Rules of Engagement: Reference to Well Known Personalities

[ErotikWryter]

In order to describe my character more accurately, I've had a tendency to relate her/him to a well-known figure. Is this idea not a good thing to do? Could I use it very sparingly, if the need arises?

Example:

Melinda's hair was semi-long, and dark brunette, with permed curls like that of Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, who played "Elaine" on the sitcom, Seinfeld.

Again, any ideas would be greatly appreciated as I am honing my writing skills, and creating a story that I hope will be a treasure within the contents of Literotica.

 

[LadyCibelle]

In order to describe my character more accurately, I've had a tendency to relate her/him to a well-known figure. Is this idea not a good thing to do? Could I use it very sparingly, if the need arises?

Example:

Melinda's hair was semi-long, and dark brunette, with permed curls like that of Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, who played "Elaine" on the sitcom, Seinfeld.

Again, any ideas would be greatly appreciated as I am honing my writing skills, and creating a story that I hope will be a treasure within the contents of Literotica.

IMHO very sparingly can do....BUT...more than that and it'll become tiresome to the reader.

 

[brightlyiburn]

In order to describe my character more accurately, I've had a tendency to relate her/him to a well-known figure. Is this idea not a good thing to do? Could I use it very sparingly, if the need arises?

Example:

Melinda's hair was semi-long, and dark brunette, with permed curls like that of Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, who played "Elaine" on the sitcom, Seinfeld.

Again, any ideas would be greatly appreciated as I am honing my writing skills, and creating a story that I hope will be a treasure within the contents of Literotica.

Ooo...okay, I'm gonna say this is almost always a No. I think I've used this once, as a sort of comedic device, but that's all. You don't really need the extra bit about Elaine from Seinfeld at all. I know what you're trying to acheive, but chances are you'll just end up putting an image of Elaine into folks' heads, rather than that of your own character.

 

[BlackSnake]

In order to describe my character more accurately, I've had a tendency to relate her/him to a well-known figure. Is this idea not a good thing to do? Could I use it very sparingly, if the need arises?

Example:

Melinda's hair was semi-long, and dark brunette, with permed curls like that of Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, who played "Elaine" on the sitcom, Seinfeld.

Again, any ideas would be greatly appreciated as I am honing my writing skills, and creating a story that I hope will be a treasure within the contents of Literotica.

I agree that it's okay to do, but I don't like the idea.

Put the picture of the personality in front of you and write/describe what you are looking at. What are you seeing that stands out? Capture that in words, practice it until you got it down, and then put it in your stories. If you hit the main points, I'm sure your readers will be able to see it in their mind's eye.

Maybe its because I envy no one that I take this position, but I think it would help you improve your skills instead of allowing you to be lazy.

 

[ErotikWryter]

Excellent advice. As I have thought more of it, I am able to consider laziness and poor choice of words to describe my character, thus I reference a well-known actor to define a particular character. If I must and want to become a writer, I should and really ought to create a character independent of any and all known human beings. In the long run, my character is and will be what I wish them to be, and the reader is able to think about what he/she sees, rather than imaging an actor's face, personality, style...

Thanks!!

 

[BlackSnake]

luck, be with you

 

[Halo_n_horns]

There's a story that I'm writing that contains a scene with an extremely important, but to rarely be seen, character. I modeled him 100% after the character actor Danny Trejo, but I never once actually used Danny's name, his physical description is very recognizable even if you don't know his name.

I really don't like using this sort of thing since to me it makes the story look like it's trying to be advertised to that famous, or infamous person, to try and capture their attention.

In the case of my using Mr. Trejo's physical description, it just provided a huge contrast to the character I wrote him in for that I couldn't help but like.