August 3, 2020
Do you draw your main characters so that a forensic sketch artist could put them on the cover, or do they belong to the reader?
As most of you know, I’m a pantser. I don’t outline my stories ahead of time, they are written as my characters reveal the story to me. That extends to their descriptions, as well.
Sure, I know if they are male or female or wolf or fox or slim or heavy. or athletic. I’m pretty sure what color of hair they have. I have an idea how tall they are.
But I couldn’t tell you the shape of their nose or how far out their ears stick. I don’t know if they are flat-footed or walk with a limp. I may figure out these things if they become important to the story, but only if the characters tell me about them. So, for most of the book, I have only have a vague idea how what my characters look like.
But, in the case of my Free Wolves series, that changes when it’s time to work on the cover. I give my cover artist the details I know, and we get to work on finding images that suit the book. It can be tough, because my female leads are not your standard shape-shifter women. But here’s a shout-out to K.M. Guth, because she’s got a knack for finding the right picture or pictures we need. She’s able to translate the bare details into works of art.
I have made small changes to my characters to match the final covers. Tasha, from Wolves’ Knight, started off with brown eyes, but when we found the picture that ended up being the cover, the model had blue eyes. Rather than make K.M. try to change them, I made it a minor plot point how unusual it was for a wolf shifter to have blue eyes. By the way, I love the intensity in Tasha’s gaze (Wolves’ Knight) and the determination in Lori’s. (Wolves Gambit.)
Now Harmony, my main character in the Harmony Duprie Stories, had a different evolution. The first covers were more cartoonish, a deliberate ploy to emphasize the light-hearted nature of the books. When circumstances dictated a change in covers, we opted to go a different direction. Not real-life, but more stylized.
With the second cover, the reader’s imagination is free to decide to what Harmony looks like. I’ve built in the basics: the brown hair worn in a bun, the brown eyes, and the glasses. the rest is up to the reader. Of course, she loves to change her appearance and that’s the fun part. Next, I had to plan out who I’d be. I closed the curtains, fired up my laptop, and hit up the makeup tutorials. I had several ideas in mind but had to make sure my limited skills were up to the challenge. From The Samurai’s Inro
So, two different series, and two different ways of creating my characters’ descriptions. As a reader, which do you prefer? Feel free to tell me in the comments.
Don’t forget to check out how the other authors develop their characters’ descriptions. Just follow the links below.
Until next time, please stay safe.
August 3, 2020
Do you draw your main characters so that a forensic sketch artist could put them on the cover, or do they belong to the reader?
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I love to read a book where there’s not too much description, because then you form a picture in your own mind.
Give me a rough idea and I can create them, modifying the image as they develop in the narrative.
Couldn’t do covers with pics. It sends me right down the Serialized road. Cartoonish, yes. In that vein, I land on Laura Levine, and “cozy” company. Outside of that I’d rather see a smoking gun or a smoking campfire or a silhouette or a life vest witha bullet hole in it or an upside down car. I mentioned Hiaasen’s Razor Girl in my post. Even on the cover we see the cartoonish back of a head of red hair. I could have easily have done with a pink disposable razor and a big diamond ring or a giant rat or a bag of beard hair and couscous in a baggie. Any significant prop from the book. But not the leads. Like all the Mac Bolan et al serials, I know too much going in, you know? Maybe Angie Harmon with a shotgun isn’t what I’m looking for today. But a smoking shotgun shell and a tube of lipstick? Hell yeah, I might want to know who that is.