Characteristics of Characters - Romance Writers Weekly #lovewritechat

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Xio Axelrod says:

Readers always ask "How much of yourself do you lend to your characters?" Here's your chance to answer. What traits do your characters have that come from you? And if not you, someone in your life.

If you joined me from Leslie Hachtel, welcome. And I apologize right now for the vagueness of my post today - my head is stuffed from a cold, and I'm not thinking very clearly. But I didn't want to miss out on the this week's hop, so I did my best.

I think it’s impossible for any writer NOT to include a little bit of themselves in every character they write. Writers are, after all, only one person (although most of us have a lot of voices inside our heads!). So no matter how hard we try, bits of our personalities have to creep in.

I’m a “tell-it-like-it-is” type of person. I don’t suffer fools gladly and I employ the use of sarcasm on a regular basis. Most of my characters have these traits in some degree or other. My meekest heroine, Abigail from NO LIFE BUT THIS, has hidden those feelings for most of her life, and it was fun to write about her breaking out of those habits.

Of course, as a romance writer, I write from the male point-of-view as well. I watch my husband, father, brother-in-laws, and try to really see how they react in certain situations. Again, it’s not that I am putting those people in the book. I am simply using them as a model on how my character should act.

I also use real-life experiences in my stories. CHEF D’AMOUR takes place on the set of a romance reality TV show. While I have never worked on a show exactly like that, I have worked in television production for more than 25 years, so have a good grasp on what goes on behind-the-scenes.

How much of herself does J.J. Devine put into her stories? She’s your next stop on the blog hop!