We’ve all probably heard the joke, “Be nice or you’ll end up in my novel.” That’s because writers are naturally influenced by people and situations from our real lives. Some writing advice (“Write what you know!”) even finds its foundation in this. But hitting too close to home when writing a work of fiction can get you in hot water with your real-life inspirations (even the famous ones). In fact, although it’s harder to prove libel in fiction, lawsuits have occurred.
Just how much trouble can you get into?
That probably depends on how you’ve written the character. Is the charming heroine based on someone you love? Unless you’ve included very personal details or anecdotes not meant to be shared, then you likely will not have anything to worry about. But include any details or anecdotes that are personal or secret, or make someone you know into a villain? That may not be as pretty. (Note: the rules when writing about public figures through satire or in fiction vary and offer more leeway than those when writing about someone you know directly.)
On the legal front, a key factor in this situation is whether or not an author has included enough detail that someone could identify—without a doubt—the person who inspired a character. If so, there’s a stronger basis for a suit. But even without that, you could be facing trouble; the person who inspired your character may have strong feelings about how they have been written or about being included at all.
How do you navigate this when writing your initial draft(s)?
It’s actually very simple: shake things up. (This can help with blocks, too!)
Instead of creating a clone of someone you know in real life, take the pieces of them that are important to the story and change anything that’s not.
Put another way: whatever incidental details can be changed without affecting who the character is and what they do in your story, change them. Name, age, gender, sexuality, where they’re from, accent, how they look, their favorite hobbies, their job, personality traits, etc. Introduce enough details to create reasonable doubt about who exactly inspired your character.
Maybe your real-life messy, narcissistic college roommate, Susie, was tall with blonde hair, green eyes, and a love of all things lilac. Maybe she was allergic to strawberries and drove a yellow VW Beetle. But that villainous coworker your MC is dealing with—the one based on Susie? Maybe her name is Mona, and she’s short with red hair. Maybe she loves a strawberry banana smoothie every day, which she drinks on the bus because Mona doesn’t have a car.
These can seem silly little details, but when you have enough small, unimportant differences to point to, it’s easier to say, “Of course I didn’t base this character off Susie—Susie would never . . . be caught dead on a cruise ship. Everyone knows she’s terrified of the ocean!”
(Writing nonfiction, such as a memoir? This can be a bit more sticky. Read more about that here.)
Share Your Story
What do you pull from your real life into your stories? Are you influenced my real people? Places? Events? How do you honor your inspiration without getting yourself into trouble?