tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498413430541424627.post1555955858675798350..comments2023-11-29T01:47:52.439-07:00Comments on clarity2010: Describing CharactersRelax Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051381168322495999noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498413430541424627.post-53322280803420167162011-05-11T14:09:55.724-06:002011-05-11T14:09:55.724-06:00Your too kind. I believe that less words also have...Your too kind. I believe that less words also have an impact. Something like Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein whom I remember from when I was a child. I dabbled in poetry that was one word at a time once, it was quite a difficult task, and if I could find it, I would share.Kelly Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12968396049579378856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498413430541424627.post-55270190145114316152011-05-11T11:13:41.867-06:002011-05-11T11:13:41.867-06:00@Kell - You write like that, I've always thoug...@Kell - You write like that, I've always thought.Relax Maxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01051381168322495999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498413430541424627.post-51591696263224199402011-05-11T01:44:02.805-06:002011-05-11T01:44:02.805-06:00Fortunately people know how to write that like, fo...Fortunately people know how to write that like, for if they didn't the world would be a boring place. :)Kelly Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12968396049579378856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498413430541424627.post-60371953344808155332011-04-18T18:40:45.929-06:002011-04-18T18:40:45.929-06:00I am absent-minded and frequently lose my long-win...I am absent-minded and frequently lose my long-winded comments. I meant to save them first, but usually I forget until it's too late.Stephanie Barrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17772217449161603561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498413430541424627.post-75405349549874499332011-04-13T21:23:11.640-06:002011-04-13T21:23:11.640-06:00Incidentally, you don't lose comments because ...Incidentally, you don't lose comments because there is something different about my particular blogspot blog. I hope you realize that, and keep right on trying. I have been copying my longer comments to the clipboard until I make sure they show up. Sometimes I forget to do that an the comment is lost forever.Relax Maxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01051381168322495999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498413430541424627.post-22965326872571285892011-04-13T21:19:53.389-06:002011-04-13T21:19:53.389-06:00I think writers who write for their living have on...I think writers who write for their living have only one goal: to induce many people read their writing.<br /><br />I don't disagree with you, and this post wasn't meant as a put down to you because you have such a love for characters. Like most of my posts, or many of them, the idea came from other blogs that caught my eye and I felt I needed to add something. Or, in this case, to simplify something that many people were making too complicated.<br /><br />I think there may be a formula for a best seller. If, like Jeff, we use J.K. Rowling as a model, then the formula would be Imagination+Descriptive Ability=Financial Success. The imagination to come up with the right premise; the descriptive ability to tell the story, ... and the magic to make a fantasy story come to life through the characters.Relax Maxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01051381168322495999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498413430541424627.post-7887406881164098982011-04-12T06:33:09.188-06:002011-04-12T06:33:09.188-06:00RM said "Nothing here has changed my mind abo...RM said "Nothing here has changed my mind about story being king and characters serving that king."<br /><br />Why should it? I don't think anyone wanted to change your opinion.<br /><br />I certainly didn't.Stephanie Barrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17772217449161603561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498413430541424627.post-90086938600975291272011-04-11T23:16:17.514-06:002011-04-11T23:16:17.514-06:00@Leazwell - Nothing here has changed my mind about...@Leazwell - Nothing here has changed my mind about story being king and characters serving that king.<br /><br />@Jeff King - Good points. But you can't be serious when you use J.K. Rowling as an example of letting the reader flesh out the characters. She describes her characters in such detail that you must simply accept them. She doesn't allow the reader to speculate even if there might be a wart on someone's nose. If there is, she tells you about the wart and describes whether or not it has hairs growing out of it.<br /><br />But she is also a good example of having a story to tell. Her characters are delightful bonuses to the marvelous flights of fantasy she weaves.<br /><br />Story is still king.<br /><br />I say.Relax Maxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01051381168322495999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498413430541424627.post-67053752418685285852011-04-11T15:36:17.151-06:002011-04-11T15:36:17.151-06:00A good writer conveys description through attitude...A good writer conveys description through attitude, actions, and dialog… let the reader connect with the character through emotion and you let them imagine there own description of the character better that words can.<br />Key words do a lot in description…. If we chose active, colorful words, are writing will be strong for it, and the reader will visualize the world we want without conscience thought.<br /><br />J.K Rowling is a great example of character building; even side characters are full and vibrant in the readers mind.Jeff Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00667419764890599092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498413430541424627.post-25507549449410677652011-04-07T14:33:39.309-06:002011-04-07T14:33:39.309-06:00Yes, yes, chucked a couple of books recently, writ...Yes, yes, chucked a couple of books recently, writing good but story garbage.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498413430541424627.post-66638932028210966602011-04-06T08:58:30.560-06:002011-04-06T08:58:30.560-06:00Sigh. I lose like 1 in 5 comments on your blogs, R...Sigh. I lose like 1 in 5 comments on your blogs, RM. Always the long detailed ones. <br /><br />Oh well, I guess it doesn't really matter.Stephanie Barrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17772217449161603561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498413430541424627.post-14548627931959100212011-04-06T00:00:16.641-06:002011-04-06T00:00:16.641-06:00You are right, of course, Stephanie, about the cha...You are right, of course, Stephanie, about the character. Even the name "Crane" is a play on his skinny ungainliness.Relax Maxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01051381168322495999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498413430541424627.post-64324090544156930042011-04-05T21:12:55.393-06:002011-04-05T21:12:55.393-06:00Stephanie, I know of your love of characters, of c...Stephanie, I know of your love of characters, of course, and this wasn't aimed at that. Gotta have interesting characters or the best story can be lost, admittedly.<br /><br />A. - That's a wonderful description! (I love descriptions, whether of characters or atmosphere or anything else.) The details get me.Relax Maxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01051381168322495999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498413430541424627.post-11114131973277102352011-04-05T15:21:09.916-06:002011-04-05T15:21:09.916-06:00I agree entirely that the story is the first neces...I agree entirely that the story is the first necessity. I've just finished two books, neither of which had great characters but the story carried them along. To have good character descriptions and/or atmosphere is what makes a decent book great, to my mind.<br /><br />The character description you quote, not one known to me, but one that stays in your mind. I have a similar one from Dickens that sets the atmosphere in Bleak House:<br /><br />"Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city. Fog on the Essex marshes, fog on the Kentish heights."<br /><br />So I'd put atmosphere above style/genre because when it comes down to it, I'll read any type of book. I'd put it on a level footing with character. <br /><br />One of the few things I remember from English lessons is that some authors go in for these descriptions and others disperse the same sort of information bit by bit. The descriptions in a chunk made essays and revision much easier. Nice and concise. :)A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04709794851766685322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6498413430541424627.post-65463722489890657942011-04-05T07:27:20.789-06:002011-04-05T07:27:20.789-06:00My first thought is Washington Irving's Ichobo...My first thought is Washington Irving's Ichobod Crane from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." But it's probably been 20 years since I read it. <br /><br />About your first comment, let me start by saying, you're not wrong. There are many writers/readers where story is king and everything else falls by the wayside. Just like there are some readers/writers where lyrical description and writing make/break something. <br /><br />I read for characters. Writers who focus primarily on characters, who really bring them life, they're my favorite. I'm not wrong either. I just look for something different. I personally think it's terrific that what people love and look for varies so much. <br /><br />Do I like a good story? Yeah. A good plot in a story with good characters makes it all better. But, like you, I'll forgive a great deal for characters that touch me. <br /><br />And that's probably the thing, from my point, I think you're missing from a characterization standpoint. I never loved/didn't love a character from a writer's description. I often just blow past that anyway. It's the depiction, what the character does, says and reacts that makes a character real to me. Which is also how it all ties to the plot. <br /><br />For me.Stephanie Barrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17772217449161603561noreply@blogger.com