So, do you visualize characters?

[SEVERUSMAX]

When you read or write stories? Do any of you have clearly preconceived images of them, only to have the story that you read throw you a twist? Fellow authors, do any of your readers complain that they didn't picture so and so being blonde, tall, young, or black?

 

[BlackShanglan]

When you read or write stories? Do any of you have clearly preconceived images of them, only to have the story that you read throw you a twist? Fellow authors, do any of your readers complain that they didn't picture so and so being blonde, tall, young, or black?

I'm fortunate in that my readers don't generally know. I do actually have ideas about what my characters look like, some more detailed than others, but I don't often describe them in great detail. I often choose forms of writing like letters or journals where this would not be appropriate.

Shanglan

 

[Colleen Thomas]

When you read or write stories? Do any of you have clearly preconceived images of them, only to have the story that you read throw you a twist? Fellow authors, do any of your readers complain that they didn't picture so and so being blonde, tall, young, or black?

Before I write, I tend to know my characters. From their visual presenation to their perceptions of life,love, sex, etc. I usually heavily describe my characters pysically. I wnt to paint a picture for the reader, one that is identical to the one in my head.

Many authors prefer a neculous approach, allowing the reader to fill in the character's looks to taste.

I have never recieved a feedback saying the character didn't look the same in my reader's mind. But I tend to leave very little room in there for them to see someone diferent. I'm not sure if this is a good approach, a bad one or simply a matter of choice, but it is part and parel of how I think and write.

 

[cloudy]

Before I write, I tend to know my characters. From their visual presenation to their perceptions of life,love, sex, etc. I usually heavily describe my characters pysically. I wnt to paint a picture for the reader, one that is identical to the one in my head.

Many authors prefer a neculous approach, allowing the reader to fill in the character's looks to taste.

I have never recieved a feedback saying the character didn't look the same in my reader's mind. But I tend to leave very little room in there for them to see someone diferent. I'm not sure if this is a good approach, a bad one or simply a matter of choice, but it is part and parel of how I think and write.

*raises hand*

I'm the nebulous one.

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

I do in some cases. In "Angie's An Adult", for instance, I make it clear in the 3rd chapter that she (Angie) has a petite body and jet-black hair. Not sure about him, though.

In "Selfish Mom", Debbie Kendall is blonde with curls and a thin figure. In "Cumming To Terms", Jan is a redhead and a BBW. Connie in "Hank And His Neighbors" is a redhead, too, with plenty of freckles. Angelica, in "House Perks", of course, is Hispanic and kind of curvy.

Personality wise, Debbie is cowardly and a religious fanatic. Connie is slutty and bossy at the same time, something of a bisexual switch. Jan is a repressed sub with strong religious views, but who is learning to be tolerant of other faiths and lifestyles. Angelica is a straight, but hedonistic MILF and a very political person (after all, she is a Congresswoman).

 

[Belegon]

Before I write, I tend to know my characters. From their visual presenation to their perceptions of life,love, sex, etc. ...

Many authors prefer a neculous approach, allowing the reader to fill in the character's looks to taste.

These two things picked from Colly's post both describe me...

I do give SOME description...especially hair and eye color; and general terms like "athletic" or "lean" or "curvaceous", but I want the more specific details to be up to the reader most of the time.

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

Well, I am not consistent on it. Some characters are simply very much planned out. Others are not, and they simply develop over time.

Now, Fazil Kotuk, a Turkish gangster character for a new story, is already largely thought up. He is based on an alter ego that I assumed for a different discussion board. Naturally, he looks and acts very much like a Turk, well an old-fashioned Turk in many ways.

 

[3113]

Yep. Very much so. I really have to see a character for them to come to life. Usually, I race out the starting gate not knowing enough...and I regret it and have to go back and fill in the blanks. Who they are, how they think, etc.

But I also have to be careful in my discriptions that I don't go overboard. I think you need to leave something for the reader to imagine. Give them the cool stuff, the eagle tattoo on the left thigh, the scar on the jawline, the rich brown eyes...but not everything. The reader certainly doesn't have to know it all (where did that tattoo come from and why an eagle?)...but I do.

If I'm really, really lucky, then the character pops full grown from my head and I don't have to work it all out--there's the eagle tattoo, etc. and I know exactly how and when and where and why they got it. If I'm lucky. Those are the best characters, of course. Black Lion was like that. The characters of Mason and Leo came to me almost complete in looks and background and personality. *sigh* I love those sorts of stories!

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

When you read or write stories? Do any of you have clearly preconceived images of them, only to have the story that you read throw you a twist? Fellow authors, do any of your readers complain that they didn't picture so and so being blonde, tall, young, or black?

For novels, I have a detailed picture of my main characters, their personalities and personal history.

For short stories, unless the character's looks are crucial to the story, I usually have nothing more than a body type and possibly a few distingushing features.

So far, no one has ever complained.

Rumple Foreskin

 

[impressive]

*raises hand*

I'm the nebulous one.

Ditto, babe. (I'd call you "sis" ... but that'd be too weird for my other feelings.)

 

[Belegon]

Ditto, babe. (I'd call you "sis" ... but that'd be too weird for my other feelings.)

Yah know, they do have a section for that here at Lit...

 

[cloudy]

Ditto, babe. (I'd call you "sis" ... but that'd be too weird for my other feelings.)

oh, doll, should I ever switch.....besides we're a hit.



I get caught up in the story itself, and my characters only get the most cursory of descriptions: dark-haired, or tall....that's about it.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

These two things picked from Colly's post both describe me...

I do give SOME description...especially hair and eye color; and general terms like "athletic" or "lean" or "curvaceous", but I want the more specific details to be up to the reader most of the time.

I have a very hard time writing nebulous characters. Simply because writing them ill defined tends to blurr their presence in my head. I can see the advantages in leaving them more open to reader inteppretation, but I can't fo it very well.

I'm pretty anal about it. In some instances, I've evn gone surfing the net for porn when a character's description causes a problem. For example, a very short protag with a tall lover. I had to see it, to make sure I was describing it correctly. And I wasn't. there are some gymnastic involved, even in normal situations, much less in the sex

 

[fieryjen]

If I do give a description of some of my character's physical traits (which most often does end up happening), I try to do it at the beginning of a story. When I read someone else's story, I don't like to find out how the character "actually" looks after having had my own picture of them for five chapters, so I try to make sure not to do it to my readers. That's just a personal preference though.

As for character traits, they develop as I write. I don't try to visualize what the character will be like before writing. I do end up having to "convince" my characters to do certain things, and sometimes they do react differently that I would like them to. Since I don't usually have my story completely planned out from beginning to end, this serves me just fine, although it can be difficult at times.

 

[espeteroh]

always.... in fact, if someone doesn't give me a description of the character I can become disinterested rather quickly. All my character descriptions are of people I know but few of the characters themselves are real.

 

[Aurora Black]

When you read or write stories? Do any of you have clearly preconceived images of them, only to have the story that you read throw you a twist? Fellow authors, do any of your readers complain that they didn't picture so and so being blonde, tall, young, or black?

I do visualize my characters before writing about them, yes. I watch them in my head like a movie, see how they interact with each other and their environment. Fun stuff.

No complaints so far, but I don't get too detailed with my character descriptions. So far in my writing, in an attempt to make my characters universally accessible to the public, I generally don't go into much detail about physical/racial traits. Except for the occasional flash of red hair, of course.