I find that the characters build themselves in my head, creating themselves with little nudges from me. I tend to get a pretty clear visual in my mind, but I can’t draw either… I bet if I saw a photo somewhere like you did I could say “yes, that’s [MC]!” but as of yet, it hasn’t happened!

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By Faith on 07.17.09 7:35 am | Permalink

I’m with Faith on this way . . . I build my characters in my head. I give the basics – hair color, eye color, height, weight, etc. – on the page, but don’t go into overly specific details. Why? Well, I call it the Lord of the Rings Syndrome.

Tolkien described his characters so well that I had clear visuals in my mind of what the characters looked like. So, when it came time to cast the movie . . . well, very few of the characters fit the images in my mind. I always thought Aragorn should have been played by Harrison Ford. Now, Viggo did an excellent job, and I can’t picture anyone else in the roll, but initially Harrsion would have been my choice for Aragorn.

Galadriel – Cate Blanchett just didn’t fit my image, and still doesn’t. Galadriel, while Elvish and immortal, should have been played by an older actress.

So, based on the LOTR Syndrome, I sketch out the basics of my characters and let the reader fill in the rest.

I’ve never thought of searching the web for pictures of my characters. I might have to try that sometime.

I do like the idea of finding a photo of a ‘character’ and building a story around them.

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By Scott on 07.17.09 8:59 am | Permalink

I build mine as I go, but once they start to firm up in my mind, I pull out the sketch pad and colored pencils.

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By Tara on 07.17.09 2:02 pm | Permalink

Good lord woman! How many blogs do you have? You are a writing maniac.

I was here to same welcome on this blog too, but I already did that on your other one.

I will tell you that the only characters in my life are my Kid and the Dog. So I am of no help to you.

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By So Not Mom-a-licious on 07.17.09 5:34 pm | Permalink

For most of my characters, I had a pretty good idea of their distinguishing characteristics in my head–I like visuals, so then went to Google and searched for something close to put on my wall as I write. It worked for one or two; but usually, I can’t find an exact match. Like you, though, I found a surprise-a great picture I liked and couldn’t figure out how to use, then realized in the shower that I was looking at the main character’s daughter! I didn’t even know what I’d been looking for.

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By Valerie on 07.17.09 6:04 pm | Permalink

Hmm… never thought about searching the Internet for pictures. Neat idea.

Usually, my characters are pieced together in my head over time. The best ones are those that just show up in a story and come alive. I like to attempt to sketch them out (or bug my sis to do it… she’s a better artist ), just to get a visual.

Funny story: Right in the middle of NaNoWriMo, I was sitting on the floor in Borders looking at writing books, and this guy (who was also checking out writing books) asked me where something was. Longish hair, glasses, kind of quiet and shy… I swear, he looked *almost* like one of the MC’s from my NaNo novel! It was weird.

I took it as a sign that I should have been home writing.

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By Jen on 07.17.09 8:11 pm | Permalink

I build mine in my head, and then get super excited when I find someone who has that character’s eyes, or nose, or hair.

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By Joyce on 07.17.09 8:16 pm | Permalink

That is interesting. I thought maybe authors had a character vision in mind. Amazing.

Stopping in to welcome you to SITS!

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By Christina on 07.17.09 10:31 pm | Permalink

Wow! All your comments are so interesting..
I love finding out how others write since we all have our different ways. It’s also great finding someone who writes the same way!!
Thanks so much for all your responses!!!

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By Eden Tyler on 07.18.09 1:47 pm | Permalink

Oh, and So Not a Mom…
Aside from this blog, I have three of my own. Yeah… lol

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By Eden Tyler on 07.18.09 1:48 pm | Permalink

Totally in my head. Never seen a picture that made me think “that’s my character” and I can’t draw so I don’t do that either. One interesting exercise I did in a drama class, though, was to find a picture in a magazine that caught my attention, then develop that character with a collage, and then write a monologue about her and perform it. Would be a good freefall writing exercise or way to get past writer’s block.

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By Bonnie on 07.18.09 8:44 pm | Permalink

Bonnie -
That’s a cool exercise y’all did. I might have to try that for my new character who I don’t know yet!
Again, thanks to everyone =)
I love this site!!

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By Eden Tyler on 07.18.09 11:41 pm | Permalink

For me, it’s all very uneven. Sometimes, my image of a character I’m writing is so clear that I feel I could recognize the person if I met her/him. Other times, it’s basically one or two distinctive characteristics floating on a generic person-shape. These characteristics might be “big brown eyes” or they might be “very handsome” or “overweight.”

I’m the same way in reading other people’s characters. When I see a movie of a book I read, some characters match or clash with my mental image, but some really don’t because I didn’t form much of an image for them. Sometimes I have a vague idea that still clashes, especially if my idea is something subjective, like imagining a character as being attractive when s/he isn’t in the movie. (Of course, Hollywood tends to pretty most everyone up anyway, especially the women . . .)

I also draw, but have had much more success drawing some of my characters than others.

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By Anica on 07.19.09 12:55 pm | Permalink

For me, they are usually pretty clear in my mind. I often find people (with lots of searching) who look like the character. Not always just like them, but enough. I don’t always find them, but I usually look. I’m a very visual person. I draw floorplans for my homes or apartments. Know what the furniture looks like, all that stuff.
I don’t always give tons of details, but I know exactly what everything looks like, even if I leave it general enough for the reader to come up with their own picts.

Great post Eden!

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By Sarah on 07.20.09 10:51 am | Permalink