Where My Characters Come From (Hint: They’re Not Always Who You Expect)
Writers are often asked: “Where do your characters come from?”
The short answer: everywhere.
The long answer: buckle up.
Some characters arrive fully formed, bold enough to barge into my imagination without knocking. Others whisper from the shadows, waiting for me to pay attention.
Many come from the intersection of what I observe and what I feel. The woman in the café with the too-bright smile, the man at the grocery store who avoids eye contact, the friend who said one sentence that never left me.
I don’t write people I know.
I write the psychology behind people I know…
And those I don’t know.
The curiosity that fuels my work comes from a lifelong fascination with:
- Why people break their own hearts
- Why the truth is so hard to tell
- How someone can appear powerful while feeling invisible
- What pushes a person over the edge and what pulls them back
Characters are mirrors. Sometimes they reveal what we think we’ve hidden from ourselves.
