Stranger Than Fiction

Where do writers get their ideas from?  Author Neil Gaiman has said, "You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we're doing it." Stephen King put it this way: "I get my ideas from everywhere. But what all of my ideas boil down to is seeing things ... in a new and interesting way, and then adding the question 'What if?' 'What if' is always the key question."

Most writers will tell you that, while they may not base all their characters on people they know, real life is still the best source of inspiration one can ask for. You're heard me mention, for instance, that Arthur Conan Doyle based his famous detective character, Sherlock Holmes, on a real person: Dr. Joseph Bell, a professor at Edinburgh University. But Conan Doyle is hardly the only author to find such real-life inspiration for his characters.

So in honor of Dr. Bell's 175th birthday (he was born on December 2), check out our list of seven famous fictional characters who were all inspired by real-life counterparts. A few entries may surprise you!

Lady Macbeth - Macbeth

Among William Shakespeare's most famous characters, Macbeth was based on a real historical figure -- a Scottish king who reigned in the mid-11th century. (The play was not written until the 17th century.) The real Macbeth did not have much in common with his literary counterpart, however -- right down to the fact that his wife, Gruoch of Scotland, was nothing like the treacherous villain of Shakespeare's play. (You can read more about the real Macbeth here.)

For the character of Lady Macbeth, Shakespere is thought to have found inspiration from another real-life historical figure. In the 10th century, King Duff of Scotland was murdered by the servants of one Captain Donwald. Donwald had tried to convince the king to issue pardons to certain rebellious friends and family members. The king had refused -- and Donwald's wife persuaded the captain to kill him.

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Dill, To Kill a Mockingbird

One of the trio of children in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Dill Harris is based on a real-life childhood friend of Lee's: Truman Capote. Capote spent time visiting his aunts in Monroeville, Alabama, and it was on such visits that Capote and Lee first became friends.

Lee and Capote remained friends into adulthood, and Capote was inspired to base two of his own characters on Lee: Idabel Thompkins and Ann "Jumbo" Finchburg. The literary pals would go on to collaborate together on research for a true crime book about a Kansas murder, but their friendship was shaken when Capote failed to give Lee credit for her part in their investigations. (Read more about that here.)

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Winnie the Pooh, When We Were Very Young

The famous inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood (or Ashdown Forest, for you purists) were the creation of children's author A. A. Milne, who was also an essayist, a playwright, a poet, and an adult novelist. You might already know that Milne based the character of Christopher Robin on Milne's own son (also named Christopher) -- but there was a real-life basis for Christopher Robin's ursine companion, too.

Lieutenant Harry Coleborn was a young veterinarian, who purchased an orphaned bear cub in the town of White River, Ontario. The bear -- named "Winnipeg" after the bear's birthplace -- initially served as something of a mascot to Coleborn's army regiment during the first World War. Winnie was eventually taken to the London Zoo, where Christopher Milne spotted her. Delighted with the bear, he promptly changed his own teddy bear's name from "Edward" to "Winnie-the-Pooh" in honor of Winnipeg. The rest is history.

(The original Edward/Winnie teddy bear can still be seen at the New York Public Library.) 

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Sally Bowles - Cabaret

The musical Cabaret started life as the 1939 novel Goodbye to Berlin, was adapted into the play I Am a Camera in 1951, and was finally brought to Broadway in 1966. The story takes place in 1921 Berlin, where Sally Bowles is the star of the Kit Kat nightclub. The musical is loved for its blending of the bright decadence of the 30s with the air of political tension and growing upheaval as Europe stood on the brink of a world war. Sally herself is an unbreakably robust character, even with the darker tone that looms ahead.

When it came to the original novel, author Christopher Isherwood had factual inspiration for more than just his setting. The character of Sally Bowles herself is modeled after a young Englishwoman that Isherwood met while in Berlin. Her name was Jean Ross, and, in real life, she was a political radical, who was described as being much different from her fictional counterpart by those who knew her. (Read more about Jean Ross and Christopher Isherwood here.)

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Harry Callahan - Dirty Harry

The serial killer Scorpio is the first villain to appear in Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry series. Part of Scorpio's modus operandi was to send ransom demands to the police, threatening to commit a murder a day until he was paid off. Most fans know that Scorpio was based on a real criminal: California's Zodiac serial killer. Like Scorpio, the Zodiac killer also sent mocking notes to the police force (and the press) with information about upcoming crimes. (One such note said Zodiac would hijack a school bus, which was re-enacted in the film.)

But less well-known is that Harry Callahan himself was inspired by a real person. Eastwood's Callahan was inspired by David Toschi, the detective in charge of the Zodiac investigation.

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The Soup Nazi - Seinfeld

"No soup for you!" might be one of the most famous quotes to come out of hit NBC sitcom Seinfeld's nine-season run. It's uttered by the "Soup Nazi," the owner of a new soup stand that Kramer has been raving about. But when Jerry, George, and Elaine decide to give the place a try, Jerry reminds them that they have to be sure to follow the strict rules of procedure the owner lays out to customers. The trio doesn't manage it -- which means, well, No Soup.

As ludicrous as it sounds, the Soup Nazi is based on a real person (if slightly exaggerated). Al Yeganeh is a soup vendor who first opened his New York City restaurant, the Soup Kitchen International, in 1984. People lined up down the block to taste Yeganeh's creations -- but, due to either his temperament or the crowded lines, rules at the Soup Kitchen International were strict. ("Pick the soup you want!" "Have your money ready!") 

The Soup Nazi wasn't the only Seinfeld character based on a real person. Kramer was inspired by a real-life neighbor of the show's co-creator, Larry David. And George Costanza was based on David himself.

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Professor Snape (and the Weasleys) - Harry Potter

It's semi-common knowledge among Harry Potter fans that the insufferable Professor Gilderoy Lockhart -- his defining characteristics are his enormous ego and his utter incompetence -- was based upon a real person. (Author J.K. Rowling won't say who.) But while Lockhart was the only real-life person Rowling fully based one of her characters on, there was another Hogwarts professor who was at least partially inspired by a real-life figure: Severus Snape.

When asked about the character in an interview, Rowling commented, "Snape is the ... very sadistic teacher, loosely based on a teacher I myself had, I have to say."

It turns out that Rowling was talking about John Nettleship, a chemistry teacher (quite appropriate, as Snape teaches Potions class). Nettleship was initially surprised to find out the connection; he found out when reporters came knocking on his door to ask him about it. But he eventually came to embrace the connection in good humor. (Read more about Nettleship here.)

-- Post by Ms. B