Many authors base their characters off of people they know. A high percent of people also base their stories off of real-life experiences. However, I am different. I rarely or never do any of those things. Why? Because I find it more exciting to make them very different from me.
For example, the MC of my novels is Irish Catholic, blonde, and has had a tragic life. I am Indian and Hindu, dark-haired, and has lived a more typical life with hardly any tragedies. I lost my paternal grandpa when I was 2, so I don’t remember him. My maternal grandpa died when I was 22 but I didn’t cry. I only experienced shocking pain for a few hours. That’s really it for the sad moments in my life.
That being said, I did live a difficult life, too. Having a disability that I was diagnosed as a toddler, but hidden from me until early middle school, as well as not being equally treated as others and constantly misunderstood, was a rocky road. However, my life has improved after I entered my adulthood.
I could explain my MC’s tragic life. But that is within the novels. You can find them through reviews, excerpts, or if you choose to purchase the books.
Anyway, I find varying and differentiating things far more fun than making them like me. After all, the world would be a boring place if we all thought the same things, even if that meant little to no conflicts. I could be wrong, though.
Differentiating characters from myself also opens more room for growing knowledge, even if that means extra research. If I wrote about Hindu characters, I probably would not have to do as much research. But I would also get bored. And if it’s boring to write, it’s usually boring to read.
While I rarely make characters similar to myself, I never base them off people I know. That being said, I do give some similarities occasionally, such as food tastes. Overall, though, I differ from other writers.
Thanks for this! I find it hard to do but will try your approach. I like the reasoning behind it.