Female.
No.
I don’t picture the characters or action in my head. I was surprised when I learned that some people do. I would imagine that the people who picture things as they read will say yes; those who don’t will say no.
Female.
No.
I don’t picture the characters or action in my head. I was surprised when I learned that some people do. I would imagine that the people who picture things as they read will say yes; those who don’t will say no.
Damn, I thought this was an RPG thread.
Male, though would have difficulty proving that.
Short answer No with a depends, long answer Yes with a but.
It really depends on how strong the main characters “voice” is. The closer you get to a character point of view, the less you need one. The more “neutral” the narration is, the more important this kind of thing gets.
Obviously, sometimes a characters appearance is important to the story in it’s own right. And the more characters you have, the more important distingushing them becomes.
Though just because they’re not necessary, doesn’t mean they can’t be useful. Particularly a character’s view of what they look like . . . The fact I have freakishly broad shoulders is one thing. The fact that I think they make me look like a giant dwarf is much more interesting.
–
“There is one fundimental law of mens battles. Big macho ugly guys like you ALWAYS loose to slender, handsome, popular heroes! This battle was over as soon as you showed your ugly face!”
Clarification: It is needed if it is needed. What passes for physical description (“wavy brown hair”) is usually meaningless filler. Characterization via physical description is a different matter. Example: Say I’m writing a story with a female character who is a stripper. I’m not, but say for the moment that I am. Picture her in your mind for a moment. Draw conclusions about her personality, how self-confident she is, how long she’s been a stripper, what she does in her spare time, that sort of thing. Take a second.
.
.
.
.
.
Now in my story, she has very small breasts. She wears an AA cup as a matter of fact.
She’s a slightly different person, now, isn’t she? You had to adjust more than just your image of her physique, you altered your impressions of her, even if just a bit, no? Somehow she’s younger now, or more self-confident, or she hasn’t been a stripper long enough to earn the money for a boob job or something like that, right? On the other hand, if I told you she had red hair instead of brown, what do you have to adjust?
Female yes, Male no.
(reads rest of the thread)
ooooohhh. ok.
I like to make my own image of a character. I usually like mine better than the author’s.
Male, qualified no.
I like to have an image of the main character, but it’s not essential. (Unless, as others have noted, the story actually calls for it.)
Male.
Brief sketch. 3 or 4 words is sufficient. Additional details only if absolutely necessary (e.g. why do I care if their appendectomy scar is 2" long?)
Female
No
Tho I’ve been known to write descriptions of my characters in some stories… others I don’t bother. I’ve found that often readers gloss right over the descriptions - one instructor wrote of one of my stories: “Are these boys supposed to be black? I didn’t get that till the third reading.” As it happened, it didn’t affect the story one way or another - I was just writing what I “saw”…
Female. No.
I wrote a piece of erotica in which the only thing you know - even at the end - is that one is male and one is female. They could be ANYONE…and that makes it possible to plug anyone YOU want into the story.
I’ve been told it’s affective. (effective? BLARGH)
Female, no.
I end up picturing the characters exactly the way I want to anyway.
Kitty
Male, yes.
While I wouldn’t want a five-paragraph essay on the description of every character, at least some description – even if it’s just of distinguishing or unusual features – is definitely appreciated.
Would some more ladies like to answer? You’re out numbered almost 2 to 1!
female
no
i mean if it’s not essential to the story.
for example, if a charcter is say, dragging someone to safety through 4 miles of jungle, i want to know if they are a big strong man, or a very small one.
i put faces on characters anyway, and have been horrified half way through a story to find out they THEIR “mike” is a blond and blue-eyed tank of a man, and MY “mike” is a dark and slim type.
i mean, who hasn’t watched Captain Corelli’s Mandolin AFTER reading the book and gone “Nick Cage??? what in all hell were they thinking?”
or read abook after seeing a film and then picturing the characters with the actors’ faces?
or is it just me?