How’d you come up with that guy? Is he inspired from someone you
know? Your husband? An old flame? I’ve been asked these questions way too many
times. Of course it’s natural to be curious about how an author develops the
characteristics and personalities of their literary characters. The answer is
yes, I’m not sure, possibly, no, and maybe.
When I develop characters for a novel I start out by creating my
hero. What makes me weak in the knees? Is it the hunky hero from my favorite
television show or the bad boy I never quite got my hands on? The powerful
intellectual entrepreneur or the rugged athlete? I imagine how I’d like our
first meeting to go. Would he be confident and debonair, a lost soul who needs
to be saved, or irresistible with an edgy flair? Once I get the basics nailed
down, I add layers of personality traits. This is where I evaluate the things I
love as well as the things I’m not so fond of in a person. I tend to mesh the
personalities of those close to me as well as those I haven’t seen in years to
form my perfect male hero. Now that the hard part is done, it’s time to create
the rest of the characters.
What’s a hero without a heroine? My heroines have a tendency to
be independent, even if they don’t realize it yet. My mother raised me to be a
strong self-sufficient woman who can achieve anything she wishes. I like to
portray that characteristic into my heroine’s personality. Of course, no man (or
woman) is an island. We all need that special someone to make our life complete,
who turns our world upside down. Since life would be much too easy if we all
meet our soul mate, fall in love, and live happily ever after, my hero and
heroine need to fight for each other. They’re either from two different worlds
which can’t logically mesh together, or there is some force trying to keep them
apart.
Many things hurt or hinder a love affair and other people
interfering can do both. Now it’s time to create the secondary characters. Both
the hero and heroine need friends and family and I find myself creating
characters that loosely resemble mine. What would my mother think if I brought
this guy home? Would my best friend approve? Is his friend going to make a play
for his girl?
Once I generate my cast of characters, I choose names to fit
their look and personality. For a character’s first name, I search online for
the most popular names the year they were born and match the name to their
demographic. Then, I turn to the good old white pages of the phone book for last
names. Voila, my characters are born. There are no limits to the possibilities
and endless combinations of personas. Truth be told, you’ll find a little bit of
me in each of my characters.
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