Okay, so basically I thought of surrounding my novel around a cyborg. I labelled him sympathetic in the sense that he supposed to represent a type of struggling character, one who struggles between the temptation of objectivity (the yearn to be in control of ones own life/ surroundings) and his own feelings. Right now I am imagining that this cyborg has, in essence, a sort of functional pursuit that ultimately serves to feed his own agenda. Or there may be sets of rules that he cannot break. Whatever the case my biggest problem is trying to illustrate the details of the visual part. I can narrate the character into being. But I was thinking that I also need an illustrator. Because I am constantly bombarded by the yearn to want to articulate its precision but I might not have adequate resources to do so.. Any pointers?
What exactly are you asking here? Are you asking how to literally describe the borg's appearance? I'm not a fan of the mirror description. It tends to be extremely cliche and overused. Maybe you can describe it when it makes it attempts to move, or whatever it is limited from doing. Show how it is limited by the fact that it is a borg.
You can add in the description gradually using action. Rather than simply pointing it out, actually have things interact with it. Even things like... "His fingers (or some other body part, if exposed and made of metal) glinted in the sun..." If the cyborg was designed, maybe show skematics of his design. Or perhaps show a photo of him that has been cut up and roughly arranged with pictures of machinery, to give an image of what he would look like after he was created. Compare him to people or objects around him "He towered over..." "His hair was a darker shade of brown than..." If he is broken at some point, you could show him fixing himself. "He flexed his prosthetic arm, the gears creaking and groaning in protest. Satisfied he pulled his sleeve down to hide the exposed..." "He pulled back his sleeve to reveal a tangle of wires running down the length of his bicep..." Maybe have him reflecting on something he can't do anymore because he's a cyborg. "He ran his fingers through the grass, but the cold, metal limbs could no longer feel..." (sorry about the whole finger things again). "If he has any glowing parts (like a lighted up eye) you could say something like "His eyes sprung open, and the red glow of his right eye lit up the darkened room..." While these don't have to be what you actually use (I know they're pretty bad), you should express his appearance more through action and comparison than simply narrating him into being. Also, introduce it gradually - don't inundate your reader right off the bat. Another thing, the prominent aspects of his appearance should be repeated several times. I hope I helped.
