What authors need to do is identify the qualities that they see in the celebrity, and use them in the story, rather than naming the celebrity. By doing this, readers can use their own imagination to conjure up a picture that goes with the story, and different readers may identify it with quite different images.

I regard the use of a specific celebrity name as intrusive - they have families too, don't they! But most of all it is lazy.

By saying, 'They bear a striking resemblance to Nikki Cox', is midnite saying that he is unable to describe Nikki Cox? Actually we don't want a photograph. We don't want Nikki Cox. We want those things that midnite sees in Nikki Cox that are relevant to the story line. [/B][/QUOTE]

No I'm not afraid that I can't describe Nikki Cox, I'm afraid can't describe how beautiful she is adequately, OK just for a test let me try describing myself. I am 48 years old although I am told I look younger than my age, I am 6 feet tall and weighs 250 pounds and yes I do have a belly, I have medium long light red almost blond hair, I have a full dark red beard interspersed with gray hair, I have steel blue eyes I also have the typical caterpillar eyebrow you know the one that runs over my eyes and my nose and trying not to sound effeminate, I have full thick lips, of course I would not describe my self as handsome instead I think of myself as having of the rugged look. OK I'm done with my description, you now have the basic idea of what I look like right ? but if you pass me on the street you would never realize it was me. Now how about if I told you that several people had told me that I look like a younger version of Charlie Daniels the country-western blues singer. Now since you have a description of me and a picture in your mind of Charlie Daniels, if you pass me walking down the street you just might think to your self, damn that person looks like a young Charlie Daniels,wait a minute that might be Midnite

Do you see what I mean? Besides it would be a complement to me if every time somebody who had read my story saw Nikki Cox or one of the other celebrity look-alikes who appear in my story and it caused them to just briefly think of my story, then that would be great. I hope this is not drifted too far off the topic of what this thread originally started with.

Regards Midnite