Do you ever look at actors or actresses that you see on television, in movies, or even people that you see in day-to-day life at the bank or the market, and think that they would be ideal as the character in a book? Or maybe you watch a program or movie and think that it would make a great book? I find myself doing this frequently. Could this be a sign that I read too much? Maybe I’m thinking too much about what I’ve read for far too long.
I remember watching my favorite movie, The American President with Michael Douglas and Annette Bening, when it first came out and thinking what a great book it would make. Hope Floats is another favorite. Sandra Bullock and Harry Connick, Jr. would be ideal characters to picture while reading. Both are attractive and charming, and the story rich with deep emotion and personal triumphs. I would love to have delved into this story much deeper than the movie did. I’m wondering how often authors get book ideas from something or someone they’ve seen on television or the big screen?
What about real-life scenarios – have you known people whose situations are book-worthy? A few years ago a young, single woman moved onto our court with her newly adopted baby, followed by the adoption of another baby two years later. She then met a guy, fell in love and married, and her new husband adopted her two children as his own. I always thought their story would be especially sweet for a book. Of course, I realize that children in a romance are an instant turn-off for many readers.
When I read Alison Kent’s GOES DOWN EASY I remember thinking that Jordis Unga, a contestant in the Rock Star reality show, would be perfect as the heroine, Perry Brazille. Is anyone familiar with Jane from Rachel Gibson’s SEE JANE SCORE? I have a cousin whose wife fits the bill perfectly. Most dark-haired heroes that I read about are played out (in my mind) by Carter Oosterhouse – he is simply too scrumptious for words – and I picture a younger Richard Dean Anderson for those fairer-haired heroes. No Brad Pitt for me, thank you.
I’ve seen commercials for hair care products where a model’s hair looks just like satin, shiny and shimmering, and I’ve thought *that* is the hair I picture when reading about a hero running his hands through his lover’s hair, perhaps twisting it around his hand while he pulls her head back to trail kisses down her throat. There are magazine ads for hand creams or nail polish with hands so soft and beautiful, looking as though they’ve never done a day of work; *those* are the hands that I picture caressing the face and body of a hero. Or maybe it’s a pair of long, silken legs in hair removal or shaver advertisements that make me think of a heroine’s legs tangling with the hair-roughened, muscled ones of her hero. I suppose if I were a reader of Sports Illustrated or Men’s Health, I would have no problem finding the perfect male legs also.
What about you? Do your thoughts unavoidably turn to reading while you’re watching television or flipping through a magazine? Please don’t tell me I’m the only one!
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Of course you’re not alone. Writer Brain is always on. It just doesn’t sound glamorous when someone asks “Where do you get your ideas?” and you respond “Well, I saw this Nair commercial…”
Sometimes, an actress or model will draw my attention because she doesn’t look like everyone else and I could see her in a book. For example, America Ferreira (when she’s not Ugly Betty) and Kate Winslett have come to mind when I’m reading because they are both lovely, curvaceous women who don’t look like they need to eat, and I could picture them as characters in a romance. And Kyra Sedgewick plays a wonderfully spirited and intelligent role on “The Closer” and I could easily imagine her as a fun, likable heroine who gives the hero a run for his money. Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow would make a fabulous kick-ass heroine because she’s tough but also someone you could picture as a friend. And the other day I was flipping through the Victoria’s Secret catalog and thought the models look like something out of an erotic romance.
So yeah, it does happen occasionally.
LOL! What Kerry said — of course we do!
There are characters and settings and plots and gimmicks and goals and conflicts all over the place. Pieces of stories litter the ground; it’s just a matter of gathering up the most intriguing chunks and figuring out which ones to put together and how.
Heck, I have a hard time thinking about any two gorgeous guys without having romantic and/or erotic story scenarios pop into my head. (Sorry, I write m/m.
) Once you get into the habit, stories just appear out of the ether and attractive people of your chosen gender make great story seeds.
Angie
I loved this blog and am so glad to see that I’m not the only one that is seeing people as book characters. I don’t want to write, I just want to read but it doesn’t stop that instant, “oh they would make a great hero/heroine”!
There have been many times that I have heard an accent, got a glimpse of a handsome man or pretty woman and thought, wow, perfect character.
A lot of people are able to say I want this actor/actress to be this character. I’m horrible at that. lol But the random thoughts and people I see can definitely inspire me.
OH yeah I do it. I picture certain people in stories all the time. Or a scene will remind me of a movie and then the character in the book will resemble that person in my mind.
Men’s Health is full of great images.
I clipped a picture I used for the hero of one of my stories from a Timex ad in Men’s Health. I should probably buy magazines more often for the visuals.
I’m taking a citizens fire fighting class and the battalion chief would make a great character. He’s funny, cute, nice, his father is really sick, and he had hero potential. So I wouldn’t take every thing about him, just bits of her personality.
That’s one of the reasons why I love public transit.
Lots of opps there to steal characters, looks, mannerisms and speech patterns.
I’m constantly making up stories about people in my head, continuing conversations I overhear, pairing two strangers up on the bus.
When you have an imagination,
you’re never bored.
I have never thought about it unless maybe I see a really good looking guy and then picture him as a hero in a book I have read. Now I will probably be looking out more for this now that I have read this..:smile:
Not the only one at all. I do something similar to that, but I usually picture certain actors as the hero when I read. Usually someone like Clive Owen, Gerard Butler or Ioan Graffud.
Definitely excellent hero types for the historicals I’m obsessed with.
Yes, when I see a pictures of actors and actresses, I file them away for future book ideas. The problem is, once I use an actor as a muse, I can’t seem to use them again. I’m now running out of muses!
I also agree with what Sara said. There are people I meet who possess a heroic quality that I think would be great in a book, whether it’s a firefighter or a daughter taking care of an invalid parent.
I had a customer in the bookstore whose eyes were like blue faceted crystals. I loved to just stare at her eyes, they were so beautiful. (Fortunately, she came in often enough that we were friendly and she let me without seeming like I was a crazy person.) When somebody tries to describe sparkly blue eyes, I always think of hers.
Laurie, I totally agree with the Richard Dean Anderson thing.
I do the opposite. When I’m reading, I often think of tv or movie stars …
I don’t usually have a real-life person or character in mind when I’m writing, but often after I’m long done with a book, I’ll see a show or ad and think, “Wait! That’s my hero!” or “Oh, he would be perfect as my villain.”
If Johnny Depp is reading this blog, I have a perfect villain for you . . .
Allison, if Johnny Depp is reading this blog, he’s welcome to guest blog. I’d even give up my blogging slot on the schedule.
Oh, the traffic RTB would get then… (dreamy)
I can relate to what everyone’s said, especially the Writer Brain reference! My search engine is always running and I see characters and situations for my books everywhere.
I just saw an ad in Esquire for the most gorgeous, soulful, sexy guy, and thought, darn there’s Rick Bayless, my hero. However, I’ve already written the book and Rick has different hair and different eyes, so if I make the change, I’m going to have to do some tweaking.
Great blog, Laurie!
Suzanne
What a fun blog topic! Since I am a romance reader not a writer, I confess I have bee thinking of the other side of your question. I imagine seeing some of my favorite romantic suspense on film. I imagine Suzanne Forster’s The Arrangement in that classic black and white directed by Alfred Hitchcock. So many others too. How would Anne Stuart’s novels play out–could anyone portray that kind of suspense visually as well as she does with the written word? Could anyone make the landscape a film character like Rita Herron does? I imagine these scenarios as I read and when I finish a book even more so. I guess you can tell I like suspense on film but no one can do suspense like romance authors because somehow the films just miss what I love so much in the Romantic Suspense authors.
But now that you mention it, I have been watching a lot of the old black and white Perry Mason shows. I wasn’t born when they came out and was too young when I saw the reruns to really understand the subtle aspects. There is that scene at the beginning of each episode when Perry Mason hands the judge a paper, gets it back, and then has these big eyes and smile. Would I like to see that in a hero! That man has the most beautiful eyelashes that could make anyone melt. And then Della Street as a heroine. Talk about one sassy, smart heroine. I’d love to see more heroines with her personality. I am several DVDs into the series and I never quite understood some of the more risque moments. Would I love to see those moments play out in a romance.
Actually, there’s been news stories up here in Canada recently about a dead baby found in an attic remodel, wrapped in a newspaper from 1925. Listening to the story of the people living in the house at the time, I can’t help feeling that it reads like the plot of a fantastic, bitter-sweet historical/mystery.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/kintyre/
Heck, everything’s grist for the mill, are you kidding? Real people, real stories, an actor’s interpretation of a character — I never know when something slithering around in my consciousness will pop into my head as I’m working on a story.
But as for readers not liking children in their romances — not true for category readers! My highest selling romances have almost always had preggo heroines or babies on the covers.
And they sure seem to pop up in a lot of single title books, too. SEP, Jenny Crusie, Nora Roberts, Rachel Gibson — they’ve all used kids in their books from time to time. Yes, I know there are readers who don’t want to read about kids, just as there are readers who don’t want to read about any story element you could name. That doesn’t mean a story idea involving children (I think the one you described is terrific!) is unworkable — just as with anything else, it simply needs to find its market.
Hey, Laurie! Cool topic, again… You know how much I love to cast my stories, so yes, most emphatically yes, I do envision heroes and heroines when I see pictures in magazines, on TV, or on the street. If someone has an interesting look, it lingers, and creative and imaginative minds always take those images with them. Or, the face triggers a memory of something that seems to be so perfect you wonder if someone else saw the same thing you did!
Some faces “speak” and others don’t, but there’s always a story to be seen, told, or remembered with a glance at the people around us. I hope it never changes!! It certainly keeps life interesting, and the stories flowing….
Great discussion! Thanks to everyone who stopped by and left a comment! I’ve never told anyone before about the things that go through my mind regarding book characters and I worried that I might be a little pathetic. I’m glad to have so much great company on this one!
I also see people, regular or famous, and think character. I just can’t shut that part of my brain off. I keep a file of pictures that I find and bookmarks on my computer for future books. And I really do need that visual image. Just triggers something with the writing for me.
I usually picture certain actors as the hero when I read. Usually someone like Clive Owen, Gerard Butler or Ioan Gruffud.
Em, Lisa, we need to sort out their schedule, because I need the guys in A Land Unconquered.
Great topic Laurie!
Thanks for the yummy thought, Angie! Yes indeed! I love rough and rugged men and seeing them strikes every cord of the writers mind! Over and over again! 
I was almost going to appologize for being late in commenting, but now Im glad I didnt because the thought of being wedged between Richard Dean Anderson and Tom Sellick about does it for me!