Saturday, December 3, 2011

To cast or not to cast

I'm one of those crazy people who writes the movie they see in their head. In fact, if I can't see a character, I can't hear them and really can't write them. I know that I am a visual learner (think the girl with the seven highlighters on her desk), so it sort of makes sense that I'm a visual reader (think movie in my head) and a visual writer (have to see it to write it).

In my most recent book Claws and Effect coming out at the end of the month, I actually had a hard time figuring out Tyler, a shifter with a sharp tongue and equally sharp abs. He isn't the biggest character in the book but his relationship with another character is an emotional punch in the stomach for the main character, Violet.

As I was trying to find who Tyler was, I googled and oogled several leading men to find the right one. There is a website that has sucked hours upon hours of my time but really helped when it came to casting Claws and Effect. Pinterest is a pin board of your favorite things. From DIY household projects to pictures of favorite actors, pictures of anything you fancy can be found there.

As soon as I saw this pic of Ryan Reynolds I knew I'd found my Tyler.

But of course, this picture of Ryan didn't hurt either.












When I could see Tyler interact with the other characters, his purpose in the story bloomed. Only then did I know what he needed to be for Violet's journey- the wise-cracker and the straight-shooter. He was a complete character (with a completely amazing set of abs).

So, if you would like to see the cast that I see and hear in my head as I write you can find the cast of Diaries of an Urban Panther and the sequel Claws and Effect on Pinterest.

And one randomly selected commenter will received a copy of Diaries of an Urban Panther to form their own opinion about who they see as the cast of characters.
Happy Pinteresting!

16 comments:

Helen Lowe said...

Those are "very" sharp abs, Amanda!

Kim Falconer said...

I love the Pinterest! Wow :) I make moodboards of my characters and environments in files on my computer but pinterest is a great way to collect character ideas. Nice one.

I want to read Judy Dench's character, Iris! I love that actor!

And the big cat . . . for me that's hook, line and sinker.

As Helen mentions, the abs to catch one's eye . . .

Looking forward to your books!

Jessica @ a GREAT read said...

So glad I'm not the only one who has "movies" playing in her head! Although it's trickier with mine, since my characters don't resemble actors! I tend to create a new person, identity or whatever.

But Ryan Reynolds is yum!! Love that man!

Roni said...

Ryan Reynolds...he's why I watched the Blade movie ten times. So hot in that.
I never even thought of using actors. Usually it's someone I know changed into the person for the story. Ya know...better body or attitude. Whatever needs to be done.

Fancy said...

I have to say when I am reading a book a good writer plays a movie in my mind...even still I can never quite pick a picture of someone and put their face to the character. Thank you so much for this. I love to see through the writers eyes who and what they picture...and Ryan Reynolds...YUMMY!

Llehn said...

Wow ... Ryan Reynolds is so HAWT!

lesly7ch(at)yahoo(dot)com

Dakota Banks said...

The movies that are unfolding in my head aren't confined to sight and sound. I imagine all the senses involved. Right now I'm imagining all my senses involved with Ryan! Thanks for a great post.

Lea @ The Yearning Mermaid said...

I also fnd it much easier to connect to a character if i have a visual picture of him/her in my head :)

sweettempation[at]hotmail[dot]de

Anonymous said...

Waww he indeed have a sharp abs. However I much prefer Ryan gosling to Ryan Reynolds. He is truly a much better actor that can fit in into any rOle he wants to play of:). Anyway it's really cool to actually see a character in a book being Played by a real actor.With all of my senses involved a cool six pAck guy that can actually act will fit in very marvelously into your books' character. Thx. aretha_zhen@yahoo.com

alainala said...

i dont usually read books and think of actors as i read em.. but i love seeing how other people envision them!
thanks for the chance to win!

alainala AT hotmail DOT ca

Sharon Stogner said...

I have tried to see actors to play a moive based on a book, but I can't do it, at all. I draw a blank. I think because I don't really pay much attention to the description an author gives of their characters (yeah, sorry about that you guys, but I kind of ignore most of that ). I like to come up with my own vision of a character based on their behavior and my libido at the time . I have found that the character in my head doesn't even come close to the author's sometimes .

But, I do love some of your choices. You must be a Supernatural Fan ;) You need to work in the actors that play Thor and Conan.

SandyG265 said...

I don't usually think of actors while I read.

Jacqui R said...

I usually get disappointed when the make a movie from a book the characters are usually nothing like I imagined.

ticklebear2 at yahoo dot com

Pam said...

If the characters in books are described well enough I can picture them in my head. Very rarely do I associate a character with a particular actor but sometimes, even when the character description doesn't quite match the appearance of an actor, I will picture a certain person as that character. But I think I prefer not to. I prefer to "see" the character written not a particular actor.

As for books being made into movies, I've only become obsessed with reading the past couple years so I've not read a lot of books that have been turned into movies and those that I have, most often I've seen the movies first so in those cases I saw the actors from the movies while reading the books.

Pam
vanillaorchids69(at)gmail(dot)com

Jolene and Family said...

I never associate characters in books with actors. They always form differently in my head and they have their own unique look. When I read the Twilight books, Bella was pretty spot on but I had envisioned a different Edward and I always prefer the ones in my head. They are more perfection :) Thanks for the beautiful pics of Ryan Renolds, yummmm :)

june111(at)att(dot)net

donnas said...

I can never do a cast. rarely do I see specific actors when I picture a character. But I usually do enjoy looking at others!

bacchus76 at myself dot com