--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I write characters that are based on…" description: "\"I write characters that are based on elements of people I know and experiences I've really had.\" — Aziz Ansari" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/aziz-ansari-2677_character_i-write-characters-that-are-based-on-ele_1455352.png" --- # I write characters that are based on elements of people I… ![“I write characters that are based on elements of people I know and experiences I've really had.” quote by Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/aziz-ansari-2677_character_i-write-characters-that-are-based-on-ele_1455352.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/aziz-ansari-2677_character_i-write-characters-that-are-based-on-ele_1455352.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/aziz-ansari-2677_character_i-write-characters-that-are-based-on-ele_1455352.png) > “I write characters that are based on elements of people I know and experiences I've really had.” [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer draws characters from real people and personal experiences, blending reality with fiction. **In simple terms:** Characters are based on real people and events. Key Takeaway Use real life to enrich storytelling. Themes creativity authenticity storytelling Mood reflective creative Type artistic thoughtful When to use this quote - writing workshops - novel writing - screenplay creation Key Concepts character development inspiration Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance privacy and authenticity? - What ethical lines exist? A Different Perspective Risk of overexposure of real individuals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [More than anything, I write about what I know. The experiences that I've had in my life and that we've all had collectively, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-biersack/more-than-anything-i-write-about-what-i-know-the-experiences-that-i/) [Andy Biersack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-biersack/) > [“I know that the experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrie-ten-boom/i-know-that-the-experiences-of-our-lives-when-we-let-god-use-them/) [Corrie Ten Boom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrie-ten-boom/) > [People are people, and they want to know about their own experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edward/people-are-people-and-they-want-to-know-about-their-own-experiences/) [John Edward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edward/) > [The biggest misconception is that I only write about shitty people. Or that I'm trying to be shocking. I just think people are super…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslye-headland/the-biggest-misconception-is-that-i-only-write-about-shitty-people-or/) [Leslye Headland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslye-headland/) > [Dogwalker is a book of fiction, with characters based on the types of people who truly exist in the world. I've seen them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-bradford/dogwalker-is-a-book-of-fiction-with-characters-based-on-the-types-of/) [Arthur Bradford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-bradford/) > [It's my privilege to be able to play somebody not myself. I'm an actor who creates characters based in voice, movement, emotional quality, speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-wu/it-s-my-privilege-to-be-able-to-play-somebody-not-myself-i-m-an-actor/) [Constance Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-wu/) > [Our 'Top Gear' characters are based on our own characters, if exaggerated and cartoonified. We try not to be completely different to who we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-may/our-top-gear-characters-are-based-on-our-own-characters-if/) [James May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-may/) > [You know, I've always just made the choices on my characters based on my connection to them, and I've made decisions that maybe other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-glau/you-know-i-ve-always-just-made-the-choices-on-my-characters-based-on/) [Summer Glau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-glau/) > [When I do a voiceover now, there are always a few people I've borrowed bits off, whether it's their hats or facial hair, who'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-berry/when-i-do-a-voiceover-now-there-are-always-a-few-people-i-ve-borrowed/) [Matt Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-berry/) > [Very few of my characters are based on people I've known. It is too constricting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/very-few-of-my-characters-are-based-on-people-i-ve-known-it-is-too/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [When you're traveling constantly, every day you become inspired, and it shows in my work, sonically, lyrically, visually. Conversations with women with different accents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/when-you-re-traveling-constantly-every-day-you-become-inspired-and-it/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) > [We are all actors, playing different characters based on our scenarios](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-fountain/we-are-all-actors-playing-different-characters-based-on-our-scenarios/) [Alex Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-fountain/) > [Sometimes minor characters are based on people I know, on friends of mine. But I'm not writing a thinly veiled version of my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/sometimes-minor-characters-are-based-on-people-i-know-on-friends-of/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [All characters are based on elements of a writer's personal experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-holdstock/all-characters-are-based-on-elements-of-a-writer-s-personal-experience/) [Robert Holdstock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-holdstock/) > [“Audiences often ask if characters are based on real people. Indeed the impulse of the amateur is to write about who one knows. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/audiences-often-ask-if-characters-are-based-on-real-people-indeed-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Aziz Ansari > [Your favorite kind of cake can't be birthday cake, that's like saying your favorite kind of cereal is breakfast cereal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/your-favorite-kind-of-cake-can-t-be-birthday-cake-that-s-like-saying/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [Most single people I know, myself included, have a difficult time even meeting up with the people they like, be it busy schedules, texting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/most-single-people-i-know-myself-included-have-a-difficult-time-even/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [Others fear what the morrow may bring. I am afraid of what happened yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/others-fear-what-the-morrow-may-bring-i-am-afraid-of-what-happened/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [For the majority of the time, I may as well have been just a really tan white kid. You know, I may as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/for-the-majority-of-the-time-i-may-as-well-have-been-just-a-really/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [I was 18 when I started. I was hanging out with some friends and they asked if I had tried stand-up before. I hadn't,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/i-was-18-when-i-started-i-was-hanging-out-with-some-friends-and-they/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [You go to any Jay-Z concert, and he plays his hits. Comedians don't have hits. You have to have a whole brand-new hour. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/you-go-to-any-jay-z-concert-and-he-plays-his-hits-comedians-don-t/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [Let's have a moment of silence for all the chubby Asian dudes that are getting 'Gangnam style!' yelled at them by bros around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/let-s-have-a-moment-of-silence-for-all-the-chubby-asian-dudes-that/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [Writing your own jokes, you just kind of keep working on something until you think it might work, and then you try it out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/writing-your-own-jokes-you-just-kind-of-keep-working-on-something/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [At the risk bragging, one of the things I'm best at is riding coattails. Behind every successful man is me, smiling and taking partial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/at-the-risk-bragging-one-of-the-things-i-m-best-at-is-riding/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [“Rather than compare actual jobs, with their various pros and cons, in their minds they wound up selecting the features of each particular job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/rather-than-compare-actual-jobs-with-their-various-pros-and-cons-in/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [“Yale sociologist John Ellsworth Jr. said after a study of marriage patterns in Simsbury, Connecticut (population 3,941): “People will go as far as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/yale-sociologist-john-ellsworth-jr-said-after-a-study-of-marriage/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [Why would anyone get married and have babies? That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard in my life. Or the scariest thing I've ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/why-would-anyone-get-married-and-have-babies-that-s-the-dumbest-idea/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [Do It Under the Influence Yourself! That's what we're shooting for! Get drunk and make your dreams come true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/do-it-under-the-influence-yourself-that-s-what-we-re-shooting-for-get/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [If someone writes something shitty and you actually address them, most of the time they're just like, "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm a big fan."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/if-someone-writes-something-shitty-and-you-actually-address-them-most/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [Aren't you scared your kid's getting kidnapped...RIGHT NOW?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/aren-t-you-scared-your-kid-s-getting-kidnapped-right-now/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) [Explore all 155 Aziz Ansari quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I write characters that are based on elements of people I know and experiences I've really had.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aziz Ansari" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/i-write-characters-that-are-based-on-elements-of-people-i-know-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/i-write-characters-that-are-based-on-elements-of-people-i-know-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/aziz-ansari-2677_character_i-write-characters-that-are-based-on-ele_1455352.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/aziz-ansari-2677_character_i-write-characters-that-are-based-on-ele_1455352.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/aziz-ansari-2677_character_i-write-characters-that-are-based-on-ele_1455352.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I write characters that are based on elements of people I know and experiences I've really had.” — Aziz Ansari", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Aziz Ansari", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I write characters that are based...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/i-write-characters-that-are-based-on-elements-of-people-i-know-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/i-write-characters-that-are-based-on-elements-of-people-i-know-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```