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Why are so many books utterly and totally lacking in physical descriptions of characters? (hexbear.net)

submitted 4 months ago by ashinadash@hexbear.net to c/chat@hexbear.net

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Bonus points if the author first mentions a specific trait, physical build, or whatever else halfway through the novel and totally fucks up my mental image.

I don't expect a biology model description for each character, but write me something brief and evocative of how they should look, you fucking dork author. I don't even know how tall she should be, her hair colour, anything. Why are you like this, author?

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[–] Evilsandwichman@hexbear.net 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Do people actually "he just like me fr fr " and project for the whole runtime? Is self-insert protagonist a big thing in written fiction??

I used to think this was utterly lame when I was younger, then I began to notice not many of the characters I read had particularly strong personalities. I much prefer characters I can't see myself in because just like in real life you'll have people who are majorly different to you especially in motive.

[–] ashinadash@hexbear.net 5 points 4 months ago

Kinda depends on your definition of "see yourself in", but yeah I get a lot of mileage out of being in the headspace of different characters narratively niko-happy