September 23, 2019
What do you owe the real people upon whom you base your characters?
As I say in the copyright notice for each of my book “XXX is a work of fiction. All names, characters, events and places found in this book are either from the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to persons live or dead, actual events, locations, or organizations is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.”
And that’s true, with one exception. In Her Ladyship’s Ring, I created a character based loosely upon the winner of a contest. As it turned out, it was one of my cousins, (Hi, Jane!) and she became Harmony’s cousin Jane in the book. We were friends growing up, so you can bet I gave the character Jane all the love when I created her. Jane has received mentions in some of the other books of the series as well.
But for my other characters, I can’t point to any one that is modeled after a real person. When a character ‘finds” me, they are their own person. I may not even know what they look like until after I’ve written them into the story. Their personalities develop as they reveal themselves.
Sure, they may pick up small pieces of what makes them an individual from people I’ve known. But the same character may get characteristics from five different real-life people. Another five characteristics come from thin air or are borrowed from a book I read somewhere in the distant path.
But here’s the trick: as far as I’m concerned, as I’m writing the story, each of those characters is a real person in my head. Yes, it gets confusing in there. My head, that is. I have to keep all those characters straight so the reader doesn’t get confused, unless I want them to be confused. I’m like that!
That also means I try to give my characters the same respect I’d give a person in real life. At least, that is, until I figure out what shenanigans they are up to. My bad guys sometimes disguise themselves as good guys until I figure them out. Then I have to switch gears and make them as bad as they need to be.
In real life, I look for the good things in the people I meet and tend to overlook the not-so-good parts of real people until they become unbearable or unforgivable. I can’t do that in my books, because then the characters would be boring. So, I try to give each of my characters faults to make them more life-like.
But back to the original question: To everyone I’ve l know throughout my life, or met for a moment, or listened into your conversation in a restaurant, thank you. Some part of you may have become some part of one of my characters. As they say in every award acceptance speech ever, I couldn’t have done it without you!
Now, let’s head over and find out how other authors feel about using real people in their stories. Just follow the links below.
P.S. One of the characters that gives me the hardest time understanding him
is Jake, Harmony’s ex-lover. He’s based on no one but himself. I’m still not sure if he’s a bad guy pretending to be good or a good guy pretending to be bad, he won’t reveal his secrets. But, I have found pictures that I think represent him perfectly. So, just for fun, here’s Jake!
September 23, 2019
What do you owe the real people upon whom you base your characters?
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I’ve also used snippets of conversations I’ve overheard. Nothing goes to waste when you’re a writer!
The older I get the harder it is to catch enough of conversations to use, especially in noisy places. I end up trying to figure out the situations behind what I can hear.
I work in a hospital with about 4000 staff. I’m fortunate that I get to hear and take part in many conversations. The tea-break conversations are the best!
I love overhearing sarcastic remarks or bitchy put-downs. Not because I’m a nasty person,they just give me so many ideas.
I’m hanging out in the wrong places. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a put-down that was worth using!
I heard a mother say to her daughter “If your father hadn’t died, I’d have left him!” The room went very quiet.
Wow. I can’t imagine saying something like that, let alone in public, let alone loud enough for other people to hear!
“Their personalities develop as they reveal themselves. Sure, they may pick up small pieces of what makes them an individual from people I’ve known. But the same character may get characteristics from five different real-life people. Another five characteristics come from thin air or be borrowed from a book I read somewhere in the distant path.”
Exactly. I found basing a character on a real person is much more exhausting than letting fictional ones tell you their story.
I know some authors find a real person to use for the physical characteristics of their characters before they start writing, but I go the opposite direction. I develop my characters and then go looking for a photo that fits them!
I mostly do that as well, although the character of Ryanna in Daermad Cycle is physically based on my daughter. She wasn’t originally supports to be, but when I was writing the description I realized it was Bri, so I then asked her permission and explained that what happens to Ryanna has nothing to do with her. “She isn’t a voodoo doll, Mom? Got it.” was her response. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that my gypsy musician isn’t uncomfortable with being a model. She’s been a model actually, for a local store’s online catalog.