Although most of my Water Signs characters are inspired by and/or based upon real people I've known or met in my lifetime, at some point during the writing process, they took on rich, full identities that extended far and beyond their initial conceptions. Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of my two protagonists, Ken (based on a man I met in my 20s at the Jersey Shore) and Madeline (based on me, and named for my grandmother and mother).
For the purposes of this particular entry, I want to focus on Ken as an example of how to incorporate some of the qualities, mannerisms and attributes of a real person into a fictional counterpart. To minimize confusion while simultaneously honoring copyright laws, I will use "Ken" when referring to the flesh-and-blood man, and Ken when referring to the character that turns Maddy's world upside-down in the novel.
Briefly, I met "Ken" when I was a young, somewhat naive woman of 25 (I know for some the "naive" part might be hard to fathom given the age, but I assure you, dear readers, it is the truth). Although I come from a loving, supportive and at times, rambunctious family that encouraged me to go for my dreams and believe in myself, I possessed stubborn, lingering insecurities over being "too fat", "not good enough" and even "undesirable", thanks to the normal slings and arrows of childhood and adolescence. Children and teenagers can be very unforgiving of things like an extra few pounds, especially teenage high school boys. Being a sensitive Pisces sort didn't help either, as I tended to internalize unpleasantness to the point where I would completely overlook reality.
Therefore, even after losing weight and becoming an attractive twenty-something, I still clung to an old, worn-out image of myself that no amount of positive feedback on any of my attributes could break. For example, I've been blessed with great skin, mostly due to the luck of the gene pool. But no matter how many times someone would genuinely compliment me on it, it was hard to absorb the truth in what they were articulating; in my mind, paying a compliment -- sincere as it might be -- was simply something people did to be nice. This tendency only got worse when my first boyfriend, immortalized in the book as "Jake Winston", continually criticized me for everything from my hairstyle to the way I looked in a bathing suit.
Needless to say, outside of my dad, brothers, other relatives and a few close family friends, I regarded men suspiciously. They seemed to be people who inflicted a lot of emotional pain, interested in only one thing (for which you had to have the "perfect" face and body to qualify). The summer I met "Ken", I'd just endured a pretty traumatic break-up with "Jake" and was still reeling from the hurtful things he'd said and done, not to mention the cowardly way in which he'd ended our relationship over the phone.
"Ken" -- who was so full of life and energy -- completely blew me away. The night we unexpectedly ended up together at a dance club in Somers Point (yes, Chapter One is pretty faithful to reality) after my girlfriend "Carmen" (whose character is written exactly as I remember her) trotted off with another female friend and their two Iranian paramours, I amazed myself with my own words and actions -- not the least of which was announcing my intention to hang out with "Ken", rather than go home at 10 p.m. (the thought of being alone in a crowded dance club was tantamount to torture).
After all, he'd bought a long-stemmed rose initially for my exotic friend, not me, when we were shaking our booties on the dance floor to some high-energy tunes. I remember laughing with her as we moved to the beat, then -- as if out of nowhere -- seeing this hand in front of her, bearing the delicate red flower with the red devil attached to its stem. I visually traced the path from stem, to bloom to arm, until I finally noticed a tall, muscular, blond guy with a great smile nodding at her. She accepted the gesture, and as they began to dance, I headed back to our cocktail table, half-laughing to myself (knowing her date for the evening was set to arrive any moment), half-annoyed (she already had a date; why couldn't some cute guy buy me a rose for change?).
So in the parking lot moments later, in the wake of his clearly expressed irritation at "Carmen" (if you already had a date, you damn well should have told me!), it was as if someone else spoke through me when I suddenly 1) complimented him for bringing along an extra shirt, which we'd all just witnessed him change into; and 2) announced in no uncertain terms that I would not be a "fifth wheel", but would instead "stay here and hang out with Ken" for the night. It's a testament to my pathetic sense of self-worth at the time that I immediately followed that by asking if it was alright with him, and then breathed a huge sigh of relief when he agreed to the arrangement.
But from that point on, "Ken" was a charming, attentive companion, once I demanded (in a another surprising move) that either he stop complaining about my friend or I was "outta here"! And when he reacted with amusement, instead of annoyance, it intrigued me. In the instant he took my hand and playfully announced, "Then let's dance!" I knew the rest of the night would be memorable. I didn't bank on ever seeing him again, mistrusting his obvious interest in me, thanks mainly to the baggage I was still carrying around. And yet, true to his promise, he showed up at the beach the very next day, much to my amazement and my family's entertainment (Chapter Two humorously recounts the event in vivid detail).
So how does Ken differ from "Ken" and vice-versa?
In the beginning at least, "Ken" like his alter-ego, was incredibly complimentary, affectionate and respectful. He was also the first (and so far, only) guy to marvel at the small size of my hands. When we'd socialized together that night at the club, I remember him picking up one of my hands and kissing it, apparently fascinated. He'd often tell me how beautiful I was, and there were many occasions when I'd catch him staring at me (which of course, made me nervous since I still didn't see myself that way).
Both men are Pisces, although I changed the birthdays, giving characters Ken and Madeline a shared birthday of March 7, in honor of my late grandmother's birthday. My real birthday is March 14, but I thought it would be fun to add to the "star-crossed" appeal of the love story by bringing my characters into the world on the exact day, month and year. Thus, "Ken" and Daria are both Pisces, albeit about two-weeks or so apart, whereas Ken and Madeline not only share the same Zodiac, but also the same time of arrival on the earthly plane of existence.
Other similarities between "Ken" and Ken: US Navy service, working-class upbringing, Catholic schooling, close relationship with mom, difficult relationship with dad, desire for a better life, trailblazers in their families, passionate, patriotic, well-groomed, athletic, good dancers, fun-loving, smart, handsome, insecure at times, sensitive to a fault on occasion, hard-working, ambitious, strong, family-oriented and in possession of an ingrained sense of duty, honor and responsibility.
Both men hurt Madeline (and me) deeply, purposely and unintentionally, depending upon the circumstance. Both men confessed to "not wanting to live in sin anymore" as at least one motivation for marriage, and admitted (with obvious resignation) to "turning into my father after all". Both wanted to have their cake and eat it, too in terms of retaining a friendship with Maddy/me after withholding the truth about their commitment to another woman.
Perhaps due to the fact that I am working on a sequel, the differences between fact and fiction have become more pronounced. As Ken develops and expands as a character in Sea To Shining Sea, he gets further and further away from his initial inspiration -- a process that began somewhere in the middle of Water Signs. Quite possibly, this occurred somewhere around Chapter 30 or so, when the book started to dramatically transform from a fusion of fact and fiction, into purely fictional territory.
I'll discuss this in greater detail in the next post.
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