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He/She looks like...
- Thread starter Barbarique
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Well, it dates the work if you use people from a different era. Saying someone looks like Santa Claus is probably fine...because he generally looks the same all the time. I personally don't know what Kenny Rogers looks like and I don't know who Jessica Walter is...so those descriptions don't mean much to me, but they might to other people. Though, if you're saying it from the point of view of your MC, or even another character, then it could work, just because it'd be something they'd say.
My only concern with this method of description is that what is well-known to the author may be obscure to someone else.
For example, I have no idea who Kenny Rogers or Jessica Walters are, let alone what they look like, and I have never seen Play Misty for Me. So for me, as a reader, the descriptions you mentioned tell me nothing at all about what the person looks like.
Even with a well-known figure such as Santa Claus, I would be wondering if the author meant the American depiction of him, or the Dutch equivalent, or the Finnish one, or ...
Personally, I would rather have a description of the hair colour/facial features/height etc of the character and have the other connotations emerge from his/her actions, but that's just me. Others may feel differently.
For example, I have no idea who Kenny Rogers or Jessica Walters are, let alone what they look like, and I have never seen Play Misty for Me. So for me, as a reader, the descriptions you mentioned tell me nothing at all about what the person looks like.
Even with a well-known figure such as Santa Claus, I would be wondering if the author meant the American depiction of him, or the Dutch equivalent, or the Finnish one, or ...
Personally, I would rather have a description of the hair colour/facial features/height etc of the character and have the other connotations emerge from his/her actions, but that's just me. Others may feel differently.
I wouldn't do it unless the comparison was to someone ultra well known. E.g. if I used a comparison to Jeanne Little (daaaahhhling), you probably wouldn't know who she was, even though she's famous in Australia (not so for the younger generation, though). I might get by with a comparison to Elle Macpherson or Olivia Newton-John--but which era? The comparison would also have to be to someone who doesn't change their looks, or age, unless the comparison was to do with how much that person changes, or the look of that person at a certain age. It can get tricky, and perhaps doesn't allow the reader to form a unique picture for themselves.
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I went to school with a Jessica Walter...I doubt that's who you mean. I'm not familiar with Play Misty for Me either. Is it a well-known movie in the states? Knife-wielding Mom reminds me of Psycho.
You know what your characters look like. The trick is to let each reader form her own opinion; we don't have to see exactly what you see. You can only do so much with dress, looks, mannerisms. The rest is in the mind of the reader, and each of us thinks a different way.
You know what your characters look like. The trick is to let each reader form her own opinion; we don't have to see exactly what you see. You can only do so much with dress, looks, mannerisms. The rest is in the mind of the reader, and each of us thinks a different way.
You might try using something like: People often remarked that her mother looked like a movie star. If you put a knife in her hand and dark circles beneath her eyes, I could see it.
Or something like that. That way, the reader could inject any knife-wielding psychopath from any slasher movie into the description, not just the ones familiar to you. You could still get across that the mother is a)attractive and b)crazy without naming someone specifically.
Or something like that. That way, the reader could inject any knife-wielding psychopath from any slasher movie into the description, not just the ones familiar to you. You could still get across that the mother is a)attractive and b)crazy without naming someone specifically.
Just a thought, but if the reader has to put the book down to research who the reference refers to, you've probably lost the reader. It yanks them out of the story they've been immersed in.
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All of my characters have a real life counterpart.
<-- that hottie is my main MC, Clayton Carver.
It just helps me when I picture scenes in my head about my characters.
<-- that hottie is my main MC, Clayton Carver.
It just helps me when I picture scenes in my head about my characters.
If a period-specific person reference is used, it should come from a character, not the narrator, in my opinion. Even then, though, it is no substitute for good writing--conveying the appearance of a character through original words or some kind of literary comparison technique (such as simile). Also, it might be wise to write as if the work will be marketed internationally, where even reference to Santa Claus might not stir much in some readers. In many cases, it's best to avoid giving too much description of a character's physical appearance. Give enough to be important for the story and let the reader fill in the blanks.
I wouldn't do it. It can date your book and I hate seeing references that I don't get in books...because it makes me feel stupid. You don't want your readers to feel stupid, do you?
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I love references and I do often look them up. I wouldn't want to see every character described that way, but I find they give me insight in the character's world and their mindset.
And I wouldn't worry about it dating your work. Should you find yourself reprinted in the 2107 edition of the Norton Anthology, they'll be sure to explain "Kenny Rogers" with a footnote.
And I wouldn't worry about it dating your work. Should you find yourself reprinted in the 2107 edition of the Norton Anthology, they'll be sure to explain "Kenny Rogers" with a footnote.
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I wouldn't do it unless it's a reference by the character him/herself. Otherwise, the narrator (I assume this is 3rd person) is making a judgment -- who is saying he or she looks like that person? Besides, like everyone said, if the readers don't know the person, you've lost them. I have no idea who Jessica Walter is, for example. Everyone knows Santa Claus, I guess, but that's just so cliched as well -- what does it really mean anyway? A big, chubby guy with a white beard? Why not just say so and describe him in a creative way and have the image of Santa Claus pop up in the readers' minds instead? That's more effective (back to the show vs. tell).
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I'm stunned that we have someone here who's never heard of Kenny Rogers (are you having us on?), and even MORE stunned that we have an author who never puts down a book unread no matter how bad it is. There are more great books on this planet than anybody can read in a lifetime, the Janet Evanovich/Charlotte whatever collaboration REALLY isn't worth finishing. Or beginning.
Waaaaaaaaait a minute here... Are you saying that Kenny Rogers is NOT Santa Claus?!?!?!
I think it's a bad idea. I love Play Misty but I can't at all remember what that actress looks like. Unless we're talking about comparing someone to Santa or Jesus Christ (the two most well-known "timeless" figures I can think of), leave names out of it. Most everyone else has explained why.
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Not if it makes sense, though. In my novel there's one very short line saying a character reminds the protagonist of Audrey Hepburn. It wasn't a throwaway line to describe the character. It has meaning, coming from the protagonist's perception, who happens to adore the actress. It doesn't matter if the readers don't know who Audrey Hepburn is -- what matters is that the character thinks so.
So to me, such blatant comparison needs to come from the right place and have meaning to it. If it's just an easy "tell" of what the character looks like, then it is lazy writing.
It's a grating shortcut, much worse than mentioning a song title that may be unfamiliar. If the "famous" person is unknown to the reader, she is now drawing a blank when she should have a picture of your character.
Worse, famous people have a way being too human and screwing up. A writer who compared a male character to Alec Baldwin fifteen years ago is going to have a major problem when her handsome, well-built character is pictured as pig-eyed, pot-bellied and belligerent. Likewise for comparisons to Mel Gibson, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears or any other celebs whose images have gone down the toilet.
Today's celebs are just descriptive disasters waiting to happen.
Worse, famous people have a way being too human and screwing up. A writer who compared a male character to Alec Baldwin fifteen years ago is going to have a major problem when her handsome, well-built character is pictured as pig-eyed, pot-bellied and belligerent. Likewise for comparisons to Mel Gibson, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears or any other celebs whose images have gone down the toilet.
Today's celebs are just descriptive disasters waiting to happen.
See, that seems different to me than what the OP is talking about. The OP sounds like she/he(not trying to be rude, I just have no idea if you're a man or a woman) is relying on a character comparison from a movie to do all the heavy-lifting.
The Kenny Rodgers(I just vomited in my mouth a little) Santa Claus comparison doesn't both me the same way.
Maybe I just need another nap
AW draws a broad international audience, probably way more so than Kenny Rogers ever did. AW also has many younger members and lurkers, so young Kenny Rogers is in the age group of their grandfathers. These people read. These people buy books. Kenny Rogers will likely draw no sense of familiarity from them. And the situation will only get worse, like in the two years or more it will take for a book (being written now) to come out--and that's provided it earns an immediate contract when it is finished.
The reference to Jessica Walter is time-specific to 1974, when pretty much everyone was familiar with 1971's Play Misty for Me. (Incidentally, the movie was Clint Eastwood's directorial debut, and IMO makes the much later Fatal Attraction seem like an uninspired rip-off.)
I do see your point, however.
I'm old enough to remember the movie, even have watched it a couple of times on TV, and I know the name Jessica Walter. But I don't have the vaguest clue what she looks like. The reference would be entirely lost on me, and constitute a reader annoyance, accordingly.
caw
He's a 40-something-year-old left-handed starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, and one of the few pitchers in baseball history to have pitched a perfect game. He's about 6'4', kind of lean and bony, and wears this black baseball cap.
caw
Looks like
I think most writers worry way the heck too much about dating their fiction. Just about all good fiction is dated in every way possible. Pick up pretty much any novel, and you can almost tell the exact year it was written. This even holds true for the classics, and people still read them all.
Besides, the odds of a book being around long enough for anyone to think it's dated are slim and slimmer.
And, no, all readers won't get a reference. So what? Who cares? When you start trying to please everyone, you usually please no one.
I think most writers worry way the heck too much about dating their fiction. Just about all good fiction is dated in every way possible. Pick up pretty much any novel, and you can almost tell the exact year it was written. This even holds true for the classics, and people still read them all.
Besides, the odds of a book being around long enough for anyone to think it's dated are slim and slimmer.
And, no, all readers won't get a reference. So what? Who cares? When you start trying to please everyone, you usually please no one.
I don't expect readers to get every cultural reference. But I sure don't want to take a cheap shortcut on a character description that leaves them drawing a blank.
I can see this sort of thing working for, say, first person chicklit, or any genre that dates itself with consistent references to fashions, trends, etc. That wouldn't make me blink. Of course, it'd be coming from the POV of your MC if it were first person.
But coming into a third person narrative from the author as a means to describe the character, that'd probably bother me.
But coming into a third person narrative from the author as a means to describe the character, that'd probably bother me.
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