Total Immersion: When You Bring The Story Into Real Life

JFitchett92 · May 11, 2013

Hey all,

So this is just a bit of fun, but has anyone had a moment where they have brought a reference from a book into the real world?

For example: My uni tutor was talking about a former student who walked onto the grounds, clearly off his head, shouting at my tutor about some grand plan they had organised. During the story, I thought aloud: "Maybe he's got The Flare..." and recieved quite a few strange looks :S

The Flare is the virus from the Maze Runner series, which eats away at the brain and drives the infected crazy.

So has anyone else done this or something similar before? Or am I just being geeky :/

BardSkye · May 11, 2013

Well, not something I did, but something I heard that made me wonder if my story was real somewhere in the space-time continuum:

5 o'clock on a Sunday morning, while I was working security, a very over-dressed lady asked to use my phone, as she'd been stranded. I let her use it.

She: "Hi, it's Nikki. Is Robin still there? Well, what about Andre or Damien? No? No, Dennis was supposed to pick me up after the show and he stranded me. Well, where's Neil? Can he come? Oh. Well, tell him I'm at this address and I need him to pick me up as soon as he's loaded the drums, 'cause I'm still dressed for last night and I'm freezing."

I was working on the third in a series of (trunked) novels featuring a rock band. The main MCs were Nikki and Robin. The rest of the band were Andre, Dennis, Damien and Neil - and Neil was the drummer.

Yes, her Neil showed up and no, he didn't look anything like my Neil.

Jodie · May 11, 2013

I try and find people in real life that look like the type of main character I'm working with. I also make literary references quite a bit.

I think it is helpful to blur the edges of their writing and real life to some degree. Not too much though.

tko · May 11, 2013

how about real life intruding?

Real life seems to follow my novels. Example. In the finale of my last novel I had two computer viruses battling in India, resulting in a massive power failure in New Delhi.

A month after I finished:

On Tuesday, India suffered the largest electrical blackout in history, affecting an area encompassing about 670 million people, or roughly 10 percent of the world’s population.

Little Anonymous Me · May 11, 2013

I once saw someone who looked very like a character of mine--it was so hard not stare! Especially because I had been thinking of my WIP that day too. Almost like she popped out to scare me! :tongue

Nightmirror · May 11, 2013

Little Anonymous Me said:
I once saw someone who looked very like a character of mine--it was so hard not stare! Especially because I had been thinking of my WIP that day too. Almost like she popped out to scare me!

I always feel so rude when I stare at someone that looks like a character from something I'm working on. I mean, there's really nothing you can say to them either. "Um, excuse me...you look just like this guy I wrote about in my story about blah blah blah."

Little Anonymous Me · May 11, 2013

Nightmirror said:
I always feel so rude when I stare at someone that looks like a character from something I'm working on. I mean, there's really nothing you can say to them either. "Um, excuse me...you look just like this guy I wrote about in my story about blah blah blah."

I wanted to stare! But I also didn't want to be The Creepy Girl on the Bus. I stared sneakily.

I almost called someone by a character's name once because they were acting alike. That would have been tough to explain....*

*I write fantasy, so it's not like they're normal names

Nightmirror · May 11, 2013

Little Anonymous Me said:
I almost called someone by a character's name once because they were acting alike. That would have been tough to explain....*

Oops, guilty of that one...haha. I just walked away.

Little Anonymous Me · May 11, 2013

Everyone who spends time around me knows that I'm rather easily confused and call everyone by the wrong name at some point...I've done it in my manuscript (made for an interesting paragraph!) and, once IRL, I referred to a friend's boyfriend by the wrong name so many times in one night that she started it too.

Maybe I could get out of it easier than I thought.... :idea:

Sonsofthepharaohs · May 11, 2013

tko said:
Real life seems to follow my novels. Example. In the finale of my last novel I had two computer viruses battling in India, resulting in a massive power failure in New Delhi.

A month after I finished:

On Tuesday, India suffered the largest electrical blackout in history, affecting an area encompassing about 670 million people, or roughly 10 percent of the world’s population.

OMG! You broked it! You broked India! :roll:

Nightmirror said:
I always feel so rude when I stare at someone that looks like a character from something I'm working on. I mean, there's really nothing you can say to them either. "Um, excuse me...you look just like this guy I wrote about in my story about blah blah blah."

Once when I was working in a place that did professional accountancy courses, an absolutely stunning woman walked in to sit an exam. She looked Egyptian, with latte coloured skin and long chocolate brown hair, hazel eyes that were so light they were almost amber. Tall, slim, exquisite bone structure that made anything look elegant on her. I couldn't take my eyes off her, because she was the perfect embodiment of my MC's love interest. Her exam was due to finish about the time I knocked off, so I made sure I waited til she came out, then followed her (very discreetly) down the road, trying to get another good look at her.

If I'd had the balls, I'd have gone up and asked if I could take her picture

So... yeah, sometimes having my novel on the brain 24/7 makes me do things that might make others look at me funny...

bearilou · May 11, 2013

I grok what you say.

Becky Black · May 13, 2013

BardSkye said:
Well, not something I did, but something I heard that made me wonder if my story was real somewhere in the space-time continuum:

5 o'clock on a Sunday morning, while I was working security, a very over-dressed lady asked to use my phone, as she'd been stranded. I let her use it.

She: "Hi, it's Nikki. Is Robin still there? Well, what about Andre or Damien? No? No, Dennis was supposed to pick me up after the show and he stranded me. Well, where's Neil? Can he come? Oh. Well, tell him I'm at this address and I need him to pick me up as soon as he's loaded the drums, 'cause I'm still dressed for last night and I'm freezing."

I was working on the third in a series of (trunked) novels featuring a rock band. The main MCs were Nikki and Robin. The rest of the band were Andre, Dennis, Damien and Neil - and Neil was the drummer.

Yes, her Neil showed up and no, he didn't look anything like my Neil.

LARPers who'd slipped through from a parallel universe where your book is a cult hit?

Crescendo2020 · May 13, 2013

"Neil was the drummer." -BardSkye (The quoting option seems to somehow always go wrong for me.)

Was this character by any chance inspired by the real-life-robot, Neil Peart of Rush?
If so, bravo.

Mark Moore · May 14, 2013

A few months ago, a young woman came through my checkout lane. She was tall; had short, dark hair; and wore a white dress shirt, black pants, and necktie. Positively gorgeous. She bore a striking resemblence to a few of my main characters - most probably Jill Black. Linda Lancer and Ashley Nowak don't exactly have jobs that require dressing up.

Cornelius Gault · May 14, 2013

1. My co-worker once called me by my MC's name "Cornelius Gault".

2. I used my MC's character as a test name in our software and someone asked me, "Who the heck is Cornelius Gault?"

DeleyanLee · May 15, 2013

Many moons ago, when I was first married, I wrote a book whose main character was one Galen Valerand, who was 5'4" with red hair, green eyes and freckles.

At one point shortly after I'd finished the book, my mother gave me a check and I went to her bank to cash it. The teller was a short man, roughly 5'4", with red hair, green eyes and freckles. I glanced down at the placard and--I am not lying--it read "G. Valeran".

I about crapped my pants, but managed to assert his name was Glen, not Galen. Still....I went home and changed the character's appearance. Totally freaky.

Not long ago, I was collaborating on a Fantasy novel with a friend. We were discussing the next scene we were writing as we entered a Chi Chi's for lunch--and we fell into characters. Went through the entire meal as characters, called each other by those names, ordered, ate, talked to the wait staff as such and had a GREAT time. Totally worked out the scene. It was very great fun. We still laugh about it.

ExitTheKing · May 15, 2013

The number of times I've said, "It was a pleasure to burn," in everyday conversation...

MostlyBecca · May 16, 2013

JFitchett92 said:
For example: My uni tutor was talking about a former student who walked onto the grounds, clearly off his head, shouting at my tutor about some grand plan they had organised. During the story, I thought aloud: "Maybe he's got The Flare..." and recieved quite a few strange looks :S

The Flare is the virus from the Maze Runner series, which eats away at the brain and drives the infected crazy.

Oh my god, I actually got this reference! I never get references. That makes me feel good. Or nerdy. You know, I'm not really sure which.

little_e · May 16, 2013

Back in 1999, I wrote a story about the US after the WTC attack and the resulting War on Terror.

I've since changed the story to a sci-fi set on a different planet.

Liralen · May 17, 2013

I've yet to find myself in a situation where Alice In Wonderland wasn't a perfect reference. In one law office I worked in everyone there corresponded to a character. My boss was the Red Queen. After I told him he would invariably, at some point in the midst of one of his hall-tromping rants, yell "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS" and then laugh maniacally. I loved him

I was unable to resist putting a reference to that in my WiP. If he reads it he'll laugh

Total Immersion: When You Bring The Story Into Real Life

JFitchett92

BardSkye

Barbershoppin' Harmony Whore

Jodie

writer in the making

tko

just thanks fore everything

Little Anonymous Me

Nightmirror

Not so happily ever after...

Little Anonymous Me

Nightmirror

Not so happily ever after...

Little Anonymous Me

Sonsofthepharaohs

Still writing the ancient Egyptian tetralogy

bearilou

DenturePunk writer

Becky Black

Writing my way off the B Ark

Crescendo2020

Mark Moore

Cornelius Gault

New writer since 07/2012.

DeleyanLee

Writing Anarchist

ExitTheKing

New Fish; Learning About Thick Skin

MostlyBecca

Squeee

little_e

Trust: that most precious coin.

Liralen

Miss Conceived