Fiction Craft: Using Real People as Characters

by Robert L Ferrier

A discussion of why you shouldn't use real people as fictional characters.

Question: I am considering writing a story based on real people, events and emotions. What are the legal issues? Allison Paine (http://uk.profiles.yahoo.com/icklemistrouble)

Answer: Proceed with caution, Allison. First, consult an attorney specializing in this area. Change the names of real people in the manuscript to avoid a libel suit. However, even changing the names doesn't offer full protection. Case law provides examples of authors sued for libel or invasion of privacy because readers "recognized themselves" disguised under fictional names.

Book editors warn against using real people in fiction. They know that story characters must present "larger than real life," exhibiting only a few exaggerated traits which fit the story goal, obstacle and other characters.

Question: What book genres are hot now, and will continue to be hot for the next year or two? I'm working on a memoir-type tale of a childless couple hosting exchange students. Mary J. Brown (mbrown1.voyager.net)

Answer: In general, book sales have been flat over the last few years, and now the publishing industry battles a soft economy. With few exceptions, no genre has stood out.

The exceptions: children's books and fantasy. For proof, check the sales of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Talents like J. K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien and Neil Gaiman prove that great storytelling transcends genres.

I advise against writing to the market. What's hot one year may cool down the next. You might as well try to chase a butterfly.

The good news: editors rank fresh stories over genre. Your premise shows originality -- a pressure cooker with potential for conflict, love, loyalty and humor. Build those characters from within and write from your heart.

Then one day you may look down and see the butterfly on your shoulder.

Question: A friend asked, "How much background research should I use in a novel?"

Answer: Include only enough research to inform the readers and advance the story.

Have you ever wanted to quit reading a novel because the author buried you with too much background? Having mined those gems, the writer felt required to use all of them, even at the expense of story movement.

True, readers need information to fathom plot and motivation. Stories can both educate and entertain. Yet, as drivers on the story road, don't bore readers with the background of motor oil. Just coat those cams and put the pedal to the medal.

Blend Information In Dialogue

In my novel, "Dear Mr. Kapps," 14-year-old Rafe Mackey awaits his first chemotherapy treatment for lymphoma. He's seeking advice -- and reassurance -- from Brad Boxleitner, another 14-year-old chemo patient. As a cancer survivor, I had experienced chemotherapy, and revisiting those memories took courage. I resisted taking the easy road, where Brad would merely describe the treatments in a clinical way. Instead, I blended information with emotion in dialogue. A shortened version of that scene appears below:

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We sat in silence. Any moment a nurse would walk in with bags of medicine that would make me as bald as BB. He knew what to expect, I thought. Maybe he would clue me.

"BB, what's chemo like?"

Those blue lasers stared at me. "The next hour? Tonight? Or down the road?"

"All three."

He sighed and crossed one Nike over the other. "The nurse, Miss Brock, will walk in with bags of Red Stuff. She'll find a vein and watch the medicine drain into us. I call her Nurse Needles."

"Why does she watch it drain into us?"

"Because if the needle slips out of a vein, Red Stuff eats muscle."
"If it's that strong, why doesn't it kill us?"

He rolled his eyes. "When the Seven O'Clock Follies hit, you'll think it is killing you."

"The Seven O'Clock Follies?"

"About seven tonight, you'll feel like a mule kicked you in the gut." He stared at me. "There's nothing your mom can do. You'll puke Red Stuff. Nurse Needles says drink water. It won't stay down, but drink anyway. You'll piss Red Stuff. Red Stuff goes everywhere inside your body."

"Killing Cancer Rats," I murmured.

He nodded. "Yeah, like the other chemo meds, and the cortisone pills that puff you up and make you cranky."

Already, I felt sick.

He pointed to his bald head. "In a few days, you'll lose all that black hair."

I felt my hair. So long, I thought. Been good to grow you.

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Novelist and poet Robert Ferrier has three books published by SyngerEBooks (THE VIRTUAL GUARD, THE WITCHERY WAY and DEAR MR. KAPPS.) His fiction craft articles have been published worldwide. He lives in Oklahoma with his wife and daughter.