When you picture someone you love, what do you see? Do you envision what they’re wearing — clothing, jewelry, or accessories? If I were to guess, I’d say you probably picture their eyes, their smile … the essence of who they are.
As the owner of a consultancy business that focuses on skincare and makeup, I know this very well – it’s our faces that our friends and loved ones remember first, the beauty from within that we display. I love to help women enhance their beauty; it brings me joy.
KIND OF LIKE THE SIMS, BUT NOT REALLY.
What about fictional characters that you get to know through reading? How do you see them?
Did you ever play the video game, The Sims? I remember when The Sims first came out, roughly 25 years ago. I don’t know which I loved most, designing the people or designing their houses and neighborhoods. Both challenges were so much fun! When I began to write “I Knew Men,” deciding what each character looked like was a little like designing Sims characters. I created people from thin air. To this day, I can’t tell you what my characters truly look like. I see them from their insides. The descriptions I include simply help to paint a picture.
My lead character, Anna, was made a brunette, like her Greek mom, Athena. When I think of Greek women, I picture friends from my church with their beautiful dark hair. To some extent, Anna was also inspired by our youngest daughter, Isabelle, who is a brunette with bright blue eyes and freckled skin; the only one of our four with the tanned polka-dots. Does Anna look like Isabelle’s twin? No, I honestly don’t know what Anna looks like; I only know that several men in the story find her to be irresistible.
As a reader, however you envision each of the characters will be absolutely right. From a crinkly-faced Greek yiayia, to a sexy ex-wife, small descriptions help your imagination fill in the blanks. The rest is up to you. Isn’t that the fun of reading fiction?
FICTION MEETS REALITY
There is one exception. The Newman brothers are inspired by actual people — idols from my 1970s dream dramas that got me going on my story. If you are also their fan, it won’t take you long to figure out the source of my inspiration. My Newman real-life counterparts provided a great foundation on which to build my fictional story. I owe a lot to them. Still, when I think about my guys: Chris, Dave, Chuck, and Ben, the real-life guys who inspired their creation were quickly set aside as the story took on a life of its own.
And the following instance where fiction meets reality just plain amazes me: our daughter Isabelle got over her shyness and revealed herself to be a talented singer during high school, 10 years ago. The amazing thing is that my fictional Anna’s story was written four to five years before our daughter found the courage to reveal her singing talents to anyone, including me.
Given what Anna has to go through, I’m glad the “fiction meets reality” started and ended with their shared secret singing talents and nothing more. Isabelle is our real-life songbird — without Anna’s fantastic drama!