27. Along similar lines, do appearances play a big role in your stories? Tell us about them, or if not, how you go about designing your characters.
Yes, and no. Every character in my stories have a concept, which can be narrow down to a single word. This concept could be visual, but not necessaraly so. For example, Michelle concept is “star”, so everything about her, especially her emotional states are described using astronomical terms, such as supernova, black hole, etc. Of course she has blond hair to match her radiant personality (pun optional), but that is only important within the reach of her concept.
As for what characters look like, again, I don’t tend to describe my characters in full, instead focusing on the whole visual package. In fact, as a discovery writer, I rarely know what my characters are going to look like before the waltz into the page. I’m also a minimalist when it comes to descriptions so I try to give the reader only those things that will make the character stand out, which may or may not be visual.
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And since Michelle is based on Emma Watson, here is a interview she did for Half-Blood Prince:
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