tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208062043216838522.post5875775890025490000..comments2024-03-29T04:53:44.234-07:00Comments on A. Piper Burgi: Writing a Novel: Is a Physical Description Enough When Developing Your Characters?authorapiperburgihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10224848215180812189noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208062043216838522.post-18453050717955441182018-06-20T11:22:54.557-07:002018-06-20T11:22:54.557-07:00I would say that describing a character should be ...I would say that describing a character should be as detailed as it needs to be for the reader to get a good picture in their mind of what the character looks like and who the character is. But I think you must also be careful to ween out personal bias here because you don't mention anything about skin color, which is a huge descriptor for most readers. Even if you never feature a person of color in your novel, you do a disservice to your readers to have them assume that white is the default color. Michael Stephensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02744621777401005165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208062043216838522.post-70835927076088641692018-06-15T04:45:58.685-07:002018-06-15T04:45:58.685-07:00That's a great question, Robyn! Eye and hair c...That's a great question, Robyn! Eye and hair colour alone shouldn't define a character. It takes so much more than a physical description to engage a reader's imagination. While it's a shame that your cousin preferred a different hair colour on one of your characters, one person's opinion shouldn't stop you from writing your stories the way you envision them. authorapiperburgihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10224848215180812189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208062043216838522.post-25006945827408810582018-06-14T19:16:55.992-07:002018-06-14T19:16:55.992-07:00I think it depends on the story and the reason for...I think it depends on the story and the reason for the needed description... Obviously a sci-fi book needs to describe what an alien character looks like. But often I think writers over do it. You should leave something to the imagination, unless it is important to the story, or that particular character needs a full blow description. How many times has a booked been adapted to film and the actor doesn't match the character as described in the book? Quite often, actually. I general descriptions are best, long hair, weathered skin, tall, heavy... all have their place but is their color of their eyes important to the story? Just depends on whether it adds to or distracts from the readers own interpretation of the character.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09920247790446243669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208062043216838522.post-5818416869258736772018-06-13T09:19:51.337-07:002018-06-13T09:19:51.337-07:00When I began writing the draft of my first book, I...When I began writing the draft of my first book, I ignored descriptions of my main characters. I gave the draft to a few of my family members. Then they read a revised version, with descriptions of the characters added. My cousin was disappointed because one of the characters had blonde hair. In her head, he had black hair. In fiction writing, how much is too descriptive? You mention hair and eye color being too much, and I learned that. What about body types? Where does it exactly end, or begin?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14481990150294447444noreply@blogger.com