"Hey... Is That Character Me?” – The Secret Lives of Fictional People

Let’s get one thing out of the way: any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. This is the sacred disclaimer of fiction writers everywhere, as we hit “publish” and brace for impact.

Because here’s the truth: writers are people-watchers. We steal pieces of people to create our characters - sometimes subtly, and sometimes with all the finesse of a neon sign flashing “THIS IS YOU.” It might be the way someone laughs, the way they speak, or their personality. Nothing is truly safe. Nothing is truly original.

I’ll admit it: I love the little secrets I carry around, knowing that I’ve smuggled bits of real people into my stories without them ever knowing. It’s sneaky, it’s fun and yes, it’s maybe a little creepy. But in the best possible way.

I based this character's appearance upon one of my Year 9 students. I showed him & he was annoyed his mullet didn't look as good as it did in real life.

In all of my stories, every single character is based on someone I’ve known. Sometimes it’s just a name. Sometimes it’s appearance or personality. Sometimes it’s a stitched-together blend of a few different people, morphing into one fictional being. It doesn’t matter. Every one of my characters is grounded in someone real.

Will they recognise themselves? Maybe. Has anyone asked yet? No! How disappointing, right?

I know there are people in my life who haven’t read my stories simply because they haven’t found themselves in the pages. I’m still waiting for the question all writers' dread and delight in:

“Hey… is that character… me?”

I’m not sure I’ll always tell the truth, because here’s the thing: writing characters based on people you know is risky business. It’s like walking a tightrope made of spaghetti over a pit of emotional consequences. But it’s also kind of wonderful. Most of the time, what we’re really writing is a love letter in disguise.

If you’ve found your way into a writer’s story, you’ve made an impression. You’re memorable. You’ve taken up residence in the messy, magical corners of a writer’s imagination and been immortalised on the page.

You may never know it. Or maybe you will.

But if you do read something one day and think, “Hang on a second…”

Well, don’t worry.

That character? Totally fictional. Completely made up.

(Unless you liked them. In which case, yes. It’s absolutely you.)