Morgan Kane asked David Wong:

Besides Dave and John, are any other characters in your books based on real people? If so, who?

David Wong Well not even Dave and John are based on REAL people, they're based on fictional versions of me and Mack Leighty (for instance, I've never drank alcohol in my life, Mack has been married with children since his mid-20s). In general you really can't grab real people from real life an stick them in your book wholesale, that's a good way to get sued. What you wind up doing is taking bits from real people (even if they're just strangers you saw on the bus one day) and combining them with other personality traits from elsewhere, and once you start writing they take on a life of their own. By the time you're done, they won't resemble anyone living in the actual world.

flag

There's a line you wrote in the original JDATE that pops into my head every now and then, and I still don't know the answer to the question it poses - when I dream of a man about to set off T&T, and I awake to a lightning strike, how did my brain know to do that?

Roy Eugene Singleton Jr. asked David Wong:

Hey, David, I noticed anytime you're asked about your work or social life, you describe how busy you are and how often you're working on this that and the other. I was wondering, you describe it as if its terribly exhausting, but is the reward greater than the effort you put in?

Jack Walters asked David Wong:

This question contains spoilers… (view spoiler)

All answers from David Wong…

David Wong

5,714 followers

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more

Besides Dave and John, are any other characters in your books based on real people? If so, who?

More Answered Questions

There's a line you wrote in the original JDATE that pops into my head every now and then, and I still don't know the answer to the question it poses - when I dream of a man about to set off T&T, and I awake to a lightning strike, how did my brain know to do that?

Hey, David, I noticed anytime you're asked about your work or social life, you describe how busy you are and how often you're working on this that and the other. I was wondering, you describe it as if its terribly exhausting, but is the reward greater than the effort you put in?

About Goodreads Q&A