Do I base my characters on real people?

Or: Can you spot yourself in my books?

People often ask where I get the ideas for my characters from.
And by ‘ask’, I mean they casually top up my wine and say something along the lines of… ‘That woman in the book - you know, the annoying one? Was she based on someone you know?’

To which I reply, ‘No, of course not.’
Because I’m not an idiot.

But the other day, I posted a photo of a sign on Instagram - a gift from a lovely friend - that says:
Careful, or you’ll end up in my novel.
And I think it’s time to come clean.

Because, er… yes. Obviously.
I do base some characters on real people.

Sometimes it’s just a saying, or the way someone moves their hands when they talk, that sneaks its way into a character. Other times it’s a situation I’ve read about, or something I’ve overheard while pretending not to listen. But occasionally - yes - I write a character who’s (heavily loosely) based on a particular person.

Not entirely, of course. I’m not following strangers down the street muttering, ‘Excellent foreshadowing. Awful shoes.’ But I do pull out certain factors. Because while I’ve been lucky to meet some wonderful people over the years, I’ve also met some total prats.

And though I tend to struggle with big personalities - both enduring them and resisting the urge to roll my eyes and pour a glass of Chicken Wine at 9:30am - I’ve come to see them as the gift that keeps on giving.

So, I use them to my advantage.
Because some people are very generous.

Whether it’s how they talk to waiting staff, storm into a room, or chair a meeting like they’re on a reality show, I make a mental note and think: Ooh, you’re going to be useful.

But it’s not just the prats I remember.

Some characters are based - loosely, lovingly - on the people who show up at just the right moment.
The friend who tolerates five-minute voice notes.
The stranger who compliments another stranger’s shoes.
The woman across the coffee shop who caught my eye while someone else was kicking off about something insignificant.

They slip into my stories too - they anchor the chaos, and become the characters people root for - the ones they want to be friends with.

People are endlessly fascinating.
Unexpected. Kind. Oddly brilliant.
Sometimes exhausting. Often annoying.
Always interesting.

And because of that, I keep a little folder on my laptop. It’s filled with documents subtly named things like:

• Loud and Thoughtless (Restaurant)

• Social Media Unicorn

• Dickhead from C’s work

• Roald Dahl – Kindness Shines Out

Each entry includes where I saw or heard about them, and a note on what made them memorable. What did they do? Were they clueless? The human equivalent of a steamroller? Was it something about their appearance, something they said?

And yes - when it comes to actually writing them into a story, I have to be careful to use just enough artistic licence that they don’t recognise themselves.

Not because I’m worried they will - the good ones, the kind, self-aware, brilliantly flawed humans - tend to be too humble for that. And the others? I don’t think they’d recognise themselves either. Plonkers are not renowned for their self-awareness, are they?

But also, some people are so full-on, so wildly unaware, that I end up having to tone them down. (It’s always the real ones who seem the least believable.)

So yes, I base my characters on real people.
I collect personalities the way Carrie Bradshaw collected shoes.
Quietly. Obsessively.

Want to find out more?
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