Never have done this but I might in the future
I find thinking of a celebrity analogy is helpful to base descriptions of characters on: Jennifer Aniston, Laura Linney, Gary Oldman, etc.
I almost never have a "photograph" of my characters in my head when I write. I try to keep their physical details to a bare (sorry, couldn't help it) minimum by sketching them in with broad strokes, dropping in specific details where necessary. As a reader, I prefer to let my imagination fill in the blanks, so I write this way.
"It seemed like a nice neighborhood to have bad habits in.” Raymond Chandler
No, I mostly just make them up in my head. On occasion they're loosely based on myself, a person I know or a friend but that's about it. It can be frustrating later though, if I'm looking for a photo for a book cover or poster. It's not always easy to match up a photo to what you've envisioned in your mind after-the-fact - especially when your photo selection is limited to shutterstock, for example.
Never even considered it. I have my imagination for that. I generally start with the character in the story and then build the image. An image may come into my mind as I develop the character (e.g. the space captain in a non-erotic s-f story I have been kicking around for years absolutely has to be played by Morgan Freeman, with Sam Jackson as a possible second choice) or I may come across an image that fits a character, but it is pretty rare for me to start with the image.
I am also with visioneer in approach. Broad strokes, just enough to give the reader something to latch on to as they build their own image in their heads. I find being too specific about the image tends to burden the story with non-relevant description or "infodumps" (Hi, I am Stacey. I am 5'2" with short blonde hair, blue eyes, three freckles on each cheek, and 36DDD boobs.). If something about the character's image is important, (e.g. another character identifies them by a tattoo, scar, or other obvious distinction) then obviously those details need to be there but you can actually have too much detail.
This reminds me why sometimes favorite books make terrible film experiences if the casting is way off. Physically, I usually base it on idea, someone I have seen or know, myself or loosely on a famous person's feature that I like perhaps but never on the total person. I will change eye color, height, hair color or texture etc.
I have a vague idea of what my characters look like in my head, and just let the reader fill in the blanks as it were.
It depends how long the story is and how many characters I'm trying to keep track of. Some of the stories I write are multipart and I might not look at them for months at a time. Having a profile including pic on each character makes life a lot easier.
I don't usually imagine what my characters look like at all and I rarely even describe what they look like, unless it's relevant for some reason...
If I want to, I can squeeze my mind's eye closed and "see" them...
Funnily enough though, in one of my stories, I did describe the female character, but as I wrote subsequent follow ups, I realised that's not what she looks like to me at all.. If that makes any sense?
I have a general idea of what I want them to look like, sometimes I see a picture and I think 'that would be good person to put in a story'.
In one case, the base idea was already noted, it took seeing a picture to make the story come to life - and the picture is the one used as the cover image on 'Dark Knight...' - so in that case, the picture 'wrote' the story.
I actually see my characters and their personalities first in my minds eye. Sometimes I may run across a picture that fits perfectly with what I imagine. That is an extra plus. But, that is generally rare. Songs seem to inspire me the most. For example, the story "Only for One Night" was influenced my a Luther Vandross song. Then, the characters just took shape.
I tend to look up pictures of other things in the story, but rarely the character themselves.
For example, in settle for nothing, I knew my character, but I searched out a picture of the truck. Despite having driven a jacked up ford myself, I wanted the visual reminder. Same with settings occasionally. However, no photo can substitute for what I "see" in my head. If I really need to see something, a room perhaps, as in my last, I just close my eyes and I'm there.
I hadn't heard of mood boards before- what a great idea! Thanks.
Darkroom series (light exhibitionist)
Amnesty Program series (first time)
I've actually never done that before. I suppose I could if I was writing a novel though.
It depends. Almost all of my stories in this pen name had reference images that were used as the models to create cover images. As a result, I usually have the covers at least roughed out before I ever start the story, and typically have that or the finished cover open while writing. It sort of serves as an inspiration thing for me, and I almost always have a scene that mirrors what's going on in the cover.
I don't mind dropping a little description in, rather than leaving it entirely up to the reader. I don't feel I go too far overboard. What I do describe is what years of experimentation has told me gets the best response from the widest range of readers - at least for me.
The same applies to stories in my Les pen name to some extent ( all my stories go under the RR pen name here ) but not really to stories as Dark. Almost all of the main characters in those stories have been around since the 80s, and I know exactly what they all look like down to the tiniest detail.
No. I picture them in my imagination, making them fit into the character I am creating. I could be influenced by someone I've seen.
Yes. I'm a perfectionist though. I use reference photos for specific scene locations as well.
I usually already have the character and personality well established before I look for photos, however, when I need a creative boost, I look for a reference.
This is particularly useful when I'm crafting a character with features I've never used before and am uncertain how a bi-racial mix would look.
For example, my newest female lead is Afro-Asian and I wanted a general idea of what such a women would look like, then go from there.
It's helped immensely.
A lot of my 'characters' are real people, so it doesn't apply. For the made up ones, I just use my imagination.
