--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never base characters on real people…" description: "\"I never base characters on real people. There are people who do that but I really don't know how to do it.\" — Peter Carey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a7/peter-carey-4293_character_i-never-base-characters-on-real-people-t_2625324.png" --- # I never base characters on real people. There are people… ![“I never base characters on real people. There are people who do that but I really don't know how to do it.” quote by Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a7/peter-carey-4293_character_i-never-base-characters-on-real-people-t_2625324.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a7/peter-carey-4293_character_i-never-base-characters-on-real-people-t_2625324.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a7/peter-carey-4293_character_i-never-base-characters-on-real-people-t_2625324.png) > “I never base characters on real people. There are people who do that but I really don't know how to do it.” [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. States he does not base fictional characters on real individuals. **In simple terms:** Fictional characters are created independently. Key Takeaway Focus on imagination. Themes writing creativity character development Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary creative When to use this quote - novel writing - workshops - creative brainstorming Key Concepts fictional construction authorial intent Questions to Reflect On - Why avoid direct real‑person modeling? - How does imagination differ from observation? A Different Perspective Real‑life inspiration can enrich realism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Base Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/base-characters-1969472/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters/) [Characters Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-real/) [How](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/how/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-really/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-people/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) ## Related quotes > [I never base characters on real people - you can get into so much trouble that way!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/i-never-base-characters-on-real-people-you-can-get-into-so-much/) [Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/) > [To me, my characters are more real than most people I meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-smith/to-me-my-characters-are-more-real-than-most-people-i-meet/) [Wilbur Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-smith/) > [I'm not in the business of meddling with people's destinies - and yes, my characters are real people to me. They have histories and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-evison/i-m-not-in-the-business-of-meddling-with-people-s-destinies-and-yes/) [Jonathan Evison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-evison/) > [Ian Fleming used to base his characters on real people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-dux/ian-fleming-used-to-base-his-characters-on-real-people/) [Frank Dux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-dux/) > [“Sarah often thought it funny how she would think of the characters as if they were real people who had really lived, occupying this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-connelly/sarah-often-thought-it-funny-how-she-would-think-of-the-characters-as/) [Victoria Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-connelly/) > [“...the characters themselves. The struggles they have to go through, and when you really love them, how much they affect you. When the characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-zappia/the-characters-themselves-the-struggles-they-have-to-go-through-and/) [Francesca Zappia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-zappia/) > [I am drawn to characters that go on journeys, characters that are real people, that have life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-wilton/i-am-drawn-to-characters-that-go-on-journeys-characters-that-are-real/) [Penelope Wilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-wilton/) > [I base all my characters on hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dempsey/i-base-all-my-characters-on-hair/) [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) > [I usually base my characters on composites of people I know. 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Real people don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/one-has-to-be-able-to-twist-and-change-and-distort-characters-play/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) ## More by Peter Carey > [“I have traveled widely. I have seen this country in its infancy. I tell you what it will become. The public squares will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/i-have-traveled-widely-i-have-seen-this-country-in-its-infancy-i-tell/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [At the very end of a book I can manage to work for longer stretches, but mostly, making stuff up for three hours, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/at-the-very-end-of-a-book-i-can-manage-to-work-for-longer-stretches/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [Being famous as a writer is like being famous in a village. It's not really any very heady fame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/being-famous-as-a-writer-is-like-being-famous-in-a-village-it-s-not/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [It's not like I've got 100 ideas. I finish a book, and I've got none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/it-s-not-like-i-ve-got-100-ideas-i-finish-a-book-and-i-ve-got-none/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [“Remember, this is the country of the duck-billed platypus. When you are cut off from the rest of the world, things are bound to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/remember-this-is-the-country-of-the-duck-billed-platypus-when-you-are/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [Australia is my lens. I cannot see the world any other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/australia-is-my-lens-i-cannot-see-the-world-any-other-way/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [If you ever read one of my books I hope you'll think it looks so easy. In fact, I wrote those chapters 20 times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/if-you-ever-read-one-of-my-books-i-hope-you-ll-think-it-looks-so-easy/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [I had known loneliness before, and emptiness upon the moor, but I had never been a NOTHING, a nothing floating on a nothing, known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/i-had-known-loneliness-before-and-emptiness-upon-the-moor-but-i-had/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [I did not know that history is like a blood stain that keeps on showing on the wall no matter how many new owners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/i-did-not-know-that-history-is-like-a-blood-stain-that-keeps-on/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [I think that thing about the destruction of the world is there all the time, it's there every day when we look out the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/i-think-that-thing-about-the-destruction-of-the-world-is-there-all/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [“Your American, you wouldn't know if you were up yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/your-american-you-wouldn-t-know-if-you-were-up-yourself/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [“He were still smiling but his voice were hard as a spoon rattling in a metal cup.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/he-were-still-smiling-but-his-voice-were-hard-as-a-spoon-rattling-in/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [“Would you rather have the lords and nobles back? What is Democracy for? Not so we can rob each other. Or cheat.' I said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/would-you-rather-have-the-lords-and-nobles-back-what-is-democracy-for/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [“7. Some Theories that Arose at the Time 1. The world is merely a dream dreamt by god who is waking after a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/7-some-theories-that-arose-at-the-time-1-the-world-is-merely-a-dream/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [I'm always the one with the activist friends. I've been an activist very little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/i-m-always-the-one-with-the-activist-friends-i-ve-been-an-activist/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) [Explore all 113 Peter Carey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. 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