Storytellersunplugged

Occasionally I’m asked, “Do the ideas for your characters come from people you know?”

Now usually the question is asked by someone I know, so I’m figuring what they are really wanting to know is, “Am I in the book?”

In truth, the answer is, “Umm . . .well . . .yes and no.” I might use your facial tick but his mustache, her eyes, and my neighbor’s Aunt Betty’s speech pattern to create a character. It’s a lot more fun for me to take bits and pieces from people I know, have met, or have seen and create a character than it is for me to copy the exact profile of one particular person. (Hmm, I wonder if that was Dr. Frankenstein’s logic…) The key to this piecemeal method is to always have a fresh supply of bits and pieces.

One supply source for me comes from people watching. No matter where I go, I’m always on the lookout for a unique face, unconscious habits, speech patterns, interactions with objects (rushed shopper gets last cart, and it has a wobbly wheel), or other people (bored husband shopping with bargain hunting wife…actually, I’d find it more interesting to watch a bored wife with bargain hunting husband!) and body language. To me, these things are the true communicators when it comes to ‘knowing’ a person, so the same should be considered when creating a character.

Along with people watching, I keep an eye on certain magazines and the obituaries in the newspaper, looking for unusual faces and names. If I find any, I cut them out, then sort them by category and age range…Caucasian children, Asian children, African American male, Indonesian female, Old Caucasian male, etc. The names are just sorted by male and female (first and last names separated). Now most of the time when I’m starting a story, I’ll already have a main character’s gender, age, and certain traits in mind, so all I have to do is go to the age group/gender file and find a face that fits. Once that’s done, I’ll dump out the appropriate first name file, the last name file, then piece together a name that fits the face I’ve just chosen.

Here’s an example of how this whole process works….

People Watching: I was in a neighborhood grocery store one day, standing in line at the checkout counter, when a young African American woman comes into the store. She grabs a pack of gum, then pushes her way to the front of the line, all the while talking to herself. When she reaches the counter, she throws the gum at the register, then starts rocking in place and plucking at a button on her blouse. Everyone in line got pretty nervous and sort of backed away en masse.

Story Idea (Family Inheritance): In one scene, I have one of the main characters visiting the commons area in a mental institution. While trying to visualize what might be going on in there during her visit, I thought of the woman in the grocery store. With her in mind, I went to my African American female folder and started looking at faces. Nothing seemed to fit, even though in real life, the woman had in fact been African American. I knew the female character in this particular scene had to have a certain ‘look’ about her—something in her eyes that would carry to the rest of her face. I couldn’t put my finger on what that something was, but I knew I’d know it when I saw it. Sure enough, I found her in the Caucasian female folder. Now I had the scene, the character traits, and the face, all I needed was a name. Out comes the female, first names folder, and within a minute or two, Terri was born. (Oh, and I also used the reaction from the people in line in that scene, too.)

Okay, I realize that all this cutting, sorting, matching sounds like a lot of work, but for me, having a clear picture of all the players helps the flow of the story.

Then again, I have to confess there are times I take the easy way out, especially with nasty, pompous, arrogant, egotistical characters. I just visualize one or two of my relatives.