Giving Your Characters More Than A Reference Name

Frantic is a word I would use to describe the past few weeks. I���ve been visiting blogs and reading ��but not writing much. Babysitting has become a large part of my activities as mama organizes, plans and nests in preparation for the third grandchild.

In my spare moments, I am reading, everything. Lots of classics, new authors, traditionally published and indie.

I have a complaint. It may just be me, but I���m put off by so many of the new and indie authors using popular references to TV and music personalities in their novels. I read, but don���t watch a lot of TV and I don’t have many visual images of recording artists. When I read, I want the author to create imagery for me. This seems to be trendy and I don’t care for it at all.

I can see saying, ���He looked like George Costanza, a short, balding man with dark hair surrounding a balding head and nerdy glasses.��� But to simply say, ���He looked like George Costanza,��� and move on���well, I just don���t like it.

I may know the character, but not the actor���s names. I don���t want to have to google every character in a book I���m reading in order to get an image. Give me some sort of description. If I said, ���She was Phyllis Diller���s twin,��� it might be lost on some (especially the young). But if I said, ���She was a Phyllis Diller look alike, a tall woman wearing loud, brightly colored clothing with wide eyes and wild, gray, spiked hair, a gaping smile of pearly white teeth.��� You have some clue, a description to imagine in your mind.

If I say, ���He looked like Mr. T,��� there should be some follow up to say, ���A large, muscular black man sporting a mohawk with four pounds of gold chains around his neck.��� ��Likewise, if you say, ���He looked just like rapper Lil B,��� give me some clue as to what Lil B looks like���else I���m setting your book down���especially if you do that repeatedly.

There were several indie books I���ve read that I can���t recommend because they were filled with names of TV, movie, and music personalities with no descriptions. It���s just lazy writing, in my opinion.

Speaking of descriptions; I���m going to need to change author photo soon. I had a whim I acted on with no regret. I whacked off my long blonde hair���all of it. I went really short, from down my back to above my ears pixie, from blonde to natural silvery gray. I love it. I can actually shower, comb, dry, style my hair, apply make-up and dress in less than ten minutes. I only wish I did this sooner. It’s a great boating, swimming, Florida summer cut.

Does it hamper your reading pleasure to see names with no descriptions in novels?

What are you doing to get ready for summer?

Filed under: Book Reviews and Books, Uncategorized Tagged: descriptions, imagery, lazy writing, rappers, reading, TV personalities, visuals