But it
got me thinking about the way I’ve cannibalized 34 years’ worth of other
people’s memories, discussions, secrets and stories to populate my books with
authentic moments and quirks. It’s never been conscious… in virtually every
case, they’ve slipped in there before I even realized it, and I’ve only
realized upon re-reading my writing that a particular idea was borne out of
something specific I experienced with somebody in real life. Just the other day
I sketched a couple lines about a character in my work-in-progress, and then
smiled, because I recognized him. I’d unconsciously given him a trait that
amused me about somebody I dated ten (holy shit) years ago, and have scarcely
spoken to since.
Now, to
be clear—I didn’t “put” my ex in my book. I’ve never just picked somebody up
and lifted them, like one of those fairground stuffed animal grabbing machines,
out of the crowded bullpen of my memory and dropped that person into a story. What’s
more challenging, and more rewarding, and ultimately way more fun, is to create
new characters that are shaded with the kind of quirks that real people have,
the stupid or beautiful or generous things that real people say and do. Any
time that one of these is based in real experience, what I love to do is shift
it… spin it the opposite way, pull it in a different direction, drop it into an
unrelated context. Otherwise, it feels like cheating.
So, for anybody reading this who happens to know me, here is
what I can promise: I will never put you, whole and recognizable, into a story.
But that nervous tic of yours, your favorite swear word, that story you told me
about your mother-in-law—well. I’m sorry, and I love you, but those are fair
game.
