Saturday, August 13, 2011

"Mini-Me" MCs?

I was recently asked how much my book's main character, Anna, is like me. I was embarrassed to realize how many similarities there are between us, especially physically. Being my first book, and having no idea the story would some day be published, I just went with what was comfortable and known. We're not exactly the same, obviously since I have no supernatural parentage (darn!), but we do have a few things in common (straight-blonde hair, shortish stature, small-chest, kind of shy, and emotional with a handful of anxious quirks).  I, however, do not share Anna's love for running, or her self-control.
In that same interview I was asked if any of my characters were based on people I know. The answer was an easy "no," although in retrospect, Anna's best friend, Jay, is a lot like my brother. These names mean nothing to you guys who haven't read the book, so I apologize for the name dropping. And speaking of names, I have a little confession to make. When I was brainstorming for secondary character names, I looked to my own loathsome ex-boyfriends to name the jerks in my book. (At least they turned out to be good for something, teeheehee.)
*ahem*  Anyhow, moving on now. So...
How much are your main characters like you? And how much are your secondary characters like other people you know? Is it something you consciously do (or don't do)?

Hugs,
Wendy
PS, I tried to find a picture for this post, but it seems like all that kept popping up were naughty pics of mini-me from the Austin Powers movie. Ew.

22 comments:

  1. I once wrote a novel featuring a character that basically was me. It was absolute crap, so I think that took it out of my system to write about me anymore. My next MC was tall, dark-skinned with short black hair, nothing like me at all.

    In my current novel, the MC is loosely based off one of my best friends. Her appearance is exactly like this friend (I'm absolutely terrible at figuring out physical appearances, so I find I need a real model, or at least a picture so I have them in my head.) and her character is a little bit like this friend, a little like me, and a little that's completely different.

    Sometimes what I like to do is take a trait that I have (or one that a friend has) and give it to my MC, but to a much greater extent. For instance, I'm smart and I always get top marks in my classes. My MC, Astrid, is officially the smartest girl in all of America. I know that I sometimes get a little egoistic about being smart, so for Astrid's character I just try to think about how much more egoistic she would be when she's that crazy smart.

    Come to think of it, I actually did the same thing with the MC in my other story. She was also really smart, but that was basically where she got her feeling of self-worth from. She didn't really have any friends, and it wasn't because she was really uncool or anything. She just didn't want friends because she was more interested in school work.

    So, there. That's how I took a trait that I have and blew it out of proportion for two of my MCs. And now I'm going to stop rambling... :)

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  2. My main characters are not really much like me. In fact, they are like the kind of people whose shoes I would like to be in for a day or two.
    But.
    My secondary characters often end up being like the people I know. Especially my family. If they ever read my book, well..

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  3. Ellie in Where the Butterflies Go is pretty much based on myself, but not completely. Obviously she has some traits and qualities that I don't, and there are a few things she'll do that I won't, but for the most part, I drew from life with that one.

    But I think there's a little bit of every author in their characters. Even if it's something very, very small that not even the author realizes.

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  4. I always worry about my MC being too much like me, but beyond the hair colour, we're pretty different. She's far more practical and a lot less day-dreamy than me. I doubt she'd have the patience to put up with me ;)

    I think it's absolutely fine to take characteristics from yourself and your family/friends. In fact, I think it's sort of impossible to avoid.

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  5. My MC in my first novel started out like me physically and behaviorally, but then she evolved into a more separate person as I edited. Like Elanor said, you almost have to get that out of your system before you can both (the author and the character) move on.

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  6. I think new authors have similar MC's a lot because it's easier to understand their motivations if their motivations are similar to ours. I intentionally made my first MC a lot like me for that reason. She does have some differences now, but mostly because of what I had to do to her. :)

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  7. I think the mc from my first book is what I wish I were like in high school! I do try to slip my kid's names in my books somewhere, but only for very minor characters.
    erica

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  8. None of my characters are alot like me or anyone I really know. Except for some people. Mostly, situations I've experienced happens in my books without me realizing it. For example, one of my characters had her parents divorce but the differences was that it was because the character was being abused by her dad and that she was alot younger than me. Although the character's mom got remarried to this nice guy, like mine. The difference was that the character's dad hated her stepdad and made her kill him.

    I'm okay with coming up with how my character looks and sometimes I'm lucky enough to find pictures that resemble them. Although finding pictures for my female characters is oddly easier than finding pictures for the male characters.

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  9. For some reason, whenever I try writing female MC, they end up somewhat resembling me and become somewhat of Mary-sues. This was back when I wrote in first person, so this made it even worse. But when I decided to try something far out of m comfort zone (guy MC, third person), I found out it fixed the problem. Of course, now, it's going to be harder for me to sell it...but oh well.

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  10. Hey guys! I just got home from traveling all day (6 hours after a beach vacay). What a treat to get here and read these comments! I feel much better now, lol. :)
    Bee, you made me giggle about the family thing! One of my creative writing professors once said you can base a bad/obnoxious character on someone you know, but even if they read it they'll probably never realize it's supposed to be them because those "types" of people don't see their own faults.
    Thank you all so much for sharing! :)

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  11. In the story I'm writing now, my MC is the exact oppoiste of me.

    She has nearly perfect looks (not just for the sake of being pretty. It has something to do with who she is). She is tall and tan and she has reddish hair. I'm short, really pale, and I have light brown hair. She's rich (also has to do with who - and what - she is). I'm...not rich. She has two siblings who she absolutely can't stand because she spends her whole life living in their shadows. I love my siblings and I'm pretty sure they love me as well. She is uptight. I'm real chill. She has a strong yearning for perfection and to be the best at everything. She has a Big Secret, obviously, and has to keep most of her life hidden. People believe that she thinks she's too good for them. She can't stand being tricked and she has a lot of trouble deciding what she wants.

    Haha. She probably sounds like a horrible character, but she's better than she sounds. :D But yeah, exact opposite of me.

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  12. Gabbi, I think there'd be something really intriguing about exploring our opposites! Your story sounds awesome.

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  13. My MC in the first book I finished is ALOT like me. Same looks and same interests. I too went that way because it was easier- I didn't have to do research on the things she loves. None of my secondary characters are based on anyone I know though.

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  14. I've deliberately tried to make my current MC different from my 16-yr-old self. She's dedicated, practical and isn't prone to ridiculous flights of fancy. Oh - and she also sleeps like a log!

    Being able to step into someone else's shoes is one of the perks of writing fiction. I like the idea of living other lives.

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  15. It's good to know I'm not the only one who compiles characteristics for my characters from the people I know. Yet I don't think any of them fit one person perfectly. They are variations of people I know, hardly know, or think I know.
    Thanks for not posting the Mini-Me pic. I agree with you, yuck!

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  16. Melanie, it seems to be a 1st book thing, huh?

    MC, you are so right. We can escape into the other lives while we write, just as much as we can escape when we read. So fun. :)

    E.R., I agree exactly-it's the little things here and there that we draw on from life. (And I'm still trying to burn that accidental vision from my memory, lol)

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  17. I think there are bits of me in all my characters, the good ones and the bad ones. But I never intentionally set out to write myself into a book. In fact, one book I wrote was based on a true story about some people I knew as a kid, and when I tried to write myself into it, it came off sounding weird. So I ended up ignoring my role in the story completely.

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  18. I'm surprised to see that my female MC is nothing like me, in any way. She's the exact opposite of me (maybe what I wish I was like once in a while?). I think my male MC's personality is similar to my dad, at least in the beginning of the series. He's so patient, agreeable, and loving (sometimes I wish I was like that too) - but those are the only similarities they share - oh and tall. Maybe if I think about people I know I could make my characters more real.

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  19. My MCs in my first two novels are fairly similar to myself, but I am beginning to move away from that now. It really must be a new novelist thing. I love that you use ex-boyfriends names for villains. Awesome. That totally cracked me up.

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  20. I have to admit my MCs share my qualities and some personality quirks. Sometimes. It depends on the story and the character I make for that story. Other people in my life may also influence my characters. "Let's see how this quality would work for this character in this story"; that seems to be my mindset. I don't give a lot of my physical attributes to my characters -- except height. You bet your butt I'm gonna give a good bit of my characters my tall height.

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  21. I love using people I know in my stories, or at least elements of them that I think are awesome. I had an awesome teacher in high school who always taught us stories from when he'd been in the military, but he had a fantastic sense of humor and a ton of empathy for us. I took a lot of his personality and turned him into a cross between Rambo and Mr. Rogers. One of my friends shows up in some way in almost every story I write, just because he's got such a colorful personality.

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  22. The MC in my work in progress was a lot like me in the first draft. But it began life as my first go at NaNoWriMo, so it basically started "Dear Diary," but through a lot of rewrites I did a lot to change her because as it turns out I'm kinda boring.

    There isn't really a "villain" necessarily, but one of the characters the reader is supposed to have a lot of frustrations with ended up having a lot of the personality flaws I see in myself that I don't much care for. I feel like it was easier to show those through actions, rather than to try and build a completely new flawed character with quirks I wasn't familiar with.

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