In some of my stories I've used celebs/porn star pics as a means of describing a character in the story.

Do you like this or does it bother you and why ?

Thanks.

 

I voted Yes, but it doesn't matter either way. I think it's a great way to describe a character, using an already existing person as a template.

Also, some people write stories about literal celebrities (a little shocked at how many of them are either grown-up Disney/Nick stars or people from MTV, The CW, ABC Family/Freeform shows, Glee, etc.) and I am writing one about literal porn stars myself, so I can't complain.

 

Why use celebs or porn stars?

 

I don't need pictures when I read a story. I've been out of elementary school for a while now. If you're going to write, then write. Let me visualize the character for myself.

 

When it comes to erotica, it's not about being being in elementary school or needing visuals. We all have celebrities and porn stars we've had fantasies about, so these stories can help them come true. There are people, however, who don't like writing about real people because they feel it's disrespectful, even if they have their blessing (e.g. TC mentioning Ava Devine, or that brother from Supernatural, I think Jensen Ackles) but will still use their visuals to create an original character to live out their fantasies.

Although, your comment about "being out of elementary school" does reinforce why I'm so shocked that nearly everywhere I go, when I look for celebrity stories, a good chunk of them (in many cases, the majority) are of people who used to be on Disney Channel or Nickelodeon (feels like the moment Dove Cameron of Liv and Maddie/Disney's Descendants turned 18, stories about her exploded), or other teen/tween stuff like Pretty Little Liars or Glee. I guess I always pictured the porn/erotica community as being "mature" and going against that "kiddy crap". I have nothing against those kinds of shows and stuff (I did mention being upset at the lack of stories about Ashley Tisdale in a different thread), but it's a bit surprising to see.

EDIT: No Dove Cameron stories here though.

 

Why would I? I want my characters to be original, not some copy (physical or otherwise) of some celebrity, or anyone else for that matter. For me, part of the art of telling the story is being able to describe the character well enough to make them real to the audience on the character's own merits, without having to refer to some celebrity the audience may never have even heard of to make the point. You go telling me a story about someone who looks or acts like the people mentioned above, you've just lost me, because I am not familiar with any of them. So where is my reference point? Better to take the time to build the character and flesh it out as part of the story.

 

An author, colloquially, who uses a picture of someone to base a character off is all well and good. To then insert a picture into their story in lieu of bothering to textually describe said character is a lazy practice. It admits an author has no functional ability to do what they're supposedly capable of doing up until that point. Why waste the time and create a story at all when you can post a bunch of pictures in its stead?

 

I rest my case about the Disney/Nick people. I have nothing against most of them, but it's just a bit of a shock that most of the celebrity stories I read are about them. I know I said I was upset about a lack of Ashley Tisdale stories, but on this site in particular, I'm even more upset about the lack of Kate Upton or Christina Hendricks. They were never involved in the kids/teen networks but I'd love to read a story about them or someone who looks like them. (Might dabble in some Mad Men fanfiction soon if I can find any.)

But as I've been saying, it's all about what you fetishize and what you find attractive. If you find a celebrity attractive, then by all means, read or write about them. If you don't and would rather an original character, then that's your thing.

I think another reason people use porn stars and celebrities sometimes is to try and stay realistic with body proportions and sizes. I've seen stories about women with ZZ breasts and "Coke-can sized dicks" (literally, that's what it said) which just took me out of it. Using a sexy looking real person can sort of help you stay realistic because, you know, there's a real person who has those proportions.

 

There's nothing wrong with imagining one of your characters as having the physical attributes of a real person, indeed it might make it easier to visualise your character, but posting a picture of that inspiration is just plain lazy writing. Even stating (for instance) "She looked so much like Taylor Swift she could have been her twin." is poor - describe your character! Use the glory of the English language to tell the reader about her elfin face, her tight, pouting lips, high cheekbones, her piercing blue eyes and so forth.

 

I loosely base most of my characters on real people or an amalgam of real people. In some cases I've found photos that matched my descriptions or ideas, and I'm extremely visual when I think about a story, even if I don't go hog wild with physical details. Some of my crap is semi-autobiography, so the descriptions of characters are based on memory. However, I sometimes use my imagination. In other words, maybe she wasn't THAT cute. In many of my stories I may have a clear picture of the players in my mind, but I don't go into slavish detail, preferring to let the reader use his/her own fantasies.

All that being said, fan fiction is a slightly different genre. If you want to write about Miley Cyrus or Sarah Palin, have at it, but be straightforward about it. "Miley and Sarah and The Donald" might be a hot story, but if that's what you want to write, be reasonably accurate about physical descriptions.

And explain how any man can think that spray tan looks good while you're at it.

 

I mean I get why you would do that but i think it's better if you just create the visuals with the narrative. A good story shouldn't need a description and should inspire people to visualize it. That said, I am a comics artist, so if you are writing a script for a visual medium, I would love a visual to base my art on.