Leslie Karst

A Rainbow of Characters

Where do you get your ideas for characters? Are they based on people you know? Are they based on you? Such are the questions authors are often asked.

And for me, the answers are: everywhere, yes, and yes.

But it’s not quite so simple as that. None of my characters are based solely on any one person. Rather, they’re mostly an amalgam.

Or perhaps the best analogy is a prism. Take a beam of light (which, let’s say, is me). Then refract it into all the different colors of the rainbow, who become the characters in my forthcoming Orchid Isle mystery Molten Death:

Red and Orange: My irrationally hot anger at someone who cuts me off on the freeway inspires the driving force for the murderer.

Yellow: Watching my dog Ziggy doze contentedly in the sun’s late afternoon rays inspires the laid-back nature of Valerie and Kristen’s pal, local tattooed boy, Isaac.

Green: My love for avocados translates into Valerie’s obsession for the green fruit (or is it a vegetable?)

Blue: The aching sadness I felt at the loss of my mother becomes the sense of loss Valerie feels for her dead brother.

Indigo and Violet: The feeling of serenity that comes with enjoying a dry Martini inspires the suave but mysterious bartender who works at Raul’s Mexican restaurant.

But of course everyone I know—or meet—is fair game for this analysis as well, and they too get refracted into their own spectrum of colors, which in turn help flesh out further the characters I invent for my books.

And then every once in a while someone I know becomes one hundred percent a character in a book—so similar you could pick them out from a lineup. But I’m not telling you who….

Readers: Do you recognize the authors you read in their characters? Authors: Do you put real people in your books?

30 thoughts on “A Rainbow of Characters”

  1. Leslie,
    Hestia here. Thanks for sharing. I really don’t see too many real people in books. Like you said, bits and pieces are there, but not as a whole. Which can be good or bad.

    I’ve heard a lot of people say”I know character x is me”. It’s amazing how many people think they are the same specific character. Maybe they see themselves as that character? Or wish they were?

    As for me? It’s usually bits and pieces as well. There’s a bit of me in all my characters. Sometimes I use tv characters as the muse. My radio station owner is a bit of me, a bit imagination, and a lot of Lou Grant. My sidekick is loosely based on Carson Kressley.

    But Cheryl? She is based on a real friend. I’ve been told she needs to be toned down because she’s too unreal. Nope! Not gonna happen. Because nothing she says or does is made up! I totally use this person’s personality. 100%. Sadly, my friend will never see that Cheryl is how people see her! Because she’s clueless in how she acts. I can tell you all about the real life person at Malice! The chicks will get a kick out of her stories!

    Stay safe!

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      1. Lisa, the Chicks couldn’t handle meeting the real Cheryl! It takes a lot more patience, biting of the tongue, rolling of the eyes all moms have hidden under their hairstyle, and grains of salt than most people have.

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    3. Yes, I often recognize friends of mine, parts of whom show up as personality quirks of my characters, Hestia. But thank goodness I’ve never (yet) had anyone swear they think they are a specific character. Can’t wait to meet your fictional Cheryl!

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  3. I don’t try to recognize characters, although sometimes the character reminds me of someone I know.

    I don’t put real people into books – not whole. I may use a characteristic of someone I know, but it’s never exactly that person.

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  4. Hi Leslie,
    As always, I love your descriptions and accompanying photos.
    I’ve never assumed I’m in a story ( although I bought naming rights to one at MD30!). I’ve always expected that writers create from anyone and everyone. Think of the classic, ‘I overheard this snippet of conversation on a …’ which gets turned into something more sinister.
    I’m so appreciative of the artistry and abilities of authors. You enrich my life.

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    2. Aw, thank you from all of us authors, Ruth! Readers inspire us the most to create our stories, I think–even more than any real-life “characters” out there.

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    3. Oh, boy, have I heard snippets of conversations I’ve used in my books! My favorite is riding my bike along West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz and listening to all the the folks walking with their babies and dogs–so many ideas there!

      Thank you, Ruth, for your kind words. You enrich our lives, as well!

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  6. Great question, Leslie.

    It depends. Sometimes I base a character on a real person, changed enough so the disclaimer in the front of the book (Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental and unintended.) still applies. Alternatively, I sometimes seize on a character trait (e.g., loquaciousness, single-mindedness, appearence, etc.) and develop a character around that. Natalie McMasters began as a simple, twentysomething college student – a composite of people I had met, and developed into a unique individual over the course of eight books about her.
    I also like to put a unique character into a story just to highlight the character, even if they have little to do with the story itself. I think it makes stories more lifelike-just think of the weird and unique people you observe in the supermarket or on the street as you go through life.

    Tom Burns

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    2. Ha! Love that about the disclaimer, Tom! And I agree about having at least one character who stands out for some reason. Though if I put as many quirky characters into my books as I know in real life, folks would think I was overdoing it, I’m sure, lol.

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  7. Great post, Leslie! I don’t ever put anyone in 100%, but there *are* characters who are more true to life than others. By the way, I love all your photos! That one of you near the lava flow is intense! (And, wait a minute. An avocado is possibly a vegetable?)

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    2. Ha! No, an avocado is most definitely a fruit–biologically, at least–though lots of folks think of them as more vegetative in flavor and use than the average fruit. The complication comes with things like squash or green beans: they are the “fruiting” part (i.e. part with seeds) or the plant, right?

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  9. If I really know the author, I will spot certain things they’ve put in the book. It’s fun to spot those. But it is rare I recognize a character as a complete real person when I’m reading.

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  10. I don’t model characters in my books, though I like to give them names family and friends will recognize. For example, in my Darcy Gaughan Mysteries, I named Darcy’s parents after my maternal grandparents. My sibs got a kick out of it.

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  12. Please forgive the late weigh-in on this great post! (And the photos are FAB!!)

    I have modeled characters after real people then changed the names to protect the (often not so) innocent. Of course, my favorite example is when I changed Don to Dan and forgot to include “use whole words only” in my global edit and then had a document full of dan’ts, danes, danations, and Ding Dangs. OY

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  13. Great vision, Leslie! I’ve spotted a few of my traits or our antics in a few books a friend has published. It’s fun and funny. We won’t tone the shenanigans down, either! So, I’m sure parts of me or up will pop up now and again. Too funny, but people are! Well, the good ones are. 😁
    If it posts anon, Tracy Hartman here.

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