm going to start seeing Portia, too. Which is not at all as I'd seen Savanna in my mind's eye so now I'm going to have to start reading it all over again.

- Mindy the obtuse (You'd think that'd stop amusing me by now, wouldn't you? still laughing unashamedly.)

Oops! Shit! Sorry, Min. I hate it too. Not how I intended, but someone ruined it for me and now she'll never be the same. Oh well. Please don't start back at the beginning. I need to know what you think about the end. NEED to know.

How'd you have her pictured anyway? Might help me erase old Portia from my mind...

~lucky

(Not obtuse, Mindy the perspicacious)

 

[minsue]

Oops! Shit! Sorry, Min. I hate it too. Not how I intended, but someone ruined it for me and now she'll never be the same. Oh well. Please don't start back at the beginning. I need to know what you think about the end. NEED to know.

How'd you have her pictured anyway? Might help me erase old Portia from my mind...

~lucky

(Not obtuse, Mindy the perspicacious)

I'm trying to think of a public figure that would be close, but so far no luck.

Don't worry, I won't start over until I finish.

- Mindy, who can't believe you wrote about my perspicuity in public

 

[SlickTony]

Just be careful cause he's up to around thirty pounds and if they both decide to perch on your shoulder it could get ugly

Oh, dear, Colly! I've got just one 8 lb. cat who likes to perch on my shoulder and he's enough.

My characters are mostly mental images. Most of the experiences and people I've observed go into something like a big ragbag from which I craft characters and events. The young musician in "Carnival" and "Encore" is based--appearance-wise--on someone I know, and Gavin ("Will Work for Shoes" and "Terry's Last Day at Work") is very, very loosely based on someone I knew in high school, but I doubt he'd recognize himself. But those are the exceptions, not the rule.

 

[wishfulthinking]

I'm with the mental crowd.

But I have to say, my descriptions are very vague - hair colour, eye colour and height hinted at - and this makes me wonder, do people see my characters as I see them?

Probably not. Probably it is the same as people seeing things in my story that I don't.

Yep, definitely mental! I'm coming after MN with an axe!

 

[Weird Harold]

In general, my charcters are purely mental images -- generic "types" rather than specific enough to put a face to.

The best compliment I've gotten on a character description was meant as a criticism: "You make your main character sound like a Japanese Schoolgirl." Since that was exactly the image I was trying to give, I guess I did it right.

I haveone partially written story that is based on a real person, and she was pleased by the description -- I really do need to get around to finishing that story.