Who hasn’t read a book and encountered a character that seemed familiar—as if you’ve met that person before. A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about finding images—vintage photographs—to represent the characters in my historical fiction. Those pictures help me SEE my characters, but how do I know what lies under the skin? How does an author go about creating the emotional makeup of a character?
Most of us can name several unforgettable people in our lives. That can be good or bad. A few people in my life stand out in my memory, but not necessarily because they were a blessing. I recently based one of my characters on my sixth grade teacher. This woman delighted in publicly humiliating her students, mocking kids who didn’t catch on as quickly, or had a hard time memorizing. I cannot recall a single classmate saying they liked her. I remember the smirk on my teacher’s face when she ridiculed a student and the scorn in her voice if the child was leveled to tears. Does this description endear this teacher to you? Of course not. So when I needed to create a character for one of my stories who thought she was better than everyone else, talked down to others and made them feel inferior, I thought of my sixth grade teacher. I took those traits and used them to form a fictitious person nobody liked.
Not exactly the way one might choose to be immortalized.
On the other hand, I’ve known people who saw the good in everyone and unkind words never crossed their lips. They were thoughtful and generous and giving. One such was a dear friend 
who now resides in heaven, but she lives on in my memory as the kind of person I’d want to be. She loved God, loved her husband, was generous to a fault, and had a smile that chased shadows into hiding. I’ve never met a more tender-hearted person. Consequently, I’ve taken several of her personality traits and infused them into several of my characters. Nobody can take my friend’s place—and I’m sure her family would agree. But somehow I hope she’s pleased that I’ve chosen her to inspire characters with whom readers will fall in love.
In our stories, it’s imperative readers like our main characters, and dislike our antagonists. The hero and heroine aren’t perfect—they have flaws to make them real and needs to make the reader sympathetic toward them. Because there must be a spiritual arc, the protagonists may start out with a weakness in their faith so they can grow over the course of the story. I take these aspects into consideration when creating my characters, and I almost always envision a person—or perhaps even several people—whom I know or have known. My current hero has the compassion of a man from our church and the insecurities of a kid with whom I went to school. The heroine in my story reminds me of my pastor’s wife back in the 1970’s, but she also displays a bit of frustration much the way a friend of mine does.
When people ask me where I get ideas for my characters, I direct their attention all around us. I use personality traits from people with whom I come in contact every day, people from my past, people I love but don’t get to see very often, and even those individuals I may encounter only once in my life, but for whatever reason, they’ve left a lasting imprint. So if you read one of my books and come face to face with yourself, just know that you have make an impression on me that I wanted to duplicate.
Has there been someone in your life who has made an indelible mark? Whether you’re seeking to emulate someone yourself or pattern a fictitious character after them, real life relationships offer invaluable insights to crafting a make-believe character.