Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Are our Characters Based on Real People?


“Are your characters based on real people?” a close friend asked me this interesting question. Though I denied it at that time, her question got me thinking. The characters we create are purely fictitious and a part of our make believe world, but if we are honest,  can we say with conviction that they have no connection  with our real life or real people.

As writers we draw inspiration from diverse sources: newspaper articles, movies, T.V serials, and  incidents that happen in society. The inspiration for our characters too is derived from real life. People we encounter or interact with, even the ones we just hear about  but have never met, subtly influence our character sketches. Maybe we do not add our assorted aunts and uncles into our books, but bits and pieces of them worm their way into our characters: an aunt’s attitude, an uncle’s way of talking  or laughing, a cousin’s physique, even a grandparent’s  behaviour echoes in the behaviour of the old people we create.

My friend’s question made me search my books and stories for real life inspiration. I was surprised at what it revealed. One of the characters in my current WIP, a snob who looks down  her powdered nose at everything is based on one of my aunts ( I am not telling who it is). As a child I was fascinated both by her beauty and snobbishness.  It was then natural that the object of my childhood awe crawled her way into my book. Thank god, none of my aunts read, else there would be a war in the family if the person recognizes herself in the story. Or worse still if she demands a percentage of the royalty when the book gets published. The great grandmother in the same WIP is also based on a great aunt whose jolly nature had me in splits throughout childhood.

A character in another book is based on my school teacher who had this habit of throwing pieces of chalk at inattentive students. My bench mate  in school,  thanks to my constant chatter  was hit several times with chalk. Just imagine if this teacher had the habit of throwing the duster (shudder).

We are surrounded by people all the time, this rich source of inspiration is there for us to freely tap into. As long as we don’t reveal who the character is based on, we can safely get inspiration for our characters from real life people. So, don’t you think we should all love our aunts and uncles and probably send them cards and flowers, as they are doing us a huge favour by inspiring us to create unique and quirky characters.

Now tell me honestly, have any of your real life influences crept into your character sketches albeit in a tiny, unsuspecting way. I promise not to sneak. My lips will be sealed.
                
           
             


26 comments:

  1. Loved the post,you have a way with words. Could just picture your aunts and uncles and their quirky mannerisms and these traits finding their way into your books.

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  2. Oh yes-- all my characters in some way are based on people I know-- I can't help it! My MIL shows up in my current book, and old friends are dotted everywhere!

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  3. Loved your story about the teacher, btw. Yes, I definitely have "bits" of real people show up. How can you not? A favorite teacher of mine has LINES (things either said by him or spoken of him) in my current ms and he is my hero. There are physical traits I use, idiosyncrasies; they're all food for writing and we'd be insane not to use them as they make flat, fictional people real.

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  4. It’s wrong of me but I base plenty of characters on real people, except I add a lot more to their inherent qualities. Hope no-one can recognize themselves in my stories!

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  5. Whenever I write.. i pen down my emotions and my feelings. My blog and all my writings are more of my reflection..:)

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  6. My characters are amalgums of people I have known not necessarily now but in the past.:O)

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  7. Great post! I don't think I have ever written a character that didn't have the characteristics of someone I know.

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  8. I haven't totally based any of my characters on a real person (yet!) but I have taken qualities from real people and used them for my characters. So I guess each of my characters is an amalgamation of many different people I know!

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  9. This is a fun subject. I sort of piece different people together in my characters. It's not intentional, it just sort of happens!

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  10. Until I read this post I thought I'd been quite successful and not basing characters on people I know. Emmm...I think I need to check my writing and see if it is obvious I have!

    Ellie Garratt

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  11. It's kind of impossible to keep your frame of reference completely out of the picture. How can you write with no personal experiences to share? So, I say: change the names and look of the real people to protect the innocent (and the guilty!!!) and write, write, write!!

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  12. I don't think there is any way to avoid drawing from our own personal experiences with others when we write our fiction. A writing instructor once said to me (when I was worried that someone would be recognizable in my novel): "You really don't need to worry. People rarely see themselves as the world sees them." I thought that insight was fascinating -that people don't recognize their faults and successes or perceive them the same way others do...

    PS - I commented on your "marketing savvy" post, too. Loved it.

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  13. Hi, cutie! Well, to be honest with you, no, they aren't. These guys are formed full born in my brain as I write. It's weird, but there it is. ;)

    ♥.•*¨Elizabeth¨*•.♥

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  14. Usually my characters a mixes of people -- I can't help it. As you say, we gain so many influences from all around us.

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  15. Hi Rachna,
    Very nice article. Yes, somethings come from real people and some are added. Often combining maybe two different parts of two different people, smiles. It is hard not to be influenced by others around us..

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  16. Hi friends...I am enjoying reading everyone's comments. Practically all of us draw character inspiration from the real life people we meet. Its difficult to shut our mind to the inspiration surrounding us. Nowadays I make it a point to observe people and take note of their behaviour and mannerisms.

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  17. I cant help but get influenced by real life characters....those who can manage otherwise surely have fertile imaginations.

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  18. I think my characters tend to be combinations -- like soup ingredients. A little bit of this person, a smidgeon of that, and some of my own feelings and reactions thrown in. A blurred memory combined with a recent encounter. That sort of thing. I don't think any of my characters are drawn from identifiably real people.

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  19. Of course, Rachna. My characters are all based on real people. Relatives and people I pass on the street. I blend several folks into one character and wa la!

    Of course, I never tell. Shhh...Ivy must never know she's in my books. *wink* (She'll insist on being paid.) :-)

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  20. I'm like Lynda, I'll mix things that come from real people into the mix, but for the most part they are from my imagination.

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  21. Yes, they have. I have an eclectic mix of characteristics based on family and people I know. I just never know when something will spark a character idea or trait.
    Have a great weekend,
    Karen

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  22. Hi Rachna, Word Warrior! You're in trouble now that you've given away the source of your inspiration ;-) I recall an interview in which Allegra Goodman, when asked the same question your friend posed, claimed (as you did at first) that none of her work was inspired by people she knew (paraphrasing). I was flabbergasted by her answer. Of course we write about people we know, we don't live in a vacuum and when we are able to bring real, believable characters alive on the page, there's got to be something we've seen/ heard/ noted. As for me, until I embarked upon the NaNoWriMo adventure last November I was only writing non-fiction. And while my characters are for a great deal no longer alive —some I've never met— they are "family" and the writing of fiction gives me an opportunity to blow life into memories of stories I was told as a child. I believe it's important to remember people, dead or alive and what better way then to do that in a story?

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  23. all my characters have parts of me, with healthy chunks added from folks i know or have seen on the street and/or elsewhere, male and female, but i try to give each their own voice...

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  24. Hi Rachna :) I love that you live in India :) I love India and have a wonderful, dear friend there.
    I do, indeed, write my characters from others... but I switch it around. A few characters in one book can be from one person's traits. I also take one person and make them the way I want them to be lol (shhh, don't tell on me) and I also just make up the person :) It's all a mixture :)

    Love your post, Rachna
    Love,
    Denise of Ingleside, PEI

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  25. We all get inspired by something or someone we already know. I don't believe that anyone wakes up one day and creates characters and stories from scratch! It is perfectly fine to be inspired by something or someone, as long as you are able to add new elements and keep your own voice.

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  26. Of course! Every single one of my characters is inspired by someone (or 2 or 3 people) I know.

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