How do you come up with your original, non BSB characters? Are they inspired by anyone in your life positively? How much of your real life experiences go into your writing?
I sometimes base minor characters on people I know, whether in real life or online. Sometimes it's positive, and sometimes it's negative, but for better or worse, there are plenty of real "characters" out there who are way more interesting than anyone I could come up with on my own LOL.
That said, my original main characters are mostly original. With them, I enjoy taking the time to create them from scratch and develop their personalities and back stories and all of that. There is always a little of me in them, and I use different pieces of me for different characters and combine that with original traits, usually the kind of qualities I admire in other people and flaws that fit the character.
I rarely base whole storylines around my own real life experiences, mostly just because I don't have many experiences that I find interesting enough to write a fanfic about. But I do incorporate my own experiences when they fit. For example, I've written several characters who are teachers, because that's something I know well, and I've based settings on real places that I've been to. I do think those personal touches add a dimension of believability to a story, but my goal is always to do enough research that I can fool someone into thinking I've been somewhere or done something that I really haven't LOL.
