Writing Novels

Lesson 3: Characters

Basing Characters on People You Know

It's impossible not to base characters, at least in part, on the people in your life (especially yourself), but it's important to make sure that your characters don't resemble those people too closely. If the person you base your character on is healthy and attractive, give your character physical flaws, change her hair color, change her occupation, or give her a different personal history. Change her enough so that no one you and she know will recognize her.

You may know a lot about your characters because you know a lot about the people you base them on, but don't stop there. Once you've protected the identities of the people in your life by mixing up and disguising their recognizable traits, use your imagination to fill in the blanks where the real people end and the characters begin. What do they think about? Why do they do the things they do? What do they write in their diaries? What are their deepest secrets and desires?

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