BoM/TWS Message Forum

The description always places him in an unfavorable spot, though.

Take the teeth, for example. Most of the times Will's teeth are described, they're done so as comically large - yet, comparing the reference photos, Joe has larger teeth. Though it works as a way to emphasize his low self-esteem (particularly when describing himself on the mirror, or on a "out-of-body" experience), when it comes to visualize him as-is, it leads to a less flattering mental picture than the reference shows.

Of course, not everyone's mental picture is the same - a reference photo can bring up two different descriptions because people focus on different things, and a description can conjure two vastly different mental pictures because you draw from what you know.

That's why I was surprised that Will's reference photo shows he's not that bad looking. For one, though it demonstrates his stiff hair, I imagined it a lot drier. And as for the teeth, I imagined him with a slight overbite - the reference shows a full smile but not an unpleasant one. Because the description didn't support a different image, I was led to believe that his looks were a big part of the lack of attractiveness - that it was an equal complement to his poor charisma and sense of self, rather than one magnifying the other. ("You'd look better if you fix up a bit" doesn't necessarily help.)