Yesterday it was time for me to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew my driver’s license (fun-fun!)
For anyone not living in the States, just imagine your most-un-favorite bland, government-related building. Someplace sort of like the one in the picture above.
With lines like this: 
That would be what a Department of Motor Vehicle office in the US is like.
It was pouring a cold rain yesterday. The DMV office had moved in the last couple of months, and they’d accidentally (I think) provided me with the wrong directions. I took a left instead of a right and ended up in a very bizarre location. Since I figured the DMV would be at a bizarre location, I spent some time looking for it.
I finally figured out they’d given me wrong directions and found the office (you had to make a U-turn to even get in there.) Very tricky!
Sometimes you get warm, funny, helpful people at the DMV—I’ve seen them there in years past. Most unfortunately, however, those particular people were not staffing this particular DMV. My umbrella broke on the way in and I was sopping. Most of the people in the waiting room were sopping wet, too. The wait escalated. I pulled out my Kindle. No one in the room looked very amused.
Suddenly, there was a primal howling that broke up the nearly complete silence in the soulless, bureaucratic room. It was a blowsy woman who was pitching a hissy fit. “The computers is down (sic)!!!” she stormed up to inform our waiting room, face red, arms waving. She looked a little like she should have been on the cast of a Southern version of Les Misérables.
Apparently she was trying to summon an insurrection of some kind. It was cold and wet, we were in a dreary place, the wait was long, the staff was surly—and the computers were down, meaning that our unpleasant experience was all for nothing. It wasn’t a terrible idea.
However, considering the fact that there were armed highway patrolmen right there in the building, no one seemed inclined to take her up on it.
But this was when things got interesting at the DMV for me. Because she was one of my characters. Just a secondary one, but she fit the character to a T. Especially when she was all riled up like that. If I’d dared, I’d have taken her picture with my cell phone. But—I didn’t. Otherwise, there might have to be a new mystery written—Murder at the DMV. With me as the victim. :)
The nice thing was, though, is that now I had a picture of her in my head and I could describe her more easily. Seeing someone or something makes it a ton easier for me to describe. It made the whole trip to the DMV worth it. Oh…and the computers finally came back up. I decided to sit there and wait it out. So now I’m good until 2019 (except when I take my son there for his license in the next couple of years.)
Of course, I don’t always come across my characters in such a serendipitous way. Sometimes I go actively looking for them.
Places, besides the DMV, where I’ve found characters:
Swanky characters—upscale coffee shops in nice areas
Suspicious types—the evening news (local, not national)
Unusual characters—amusement parks, circuses, and fairs (I take my kids and a notebook)
Another useful tool for finding images of your characters is Google Images (I like to put the safe search option on to keep from stumbling into areas of the internet where I’d rather not venture.)
With Google Images, you can search for a specific type of image (cowboys, ballerinas, football players) or just sort of wander around until specific images catch your eye.
Do you need images of your characters to better describe them? How do you find them?
Most of my characters come from my imagination, however…one very important character came from a trip to the mall. Though I never saw his face, the view of him from the back as he walked away… the way he moved and carried himself…wow. The funny thing is, I had already been trying to imagine this guy in order to describe him…and one day while in the midst of writing, that memory came flying back and I thought, “Yes! That’s him!”
After that, describing him came so much easier.
Sharon :)
I do a lot of composite images, imagining this feature from one person mixed with that feature from another. That way I get to make up my own character and still have a physical visual to go by.
I ran across one of my characters at the movie theater. He was working behind the counter and looked exactly like a character I’d been writing that works in bar. I looked at his name tag, and he even had the same name.
It took everything I had not to jump up and down and yell, “Look, one of my characters! Right here!”
The U-turn to get in to the DMV office is probably part of the license-renewal test >:D
Interesting points you bring up. Sometimes I see people, live or pictures on the internet, that fit perfectly for a character.
I think it’s kind of the same when you see a movie based on a book. The actors in the movie usually don’t fit with your own image of the characters
Cold As Heaven
Hi Elizabeth .. ghastly experience – however with a rewarding idea .. I think I might act differently at times perhaps .. now I know people might turn me into a character! No – I don’t do hissing fits .. I can see your take-aways from being out and about .. thanks a ‘fun’ read .. Cheers Hilary
Elizabeth – Sounds like an absolutely disastrous trip to the DMV! Ick!!!! But I am glad you got a good visual of your character. I do a lot of people-watching for just that reason. I see my characters at the local mall and the local Wal Mart. I also love people-watching at my bank. You just see people from all sorts of backgrounds behaving in all sorts of different ways at those places.
Sharon–Do you think it made a big difference that you were actively trying to find ways to describe the character? I think that the more I *think* about writing during the day, the more inspiration I get. So maybe you were open to see the character and he appeared?
Linda–Now that is a great idea! I’ve got some old photo editing software..I’ll have to play around with that. Because sometimes I’ll have a character who is sort of a Helen Mirren, but sort of a Lesley Stall from 60 Minutes, too. Interesting to do a morph.
Suzi–Even the same *name*? That’s really too cool! No wonder you were tempted to point him out! I think I’d have had to take my picture with him. And embarrass my teenager (who is embarrassed by just about everything I do now anyway!)
Cold As Heaven–They should have a driving examiner out there checking the U-turn as people come in!
I usually DO take pictures with my cell phone. Most of the time no one notices what I’m doing. But the DMV office was SO quiet and she was so violent-looking that I was scared to this time. I have a little folder on my computer with pictures of random bystanders in it. :)
Movies usually disappoint me, as far as casting for characters I’ve read. In fact, it’s usually so tough for me to get past it that I won’t see the movie at all.
Hilary–It’s something to think about, isn’t it? What if there is *another* writer in the crowd, taking notes on *me?* Keeps me from having hissy fits, just thinking about it. :)
I constantly try to figure out what my characters look like to help me describe them and their behaviours more naturally. Usually I use an actor or other celebrity as a basis, but you’d be surprised how hard it can be finding someone who’s “just right.”
I think I’ll have to start getting back into people-watching after reading this.
I have found it helpful to find pictures on the net, lovely anonymous people who fit the pictures in my head. I do the same search for settings as I find it much easier to describe an actual picture (with certain changes, of course) than making it all up.
LOL!
I think it takes time to grown into ´a real character´ so on the whole the teachers´ staff room is more inspiring than the classrooms. Most 17-year-old students try to be like everybody else – teachers have given that up long ago or realized that students don´t mind originals :D
Shops are also good, and as you indicate, especially whenever something unusual happens. Power cuts, spilled milk etc.
Elizabeth,
To answer your question, sort of…but the order of events went like this:
I had a fantastically realistic dream about a fight scene, and in the dream all I saw of my “man” was his feet as they chased someone else up some stairs…
(there was more prior to the fight scene that had to do with vampires)
Anyway, I started writing that next morning…I had to write!
About three days into the writing, I remembered the guy at the mall, (having seen him a few months prior to the dream!) and that’s when I realized HE was the guy that now became my character. So it was a chain of events that created him in my mind…
The strange thing about the “guy at the mall”…my daughter and grand- daughter both had the same reaction as I did when we saw him…It was one of those double-double takes as we watched him walking away. There was just “something” about him that we could not pinpoint… (I even used that eerie scene in my book!)
What it taught me is to keep my ears and my eyes wide open when I am out and about…always seeking new character qualities, the way people walk and talk, etc.
Thanks for asking, though!
Sharon :)
Yes and no. I knew my protagonist would be a modern Indiana Jones type. And his best friend Bennie would be a George Castanza type. But after that, the rest of the characters developed as I wrote the draft. They emerged from the words.
Paul–The problem with actors and actresses, I’ve found, is that they’re just so darned good-looking! A lot nicer-looking than regular people are. I usually kill the pretty people in my books (starting to wonder if I have issues!) but with this new series I have an attractive older protagonist so I have looked at some headshots of celebrities. Ordinarily, they’re just a little too pretty for my purposes, though. Hard to find the quirky looks that I need.
Margot–Wal-Mart is a VERY good place to find characters. :)
Sharon–Cool! So this guy even got into your subconscious and your dreams took off and ran with it! Funny that you’d “forgotten” about the man until a while after your dream…except that your mind hadn’t really forgotten.
Stephen–Even a basic typecasting is a good way to start out, isn’t it? I usually do something similar, too.
I’ve never been so riveted by a DMV story! Nice work. :)
Before I write, I search for my characters in actor headshots, youtube clips, and movie trailers. It’s tremendously helpful to me when it’s time to animate them.
Great post!
We were in FL recently and went to a spring training baseball game. The most perfect character and her husband sat 3 rows in front of us so I was able to get some pretty good photos. She looked like a Chicago matron but spoke with a Southern drawl. Can’t wait to use her.
I like your style and method. I always have a visual in my head of what my characters look like. Usually someone (or a composite) in my real life experience.
I most often find them in my head. I do like your idea of basing them on actual people, though. Most often my “head” characters talk, but I don’t see them until I’ve laid out their descriptions. I think a visual would be helpful.
Cracking up at your murder in the DMV. I think you’re right–it IS easier to describe them if they are very clear in our heads… Places, too–I’ve come to really appreciate writing about a place I really know after trying to write a real one i DON’T… I don’t typically though, find my real life characters very often… i think I’m not observant enough.
Another insightful post! You have illustrated one of the golden byproducts of writing for a living: For anyone else, an excruciating situation is just that. For a writer, it’s material. Probably some of the best we’ll ever have.
~ Cleo
Coffeehouse Mystery.com
Cleo Coyle on Twitter
P.S. My favorite characters are based on *former* employers. :)
Mary–That’s great that you were able to get some pictures! She sounds like a character, for sure. :)
The Old Silly–Composites are nice, too–I do that, especially for personalities.
Helen–That’s the way it is for me, too. Having a visual just helps them come to life.
Elspeth–Settings are really tough for me, too. Like you, I have to have something in front of me to look at to better describe it.
Hart–I really have to make sure I’m not totally distracted when I go out…otherwise, I miss that kind of stuff, too. I was reading my Kindle, so I’d have missed this woman if she hadn’t been yelling at us. :)
Dorte–I think you’re right–kids who *let* themselves be different sometimes take it to extremes (like going Goth, etc.) We older folks just don’t care as much about being different.
Erika–Ohh…YouTube! That’s a good idea. I’d need to combat the distraction factor there (of me going off on a tangent), but that sounds like a great way to find *regular* people.
Cleo–It’s good that we have that filter to keep life from getting too irritating, isn’t it? Your former coworkers sound like great grist for a mystery! Ha! Good way to write our frustrations out. :)
Oh my goodness this just happened to me Saturday!
I was at a home show (i.e. lots of random people milling about) and was waiting for my DH to finish a conversation. A vendor across the row was the *perfect* visualization of a major character.
I kept trying to memorize his face and the way he stood, while praying he wouldn’t catch me staring and think I was flirting.
After my husband rejoined me I finally switched into “rational” mode, reminded myself I’d never see him again, so it didn’t matter if I embarrassed myself, and went back to ask his permission for a picture (actually told him he looked just like a character in my book).
Am debating now with whether to e-mail him a couple of “his” scenes. Tykone is a smart, cool, skilled guy, but he’s short, and frequently thwarted.
I probably shouldn’t, huh?
That’s kind of cool to find your character at the DMV.
Amy Jane–It’s tricky, isn’t it? I’ve gotten *pretty* good at pretending I’m reading my emails on my phone (and taking a picture, instead! Easier that way, sometimes.)
Isn’t it funny how we can rationalize everything when we know we won’t see the person again? Ha!
Holly–And it made the DMV so much more interesting!
LOl, life imitates art :)
Good thing you were there to witness the fruition of your character.
……dhole
“Murder at the DMV” sounds like something out of Matlock lol! Yes, it is fun when you see people behaving or in some cases, appear and act and dress similarly to a character you have written. That is kind of cool because it helps you study them in a visual sense, and since I am a visual learner, I am able to study everything to the details!
Donna–Who knew that being at the DMV could be a good thing?
Jonz–It *does* sound like Matlock! Or maybe “Murder, She Wrote.” :) I’m a visual learner, too, and frequently need a picture to describe a setting or a character.
Great post and comments. My characters are mostly composites of people I’ve known, but one of the characters in the (one) novel I wrote came from a newspaper story, and one was based completely on someone I worked with back in the early 70s — looks and all.
I like your cell phone photo file idea. I just took a surreptitious photo of a saleswoman on a ladder in a shoestore in Berkeley. She’ll make a great character someday.
LOL. This happens to me often. I haven’t ever actively gone out in search of my characters since I like to take the passive approach (in an attempt to be open and let things flow and because I’m not restricted by deadlines). But it is VERY fun and gratifying when you find characters in real life that fit your own story to a T. Sometimes, I even start crafting a character from someone I just met who is gimmicky and flamboyant. But I usually incorporate other people’s traits into a single fictional person. It’s a lovely and uplifting experience. :)
I realize I’m late to the party, but this resonated so much with me that I had to chime in.
I do the same thing, surf the internet for images until I’ve found some that inspire me. I had a female lead who kept alluding me. I just could not get a handle on her. Then one day, I stumbled upon a photo of an actress, and the way she was smiling into the camera gave me that AHA! moment that I’d been searching for. I saved the pic to my PC and look at it every now and then when I’m trying to get into my character’s head.