Penelope over at her site had a great post about why the movie Jaws had such a powerful effect on us movie-goers - it was what we didn’t see that scared the bejeezus out of us!
Think back to the first scene, a naked girl, swimming, alone, at night. That first unexpected jerk followed by her look of shock and disbelief - nothing in her world view prepared her for what was about to happen, or us for that matter.
Penny and I must be on the same wavelength. I’d been thinking about how bothered I am by too many details in romance stories. I like the things I can’t see. Suggestions, hints, tantalizing glimpses kick my imagination into overdrive.
Think of it this way, a naked human body taken out of context isn’t particularly arousing. A streaker? He’s laughable. A naked human body in a sexual context, when the author allows you to explore with your senses…? That’s a whole other animal.
When I write, I try to avoid presenting minute, and distracting, details of my characters’ appearance. You might learn, for instance, that my hero is over six feet, has dark hair and an appealing cowlick. You might learn the color of his eyes, but I won’t fill in all the blanks for you - that’s what your own vivid imagination is for.
You will learn more about the characters as my story progresses, but to some extent, I want the inhabitants of my fictional world to be a blank slate, allowing you, the reader, to fill in the blanks with your preferences.
Project your heart’s desires upon my characters, feel free. I love an author who gives me a silhouette. It’s fun to color inside the lines.
You’re right, Julia. I get the most satisfaction that I understand from the writing, not from the ones that are portrayed in the finest physical detail. Do I need to know the height/hair colour/eye colour of a character to follow his/her thoughts and actions? If I don’t, don’t waste much time on them. If it is a major character, you can build them up as you go along.
Bunny trail here, Julia… When I was kid, I spent a lot of summers at my grandmother’s house. She subscribed to book clubs, mostly romance novels, but Westerns, too. I remember being enchanted by the overwrought descriptions of romantic heroines- high, pale foreheads brushed by sassy fringes and eyes that weren’t quite blue, but not quite green, but some fetching hue that reminded one of a springtime pond, yada yada yada. Some of those descriptions went on for pages! I wonder if it was my youth or merely a love for lush language and (dare I say) prose so purple.
Not that I think we need to revert. Oh no. I imagine those books would be a chore to read nowadays. My imagination is far more sophisticated (I hope) now than when I was young. Still, give me a writer who can really nail a character description and I will follow them to the ends of the earth. Have you ever read Robert McCammon’s Matthew Corbett novels? Or Stuart MacBride’s Logan MacRae series? When they describe a character, it sticks.
Anyway, back to you. Good post!
Jaye - a good writer can do just about anything. And yes, I love me some lush prose. I didn’t read romance until four years ago so the genre is quite new to me. When it comes to romance novels, I prefer to project my own vision on my characters, with a few exceptions. Claimed By Darkness, a m/m romance by Mia Watts carries me away with its Lord Dunsany type luscious prose - and that’s not a genre I generally read. I know there have been other exceptions. Unfortunately, most of the time descriptions read something like this - Her auburn hair hung in flaming curls around her heart-shaped face. Her high cheekbones caught the light and reflected off stunning aquamarine pupils, which dilated nearly to black as she looked at him. Actually, that ain’t half bad, might use it!
Seriously, what I don’t like is when the details are listed - like a checklist. Heart-shaped face. Check. Pixie chin. Check. Deep blue eyes. Check. Freckles over bridge of the nose. Check. Lush lips. Check.
Jacqueline, I think I prefer to discover the character as the other character discovers the character. I don’t need a formal introduction complete with every single detail.
This is a great approach, because most readers will create their own idea of what your characters should look like. Less is more.
Huge pet peeve of mine when I am reading….tons of inane details. I don’t need to read an entire paragraph detailing the heroine’s trip to town to stop at the dry cleaner, grocery store, pharmacy and hardware shop. Just use one sentence and say she ran errands in town. I also hate info dumps in paranormal books. I also hate too much stage direction….she walked down the hallway and turned right into the bedroom, then put her purse on the counter, etc etc….oy! And I totally agree about too much detail about a character’s physical description. Let the reader use his/her own imagination. Much sexier that way. (I can imagine all the heroes with beards, for example…hee heee!). A good writer includes just a few nuggets that are interesting…tortoise-shell glasses that slide down her nose, a thick lush beard he strokes while he’s thinking, etc. Overdoing the details in a sex scene is the kiss o’ death for erotica, and I see it more often that not these days.
I shouldn’t even be commenting here today, I’m totally guilty of many things mentioned. Personally, my editor hovers over details like a hawk:
“How did she get down the hall? Is she carrying a purse, because she has a purse with her in the restaurant scene, you better tell the reader exactly how she and her purse got to the restaurant…”
I’m asked to fill out many details I assumed a reader could figure out for themselves.
I will make a very general statement, in general women are fascinated with details that conjure emotion, and tactile sensation. Female erotica should be lush with details and sensations.
XXOO Kat
You nailed this. I love filling in the blanks. Makes the characters more real to me.
Rachel - I too love to fill in the blanks. Anything that kicks my imagination into high gear appeals to me.
Kat, you are one of the few authors I know who can get away with detail - but, your detail is all about sensuality, not so much about describing every single wart on a character. Detail that piques the imagination is good detail.
Yes, Penny - I feel the same way. Sometimes I need that road map…if it’s essential to the story. If the detail is extraneous and adds nothing but white noise, no.
Amber, I guess I like to put my own spin on the characters other authors create so I want to give my readers that option as well.
I don’t like insulting readers-who are so much smarter then they are given credit for. However, many publishing decisions pander to the uncritical thinker-the reader who can’t connect A to B to D…
My true style-and I wish I could get away with this, would be lots of implication… I love allowing others to use their imaginations and NOT completely spell out the situation. I’ve tried and reviewers and editors jump all over it.
In a perfect world we wouldn’t have to lead everyone by the hand toward the happy, happy, joy, joy ending.
XXOO Kat
Kat, I guess this is why I’m going it alone to some extent. I want to give my readers the option of maybe not the happy happy joy joy. I still like an HEA, but I can live with some ambiguity.
Just the cover ad alone gave me anxiety, lol.
Oh Evie, no kidding! After I saw that movie, I couldn’t get in a bathtub, a swimming pool, a lake - hell no. Not a single body of water. I was afraid a shark would come out of the shower drain!
Let the reader fill in the blanks. One of my favorite ideas. It’s why reading is hot and watching TV is cold or the other way around.
Katalina, it’s funny how in video continuity is vital and in reading it’s not so much b/c we can think it. I have been driven crazy by how Sookie and Eric git from the woods around Jason’s house into her foyer still naked and still in coitus. In a book it would be they made love outside and then he ripped her clothes off right in the foyer.
Steph, yes, sometimes in books what we leave out is important - the silence speaks volumes. At least we can make it speak volumes.
Hey, Steph, I’m all for filling in the blanks.