Does anyone else on here usually take character traits from someone you know personally and use them characteristics in their stories? Most of the time lately when I'm out with friends or family, the time has been spent less listening and more figuring out what that person is all about and actually seeing how I'd write about those traits in a story. In the end, it helps with my writing IMO.
i'd bet most writers of fiction do that... it's the natural thing for a writer to do, after all... i think it's a given that we all bring our experiences and those we know and observe into play, when developing our plots and our characters...
I definitely take my friends and use them in stories. But not in fanwanky ways- I never show it to them, so it's not like I'm writing them in to please them. In fact, since I generally write humorous stories, I kind of use all their worst qualities, since those tend to be their funniest. (Perfectionism, quick tempers, zen-ness, etcetera.) I'd say it helps with my writing, as long as you don't base it too much off of them. Real-people characters can be very boring. You have to exaggerate everything.
Oh man..."fanwanky". I laughed so hard. On to the issue at hand. I'm pretty sure every writer bases characters off people who have influenced them in some way. One character may represent many of the people you know at the same time. Its not always a perfect translation.
