“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.
