Using Actual Ghosts as Characters

Jenny Harker
filed under "Writing"

Writers are often told to mold story characters out of people they know or have read about. Being a psychic writer gives me a new twist on this sage advice. My psychic ability causes me to attract spirits like some women attract the bad boys. Ghosts visit my home from the cemetery next door. My late mother has a habit of scaring the bejeesuz out of me late at night by speaking after I've turned the light out (each time I can almost hear the lunatic laughing). When I walk through my living room in he god-awful early morning hours I see and sense ghostly apparitions, blurry shapes of cold white light. I always apologize if I mistakenly walk through one. I don't like being rude. But none of this bothers me. My life is a paranormal event. I'm used to it. I even enjoy it. Especially while I'm writing. I've woven a few of the spirits (nice and not so nice) I've met over the years into characters for my humorous romantic/suspense novel *Gardenia Glory* and my work-in-progress novel *When Lions Meet*. My main character doesn't walk about with fun-loving spirits as she might in a Disney flick. No, the spirits are voices she either hears in her mind or senses near her. For example when she hears a spirit speak the words are italicized. Pretend the following words are italicized (oh, the shortcomings of writing a text file!): You are a strange woman, Gardenia. I'm not strange! I am a freethinking and free-spirited woman. Surely a pirate like you, the great Black Miguel, understands where I'm coming from. I, too, have my young moments. I mean you are strange because you are alone beneath the bush instead of in the arms of a man. ****** No, I haven't met any flirtatious dead pirates. Miguel Inez is an apparition of my imagination and odd sense of humor. His wife, Isabella, is based on a friendly woman who haunts my home. The ghost is a friendly old lady who looks in on me whenever I'm ill. I call her Emily. I always know Emily is visiting when, if I don't see her, I feel a pat on my cheek. Another spirit in the novel, an important nameless character, is based on a spirit that visits me late at night, usually while I'm writing. I call the actual spirit Shadow man because this soul appears to me as the shadow of a tall man. I suspect he isn't a ghost, but something else entirely. Instinct warns me to behave whenever he visits. His character in the novel is a angerous ancient spirit and general pain in the ass. I like him enormously. As recommended I've created story characters out of people I know. They just happen to be dead. About the author: Jenny Harker is an avid writer, gardener, and psychic. You can read her free novel "Gardenia Glory" at her blog site: http://compactURL.com/bbjc Copyright Jenny Harker 2005