Posted by KVTaylor in I have not contracted some deadly illness of dubious provenance that keeps me in bed all hours of the day– I’m just distracted. There, I’m sure you were worried!
But no, I’ve been beta reading (fun!), world building (odd, but I do love making maps), and even jotting down some little scenes. I’ve had this weird mashup epic fantasy/clockpunk story floating around in the back of my head for a year now, and apparently parts of it are ready to gel this very moment. This is me, not arguing. But being very distracted.
I was thinking about the characters and where they come from, and I wondered, how do other people’s brains work this out? Mine is erratic, and so I assume yours will be too– but it’s the details that are most interesting. Like, what is the single oddest thing that’s ever inspired a character of yours? Your best friend, your mom, your dog, something odd you read, a picture?
Here’s one of mine. I was reading an interview with Noel Gallagher (songwriter and guitarist for the now defunct Oasis. Even if you hate the band, their interviews are always hilarious)– I think it was in Q, but I preserved it in my writing journal for future reference without proper footnotes– that went like this:
Interview Guy: [Talking about Liam, his brother and the lead singer] Do you open up to each other emotionally?
Noel: This is the closest I ever got. Over lunch in Paris two days ago. There’s about 20 of us there, including people from the record company. I’m eating my French onion soup and out of the fuckin’ blue, he’s shouting: ‘Noel! Noel! Have you ever had Viagra?’ I said: ‘No, I’m only 38, have you? ‘Yeah.’ ‘When?’ ‘I fucking snorted a line once.’ All the crew have stopped eating and are going …
Interviewer: ‘Fucking hell.’
Noel: What a weird thing to say. He’s tucking in to his steak. How does the brain send a message to the mouth and go: ‘I am going to ask our kid if he has ever had Viagra’?
And naturally, being me, I thought, “That’s f@#king awesome.” Because yes, I find the childish antics of arrogant assholes hilarious, what can I say. (That alone might explain most of my characters, but wait, there’s more!)
This combined with various evenings I’d spent in younger days, watching certain persons who shall not be named chop out lines of pharmaceuticals and snort them (hits harder and faster than popping, apparently, but don’t tell the kids) while relaxing with Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network. This was us, unwinding from a long night working at a local restaurant and bar in my home town– which I love, but is not known for its entertainments.
These elements collided to suddenly and violently form Alex Franklin, a possibly schizophrenic (but he’s not, really), vaguely nymphomaniac, vicodin (not viagra!) snorting small town waiter. He has issues with mirrors, and is the linchpin of my Wolfton world.
I also once based a vampire on Thomas Jefferson, and a whole town, in which I regularly set stories, on an alternate-reality Charlottesville. Which I guess is also very weird, but he makes an excellent vampire, for reasons that will be obvious to students of history, and boring to every one else.
What about you? There have to be some weird character inspirations lurking in there– I know you all!
—————-
Now playing: Oasis – D’you Know What I Mean?
via FoxyTunes
I wish my characters were more inspired. I think character-building is one of those areas on which I need to spend some serious time. Most of mine are all variations of students from school. (names changed, of course)
My weirdest character inspiration was. . .I don’t know. I’m not sure what inspires my characters to tell you the truth. Fun post though.
Oh, I have no such interesting character tales to tell. The MC of my to be written sometime in 2010 book was inspired by a pair of thigh-high black socks and insects, both of which immediately told me that she had an urge to climb tall things. Huh! I’m still not certain why.
I don’t know, Aaron, a lot of the Wolfton characters in particular are loosely based on the types who inhabit my beloved hometown (I say that without irony, I really do love it) and went to school with me there. I think that’s a great source of inspiration!
But I would.
Jamie, if you think of anything, let me know! Sometimes I don’t remember why I invented someone until ages later, when it comes up again… glad it amused, though!
Cate, that is absolutely interesting! She sounds like a girl after my own heart– though I do not agree with thigh-high socks in principle, anything that makes a girl want to climb things is okay by me.
My weirdest inspiration probably was when I was writing a longer work, and joked that an alternative title would be “relentless sodomy.” A few seconds later, “the musical” was added on, and I became determined to write a story with that title.
Sorry – I am absolutely boring. I watch people. I make up stories about people I watch. I mix them all the people together when I write the stories.
I sit down and think, okay, I need this this and that in a character, then mix all the people together and find a character.
It’s not till I begin writing that they start to really define themself due to the situations I put them in – then they transform into something completely different from anything I’ve ever seen or dreamed up.
My characters come to me from snippets of things but no one person has really inspired me to create a character. They just sort of grow as I get to know them. I love the idea of Alex Franklin though.
Nat, that is truly one of the best inspirations I’ve ever heard– and such good came of it! I knew you of all people would have something amusing to throw in.
But BT, that’s where mine come from too, for the most part! Even the weird ones like Alex came from reality, for the most part, just things I’ve seen people do and mixing them up. Just that the character usually comes first for me– and yeah, they definitely evolve once I start writing, too. This is what we mean when we say a character “won’t” do what we want…
Danielle, I think most of my characters begin as snippets of this and that, so I completely understand. Even the one’s who’ve been there forever change a little depending on which world/situation into which they’re dropped, that’s for sure!
Alex would be gratified, though. He does need a lot of attention, poor kid.