I asked a question in a reader group recently: What do you want your hero to look like?
The answer surprised me. The overwhelming response was tall, dark, and handsome.
What happened to blond heroes?
I’ll admit it to you – but shh, don’t tell anyone – I’ve never pictured my heroes blond in all the years I’ve been reading or writing. I did have a thing for red hair once upon a time, but that passed years ago.
In fact, many of the women who responded to my question said it didn’t even matter to them how the author described the hero. They admitted to willfully overwriting the author’s description with their own because they know exactly what they like in a hero. (Some of them even said they replaced the image of the hero with that of their spouse or significant other.)
As a reader, I prefer when the author includes less description instead of more. I like to fill in the blanks with my own imagination. I wrote my books in that same vein until I had an editor tell me I wasn’t including enough physical description in my writing. So I tried really hard to work on that and intentionally increase discussion of the characters’ physical traits throughout my manuscripts. The next editor, of course, told me I was including way too much physical description. I laughed and considered it a lesson learned. You can’t please everyone. :)
Please tell me what you think – I’d love to hear from you! How much physical description of hero and heroine do you really want in the books you read?
Do you want a sketchy outline that lets you fill in the rest?
A picture so detailed that you can count the freckles on the back of the heroine’s ear?
A hint and tease of what they look like?
Do you depend on that physical description to create your mental image of the characters?
Or does the description impede on the image you want to create on your own?
Tell me – I’m dying to know! (Well, not dying exactly…but I DO want to be a better writer, and understanding what readers like will help get me there.)
And – just because I’m nosy and curious and can’t stop myself from asking questions – what does your ideal hero look like? What’s your tall, dark, and handsome?
Heather Gray loves coffee, God, her family, and laughter – not necessarily in that order! She writes approachable characters who, through the highs and lows of life, find a way to love God, embrace each day, and laugh out loud right along with her. And, yeah, her books almost always have someone who's a coffee addict. Some things just can't be helped. Despite their different lives and situations, Heather’s characters have something in common. They're all flawed...but loved anyway.
Oh, shoot. I go for blond or, even better, RED every time. I think b/c they’re so opposite of me. And my hubby is a redhead. And BEARDS. Yup.
Oh, and as far as description, I’ve seen authors who do it both ways–either giving a blow-by-blow of looks or letting the reader imagine, even the main character. I prefer to include eye/haircolor, relative height, etc. in my books. I want the reader to know how my characters look. I also love having Pinterest visuals of my charas, as much as possible. Readers will still imagine the faces, etc, as they want!
I personally prefer a tall, dark and handsome hero (piercing blue eyes is the proverbial “icing on the cake”) but, let’s face it, if they were ALL that way, it wouldn’t be realistic. And it would be boring. We’ve got to mix it up! Of course, even my occasional blond hero is tall and handsome. :) It’s funny how a number of my readers perceive the core character in my book series to have a mustache but nowhere do I ever mention facial hair. BTW, he’s very tall, dark wavy hair, deep smile lines and piercing blue eyes. It’s also why I prefer not to have my characters featured on my book covers (even though it goes against traditional “wisdom” that the books will sell better if they feature them). I like the reader to have in her own mind how she envisions them. One person’s tall, dark (or blond) and handsome is NOT another’s, I’m finding. And that’s why it’s good to have something for everyone, right? Thanks for the fun post, Heather. We do LOVE a handsome hero! Blessings.
I’m a tall, dark and handsome appreciater. too. My hubby, however, was a blond. Hard to tell these days, as the gray has set in! I try to mix it up in stories and, like Heather, keep a Pinterest board with visuals which I print out and pin to my inspiration board. I can be found staring into the eyes of some model asking them what they are really thinking at this moment.
I’m a beta-male kinda gal. My tall, dark and handsome is a loveable mess–imperfect inside and out like the rest of us, but with a loving heart. :) (Though it certainly doesn’t hurt if he looks like Matthew McConaughey!)
My heroes have run the gamut, although I haven’t done a pure red head just one with reddish tones in his brown hair.
I like a tall, dark, and handsome hero. I prefer to have very detailed descriptions of the characters as I’m reading and I will picture the characters as I go along. I almost never picture faces, though no matter what description has or hasn’t been written for the person.
If I had my way, I would write every single one of my heroes with dark hair (thick and brushing the collar) and piercing blue eyes. I’ve always, always had that physical “type” to which I’ve been attracted, and yes, I married one. It is SO hard for me to write a blond hero!
I’ve always got a soft spot for red hair! :) Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment!
Thank you for stopping by JoAnn! I find more and more that I like those covers that don’t give a full character image — regardless of what conventional wisdom says! :)
Thank you for visiting Valerie! I keep Pinterest boards with pictures of my setting, phrases, or sometimes even jewelry that reminds me of specific scenes, but I’ve never been one to try to capture my characters visually like that. I think I might be the odd man out on that one! ;)
I can’t argue with that…especially not the Matthew McConaughey part! ;)
There’s a lot to be said for variety, isn’t there? We need to mix up our character’s outward appearance just like we need to mix up their personalities. How boring would it be if we wrote the same her (but with a different name) in every book? Even I’d get tired of the poor guy! :)
Thank you for stopping by Jessica! That is so interesting – I never thought of picturing the rest but not the face. Now that you mention it, though, that’s kind of how I read, too. I might picture the eyes during certain scenes (when he’s gazing at her a certain way or something like that), but that’s about it. Hm…
Thank you for visiting Deb! Have you ever written a character one way (dark hair, blue eyes, for example) and then gone back and changed it later?
I don’t actually have a preference as far as appearance goes – I can appreciate a dark-haired guy just as readily as a blond. I’m all about the eyes – the expression in them. I go ga-ga over a nice pair of eyes, regardless of color.
Count me in amongst those who don’t like clear facial images on book covers, though that’s mostly just because they often don’t match the description given in the book of the hero and/or heroine (that annoys me – not much more jarring that to have the cover give you a strong image, only to have the descrip in the book be totally different in some way or another). I generally build my mental picture of all the characters in a book (not just the hero) based on what the author reveals about them. I don’t like an in-depth, detailed description (boring!), but I like to know hair and eye color, general height and build, any characteristics that stand out (like dimples *G*). My brain fills in the rest.
My own heroes come the whole gamut, everything from black hair to platinum blond, dark brown eyes to ice-blue. Same with my heroines.
I get such a strong idea of what my characters look like that it would be impossible for me to change it afterward. I try to find good-looking blond photos so I have something to base my imagination on, but I simply don’t find blonds terribly good looking as a rule!
Oh, and YES on the facial hair! I love that scruff…and goatees…and beards. The only thing I don’t like is the current trend amongst young men to grow hair under their chins. It makes them look like *literal* goats.