@7b682b86 Thats a good rule, and in general, I’m the same way.

However, with the antagonist in Rise of Iron (the High Chancellor), I based her off my former manager - but I didn’t know her outside of work. I knew she was a mother, and that she was well educated, but nothing other than that.

In that way, it feels less like I used her as a person, and more like the idea of her. That is, of what bad *leadership* is, not what a bad *person* is. If that makes sense. 

 @21149f3e You cause me to look at another element, which is how we experienced these people and the emotions we carried away. My writing is very much steeped in my experiences, so while I may not base a character on one particular person, I will draw off the residual emotions from that person (and others).