Dunno what’s up, but I’m snagged on my MMC’s hair and eye color. Seriously? Seriously!
I’m working on the first draft of Chapter One where MMC and FMC meet. The magic moment! No insta-love, definitely no insta-lust. But, of course, they find one another attractive. Which means I have to make him attractive, so that the reader can say, “Oh, yeah, I’d take some of that!”
But what is that, exactly?
I’d started off with the black hair/blue eyes routine. I like that, it works for me. But reviewing all the romances I’ve read in the past 6 months, looks like it works for everyone. Every time. In fact, this combo is so pervasive that I suspect that it’s already passed into cliché for many readers.
In addition, the dude is protesting my initial choice. Nope, don’t want the black hair, and you can keep the blue eyes for someone else. What else ya got? Errrr….um…ahhh…! He’s already appeared in the prologue, but the whole thing is from his POV, and he’s not going around looking in mirrors, so…nada!
Yoghurtelf had kindly suggested sandy hair and dark eyes on another thread. And I LIKED that! Until I remembered that the FMC has sort of pale brown hair, and wondered if it would be too similar. So then I started throwing every actor with whom I’m currently obsessed against the wall and no one stuck.
Started looking up regional patterns in hair/eye colors, figuring I would let genetics decide for me and end the madness. Scientists have done studies of this stuff and can tell you in which part of the UK you’re (supposedly) most likely to have which combo. Unfortunately, I could find nothing for New England except a 19th century historical work which claimed early New Englanders were not “fair Saxon” English folk, but dark haired and dark eyed. At least that jibes with the fact that he’s a tanned seafarer, and not a pale aristocrat. Definitely don’t wanna go blonde and end up with a Malibu Ken look.
It’s really bugging me that I can’t “see” this guy! I have his personality tacked down tight and have apparently been “seeing” him that way without really considering his physical appearance. I do know he’s not some super-sized guy with popping pecs, but other than that, I’m stumped. I don’t even have any specific facial characteristics. How sad is that?
I’m guess I’m going to have to wing it and circle back later when my subconscious gets off its bum and clues me in.
Anyone want to share your experience of “seeing” your character’s physical appearance and demeanor? Did you see it first, and then the personality? Vice versa? Or did you gloss over the details and leave it to the reader to fill in the blanks? And, really, how useful are specific facial characteristics? Can you really enable a reader to see a face in their imaginations as clearly as you see it in yours?
I’m working on the first draft of Chapter One where MMC and FMC meet. The magic moment! No insta-love, definitely no insta-lust. But, of course, they find one another attractive. Which means I have to make him attractive, so that the reader can say, “Oh, yeah, I’d take some of that!”
But what is that, exactly?
I’d started off with the black hair/blue eyes routine. I like that, it works for me. But reviewing all the romances I’ve read in the past 6 months, looks like it works for everyone. Every time. In fact, this combo is so pervasive that I suspect that it’s already passed into cliché for many readers.
In addition, the dude is protesting my initial choice. Nope, don’t want the black hair, and you can keep the blue eyes for someone else. What else ya got? Errrr….um…ahhh…! He’s already appeared in the prologue, but the whole thing is from his POV, and he’s not going around looking in mirrors, so…nada!
Yoghurtelf had kindly suggested sandy hair and dark eyes on another thread. And I LIKED that! Until I remembered that the FMC has sort of pale brown hair, and wondered if it would be too similar. So then I started throwing every actor with whom I’m currently obsessed against the wall and no one stuck.
Started looking up regional patterns in hair/eye colors, figuring I would let genetics decide for me and end the madness. Scientists have done studies of this stuff and can tell you in which part of the UK you’re (supposedly) most likely to have which combo. Unfortunately, I could find nothing for New England except a 19th century historical work which claimed early New Englanders were not “fair Saxon” English folk, but dark haired and dark eyed. At least that jibes with the fact that he’s a tanned seafarer, and not a pale aristocrat. Definitely don’t wanna go blonde and end up with a Malibu Ken look.
It’s really bugging me that I can’t “see” this guy! I have his personality tacked down tight and have apparently been “seeing” him that way without really considering his physical appearance. I do know he’s not some super-sized guy with popping pecs, but other than that, I’m stumped. I don’t even have any specific facial characteristics. How sad is that?
I’m guess I’m going to have to wing it and circle back later when my subconscious gets off its bum and clues me in.
Anyone want to share your experience of “seeing” your character’s physical appearance and demeanor? Did you see it first, and then the personality? Vice versa? Or did you gloss over the details and leave it to the reader to fill in the blanks? And, really, how useful are specific facial characteristics? Can you really enable a reader to see a face in their imaginations as clearly as you see it in yours?
