If you don’t remember the Binders full of Women bullshit from the 2012 election, don’t tell me. I’ve been feeling like an antique lately so just nod and smile, k? K.

I tend to write sprawling and complicated historical fiction with both real historical figures as characters, and a full suite of fictional characters. Sometimes keeping them straight in my head can be a challenge.

So keeping my fictional characters consistent is a high priority. By that, I mean:

  • Consistent mannerisms
  • A particular gait or bearing
  • Patterns of speech
  • Tics and Tells

And on and on. I want the reader to know this character from the way they clear their throat or step out of a carriage. This is where I turn to Pinterest to start creating a board for a fictional character. I know this sounds a little bonkers considering they’re fictional and only live in my head, but I promise it works.

Find the “Type” Closest to Your Character

You’re going to think of all of the people in the public eye that come to mind. Athletes, Actors, Models, Musicians, Influencers, etc… A great question to ask is: If this novel were ever adapted to film who is my dream actor for this character?

Here’s the goal.

  1. Find someone who looks similar enough to the character you’ve drawn in your head.
    1. I typically go for build and stature first. Eye/hair color are irrelevant for this exercise, but it’s nice if it all matches.
  2. Make sure they have a wide body of work.
    1. I’ve found actors and models are better for this because you see them in a bajillion different poses, outfits, and situations. However, you could make this same argument for Travis Kelce, Kelly Clarkson, and P!nk.
  3. Create a board (or even a folder on your computer)
  4. Pin (or save) the following:
    1. Pics of every facial expression you can find.
    2. Pics of them sitting, standing, leaning against the hood of a car and looking smooth. Think Poses. Relaxed or composed.
    3. Short video clips of them laughing, running, walking, interrupting, making out, walking across a field in the foggy dawn to propose one more time to that stubborn Bennet girl.

Use Your Celeb as a Reference for Your Character

This is going to help you better visualize your character and most importantly, how they move. If you have a massive character list, it will help you keep track of who touches their hair all the time and who can’t stop fidgeting. Why cries with a straight face and who bites their lips when they’re angry.

In a historical spy novel that I’ve been working on forever, and also shutting away in a drawer for years on end, I have a fictional character, Christoph, who’s the head of the secret police in Vienna in 1832. Yes, there was a secret police back then. Vienna was a police state. It was a whole thing. Anywayyyy…

Obviously this character was going to be an antagonist. More like Mr. Fisticuffs. If he had anything redeeming about him, it wouldn’t be found in his personality. Enter his gorgeous, auburn coppery hair.

Who did I use as the model for this character? Michael Fassbender. Not only are their statures very similar, but MF has played some terrible, TERRIBLE villains and very complicated characters. Plus he’s got that great red hair. I had no problem finding video and stills of him in every conceivable situation, and if you’ve seen all of MF’s work you know what I’m saying 👀

So when Christoph pops off, I watch a short clip of Michael Fassbender portraying an a terrible man. How does he move? What’s most menacing here? His face, his body language, the distance between him and the other person? And I simply describe what I see him doing. Then I adjust for my character and my scene.

I’ve done it enough times that I don’t need to reference MF any more. I know exactly how Christoph is going to move and behave, and I’ve woven in his particular quirks and mannerisms in too, because there are things about him that don’t perfectly align with MF. But using MF as a proxy helps to create instant consistency, and give me visual reminders as the writer.

I have a ton of boards for this book. The dastardly uncle? Rufus Sewell. The Abbess? Olivia Coleman. The Monk? Paul Giamatti. It has made my life So Much Easier and I hope it does for you too.

You can also: