Meaty, you're reading the book too? :D
Basically, what I think they're trying to say is that you don't want the character to be a morbidly obese slob, even if he does have a heart of gold. That's not really attractive, and people often read romances because they want to be part of a romantic fantasy. Most people do not fantasize about being in a relationship with a jolly fat man in a red suit.
And, as a note, that one is mostly for serious romance novels only (or ones that have a heavy focus on romance), from what I can tell.
edited 31st Jul '09 5:49:56 PM by Miijhal
Would a character hating their rusty, heavy scalpel wings that can't fly fall into But Your Wings Are Beautiful?
@meaty: generally, if that book says that novelists do it, it's not a thing you should do without careful thinking about it.
I'd prefer, generally, reading a story in which characters don't have to change to find love — grow into themselves, perhaps, grow in confidence, open up, and all the rest, but I hate bad Aesops about You Must Become Manly or whatever.
(edit) and about the wings: yes. That trope isn't necessarily literal; the feature in question isn't necessarily wings, and their beauty can be purely subjective; what matters is that the person who he wants to not be ugly for thinks he's beautiful that way.
edited 31st Jul '09 8:14:49 PM by Morven
A brighter future for a darker age.That's because so many people discover sex and are convinced they've found this new cool secret that nobody's known before.
I'm very sexual. I'm quite the pervert, in fact. But sex is NOT the be-all and end-all of life. There are, in fact, many things I'd rather do than sex. There are even more things I'd never give up doing in favor of sex. And it's certainly not, despite Freud, humanity's only driving motivation.
A brighter future for a darker age.Have you encountered it being an epidemic in what you read, Meaty?
I think it doesn't hurt for an author to KNOW their character's bra size, but introducing it smacks of a boring kind of fetishism. Which is a shame, when there are so many more interesting fetishes than statistics.
A brighter future for a darker age.I'd agree with them that it's a bad move. Statistics of any sort, not just their bust size. Until there's a non-forced moment to mention it, anyway. It just reads funny when someone is introduced, or introduces themselves, like a nutritional contents label. Even if their role is to be nutrition.
A brighter future for a darker age.Whenever I hear about a female character that I don't know, I check the inevitable Wikipedia article on them. If the character exists in a fighting game or a dating sim, the article always has their measurements. It Just Bugs Me!. It seems so creepy... real people don't have them on the article, so why fictional characters?
[1] This facsimile operated in part by synAC.Well, in general, you want to avoid over-describing your viewpoint character, certainly in a hurry. You want the reader to sink in behind their eyes and see things as them.
In fact, over-describing characters in general is a problem; note little bits over time, otherwise it feels like your viewpoint character is scoping them out in a kind of creepy way. And if you mean creepy, write it that way, but make sure the reader knows it's meant to be creepy, rather than accidentally.
A brighter future for a darker age.Guys, this account has a rarely heard from other half named Doctor. He's been on my profile for a while, and posted in the photos thread once, but now he is upset by his lack of exposure and is open for questioning. I trust my keyboard in his nimble hands. God speed.
edited 2nd Aug '09 12:54:43 AM by Made of Meat
I discovered a weird secret-ish kinda thing with the forum.
I feel like I should be able to use my newfound knowledge for something, but I don't know what.
"Proto-Indo-European makes the damnedest words related. It's great. It's the Kevin Bacon of etymology." ~Madrugada

From How Not To Write A Novel:
I can't tell if this is something you're supposed to do or not supposed to do. If it's the former, why? What if your heroine prefers effeminate, quiet or just not-traditionally-manly men? I know that fiction isn't like real life, but I know I prefer men with low testosterone levels.