When writing in my novels (temporarily on hold!), I don’t really feel the need to do a Stephen King.
Stephen King often puts people he knew in his books. Unfortunately, he may have borrowed situations from people he knew, or their mannerisms, and then applied them to a fictional character. Then the real person, who doesn’t know that Stephen only borrowed PART of them, reads the story and is crushed to see that Stephen is calling them some kind of strange.
My advice is this – if you’re trying to write a novel (I’ve got a lot to say about that), then avoid the Stephen King route. He’s doing what works for him, but it probably won’t work for you. He probably spends an amount of time in “What if…” then borrows people he knows to put in there. Then, the characters begin to change to force the story, and they’re no longer Betty Sue from Pownal or Lewiston, but so and so from Salem’s Lot or wherever.
Here’s what I recommend – spend an inordinate amount of time in “What if?” Then populate it with imaginary people. You’ve actualy got a lot more freedom that way. “But I don’t know who they are?” Good! They can become anyone you WANT them to be! What does it take to drive the story? make them that.
