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Inspiration
Milt wants to know where do I get the inspiration for my characters...
Well Milt, that's actually a great question -- a much better-phrased one than "How much of this is autobiographical?" Argh! I hate that question!
In all of my work, the characters are fully developed before the whole story is mapped out. In a project I am working on now, for instance, I am starting with the characters and a situation -- no clue how the situation resolves, but I can tell you what the characters look like, what kind of cars they drive, what their kids do, how they were raised, etc.
So by the time the story begins, I already know these characters....I know how they would respond in a given situation.
Are they totally, one hundred percent fiction? Nah, maybe only 99 percent. That one percent is one of two things:
1) A character may visually have been inspired by someone I know.
or
2) A little bit of a character's experiences mirror experiences I have researched, read about, seen, or experienced myself.
But mostly, my stories evolve from what-if scenarios.
What if.... a guy pledged a fraternity and got outed halfway through?
What if....a guy dated a varsity basketball player?
Etc, etc. Did I ever date a basketball player? I WISH! Did I get outed while pledging? Nope.
Does Adrian Collins talk like me? Yes.
Does Adrian Collins look like me? No.
Does Savion behave like me? Yes.
Does Nina joke like me? Yes.
You see? It's not merely a retelling of my life -- it's a story that reflects various parts of my life, the parts that are also reflected in yours.
Posted by Rashid on September 27, 2006 8:59 PM
Comments
I just logged-in, for some old gold soul. I am about to read todays post... :)
Commented by milt7 on September 28, 2006 4:48 PM
Interesting, very interesting comment(s) Rashid.
Will you,or would you,.... or do you ever consider writing a book of short stories. I would really enjoy reading a book of short stories written by you. It would be interesting discussion, in a reading club. I would wonder how you would create the stories and characters, along with their perceived fantasies, that involve life, and love(and all that goes along with that),along with the plot of the story itself. I suspect, if you ever penned a collection of "short stories"....the range of the characters and stories would be at a whole "other" level. I am of the idea, that there is so much you want to write about,but just have not yet. Why is that?,.
Signed-A loyal Fan-Milt.
Commented by milt7a on September 28, 2006 5:04 PM