My best friend --- and "Big Brother" --- Shaun COMPLETELY inspired Everett. At first it was subconsciously. One day when I was over at his house, we were talking about my story and I started babbling on about Everett. In the middle of it, I halted and slowly looked over at my fictional Everett come to life and let him know. Ever since then, I've consulted him about almost everything I do for Everett. And he has come up with a bunch of ideas for him. Most of the really funny quotes you find in the story are actually things that he said. I'll post some of them later. Every single thing besides the looks are Shaun's (though he does have somewhat blackish hair that's floppy.....), and the personality fits. And I mean fits. His relation to all the characters is Shaun's too (except for Rosette, since no one really inspired her). Probably one of the biggest characteristics that link Everett and Shuan together is the spontaneity of both. They both are so random and annoying that Everett truly comes alive with the similiarity. The only times you ever see Everett with any emotion other than randomness is briefly when he is "protecting" --- or lack of --- Rosette and when he has to kill his best friend. Any another thing that is different from Shaun, is the fact that Everett has to lighten up hard times as a defense. Shaun is nothing like that --- he's somewhat serious during hard times, but still manages to crack a few jokes while he's at it.
So yeah, that's Everett for you.
Ok, second of all, Rosette Willows. She is completely my own character from a piece of my imagination, but some facets of her character reflect me.
Like, for example:
" “Well,” I explained to myself, “dreams are just like that sometimes. They're so life-like you swear that it actually happened. And sometimes, you even think of them as memories and not dreams.” I rambled on, still checking myself in the mirror, as I convinced myself more and more that it was nothing else until I had but one doubt in my mind. "
That is sooooo me. I talk to myself without thinking and explain things to myself like that all the time. It's slightly hilarious.
Another point that reflects me is her humor-laced sarcasm and cynical outlook. I tend to use sarcasm ALOT. It's like a second language to me. So, in that side of her persona, there's definitely some me.
A little bit of me usually leaks out onto my characters anytime. So there you go!
I'm trying to make a main character that is completely different from me, but I don't think I'll be able to pull it off but some of the sarcasm will eventually rear it's ugly head at some point...
First of all, one of my close friends Chris inspired the character Riley. But don't get the wrong idea, Rosette is not me. Maybe a few points of her multi-faceted personality (as in the cynical outlook and laced-with-humor sarcasm) are mine, but that's about it. As for Riley, he is exactly like Chris. From the ". . . pretty greenish eyes . . . that you knew changed from blue, to hazel, to green, and back again; because [you] could see all those colors in his eyes, but only faintly." to the ". . . nappy brunette hair [that] hung slightly over his face, almost a bed-headish mess. And . . . still looked good.". It's all Chris. His shy personality and caring tendency are right down to the dot, also. But that's about it. So, no wrong impressions, no misconstruing. Absolutely no life experiences influenced any events between them.
So, yeah, Riley's real alright.
Very real.