With Decaf & Drones barreling towards its epic release date, I've been asked the following question: where does the inspiration for your characters come from? This is occasionally tied to the follow-up: Are they based on people you know, or on yourself, or on strangers you creepily watch from a distance while enjoying a cup of coffee on your porch? Indeed, it's probably a combination of all of these, though there aren't many strangers to watch from the porch seeing as how we live in Northern Michigan. I'd probably wave first, then secretly use them for inspiration.
via GIPHY
So...where did the original inspiration for Jordan Nimsby come from?
via GIPHY
Last
year I heard a report on the news that as many as 30% of Millennials return
home to live with their parents after graduating from college. News sources
were making this out to be a huge catastrophe*, and I knew from personal
examples that many people could commiserate with the news’
over-dramatization. Still, I saw very few characters in fiction dealing with
this issue. Where were the twenty-somethings whose goals were crushed by the
economy, life choices or simple bad luck? What would they do upon returning
home? How would they persevere and what were their dreams?
These thoughts (admittedly more existential and political than my usual train of thought) gave birth to Jordan Nimsby, a twenty-something whose dream of becoming a private investigator in the big bad city of Chicago is crushed when an unfortunate series of events leads her to lose her entry-level detective job. Bouncing back into the field proves not to be an option in the current economy and, despite working odd jobs and living with her aunt, Jordan needs to return home to Northern Wisconsin. She is a bit negative about the situation at first, but, being an upbeat person, remains focused on her goals and doesn’t let the tough stuff faze her. Like many resourceful young people nowadays, she begins to realize her dream, albeit in a very different hue than she’d originally imagined.
via GIPHY
From there, I naturally threw together awesome personality traits from friends and strangers alike to create a person I thought would be not only relate-able but also quirky, fun, honest, and, well, a little dorky (I mean, part of the inspiration had to come from my own personality, right? ;) ). So, there you have it. That's Jordan Nimsby, and I hope you grow to love her as the strong and goofy best friend you never knew you were missing.
*It really isn't, but our culture is obsessed with independence.
These thoughts (admittedly more existential and political than my usual train of thought) gave birth to Jordan Nimsby, a twenty-something whose dream of becoming a private investigator in the big bad city of Chicago is crushed when an unfortunate series of events leads her to lose her entry-level detective job. Bouncing back into the field proves not to be an option in the current economy and, despite working odd jobs and living with her aunt, Jordan needs to return home to Northern Wisconsin. She is a bit negative about the situation at first, but, being an upbeat person, remains focused on her goals and doesn’t let the tough stuff faze her. Like many resourceful young people nowadays, she begins to realize her dream, albeit in a very different hue than she’d originally imagined.
via GIPHY
From there, I naturally threw together awesome personality traits from friends and strangers alike to create a person I thought would be not only relate-able but also quirky, fun, honest, and, well, a little dorky (I mean, part of the inspiration had to come from my own personality, right? ;) ). So, there you have it. That's Jordan Nimsby, and I hope you grow to love her as the strong and goofy best friend you never knew you were missing.
*It really isn't, but our culture is obsessed with independence.
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