Good point. And from the example you give, I'd say it's necessary when you might otherwise ambush the reader into making a false assumption. Even when it's presented as being integral to the plot, I don't like feeling I've been tricked by the writer. I lean toward not giving descriptions, but I like to think I do a pretty good job of setting the story in a specific place and therefore the reader won't go down the wrong road. It should be a no-brainer that my WIP (for instance) is peopled by European-descent farmer types as it's set in a small Nova Scotian town during the mid-1960s. I ain't sneaking up on nobody.
Okay, I guess it's time to go into a bit more detail regarding my earlier statement... Readers will see themselves as the main character if you leave them room to do so. (The italicized bit is what I neglected to say first time around and for that, I do apologize.) And that's what I try to do, leave them room. I don't remember where I first read about this, but it was based on a poll (informal or formal, I don't remember) in which readers were asked how they pictured characters while they read. A quick Google shows that a lot of writing tips cover this and that leaves me room to accept it as 'a general rule.' It may not apply to absolutely everyone, but then, nothing ever does.
There are actually studies showing that even people of colour assume characters are white unless it's specified that the characters are POC. This is one of the arguments for being explicit when we include characters from minority groups - not only readers from majority groups but also readers from minority groups tend to assume the characters are from majority groups unless told otherwise. In a less serious light... I'm a left-handed redhead - I can't imagine assuming a character in a book was left-handed or redheaded unless I was specifically told she was. I'm used to living in a right-handed world and having my hair treated as an anomaly. So maybe your "room to do so" qualification needs to go beyond the individual book and also look at the "room" provided by the reader's experience of life and literature as well as her understanding of the frequency of various attributes in the population? If I'm presented with a character who's a blank slate, the character pretty much stays that way in my head. I don't form a mental image, whether it's one that matches me or not.
I've seen it talked about in YA (I think someone on the thread already mentioned Twilight, and Bella's lack of description/personality) but I really don't think it's a general rule.
Yeah, that's good stuff. Poor little guy. I misunderstood your initial post with Ratboy in it, and thought you'd put that single paragraph up as the way you would prefer to do things.
Yes, I realized that. I was being ambiguous when I read back, so my bad. I actually don't analyze my own writing until I'm forced. So even when I responded to @deadrats reply, I could only describe it, know I do it somehow, but not see it in my head. It wasn't until you misunderstood me and that I felt I needed to clarify with an example am I even sure what it is that I do. Had to even go back and check my WIPs to make sure. hehe
Usually, I prefer to describe only what is important to the story. In the story I'm working on right now, other characters often remark that the main character is attractive, but that's viewed as a 'tragedy' or 'loss' because he has an intellectual disability(or other imagined flaws). I want the reader to understand the bizarre and twisted ways in which people look at someone with an intellectual disability.
You're right, I wouldn't say it was a rule either. It was just something I read somewhere that sounded logical to me and since it was backed by a poll, I thought it worth bringing into the discussion. If I was wrong to do so, I apologize and will say no more about it. And @BayView's point about non-majority-group members assuming a majority-group character unless otherwise specified brings up a whole PC thing I (and my sources, I'm sure) hadn't considered. It's a fair point, too, but I'm not sure how far down that road I wanna go. Almost every PC discussion has its ugly side because—like everything else—there are far too many nuances, far too many 'right' opinions, and too many points that can fall on either side of the argument depending on how much of one's time is taken up in staying current. I do the best I can with what I have where I am and approach each person as they come. I picked a single specific person to 'tell' my story to and as it happens, he's an old friend, someone I grew up with, who happens to be a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant male. I hope that doesn't make me a bad person. I may choose to tell my next story to one of the Jewish actors I palled around with in Vancouver or the black Bajan woman I dated in Calgary... or any one of the hundreds of other non-white people I've known and loved in my life. But for now, I've picked my 'audience' and I plan to stick with him.
Course it's not wrong to bring it up. I struggle with the description of minority characters too. I'm white, so I'm not coming from a POC perspective, but it majorly bugs me when authors describe characters as black or Asian but never, ever describe a character as white. It reinforces, to me, the concept that white is normal and anything else is "other" which is noteworthy enough to be pointed out. And since I include virtually no description, it would stick out like a sore thumb if I described a character's skin colour for no reason except to assure the reader that s/he is not white. Am I doing a disservice to POC by including plenty of non-white characters but not making it obvious? Maybe. I don't know what the answer is. In my current book the female lead is English but both her parents are Indian immigrants. I have made that obvious, both by her surname (Sharma) and a conversation with her sister in chapter 1. Her race is relevant to the plot, because it adds to her feeling of being out-of-place in the overwhemlingly white area she's reluctantly sent to for her work. But in my first book, my agent read the whole thing very carefully at least twice and was shocked when she realised from a reader's comments that the male MC was mixed race, with one white and one black parent. I thought there were enough clues - a Jamaican grandmother, his sister having braided hair, one reference to him having an afro when his hair was allowed to grow. But apparently the phenomenon @BayView described is at work, because my agent is in a mixed-race marriage and has mixed-race children, but still assumed the hero was white. I'm not really making a point here... just thinking out loud.
But I take your point anyway. It's impossible to predict what's acceptable and what's not. Oh, and being white (at least in this era) isn't all it's cracked up to be.
I have carefully seperated who will be black and such, because life isn't always white, lol Have about 3 black characters, 1 interacial couple (maybe two), 1 asian character, 5 white characters, 1/2/3 hispanic, 1 jew (hmmm no muslims... thats weird) The reason why there are 5 white is cuz... one has a daughter and brother, and one of them is a filler character, and another has to be white just cuz she is. I personally think it is ludicrous that I'm doing that, but I remind myself that I don't have to explicitly WRITE IT, but I do imply their race through stories, background, way others treat them. I also remind myself, life isn't white, so, haha, no whitewash of other races, no weird stereotypes like a token black guy etc.
I always hated the idea of readers imagining my character's looks and moves, regardless of description because I know they'd probably imagine some garbage backyard wrestling moves, and some ugly face.
There's room for sport in this - the writers agonizing over representation. Reckon we're due a piece with Chinese neighbours, Asian brother, green eyes on my ginger face. This will be written, every tiny detail.
@Toomanypens interestingly, NK Jemison recently wrote something about how many readers envision her black characters as white. Seems like even the author's description of race doesn't necessarily stick.
How does she know that? Did they write to her? 'Even though your tale of slavery was set in Ghana during the 1700s, I still imagined my own self, shackled to the oars, I am very grateful, a fan.'
They probably do write to her. And speak to her at the conferences she attends, tweet to her, write reviews of her works, etc... It's not that hard for an author to find out what at least some of her readers are thinking. And Jemisin is a pretty dialed-in author.
They wrote how characters felt white and not black to their way of reading? Maybe they said it in person at the conferences. [Okay, understand, earnest sci-fi knob. Vox seems...entertaining..?]
