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barrylyga OP t1_iy91tv7 wrote

Reply to comment by ExistingTM in Hey there, r/books! I’m Barry Lyga, author of 27 novels in a variety of genres and I’m here to answer your questions honestly…or to make up shit if I don’t know what else to say — AMA! by barrylyga

OK, so this is gonna sound weird, but... I always have trouble with the physical descriptions of characters! It feels like there's no natural way to get across some of those characteristics without falling into the old, "I looked at myself in the mirror..." trap. I mean, I look at myself in the mirror every day and I never think, "Oh, my eyes are brown like...something brown... And my nose is...there...in the middle of my face..."

The most enjoyable part, though, is when you find something the reader won't expect, something that SEEMS contrary to the character...but then makes perfect sense when you think about it!

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barrylyga OP t1_iy9209r wrote

Oh, one of my fave examples of that sort of character building/development is Albert from Twin Peaks. I talked about it a little bit on my BLog, so I won't repeat myself here.

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