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?
I don’t care for a person’s biological appearance, but care a lot about how they dress and their idiosyncrasies.
Some of it, at least when it’s about the protagonist, is that it’s easier for readers to imagine themselves in their shoes. Which is why, even with drawn fiction, the protagonist has a generic/formulaic appearance.
Many books also lack detail in dress and idiosyncracy terms =)
Uh does that really work though? 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 cannot imagine this being real…
Well, obviously, it’s because the writers intend the audience to find him easy to relate to.
I’ve always thought this blank-slate approach was really pointless, because whatever traits you give your blank slate will alienate someone in the audience. Kind of like a statement “YOU MUST BE THIS CISGENDER, HETEROSEXUAL, WHITE AND NEUROTYPICAL TO RIDE”, you know? I also just cannot imagine trying to project myself over what is ostensibly a character with in universe autonomy though…
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.
