1. Are your characters inspired by people you either know in real life or have watched in virtual form?

2. Specifically, do you ever closely watch performances or other appearances of actors and steal aspects of the looks and mannerisms of certain ones?

3. Has anyone ever read one of your stories and recognized themselves or anyone else?

4. If a story owed a lot to someone (presumably in a GOOD way) like if a story was inspired by your favorite actor and you had a chance to share that with him or her, would you?

5. Have you ever heard of any writer telling an actor that a work was inspired by them, and, if so, how did the actor respond?

2. Looks and mannerisms in prose? Looks, no. It's almost always impossible to communicate these. Whereas a person in real life or an actor on the screen can communicate fear and anger through facial expressions, you can't do that effectively in a story. You have to give the reader this information in a different way -- usually through telling them (oh, the horrors) or by getting into their mind.

Mannerisms, yes -- I steal mannerisms all the time. Name a writer who doesn't?

3. No.

4. Depends on how rich and famous I was. If I were a Stephen King or John Grisham or Tom Clancy, then yes, I would b/c it wouldn't matter. But if I were only a mid-list writer, I'd keep my mouth shut b/c it would look as if I were some stupid fanboy trying to get attention that wasn't merited.

5. No.

Sometimes. On one level, I can only write a lot about people I understand, so main characters who get a lot of page time tend to have personalities that I can related to. Some of them end up a lot like me (except in circumstances I would hope never, ever to find myself in and the improbable amounts of luck that all novel MCs have). For other or minor characters, I often sabotage mannerisms from my friends and families and assign them to a character. It serves as a good anchor to help that character be a rounded, unique individual that doesn't meld into the other characters of the book.

2. Specifically, do you ever closely watch performances or other appearances of actors and steal aspects of the looks and mannerisms of certain ones?

No, not consciously. If I ever try to write the devil, though, it will be hard for me to get Al Pacino's performance in The Devil's Advocate out of my head.

3. Has anyone ever read one of your stories and recognized themselves or anyone else?

Yes.

4. If a story owed a lot to someone (presumably in a GOOD way) like if a story was inspired by your favorite actor and you had a chance to share that with him or her, would you?

Unlikely.

5. Have you ever heard of any writer telling an actor that a work was inspired by them, and, if so, how did the actor respond?

Sometimes I'll write a character and it'll remind me of someone I know, or of an actor/actress, and then I'll be able to build from there.

Sometimes if I can find an actor/actress to embody the person I've imagined, I'll keep them in mind as a mental picture.

I draw inspiration from anything that sparks an idea. The witchqueen and princess in Willow actually crystallized in my mind as I watched that movie and went in a specific direction from the portrayal there even while I sat there. That story ended up being part of a much bigger picture, so I doubt anyone would recognize it (except for the witchqueen connection) but I would admit it to anyone. I doubt the actresses and film-makers would care, though. I'm sure they hear that a lot, too...

Rhythms of speech certainly I pick up. Gestures and physical expressions, as mentioned, don't necessarily translate to good prose, but I pick up verbal habits all the time. Personally and for characters.

Sometimes, some aspect of a character will be based on someone I've known or someone I've watched on TV or in a film. Usually it's the physical form of the person that resembles the person I'm working on, so the part in my story becomes "cast" by that person (sort of), which makes it easier for me to be more expressive with their mannerisms and so on. For instance, in my novel "Dawn of the Two," my character Ethan's personality was originally based on my husband. Ethan bears a physical resemblance to a man who, like Ethan and my hubby, is quiet, responsible, determined and shy, and who also clenches his teeth so his jaw muscle works rather prominently when he's stressed. I don't make a big deal of this, but from time to time in my novel, Ethan's brother notices the muscle in Ethan's jaw working, which is the only sign he gives that he's tense. If I hadn't "cast" this person in Ethan's role, I would've missed having that mannerism as one of Ethan's characteristics. Sometimes the person "cast" in the role is an actor, sometimes someone I've observed somewhere (I love to people-watch at the mall, for instance). I try to avoid using family and friends as the basis for characters, except for certain personality traits, but nobody would ever know who I based those traits on, the way I work them into the characters.

Most of my characters also have aspects of my own personality in them, but for the bad guys, I do psychological research on mentally disturbed people, serial killers, etc., and use that to create their backstory and personality.

2. Specifically, do you ever closely watch performances or other appearances of actors and steal aspects of the looks and mannerisms of certain ones?

Sometimes - see above. But only if the actor fits the character I've already created in my head. If he doesn't resemble the character in body type but does resemble him in personality, I might use a quirk of his personality in my character, although my character will look completely different from this guy. If I can find an actor who has both the look and personality that fits the character I've ALREADY CREATED, then that actor may be the inspiration for that character's way of moving, speaking, etc. I don't use personal friends or family members as the "model" for any characters except for once when I used my deceased father as the inspiration for a character - and my father wouldn't have minded. I don't want to cause problems with my friends and family! I live on a farm and don't have a lot of interaction with other people like those who work in an office or are in school do, so I take my inspirations where I can find them.

3. Has anyone ever read one of your stories and recognized themselves or anyone else?

No.

4. If a story owed a lot to someone (presumably in a GOOD way) like if a story was inspired by your favorite actor and you had a chance to share that with him or her, would you?

No. Well, if he'd read it, liked it and made some comment that invited such a revelation from me, maybe. But I'd have to be pretty darned certain of a good response from him (or her).

5. Have you ever heard of any writer telling an actor that a work was inspired by them, and, if so, how did the actor respond?

I know an actor for whom someone wrote a screenplay with him in mind as the star. It wasn't a huge hit, but he was honored that the screenplay was written for him and he did star in it (the film was "Scandalous" and the actor is Robert Hays).

She was late, her long blond stresses bounced rhythmically on her shoulders as she stormed through the concourse dragging a small carry-on like a reluctant child. Petite and determined in a cute sort of way wearing a dark pant suit over a white blouse, high heels drumming ominously as she strode toward the closing gate. Hammer shoes, I thought.