How about your character's looks?

[Naomi Musch]

Since I just finished reading the thread on how we find characters' names, I wondered if anyone has little idiosyncrasies or methods they use to give physical features/mannerisms to your characters.

Usually I try to visualize a certain "type" and give them their looks and quirks completely from my imagination, maybe applying habits or expressions from people I've known or actors I've watched. But sometimes if the character isn't yet clear to me, I enjoy going through magazines and clipping out faces that I think are interesting.

How do you guys visually develop your characters?

[Tarin]

I usually have a pretty clear idea of what my characters look like before I begin fleshing them out during the character sketching phase. Basically, I let the character tell me how he looks... if that makes sense! From their birth, I always have a vivid image in my mind of what they look like.

[righter1]

I usually have an overall idea of how my characters look--especially the MC's. Initially, when I was working strictly in a singular viewpoint, first person, I had an even vaguer idea for the MC. I've begun to firm it up since I decided to switch POV's from time to time. I tend to have my MC describe other people better and sometimes humorously.

Of course, description has always been one of my weaker areas... I've been working on pumping that up more in recent history.

[ProfessorAlan]

I usually relate them to someone I know, either IRL or the actor/actress that I envision playing them. This gives me mental cues as to how they look, behave, etc ...

[jacks girl]

I usually relate them to someone I know, either IRL or the actor/actress that I envision playing them. This gives me mental cues as to how they look, behave, etc ...

I do this too a lot, I've had Tommy Lee Jones, Keauna Reeves, Brad Pitt, Travis Tritt, many stars have been in my stories over the years, I'm like ProfesserAlan I like a visual to go along with my story. I have a vivid Imagination and I use it. Many of my story ideas come from dreams I have. I have more story ideas than i have time.

Often lately I use a version of my hubby at his youngest and best looking, I've been told he looks like Dwight Yokam, and i fancy he reminds me of Keanua Reeves from breakpoint i think it was called. When i met him he had long hair and it was a beautiful brown. Now with time and age he has more of the Kenau reeves from speed LOL>>> and whats there is gray LOL...Hey im happy we both still have hair.

[mbeachbum]

The looks of my characters seem to be directly related to their actions, outlooks on life, age, etc.

I have been a sort of "fly by the seat of my pants" kind of writer, meaning that usually, I haven't done the preliminary planning, outlining, etc. before starting a piece. Therefore, I don't usually have a complete picture of my characters at the beginning. Their appearances appear (oops!) as the story unfolds.

This has sometimes gotten me into trouble and I've had to go back and rework some things. :( I am now trying to be more organized and plan more. We'll see how this works for me. :o

[pajarita_deDios]

Wow, I guess my characters are never usually clear to me as far as facial features. I always know physical attributes such as, body size and condition, eye and hair color, skin color. When it comes to exactly how her/his face really looks is always fuzzy to me. I'm going to start trying to invision Maria and the girls more clearly. Great thread.

[Pinecone Tortoi]

For my main WIP, I've been using a very primitive character sketch to keep track of the characters (major and minor). I'll probably flesh 'em out more and hopefully actually sketch them later, but for the time being, this will help me remember who's tall and who's short:

Firstname Lastname
***************
Superpower: (... what??)
Age:
Height:
Weight:
Eyes:
Hair:
Skin:
Personality:

When it turns out I need a new character, I do up one of these for them. I have a few .txt files - one for each type of character (main characters, students, staff, villains) - with lists of these character sketches.

I'll hopefully fill in a bit more about what they look like later and actually draw pictures of them... which may or may not change my visualisation of them. I'm not that skilled at drawing distinctly different characters and it's generally easier to change a mental image to match a drawing than a drawing to match a mental image.

Anyone else draw their characters?

Piney.

[righter1]

Anyone else draw their characters?


Oh how I wish I could... That would make things so much better for me! But, alas, I am one that doesn't have the patience to draw much... now, photographing is cool for me, but I don't think many strangers would be thrilled if they saw me taking their picture because they looked interesting...

[Pinecone Tortoi]

now, photographing is cool for me, but I don't think many strangers would be thrilled if they saw me taking their picture because they looked interesting...

Try staring at them long enough to remember their interesting features...

Unfortunately, both starin' and photo snapping may end up as one of those situations where one person is artistically eccentric but the other thinks they're just creepy and/or a stalker type and takes out a restraining order. Sad world we live in.

Piney.

[quickme]

I have a "Physical Traits" section in a jopurnal notebook that I write in where I put things like "acquiline" nose- nose like a bird's beak, or "Lines on forehead" - lines like indents or ridges on forehead. etc.
I pick through these when I think a character needs a distinguishing feature or two to add to eye colors, hair color etc. I find these things by sitting in public places and watching people and jotting them down kind of like an artist making sketches of people in Starbucks.

I have a "word" section of cool words and their definitions that I find while reading. I turn to it and use it when I am writing and I want to find a cool word.

I also have a "Name" section and when I come across neat names first or last that I might use for characters I add them to the book.

It's a good resource I use for writing.

Michele Quick

[Ransom v. Unman]

I used to be a film major, so I find myself scrambling to find "actors" in my mind who would play them. Not that it always plays itself out so easily... For instance, the MC in my current WIP I describe as looking like a "gaunt, war-hardened Bruce Willis" or "a young, buff Peter Cushing." (Hmm... Maybe Christopher Walken's performance in The Deer Hunter subconsciously influenced this.) And of course, there are so few red-headed and elvish looking actors and actresses out there that I always find myself scrambling to fit someone into roles that require either. (I've found that if anyone should play the Sónarsian Elf Princess it should probably be Gwyneth Paltrow, and I think Bryce Dallas Howard, though she does not fit the image in my mind to a "T", should probably play Jillian, the elvish psychologist...)

In short, I would say my character "envisioning" consists partly of "casting" from faces I'm familiar with in real life, and then the other half consists of doodling and sketching characters to the best of my ability from whatever pops into my imagination as "fitting" for the individual, their personality, and their history.

[mbeachbum]

*Click! The light bulb just went on!*

Do any of you use yourself as inspiration for a character's traits - for this thread, physical traits, of course but also, how about personality traits, too?

>Cringe! That was an awful sentence!< :(

[Naomi Musch]

Boy, I wish I had Piney's talent for sketching my characters! That would be great! I do admit :rolleyes: with a touch of chagrine, that I have snapped pictures of total strangers once or twice some years ago.

I think that some of my personality traits leak into almost all my characters, even if charcters appear to be polar opposites of one another. I think we can't help to write what we are, even if some of those traits are not often exemplified, but are buried in our own psyches. After all, we are doing their thinking for them . . .

As for whether a character ever looks like me? No, not really. My oldest daughter, sort of. Strangely enough, people have asked me if the picture on the cover of The Casket Girl is of me. I don't think it looks much like me, but some folks have thought so. As I had nothing to do with the art, I was a little bit weirded out by that.

I do keep a page or two in my master notebook or on computer file of all my characters' main physical attributes and their ages at different points in the story. This saves tons of trouble when sheer forgetfulness or a week away from the computer causes lapses.

[Elondra]

I usually have a pretty clear idea of what my characters look like before I begin fleshing them out during the character sketching phase. Basically, I let the character tell me how he looks... if that makes sense! From their birth, I always have a vivid image in my mind of what they look like.

That's pretty much how it goes for my characters at well. I guess that's how I choose who to write about and make my main characters - those that are the most vivid and realistic to me, win!

I haven't really drawn my characters with paper and pencil, but I've created rough images of them in Paint on my computer. Can't really show them around because they're based off copyrighted characters - I just heavily morphed them into my own. It's more of helpful reminder for me

I also have notebook pages full of descriptions - I think someone else mentioned that. Off the top of my head, I know I have a Hair Color page and an Eye Color page that I use for minor characters.

[Tarin]

Do any of you use yourself as inspiration for a character's traits - for this thread, physical traits, of course but also, how about personality traits, too?


Occasionally, I will end up with a character that starts out based on my physical appearance, specifically hair and eye color. Most of the time, as the story progresses, however, they take on distinctly personal traits.

[righter1]

Do any of you use yourself as inspiration for a character's traits - for this thread, physical traits, of course but also, how about personality traits, too?


Oh yes... I have this happen.

My current MC that I'm working with is based a lot on me, both in personality and looks... she's got some differences in background and medically, though. Amanda (my MC) is a taller, more Native American looking version of me... I'm 5'8", so Amanda is 5'10", and she's got black hair, as opposed to my dark brown. But, I think that other than that, she looks a lot like me. Personality is a whole other thing that I don't have time to get into, though...

[Lookin^Up]

There's always at least one character that's "me" all over, or at least what I've always dreamed I would be. But in a sense, they're all "me" to varying degrees, even the villains (my evil side).

Writing as a child, my first attempt at visualizing characters came in the form of cutting out models from the clothes sections of catalogues. Even the same models often posed as different characters. Of course, I did often run into the thing about "boys don't play with paper dolls," but in the early days it did help me. Now I associate them with actors--Charles Napier would make a great Capt. Riegel, and any girl with short blonde hair makes me think of Xida--or I can also draw them from my imagination.

By the way, Naomi, this is a great companion to my character naming thread. !thumbsup!

[VWeathers]

The difficulty I have is that I tend to make them all slender and beautiful and rich and you know what I mean. But since I've been researching the writing process (being a novice) I've learned that making them perfect (by whatever standards) makes them unbelievable. They need a flaw of some sort. Whether the flaw is in their appearance, emotion or personality. Would you agree?

[Ransom v. Unman]

The difficulty I have is that I tend to make them all slender and beautiful and rich and you know what I mean. But since I've been researching the writing process (being a novice) I've learned that making them perfect (by whatever standards) makes them unbelievable. They need a flaw of some sort. Whether the flaw is in their appearance, emotion or personality. Would you agree?

Flaws in both - on some level - help I would say.

[Lookin^Up]

I would experiment with un-model body types. I have a hefty man, a short girl, and two children in one of my stories, among other varieties. If you need to know how fat people feel about their weight, observe them, read articles about the trials and joys they go through, and so on.

[VWeathers]

If anyone wants to know how fat people feel about their weight I can give them that information.:):o

I will make my self available to those who wish to do character research.!thumbsup!

I understand what you are saying. People are a wealth of information. I could tell you about being divorced, remarried, single parent, a church secretary, over weight, short. Sometimes the answer is right in front of you and sometimes it is staring back at you in the mirror.

[Naomi Musch]

I just read a book by Cindy Martinusen that handled this looks thing really well as part of the story. In Eventide, her main character, a dying woman, meets the past in the form of the returning love of her life who broke her heart 14 years earlier. He's still gorgeous, buff, and has a full head of hair, while her husband, a man who's always been there for her and loves her selflessly is paunchy, balding, and not dashing in the least. Yet, it's the constancy of her husband's love that carries her through, even while she deals with the lifelong torch she'd carried for the other guy.

Good book. Good characterization. Real issues. Good author.

[Samwise]

I tend to give a few key details but leave the rest to the readers imagination. A lot of it depends on what's pertinent to the story. Does body-build matter or is it irrelevant? Age, etc.? Of course, some details end up just writing themselves without being invited.

[Lookin^Up]

I agree, Samwise. Leave detailed descriptions for poetry; in prose, minimal description is preferred, especially if you introduce several characters in the same scene. Or, to borrow the old bromide, "Less is more". It's easier for the reader to keep track of them that way.

One of my favorite "guest stars" that I recently added to Books 3 and 4 is a lady in her early 40's who, as a teenager, was kidnapped and imprisoned on planet Gnorlon with two of her uncles. Though she has aged by now, showing the stress marks of prison life in her face, she still cuts a picture of the shy teenager she used to be. Sometimes a dichotomy like this works wonders when inventing memorable characters.

[VWeathers]

I think enough description to leave an impression is good so that the reader can invoke their own imagination to fill in the blanks.

As the writer, I am a visual person. So the more detailed I get in my own process the believable the story becomes and my writing is better.

If you are going to give them a scar of some sort, do you feel you should reveal at some point what happened?

[Samwise]

If you are going to give them a scar of some sort, do you feel you should reveal at some point what happened?


Is it relevant to the story? There's no point giving a detailed explanation unless it matters to the plot. Unless it's some kind of huge scar that would generate questions every time someone looked at the character.

[Tarin]

If you are going to give them a scar of some sort, do you feel you should reveal at some point what happened?

If you just mention the scar briefly in a description of the character's appearance, I don't think you have any obligation to explain its origins. However, if the scar is mentioned more than once, the reader will begin to expect that the scar is important to the story. If scar is not important to the story, you need to explain so that the reader won't feel like it is a loose end.

For example, in my novel A Man Called Outlaw, one of my main characters had a habit of rubbing a scar on his thumb whenever he was thinking. The scar had no importance in the story; it was merely the result of a barb-wire cut. However, I had several readers who, after reading the first several chapters, thought that the scar was an important clue to the character's past. Since I obviously didn't want the readers to have this mistaken impression, I had to go back and indicate the scar's origins before the book went to print.

[Naomi Musch]

This just in from the July issue of the Writer magazine; in an article by acclaimed novelist Anne Perry, she says, "Try to key your descriptions to one or two features, an emotional sketch, an impression, not a photographic portrait from which characters could be identified on a police blotter. Shape and coloring can be less important than expression, or one outstanding feature." She mentions using "some" physical description of a character the first time a reader meets him. Later, she says that you are best off showing a great deal about a character "by his reactions to a situation . . . emotions, weaknesses, strengths, bigotries . . ." and that "showing another character's reation to the same situation can highlight the contrast between them powerfully, subtly, delicately."

I thought this was really good advice. Sometimes we are so afraid that the reader is not seeing the character as we see him, that we want to over-describe them physically instead of letting their emotions, or subtle little images (impressions) about their character help in defining what they look like.

[VWeathers]

So less is more. Makes sense.

[Pinecone Tortoi]

Awaaaah!! Things happened in reveeeeeerse!

I know I already said I drafted my characters, fleshed 'em out and maybe sketched 'em later... but I was toying with a new style a few days ago and thought I'd try something for some competition and WHATCHAKNOW, I get three funky new characters come plant themselves on the page.

Why am I flipping out like this? This hasn't happened before. I'm not entirely sure what to do about it. I can't think of a time when I've drawn something without at least a hazy idea of the intended result already in mind. Sure, things rarely turn out exactly the way I want 'em to - but at least then I had SOME idea of what I was aiming for! These just HAPPENED. They came suddenly, unexpectedly and at a much higher level of sketching skill than I can usually pull off. Unfortunately, they've just shoved my main WIP onto the backburner while I have a little party figuring out the backstory for these three.

I'm so happy with them! Look like hours of fun ahead. I don't know where they came from, but now they're here, I wanna tie 'em up to make sure they don't just leave again! Bah, no need for ropes, I've got 'em on paper! They ain't going anywhere!

Erm... hmm. Seem to have tripped out a bit here. Well... this was unexpected. And at least somewhat on topic. Has anyone else ever had something like this happen? I know there's a few other arty types out there.

Surprised and excited,

Piney.

[Tarin]

@Piney: Hey, that's great! It's awesome when that kind of thing happens.!thumbsup!

[mel3]

I'll hopefully fill in a bit more about what they look like later and actually draw pictures of them... which may or may not change my visualisation of them. I'm not that skilled at drawing distinctly different characters and it's generally easier to change a mental image to match a drawing than a drawing to match a mental image.

Anyone else draw their characters?

Piney.

Me too. I know its weird but I stroyboard my book. I put my characters into a a little homemade comic strip and it really helps me to write afterwards. I find drawing the character and scenarios helps to capture the atmosphere properly in my mind which I can then convert to words.
My geeky little habit :p

[VWeathers]

I wish I could draw people. It would be helpful.