[TheElusiveCamel]

I'm new to the forum so i'm not sure if there's already a thread about this but anyway how do you picture the book in your mind? especially the characters. To me they appear like a clay statue maybe with a distinct feature (like nyneave's braid) and when they speak a voice seems to come out of nowhere. I know some people i know actually have it down to very fine details while others like in the hottest character thread see it as japanese cartoons (by the way i've seen some pretty good looking ones;))

Anyways how do you see it?

[Dominus]

Basically, I picture whatever the writer writes, the more details, the better. The characters voices do seem to sorta "come out of nowhere," and they sometimes don't have any distinction between characters or genders. I've found that the scenes books lay out can sometimes be so well described that I find that if I read the book two or three times, I make almost the same exact pictures in my mind as the first time. All in all, our brains are very amazing things coupled with the imagination of good authors.:)

[Saria]

When I am reading a book, the characters are real to me. I picture the characters as real folks, even is there are races that aren't real I picture them with flesh, and bone, or whatever they happen to be made of! :p

[Rose of Sharon]

If I'm truly enjoying the book, the characters are very much flesh and blood beings, with distinct voices and characteristics. I often find that my mind begins to fill in backstory for them as I read, if you know what I mean.

Or maybe I'm just nuts...:D

[milamber_reborn]

A cross between real, detailed computer game character, and still pic (ie. like a picture of them on a cover).

[Keyoke]

For me, I can't describe the characters. When I shut the book, I wouldn't be able to describe the character to you. Sure, I could give weght, height, etc. But, what they look like, I couldn't.

But, as soon as I start reading, the character comes to life. And while my mind sees the faces of the character, I'm still at a lost to describe them to you.

It's really odd, but, it works for me. :)

[Crysania]

Having a film degree and being an actor, books have always been extremely vivid to me in my mind's eye and ear, for that matter. Sometimes, if I'm really into what I'm reading, I'll pick a character I could be cast as and start reading the lines aloud. I must've done Pippin from LOTR when I was kid a million times!!! Other characters I would/should play would be Nynaeve and Crysania.

[ZombieQueen]

The characters I imagine look real, sometimes I can't decide if it was a book or a movie.

[ezchaos]

This is a cool topic!
No matter how many details an author gives on the appearance of a character, I always find myself coming up with my own image in my mind of what the character looks like. It's never exactly crystal clear to me, meaning that the face is sometimes 'hazy' or blurry. Usually, it's similar to what the author has in mind, but sometimes I wonder. I mean, how does one remember every single detail throughout a book or series? If the author concentrates on only one or two characters, then that's a little easier. But, when there are dozens of characters it can be a little harder.
This is why books, IMO, are so much better than movies. It's so much better to let your mind create an image of a character than to let somebody else do it for you.

[Bardos]

For me, usually, the characters are formless shadows at the begining, but I find that, as I read more about them, they spring to life. Thought, sometimes I imagine them diffrently than the way the writer discribes them (!); i.e., I may imagine someone blond when s/he is a darkhair. This happens usually when the writer is "late" to discribe the characters, so I have already formed an image for him/her. But it can also happen without reason...

Also, I tend to remember characteristic things about characters, like if a guy's left eye is missing, if that gal has a tuff of red hair, if someone has some sort of habit, etc.