Have you fallen in love with one of my characters before? Maybe you can thank Miles Teller…
My husband and I have been together for over eight years. Our eighth wedding anniversary is actually at the end of May. Wild!
As many of my readers know, Steve and I got together in college, hit it off, and got married super fast. It has been nothing short of amazing. He truly is my best friend and the life partner I would choose over and over again.
So if I’ve only ever been serious with one guy, how do I come up with all my book boyfriends? No, it’s not that I’m secretly pining over long-lost lovers, cute strangers I see at Chipotle, or the one who got away. The answer is simple: I Google it.
Radical, I know. My process for creating a new leading man is pretty darn simple. It usually starts with me watching a movie or TV show or reading a book. I think to myself, “Oh man, that quality is so endearing!” The idea blossoms out from there.
Next, I think up celebrities that have that particular quality. Or rather, I decide on which celebrities I like to think have that particular quality. For instance, in writing my upcoming rom-com, I really fell in love with the idea of a male lead who is average-looking, but charming as all get out. I looked up celebrities like John Krasinski, Paul Rudd, and Jason Sudeikis. Finally, I settled on a long-time favorite of mine, actor Miles Teller. It gave me a great excuse to rewatch some of my favorite movies that he’s in, like Rabbit Hole or Whiplash.
Once I picked Miles, I decided which features (both physical and non) that I wanted to borrow from him. I loved the scars on his face. The shape of his chin. The color of his hair. Consequently, all of these qualities were translated through my own filters to turn into Brooks, the lead for my new novel.
Obviously, Brooks has become his own person over time. He morphed a long way from those first photos I chose of Miles Teller. But it’s fun to go back and look at how I started when I was first trapping him on my paper.
Everyone’s writing process is so different. If you come up with your book boyfriends using a different method, I would love to hear about it. God knows it will save my husband from stumbling upon my long internet search of Miles Teller pictures. >.<
If you’ve got another moment, be sure to check out some of my other articles on the writing process. I especially loved writing this piece on finding setting inspiration.
xoxo
Brittni
