Saturday, August 31, 2013

Basing Characters on Real People





Creating a compelling character is more than picking a name, race, and gender. Readers need to invest in your characters. For that to happen, a writer must give their characters back-stories, families, flaws, motives, well-rounded personalities, etc. Given this, some may consider basing their characters on family, friends, foes, teachers, movies stars, or that creepy guy they saw at the gas station last week. So the question remains, should writers base their characters on real people?

The truth is, there is no right or wrong answer here. I personally shy away from incorporating people I know into my stories. When I write a character, I need the freedom to develop and grow their personalities. If I based a character on a person I knew, it would be more difficult to allow the character to flourish and fulfill their purpose in the story. I would always see the character as my friend or my classmate. If I needed the character to do something atrocious or pick a fight with the underdog, I would have a hard time separating the action of my character with the action of my real-life friend or classmate. 

Instead, I like to base my characters off of a group of people--it seems less personal that way. During my middle and high school years, I could not stand math classes. They seemed like pure torture. As a result, I seldom met a math teacher I admired. In my recently completed manuscript, the main character is a high school student. When I had to write her math teacher, I did not base him off of any one of my middle or high school teachers. I compiled a mental list of the traits my math teachers had in common, the mannerisms they shared, and the type of clothes they wore. When I think of the math teacher in my manuscript, my mind does not picture one specific man or woman. An image of a typical and realistic math teacher is formed. From there, I was able to build my main character's math teacher. I assembled a unique back-story that would explain his abrasive personality, but more importantly, I created a flexible character. By basing the foundation of my character on an, albeit stereotypical, image of a math teacher, I armed myself with autonomy. In other words, I cut the strings that would otherwise hold my character to the limitations and the motivations of a person I actually knew.  

Are you ready for the contradiction? Though I avoid basing characters on real people, I have made one small exception. One character, that plays a minor role in my manuscript, was originally based on a real person. My main character's English teacher, Mrs. Walden, who only appears a few times, was modeled after one of my real-life high school English teachers. Mrs. Walden's (the character and the real person do not share the same last name) physical and personality traits closely resemble that of my high school teacher. However, I have not seen or heard from my real-life English teacher since I graduated (not telling how many) years ago. That being said, my real-life teacher is now somewhat of an abstract figure. Also, as the story has progressed, Mrs. Walden's character has evolved into her own person. So again, should you base your characters on people you know? If you can create enough separation between the real person and your character, than I say, go for it! Just be careful. Do not limit the potential of your characters simply because their real-life counterpart would never do, say, or think like that. 

6 comments:

  1. I've noticed my characters do the same thing too. A long time ago, when I first started writing a book I've been working on, the characters started out similar to the people that were closest to me--but the best part is, those characters evolved and moved away from familiar people, forming their own voice! Pretty cool :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Megan, it is pretty cool! Seeing how characters grow and develop their own voices is one of the most rewarding aspects of writing.

      Delete
  2. My characters tend to be more than one person I know. Yet, after while its getting know that character. This is such an interesting perspective of the writing process. Glad you left me a message on FIGMENT. All the best on your book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ellie! I'm glad you paid my blog a visit. I hope you'll stop by and check out my upcoming posts!

      Delete
  3. This was a very helpful post for me, personally. I have never even considered making my characters based on real people in my life, but I can see where it would help and where it would have its drawbacks. I've always shot to make my characters into their own people and strain my creativity more. However, every now and again I usually do get real life inspiration from a person, or even an event, that I may base a story upon. For me, though, half the fun of writing is making the character whatever you want them to be, so I've never really done much basing, or at least for my main characters. Every now and again, I'll base a supporting character on someone in real life, however, like with your English teacher, they usually end up evolving into their own person as I write. Great post! Very helpful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Dan! I love to get little bits of inspiration from people or events as well. I was reading an article recently about how all writers should go to coffee shops and just listen and observe. Being an avid coffee drinker, I love this idea! We all need to get our inspiration from somewhere, but we also need to find a balance so our characters have the freedom to grow.

      Delete