Character Bases

Have you ever thought about how writers develop their characters? Have you ever wondered if they are based on people they know? I know I have. I've wondered sometimes if 'hero' of a novel has been out there somewhere out there waiting for his real-life heroine. I've often wondered how character have come together.

Maybe it's because I love creating characters. I've always been really good at creating a hero, heroine or even a villain. For me, it's a fun way to start a novel and to take out from writing the blood and guts of it.

As a writer, I can answer the question for you with fairly good accuracy. The answer is yes. Writers do develop their characters from people they know. Or at least some of them do. I know because I'm guilty of the same thing.

For example, my heroine Stephanie Carovella is actually based of some of my own life experiences. Her past is some of my own past twisted in with some creative writing. Her insecurities have been some of my own. In some ways she is the mirror image of who I have been and who I am as well as someone completely different.

And I don't stop with myself. That would just be silly when I have a smorgasbord of friends who have shared their lives experiences with me and aspects of their lives I have taken, twisted, shaken and moulded into characters within my current novel Nowhere to Run and future novels.

You probably think my friends would be angry about it right? On the contrary that's not been the case so far. In some ways it probably helps that I have taken aspects of them and twisted it so much that in some ways they are unrecognisable.

The reality is that writers often look around their surroundings and draw from their own experiences - in childhood, love and friendship and will use it to their advantages. They will take the good aspects of people they know, throw in different personal perspectives and add a few flaws to make either a likable hero or a nasty villain.
It's just the way we as writers roll. Sometimes it's intentional and sometimes it's not. I know for a fact when I started writing the character of Jesse Carlisle in Nowhere to Run that I didn't plan on him being based on someone I knew. From his mannerisms and background to his earthy sex appeal, he was the splitting image of my partner. It just happened. I actually started writing the novel before we started dating, and we still were in the friends stage.

On the other foot, I knew exactly who the character Angel Monroe was based on. In fact, I asked her permission to steal her name and her profession before telling her, "Oh and by the way I hope you don't mind but you get your throat slit in the first pages of Nowhere to Run". Luckily, she was happy to agree and we're still best friends to this day.

Here's the thing, as much as we love creating new characters. And, you can bet most writers do - we also like to use aspects of people we love, respect and loathe to make the characters three dimensional. It could be as simple as the way you make your coffee, the way you eat an apple or the brand of your cigarettes. It may not mean much to you, but it may make the whole difference to our character.
It's just what we do. We're not likely to stop. In fact, if you complain, you may just find yourself the villain of our next novel.

Let's just call it a creative compliment.