No, the characters are carrying on in my head with their own ways of using language. Imagining a specific performer in a role you're writing can end up being a straightjacket for a writer. John le Carre was forced to stop using his character George Smiley after Alec Guinness stamped that character as his own. Le Carre could never write Smiley again because the only thing he could hear/see when he wrote was Guinness portraying him.
Television yes, feature no. Well that dang Tom Hanks does once in a while. Not really sure why. Maybe because I rewrite so much I feel like Forrest saying stupid is that stupid does. Plus I love the contagious aspect he had as an actor in Big. That movie might have been well written but it was his infectious divinity that really shined through in that movie. So yeah I guess I do but it's usually just the main character in a feature and with writing television everyone I can pull from a lifetime of watching sitcoms characters I imagine just to try and stay original with mine. That damn embodiment get's stressful and can hurt the brain though because I watched a crapload of sitcoms throughout my life.
I too tend to imagine my characters as those around me, initially. Then I go back during rewriting and develop them further into their true selves as individual, fictional characters. Rarely do I draw inspiration from actual actors but I have drawn inspiration from characters that actors have played.
I use a mix of actors and people I know. I have written characters based of how I believe a certain actor/actress could pull it off and some characters I have based off of people I know and interact with in my life. It just depends on the flow of the story for me.
Don't feel guilty, Ken. I do this... I'm sure plenty do. I find it much easier to visualize if I "cast" specific people. Usually they're actors, only occasionally people from my life. It's no sin. Somebody's gotta say the damn dialogue... what's wrong with casting a pro?
I only did that once. I had a difficult scene with no idea how to write it. I thought "what would Tom Hanks say here?" and got something down. I since polished it up to sound more like the character which is normally what I try to imagine.
I always imagine actors in the roles. It helps me see expression, emotion, whether something might "sound" right coming from that type of character. When I took a screenwriting class it was advised to make the character accessible...can you see various actors deliver the line and still be effective? I hope this helps.
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Not usually, but for a couple of scripts I did imagine a specific actor/character voicing the dialogue, and my writing did seem easier.
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No, I usually imagine the characters.
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When I'm writing, I normally imagine my friends/acquaintances as the characters.
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No, the characters are carrying on in my head with their own ways of using language. Imagining a specific performer in a role you're writing can end up being a straightjacket for a writer. John le Carre was forced to stop using his character George Smiley after Alec Guinness stamped that character as his own. Le Carre could never write Smiley again because the only thing he could hear/see when he wrote was Guinness portraying him.
Television yes, feature no. Well that dang Tom Hanks does once in a while. Not really sure why. Maybe because I rewrite so much I feel like Forrest saying stupid is that stupid does. Plus I love the contagious aspect he had as an actor in Big. That movie might have been well written but it was his infectious divinity that really shined through in that movie. So yeah I guess I do but it's usually just the main character in a feature and with writing television everyone I can pull from a lifetime of watching sitcoms characters I imagine just to try and stay original with mine. That damn embodiment get's stressful and can hurt the brain though because I watched a crapload of sitcoms throughout my life.
I too tend to imagine my characters as those around me, initially. Then I go back during rewriting and develop them further into their true selves as individual, fictional characters. Rarely do I draw inspiration from actual actors but I have drawn inspiration from characters that actors have played.
I use a mix of actors and people I know. I have written characters based of how I believe a certain actor/actress could pull it off and some characters I have based off of people I know and interact with in my life. It just depends on the flow of the story for me.
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I must readily confess to the fact that I am guilty of this; however only for one character, sometimes possibly two but no more than that.
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Don't feel guilty, Ken. I do this... I'm sure plenty do. I find it much easier to visualize if I "cast" specific people. Usually they're actors, only occasionally people from my life. It's no sin. Somebody's gotta say the damn dialogue... what's wrong with casting a pro?
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Great question. I am a STAR CASTER! But I've learned that's one component we keep to ourselves so the reader can do their casting.
Gary Oldman recites all of my stuff, no matter if it's a role for a 12 year old girl.
Not at first...I try to start fresh....but as a character develops sometimes he or she gets morphed with a real-life cinema personality
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No, I tend to imagine the characters. They may be inspired by someone's personality traits but I do not picture anyone in particular for a character.
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I only did that once. I had a difficult scene with no idea how to write it. I thought "what would Tom Hanks say here?" and got something down. I since polished it up to sound more like the character which is normally what I try to imagine.
I sometimes imagine a particular actor for my main characters. It helps alot with forming the personality and traits of that person in my work.
I always imagine actors in the roles. It helps me see expression, emotion, whether something might "sound" right coming from that type of character. When I took a screenwriting class it was advised to make the character accessible...can you see various actors deliver the line and still be effective? I hope this helps.