Sometimes Fiction is just Fiction :: The Life of the Traegorn

Sometimes Fiction is just Fiction
Posted Oct 29, 2010 - 8:50:50	Tweet

I started writing UnCONventional almost a year ago, and I think the biggest mistake I ever made was mentioning that parts of the story were based off of my real life experiences. It's not that I wouldn't have still used these real life moments in my writing, but it's just that every time something happens or a character is introduced I get asked "Who/What is that based on?" or "Did that really happen?"

And sometimes it just makes me shake my head.

Sure, a lot of it is based off of real stuff - and I love feedback no matter what - but sometimes it feels like when I create fictional moments the readers who are friends of mine always try to find some reality based source for them. For example, for the first few months of the comic people kept asking me if Tara was based off of my friend Katie (also known as "The Russian" on the TRHOnline.com Forums). Is it because there was any similarities in their personalities or backgrounds? No. It was because they're both tall women with dark hair. That's... it. Seriously. Now, as time has gone by, and Tara's been out in the open a bit longer, people who know me in real life have stopped making that assumption. But the fact that they looked there just makes me laugh.

I created the Troy Harrington character whole cloth, albeit with characteristics based on a couple of voice actors who really are in the industry. I have had to constantly explain though that he is not based on any guest we've had at my own convention. Troy is also, admittedly, an exaggeration. No real guest is as bad as Troy - but it's hard to make jokes about someone who is just mildly jerkish.

On the other hand, sometimes real stuff gets dismissed as fictional. Heck, the spooning incident is one that actually occurred to me at Daisho Con last year.

So I guess my point is that people should read the comic with the idea that any of this could be real, and that for our characters this is real. Beyond that though you should just kick back and enjoy it for what it is. Right now I'm planning Year 2 storylines, and I think you guys will like where the strip is going.

And yes, for the record, Lynn and Tara will be getting more strip time than they've gotten in year one.
- Traegorn

Lynn is based off of no one actually. She's entirely original.

She was first created back in 2003 for a project I never launched called "Re-entry." I actually have some of the original concept sketches in an old sketch book of mine. Her personality and characterization were pretty much set in stone back then -- long before I ever met the person I think you believe the character to be based off of.

Lynn did first publicly appear in a project called Full Circle in 2006, which was presented as a series of in-character blog posts (and if you can dig through those, they are in continuity with UnCONventional officially). This is what her official character art looked like at the time:

It was that 2006 project that solidified her back story, and set her official birthdate (11/17/1984), full name (Lynn Guadalupe Baxter), and a whole lot of other stuff, including notes detailing the reasons for each of her tattoos.