Fetch me pretty boys

[pbray]

Copyedits were expressed to NYC today. I would have sent them out yesterday, but the Northeaster kept me homebound.

First on the agenda was a trip to Kinkos to photocopy the copyedits*, prior to their mailing. I was surrounded by frantic taxpayers photocopying their returns while I serenely hogged a machine and proceeded to photocopy my novel, much to their dismay.

Back to the pretty boys--this weekend as I was at the writer's retreat, a few of my fellow writers were startled to find that I had taken a break from writing to surf the internet, looking for pretty boys. I explained that part of my writing process is to find an actor who resembles my character and then print off their picture as a reference. This helps keep physical descriptions consistent, so characters don't change hair or eye-color midway through the novel. I already have the major characters for the first two books, but needed to add to their number.

Here's Lieutenant Burrell, a supporting character in THE SEA CHANGE, who will be elevated in importance in the final book, and thus warrants his own photos. Mmm, isn't he pretty?

*Yes, I'm obsessive compulsive and photocopy everything just in case a meteor strikes the DHL delivery truck, why do you ask?

Comments

[libwitch.livejournal.com]

He is very pretty! Yum.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I don't think I'll have any trouble at all writing from the POV of characters who find him gorgeous.

Plus, of course, dashing naval lieutenant, so he already looks the part.

Though doing the research it appears I may have missed one of the H.H. movies, so will have to search out that DVD.

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

So I'm NOT crazy for doing that! ;)

When I was watching the new Doctor Who episode "The Girl In The Fireplace" (which really deserves its Hugo nomination, BTW) I scared my husband by jumping up and shouting "Oh, I SO want him to play Malak!" Then, of course, I had to find a picture: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0855039/

He not only looks like Malak (from the waist up, anyway); he'd be PERFECT to play him.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

You're smarter than you knew!

This was a tip I learned years and years ago from a romance author, and I've found it invaluable.

As I recall, the author recommended clipping intriguing photos from TV Guide and saving them in a file so you could flip through them as needed. In the days of the internet you can get so much more online--not only a specific physical type, but also their appearance in a relevant costume.

I keep the photos of my main characters so that they are always visible when I'm at the computer, and it's been enormously helpful. I'm not visually oriented, so having the pictures means I don't have to remember how I described them before, since the character is right there in front of me.

Though perhaps its best that I not mention the Regency Paper Dolls....

[mmarques.livejournal.com]

I have a character sheet for each person, and every time I mention a physical detail, I add it to the page. I also add special memories, and other bits about the person's past that come up.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a neat way to keep track of things.

I *try* to be organized at the start of each book, but by the end I'm devolved into chaos.

[sylvia-rachel.livejournal.com]

Wait, they have Regency paper dolls?!? Where do I sign up?

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Dover Publications. They're like crack for historical writers. Fashions of the Regency Paperdolls by Tom Tierney (http://www.amazon.com/Fashions-Regency-Period-Paper-Dolls/dp/0486293351/).

Dover also makes Pride & Prejudice paper dolls, and other sets from the Georgian/Regency era.

[sylvia-rachel.livejournal.com]

Oh my. How many kinds of awesome is that??

(And so cheap, too. I love that about Dover.)

[jtglover.livejournal.com]

*Yes, I'm obsessive compulsive and photocopy everything just in case a meteor strikes the DHL delivery truck, why do you ask?

U r a smrt wrtr. Do you also keep multiple copies of work in progress in different locations? I have copies of things on ZIP disk and try to send CDs to "remote storage" (thanks, Dad) in case of emergency. One of the most hair raising it-could-happen-to-you stories I ever read about writing was about a writer who spent many, many years on a novel and lost it all when her place burned. It took her an equal number of years to recover, and the next book she published was actually about the hell of trying to get started again.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

That's one area where I fall down. I have copies of the current WiP in multiple places, simply by virtue of mailing out each segment for critiquing, but if my house catches on fire or gets hit by a tornado, I'm screwed as far as older material.

I keep meaning to get organized enough to arrange for secure backup offsite. You may have inspired me.

[princejvstin.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...I should use him as a casting call for a future RPG character. Having women flock around him would be no bad thing ;)

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Informal survey says you can't miss :-)

[sylvia-rachel.livejournal.com]

Very, very pretty. :covets:

That's a very good idea, although it strikes me that my husband might object to pin-ups of film stars all over the living room (the computer is at one end of the living room in our flat). I'm bad at visualising, too, and I have used the same technique extensively for landscapes, clothing, etc., but never for people. Mostly because I can't quite think how to start searching online for, e.g., a six-and-a-half-foot guy, shy and somewhat awkward, with hazel eyes and a crooked nose and extremely recalcitrant dirty-blond hair. Oh, and my other protagonist can more or less change her appearance at will, which poses a difficulty :^P.