As a writer, do you base characters on people you know in real life?
… Sometimes, and never entirely. Often it’s also very unconscious.My main characters often have a little of me - understandably - but also have qualities and flaws relevant to the plotline.Several characters have little habits from real people that I know. They don’t have the entire personality, but it’s kind of like an inside joke for me. For example; two of them rub their thumbs against their mouths when they think. That’s something my sister and I do, but anyone who’s not very close to us both would never know it.I often take inspiration from my relationship with real people and infuse that in my writing. The characters may be very different from the real people, but with a similar dynamic.There are only a couple characters that are very, very similar to someone real. I didn’t decide those characters would be exactly like those people, although I did base myself on them - they just grew that way, towards the person instead of away from them as they usually do.I pretty often put some inconscious resemblance between characters I love and people I love, and only realize it later once their personality is fully-fledged and set.Most characters often have a similar “aura” or “charism” as someone I love, but can differ on many other things.My characters rarely look physically exactly like the person that inspired them, although they might have some similarities.
How do you write fictional characters based on real people you know?
I wanted to write about my experiences in life, my tryst with destiny, everyday incidences that are so emotionally draining to me but which might be trivial to others. I wanted to write about the fights i have with my mom, the gossip i share with my friends, wanted to express why i like or dislike a few people, about what are the behaviors in others that afftects me on a deeper level.Now, if i want to do all of the above without anyone realizing what or whom I am talking about simply changing the names of characters isn't going to help. So, what do i do so that none get offended?I create a world which is completely different from mine, create false scenarios, change my character completely if i want to include myself in the story and then subtly introduce those whom i want to write about, keeping their traits, behavior and personality similar to the real life which i want to express and change other trivial details like dressing sense, routine activities etc which are not important or relevant to what i want to write about.The art of subtlety depends on how efficiently you can introduce salt in water with just the right amount so that it is not outrightly evident to the observer but at the same time achieving your goal of contamination.Observe the characters you want to write about minutely. Take into consideration their appearance, their style, personality, habits, way of expression, their surroundings and every other trivial detail to make them look authentic and lively to the readers.
How do I get to know my book characters?
Write a ten-page monologue in their voice. Write a My Life So Far in their voice — and see which things were most important to them. Places? People? Events? Are they funny people? Funny-silly or funny-goofy or funny-sarcastic or funny- witty?There’s a wonderful list floating around the Internet of “36 Questions to Make Someone Fall in Love With You.” They aren’t brilliant; but they are interesting, non-superficial queries. Find that list (use Google on your internet machine) and ask your character all of them.Note: you MUST write down all these answers. Just thinking about them is a copout, because it carries no commitment and you can get distracted and change your mind. You have to know them so well that both you AND YOUR READERS would recognize any of your characters if they walked into a crowded room. What’s the worst day of their life? The best? The five people who’ve made a difference to them? The moment when Everything Changed? What divided their life into Before and After?WRITE IT ALL DOWN. Just write their journal entries. It is a BLAST. I envy you for having all this to look forward to and swim in. :->
How much should I base my novel characters on real people, and how much should I make characters up?
Great question, though a personal one. You’ll hear authors tell you that they “write what they know” and I’m sure that extends to who they know. I think the best characters are ones that are a culmination of real and fictionalized people. Visualizing the actual person, their nuances, and perhaps actual interactions can help you as a writer to detail their characteristics on the page and bring them to life. But you don’t want to steal someone’s life—a big no-no in the publishing world—so be careful to add, embellish, and tailor your characters so that their soul is your creation.I have had family members and friends ask me if so-and-so character is them, even going as far as asking me why I killed them off?! All of my characters are a collaberation based on a small piece of me or someone I know or I’ve read about, with a heavy dose of creativity and imagination person. Strike that balance and your characters will bounce off the page and into reader’s hearts. Readers like to connect with characters so creating them full and intentioned helps them to delve deep into your story and connect with you as the author. A real gift!
How are writers able to base characters off of people in real life?
Thanks for the A2A.Her is something that might help you understand.When approached with character development questions, I actually have advised new authors to base their characters off of movie stars or characters that they are familiar with. In today’s trends of movies, our actors have become increasingly homogenized, but there are a few who still stand out with their own personality.Imagine while you are writing, that your character is Christopher Walken. All of a sudden, you know exactly what his body movements will be like. You know what the cadence and rhythm of his speech pattern will be. You know if something sounds like something he would say or not, and how he would say it if he were forced to anyway. You may not know what Christopher Walken is like in real life, but you know his character. Other examples of older actors work as well, if not better, when their on screen personalities seemed to match their personal dispositions pretty closely, such as Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith), or Barney Fife (Don Knotts).The same can be said with fictional characters. You could guess pretty well about Han Solo, Wednesday Addams, Groot, Inigo Montoya, Harry Potter, or anyone (are fictional characters really an anyone? or are they an anything?) you are familiar enough with.Now apply this to your mom. You know how she talks, moves, acts, and how she would respond to finding dog poo on the kitchen floor. And how she would respond to finding dog poo on the kitchen floor on Christmas day. And how she would respond to finding dog poo on the kitchen floor if she was drunk. And how she would respond to finding dog poo on the kitchen floor if she had just had the worst day at work ever.You can apply this to your siblings, your spouse, your neighbor… anyone you know pretty well. And if someone is a real “character” in life, you can extrapolate how they might react.I can’t speak for all writers, of course, but his is how I do it.
Is it okay to base your character(s) off of yourself?
I have a number of stories out and I'd say that almost all of my characters have some of my traits. It's just that they don't all have all of my traits and aren't necessarily meant to represent me. When I write some of them, my snarky side has to come through but with others, I have to think with my nice and trusting side. The problem that often comes with the "Mary Sue" issue is the idealizing of the character that represents you in the story. This can result in character who things happen to but who never really does anything wrong or causes a problem. But just exploring the way you feel or view the world through a character is not necessarily a Mary Sue. I do take a bit of a different view on the whole Mary Sue issue than some writers I know. I will freely admit that as a teen, I wrote Mary Sue-ish characters. It was part of developing who I was and exploring issues I was facing through writing. Telling me to stop doing that would probably have done more harm that good. And as I matured as I writer, I learned to take that Mary Sue experience and use it to be emotionally invested in my characters and writing, even when they weren't a just another version of me. So, I suspect that writing Mary Sue characters early in your writing years may help you learn to emotionally connect with what you write and that can help later.
To what extent can I base characters on real people as victims in a murder story?
Short answer: don’t. Almost all of the people who published these types of stories ended up in jail (Gilberto Valle, Krystian Bala, etc.) because they were convicted of actual crimes/murders (whether they’re actually guilty is another story). My tip would be: make it as “fictional” as humanly possible. Just like Hannibal Lecter was described to be a superhuman vampire-esque gentleman with an intellect that was unparalleled he also had a penchant for eating rude people. Seems like quite a story doesn’t it? Well, if you manage to write a story that revolves around people with exceptionally obscure talents and characters* you have yourself a really good story on your hands. Just like Sherlock Holmes was an antisocial genius that was still quite likable in his own special way you need to find a way to make the quirks of your protagonists stand out so that your character becomes believable. No one is perfect. And the more relatable your characters are the better.p.s. while Hannibal was actually based on an actual serial killer the real one was far “less impressive”.*you could also just introduce monsters or supernatural phenomena, there is no shortage of fictional elements as you can see.Have a nice day.Addendum: if you’re running out of names just pick random quora users and change their names up a little bit. That’s what I usually do when I don’t feel like coming up with new names.
Why is it such a bad thing to base your fictional book characters on yourself?
I mean, yeah, I am considering writing a fictional book based on people in my life and myself, but I've noticed that it seems to have a negative rap. So, I'm just wondering why a lot of people seem to think it's a bad thing? I guessed it's because people have set opinions on people and seem to think that their way is right without any leeway, but I was just wondering....
Is it allowed to base a fictional character on a real person?
Of course, though you shouldn’t identify them. Personally, I like to make my characters an amalgamation of different traits taken from different people I know or have seen. This way the character become much more interesting, and no one person is going to think the character is based on them.Nick