12:31 PM Julie Cross: okay, so one of our test readers said something on twitter (I just tried to find the tweet and I can't!) but it was along the lines of Mark = Alex, right?
you know people are going to assume Alex's character is based on you...
12:32 PM me: @Juliecross1980 Is it wrong that I see @MarkTPerini as Alex in Halfway Perfect? Is that what's supposed to happen? Haha!
That's the tweet right?
12:35 PM Alex is a fictional character that we both made up...but I think there are elements of myself within Alex's character that came out in the writing process...I would stop and think while writing what would I do in this situation and then how would Alex handle it...So there is a bit of mapping I would say...My reactions/intuitions mapped over a character...
12:37 PM Julie Cross: see...I don't have this problem too much because Jackson is a guy and people know that's not based on me, but I have gotten comments like, "You're Holly, right?"
12:38 PM me: Yeah I could see some similarities there for sure...
I think that's natural...to have a little bit of you come through in your characters
12:39 PM I think that's what makes them feel real
Julie Cross: But I'm really NOT Holly. Not even close. She's built based on what the plot needed. Why is it so hard for people to believe that authors truly make up someone?
12:40 PM writing based on real person is confining in a way.
12:41 PM me: Of course I know that but most people that read the book don't know you and don't know anything about you...They don't know that you have a vivid imagination...
12:42 PM Also I think it's natural for people to want to grab onto something that's real...That's why the most popular photo's in people magazine are stars doing normal stuff...Eating burgers, taking out the garbage...It makes them relatable I think there is a similar element here...
12:43 PM Julie Cross: so what you're saying is deep down, people want me to be Holly?
and they will want you to be like Alex?
12:44 PM me: Yeah because we are real life people it's a lot easier to relate to someone that's real than someone that's not
Is that crazy?
12:45 PM Julie Cross: I think you're right. I just hadn't thought about it that way. I've always been so quick to deny the accusations of my similarities to any characters.
12:46 PM the way I see it, would I want to hike up Mt. Everest with a bag of supplies that I've always had and wasn't specifically created for this trip or do I want to go shopping at the Everest store and get just the right stuff to survive?
12:47 PM that's why making up people is easier
12:48 PM me: Absolutely I'm on board with that...Although Alex and I have some similarities we are also very different and it had to be that way for the story and for the characters we crafted...We crafted Alex (and all the characters) out of nothing...
12:49 PM It
would be so much harder to have something character fully constructed beforehand
12:50 PM Julie Cross: totally.
12:51 PM me: but the cool part is it also helps you because now Alex and Eve feel like a living and breathing entity so you know what they would do in any situation put before them and that helps you write the story...
12:52 PM Julie Cross: yeah, that is crucial. But it's the opposite of what people assume. My characters aren't becoming me, I'm becoming them.
on the page, not in real life...lol...won't be time traveling or heading to a fashion shoot anytime soon
12:53 PM me: hahahah
no your completely right although I wouldn't mind doing some of the jobs Alex does!
12:56 PM Julie Cross: would you keep up a fake relationship with a teeny bopper for a big gig?
me: No absolutely not...not worth my pride/morality
12:57 PM Julie Cross: so that's difference #1 between you and Alex What do you think? Do you assume book characters are based on people the author actually knows? Would you like them to be? --JC
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