Characters I Know

Some folks have asked how I come up with the characters in my stories.  The simple truth is that they’re based on characters I’d like to read about.  At some level, they’re based on people I know(or exaggerated versions of them).

I don’t think this should come as a revelation.  One of the maxims of writing is to write what you know.  I’ve tried branching into the unfamiliar, and it has failed every time.  My most notable example was when I started writing Wrongful Death, I initially planned to write it from the point of view of a high school girl.  However, I soon discovered I had no more insights on high school girls now than I did when I was in high school myself(that’s not to say I can’t write female characters, but just that the main character in that book needed more insight into what made her tick, and I wasn’t there).

So the characters I come up with are based around the folks I know and would like to see in my stories.  No, not every character is based on someone I know, but they’re at least familiar from my own imagination.  I know how to write what is familiar, which is why I can’t really write eclectic characters from the fringes of society, because I don’t hang out on the fringes of society.  Some might, but I don’t(I’m actually a pretty straight-laced kind of guy).  I tend to drift towards noble characters with a flaw or two and a sarcastic sense of humor.  I also like some level of bombast, so that’s what you see in those I write.  Does this make them cartoony?  Perhaps, but they fit into what I’m writing.

As you write, try to take a critical look at your characters.  Figure out what makes them tick and why they’re there.  Very few can break out of their own biases and fantasies(ask JK Rowling…her shoving Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley together was a form of childhood wish fulfillment for her).  So as you read a story, if you understand the author, then you have a better grasp of his or her characters(and vice- versa).