30 Days of Writing Thingy: Day 27
Do appearances play a big role in your stories?
I don't think so, but I could be wrong. There are a few places in the Thistle stories where people notice that she's really not that pretty. Kind of like Vicki Lewis, she's not unattractive, but she's not the classically beautiful heroine of fairy tales and fantasy yarns. And she also will not become more attractive at the end of the tale. Her husband will say she's beautiful but he's extremely biased and everyone knows it.
In fact, I don't think any of my characters are the traditional classic beauties. They're all kind of ordinary looking, like most people. And like most people they all have their own opinions of who's pretty and who isn't. Just because one character thinks another is heartbreakingly gorgeous doesn't mean s/he really is, it just means that that person fits in with the beholder's idea of beauty.
How do you go about designing your characters?
Usually they come with one defining characteristic that the rest of their appearance resolves itself around. One came with purple eyes. Another is eternally boyish. One had red hair. Another had a scar on his face that he hides behind a beard. One is tall and lanky. One is short. One has a perpetually haughty expression which makes another look tired and put-upon. From those minor details the rest of their appearance emerges and, sometimes, personality and relevance to the story.
I don't think so, but I could be wrong. There are a few places in the Thistle stories where people notice that she's really not that pretty. Kind of like Vicki Lewis, she's not unattractive, but she's not the classically beautiful heroine of fairy tales and fantasy yarns. And she also will not become more attractive at the end of the tale. Her husband will say she's beautiful but he's extremely biased and everyone knows it.
In fact, I don't think any of my characters are the traditional classic beauties. They're all kind of ordinary looking, like most people. And like most people they all have their own opinions of who's pretty and who isn't. Just because one character thinks another is heartbreakingly gorgeous doesn't mean s/he really is, it just means that that person fits in with the beholder's idea of beauty.
How do you go about designing your characters?
Usually they come with one defining characteristic that the rest of their appearance resolves itself around. One came with purple eyes. Another is eternally boyish. One had red hair. Another had a scar on his face that he hides behind a beard. One is tall and lanky. One is short. One has a perpetually haughty expression which makes another look tired and put-upon. From those minor details the rest of their appearance emerges and, sometimes, personality and relevance to the story.