Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Keep peace or keep writing?

This is topic Keep peace or keep writing? in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.hatrack.com/ubb/writers/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002070

Posted by Void (Member # 2567) on :

When I was in high school, I created a character who was a 17 year old boy named Ralph Henson who was a real dope. I wrote a few stories about him which people seemed to enjoy reading. I had fun writing Ralph and his escapades, but stopped writing almost completely after high school. Life ensued.

I recently revisited Ralph for Christmas, but felt compelled to make him an adult. I believe this was because I didn't want my own two teenage boys thinking I was writing about them. Ralph really does work better as his original age.

While my wonderful, intelligent boys are nothing like Ralph, they do provide me with fodder for his follies. One of my very worst pet peeves is finding clean clothes in the dirty laundry. I know they're clean because they still have the hangers on them!

Do any of you have the problem of having a character that might be mistaken for someone close to you and that fact inhibits your writing?

Posted by wbriggs (Member # 2267) on :

2 times I approached this:

* I wrote a story in which people might identify "Mother" with _my_ mother, because she was just like her. I decided not to worry about it.

* I wrote a play, and one of the actors in our little production said, "I can't be in a play about a lazy college student named ---. My stepson is a lazy college student named ---!" So we changed the name.

You could just point out to anyone who asks that you invented this character long before you had teenagers -- or that he's you (all my characters are me). Good luck.

Posted by Void (Member # 2567) on :

Ooo, ouch! Yeah, there's quite a bit of me in Ralph, I'm afraid. That's probably why I'm so mean to him in his stories.

Posted by Robyn_Hood (Member # 2083) on :

If you are particularly concerned, talk to your boys about it. If they understand the origins of Ralph, I'm sure the escapades probably won't bother them. They might even be flattered that they have inspired some of the new situations for Ralph to get into.

I almost always base my characters on people around me. It gives me a sort of template and connection with the characters I am writing. I find that characters I create out of thin air don't seem to work as well for me. They tend to fall flat. Real life inspiration makes my characters more real for me and for my readers.

In the past I based a few characters on my two sisters. I even used their names. I talked with them about it and explained who the characters were. They were just excited to be a part of my writing.

Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :

Try writing nonfiction about your family. That's even worse!

Yep, I agree with the above, make them part of it and they'll probably be flattered and engaged.

Posted by Void (Member # 2567) on :

Thanks everyone. I'm probably being mostly paranoid. They do know who Ralph is and how long he's been around.

Posted by RavenStarr (Member # 2327) on :

"Do any of you have the problem of having a character that might be mistaken for someone close to you"

Yes...

"and that fact inhibits your writing?"

No...

As long as I'm not being really mean, they'll be big enough to just learn to laugh at themselves and realize how flattering it is that they inspired me.

[This message has been edited by RavenStarr (edited June 01, 2005).]