Let's Get Imaginative

I hope this isn't too weird or out of sorts for some people, but I ran across something the other day when looking up material about improving my skills in the area of descriptions. A published author was talking about his own personal style, and that he took the 'less is more' approach, which I've been dabbling with lately. He went on to talk about how he rarely gave specific descriptive details for characters unless they were pronounced and important. He often let the reader fill in the blanks with their imagination and found it interesting when two fans of his work described the same character, but their ideas of what they looked like were considerably different. As a fun little aside, I thought I'd write a paragraph with a character doing something, and people could reply with what they thought of the character, what ideas or images it evoked in the mind.

What does this person look like to you?

Kalianara had always found solace in isolation, which was why she spent so much time in her quarters. It always grated on her nerves the way people would stare, especially in the presence of her father. Drawing a plasma pistol from its hip holster she held it out, pretending to aim at all of the people who stared, making low zapping noises as she pretended to shoot them one by one. It was wishful thinking of course, because to do so would have landed her in prison and caused a diplomatic fiasco that could well end her father's career. The thought of Kalianara's father brought a warm smile to the dark skinned young woman's face, her lips curling up ever so gently. With a small spin she dropped the weapon back into the holster and decided to go find out what he was up to.

The mention of dark skin near the end was only added in because it was pertinent to the character's description.