The last post was a trip down memory lane, and a shout out to my family and closest friends. This post is more of a teachable moment. The lesson?

Think back to your childhood, high school years, or your early 20’s. Think back to the core group of friends you had during those formative times. Think about the stuff you used to do in your neighborhood, the games you played, the times you turned on the fire hydrant in the summer, the bike rides. Think about high school, the crush, the first and last days of school, the bullies you avoided, or the clique you identified with. Think about your early 20’s, your first professional friends, your first drinking buddies, the people you met on the way up or down the corporate ladder. You probably can visualize everyone and everything, for the most part, right?

Write that. It’s the best source of material to draw from. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Familiar Characters. Your friends and family are people you know intimately and thoroughly. You know little details about them that aren’t obvious to people on the street, and you know surprising secrets about them that may change someone’s opinion of them as people. It only makes sense that these people who you know so well would find their way into your writing. You’ve witnessed their development over the years. You are aware of their speech patterns, their love interests, their “tells,” their most embarrassing moments. You may have even had a hand in some of these moments. The odds are that you know these people so well, you can accurately predict how they would react in a situation you entirely made up. If you’re lucky, you might know them well enough that you can call them and ask. Even better, you can take the bits and pieces you like—or hate—most about your best friends and mold them into the characters that best suit your need.

2. Familiar Roles. One person is the leader. One is the joker. One is the responsible guy. One is the troublemaker. One is the thoughtful person. One is the hothead. One is the dreamer. One is the realist. If you have a decent sized group of friends, you probably had some group structure. Either you had one person who was the clear center of the circle, or you had a more open group where everyone did their thing. Whatever that social structure, the resulting dynamic probably still goes on no matter where you and your friends are in life. This dynamic will help the characters that you based on your friends seem more real and grounded, and less isolated.

3. Tell The Stories You Laugh About. Or cry about. Or agreed to keep secret (with permission, of course). Years of familiarity will lead to some entertaining stories, even some inappropriate ones. Every story you tell other people about the dumb stuff you did with your childhood friends in your old neighborhood, or the drinking stories with your work friends, or the college parties, these are stories you can write down and tell the world. You may think that these stories may only be interesting to you and the friends who are in them, but if tales of your antics made even one person laugh, cry, or just pay attention, then there is an audience for it.

4. Honesty. Even if you fudge the names and details a bit to protect the innocent – and guilty – friends you have, the story you tell will be earnest and honest and real because on some level IT HAPPENED. You may embellish a point or two, but you’re not making it up; you witnessed it firsthand, and there’s something powerful in the truth of a story. On top of that, part of the fun is watching your friends figure out which story you’re telling and which character they are in it.

Do any of you use people you know or have known in your fiction? Sound off in the comments!

#2017 #family #friends #characters #groups