17 September 2022

Real or Nonreal?



I was asked an interesting question a few weeks ago, about writing.

First, a quick story. Years ago a writer friend of mine had just published his first book, a memoir of his own life. He said to me, "I'm proud to tell you, every single word of it is true." I congratulated him on his accomplishment, and he mentioned that he'd heard I had a new book out as well--mine was a collection of short mystery stories. "I sure do," I said. "And I'm proud to tell you, not a single word of it is true." The fact is, I was proud of that. I'd much rather write fiction than nonfiction. 

Okay, back to the question I was asked the other day. I had said to a friend, this one a reader instead of a writer, that I'm currently re-reading an old novel by Ken Follett called Night Over Water. It's a pre-WWII story about a transatlantic flight on a Pan American Clipper, one of several giant seaplanes that Boeing manufactured for Pan Am in the 1930s. The story's a good one, though not Follett's best (I have all his novels), and when I went on to describe the book to this friend of mine she said, "That makes it creative nonfiction, right?" I replied that no, the Clippers were real but this story had imaginary characters and an imaginary plot. She said, "But that's what makes it creative nonfiction. Right?"

Wrong. Creative nonfiction is still nonfiction--it contains no made-up events and no made-up characters. Examples of creative nonfiction that I have here on my shelves are The Right Stuff, The Perfect Storm, In Cold Blood, etc. Wonderful, engaging stories, but they're all true. They're about real people and things that really happened. They're just told using some fictional techniques in a way that can create more interest and suspense. 

Which brings up another question: How far can we fiction writers go in our descriptions of real events and real characters? I've written and sold a lot of short stories based on real events and have occasionally included the names of real people in them. In a couple of stories I've even included real historical figures in supporting roles. Many famous novelists, among them E. L. Doctorow, Stephen King, and Larry McMurtry, have done the same. In my case, those real-life characters I put into the stories never said or did anything that would paint them in a bad light, but they're still there, nonfictional parts of otherwise fictional tales. Again, how much of that is too much? How much is allowed and acceptable? (In the too-much department, I'm thinking of novels like Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.)

One story of mine that uses a few real names, and one real person as a minor character, is "The Donovan Gang," the lead story in the current (Sept/Oct 2022) issue of AHMM. The plot is totally fictional, a story about six passengers--a journalist, an actress, a preacher, a dentist, a saloon girl, and a lawman--on a stagecoach in southeast Arizona in 1907. The confined quarters (all six people are jammed together, three to a seat) and the mystery (one of the passengers is an unknown accomplice to a crime) made the story a lot of fun to put together. There's something of a surprise at the very end that has nothing to do with the mystery, and that made it even more enjoyable for me to write. NOTE: I once heard that you should always write for yourself, not for anyone else, and if someone else does happen to like what you've written, well, that's icing on the cake. I think that's still good advice.


Questions: Have you ever used any real people in your fiction? If so, why? Was it hard to do? Did you think it made your story (or novel) better? If you haven't used real people, why not? Was it unnecessary? A concern over possible legal issues? With regard to creative nonfiction, how far do you think it can go before it becomes fiction? Can any of the dialogue be imaginary, or must conversations be exact and historically accurate? Let me know your opinion.

As for my AHMM story, be aware that--real characters or not--it's purely fiction. Or, as Lawrence Block once said, nothing but a pack of lies.

I'll take that over nonfiction any day.





39 comments:

  1. John, congratulations on your newly published story!

    As far as I can remember, I've only used a real character once in a story. In fact, that character is yours truly. Way back in 1996, when I was in the military, I took a local bus home. There was a thick fog like I had seldom seen, and it was getting dark. The bus engine made a lot of noise and all the passengers (there were only three or four) minded their own businesses. And I thought: what if I killed one of the passengers... nobody would hear it, nobody would notice. Yes, I know, a horrifying thought, but I was already writing fiction back then, and sometimes it helps to extrapolate real life experiences. Twenty years later, I finally wrote that story and made myself a character and the prime suspect. And a most shady character at that! In that story, I sit in the exact spot were I sat, on exactly the same day when "it" (the fictional part) happened.

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    1. Hi Anne. Thank you! The AHMM story was a lot of fun to write, and I've already gotten some kind feedback about it.

      Your story sounds great (though now I'm not sure if I'd want to ride the same bus with you!). When you get a great story idea like that, I think it always hangs with you until you write it down, even if it IS for years. I bet it felt good to write that one. As for putting myself into a story, I guess I do that too, in a way--though probably not as "directly" as you did.

      Thanks as always, for the thoughts.

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  2. I've used real people I've known as models for characters in my stories, and yes, they improved the tales by motivating me to creatively explore unresolved issues. Naturally, names, places, and all other legally actionable details were changed.

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    1. To protect the innocent, right?

      Mike, I think we all do that--it just makes sense. The fact that we know these people in real life makes the characters easier to understand. I change names and places except in certain historical-fiction stories, and in those cases I try to make sure I don't overstep. One thing I've often done, in many many stories, is use composites of different people to make single characters. Any way you do it, it's fun.

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  3. I've never used a real person in any of my stories. I would feel uncertain about managing it.

    Also, loved "The Donovan Gang," and I think the real people aspect made the story even more memorable.

    Bob

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    1. Hey Bob -- Glad you liked the story. Thanks so much.

      I've used real people in a very small percentage of my stories--there's just no need to. Now and then, though, it seems to make things easier, especially in historical fiction.

      Interesting to find out about others' writing habits, rules, preferences, etc.

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  4. Thought-provoking post, John, as usual.

    I don't think I've ever used a real character in a story, but two of my standalone novels are inspired by real events, both of which I changed radically to avoid potential lawsuits.

    The main plot of Blood On the Tracks was inspired by a real event, but I didn't even realize it until someone else pointed it out to me!

    As for creative nonfiction, I usually define it as a true story told in an exciting way, relying on fictional techniques as you said yourself. My favorite example is Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City, which is true but reads like a high-speed page-turning thriller. Most of Larson's other works would qualify, too.

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    1. Steve, I agree. Erik Larson's books read like fiction, in terms of excitement and suspense. Another creative-nonfiction guy I like to read is Sebastian Junger.

      Whatever you're doing in your novels, you're obviously doing it right! Thanks as always.

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  5. I love your opening anecdote. My first novel, SUCH A KILLING CRIME, takes place in the Great Folk Music Scare of the early 1960s. Several real-life folkies have small parts, all of them deceased, except the great Tom Paxton. I didn't ask his permission but I did send him a note saying I was going to include him. He offered to be the killer! I had to disappoint him on that but he was gracious enough to send me a blurb: " If I'd known he was watching us all so carefully, I'd have behaved much better."

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    1. Ha! I love that Paxton story, Rob. I'm not at all surprised that he enjoyed being included in the book. It's been my experience that most folks feel honored when that happens. (That's a cool blurb, too.)

      I fondly recall the story you wrote (for AHMM, right?) that included all of us in Criminal Brief as suspects in your crime. One of our claims to fame!

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    2. I didn't use the Briefers, I just borrowed their names. (Tuckerizing, I believe is the term). By the way, I was reminded of W.P. Kinsella's great line: "I don't have time to read nonfiction."

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    3. Oh, I should have said that story was "Shanks Commences" and it did indeed appear in AHMM.

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    4. That's okay, I'd rather be borrowed than used. The story was great, by the way, like all of Shanks' adventures. And I love Kinsella's quote. I feel the same way!

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  6. My fiction is often inspired by reality. You make good points in your discussion.

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    1. Thanks, Jacqueline. Always good to see you here!

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  7. I'm with the group. I'll use real life stuff like headlines or experiences, but the characters are entirely fictional. I specifically don't use real folks as characters. Once, I was writing on a train and used the guy across from me as a description, but the character was his own thing.

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    1. Hey Bob. Probably a good practice. I admit I do a lot of Tuckerizing, when I know for sure that the Tuckeree doesn't mind, and occasionally (as I said) I'll put a historical figure into a period piece. But mostly I stick to totally imaginary characters. I used to ALWAYS do that, but lately I tend to lean more toward things that entertain ME, as well as trying to entertain the reader.

      It's always interesting to me to find out other writers' processes.

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  8. John, I liked the surprise at the end of "The Donovan Gang." I had no idea that the "surprise" had been a dentist until I looked him up in Wikipedia to see how old he had been at the time of your story. Good job.

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    1. R.T. -- Glad you liked the story--thank you! Yep, that last little deal wasn't part of the mystery, but it was fun to insert into the story. Researching all this stuff can in some cases be entertaining in itself. Sort of like studying for fun.

      Again, thanks for reading it!

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  9. Laff! Reminds me of when I was four. I made up stories all the time. My parents called it lying. That was so short-sighted of them. Yes, John, I have used real characters in my latest novel (Out in early 2023) - two mob characters (one female) from Hamilton who pretty well ran prohibition in the 1920s. They happen to be relatives of my protagonist (and perhaps even early relatives of mine! Maybe that's what gave me inner permission to use them.) If someone is dead, it is a LOT easier to use them in fiction (and I'm realizing that sounds like I'm writing ghost stories - grin)

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    1. Hey, they are lies! But we're lying to people who want to be lied to. I love and expect being lied to, when I read fiction.

      Good for you, for using those real folks in your novel. And yes, it does sound like you have implied permission.

      A friend once told me he never writes about real people unless they're dead, because dead people can't sue you. (It won't surprise you when I tell you this friend was a lawyer.)

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  10. shoot! That last comment was from Melodie Campbell. Why won't SS remember me anymore?

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    1. It's not the fault of SS, Melodie, it's Blogger. As I told O'Neil De Noux earlier today, what I do when Blogger won't let my browser (Safari) post a comment without calling me Anonymous is, I go into another browser (in my case Firefox), sign into Blogger using that browser, and then it'll let me enter my comment. Might not work for you (I don't think it worked for O'Neil) but that's a possible workaround. What a pain.

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  11. Useful post, John. I do wonder about the occasional books I see that use living famous people as characters, and not cameos either. There's a thriller series (fiction) starring Obama and Biden. And I can't recall the details now, but I read recently about an upcoming crime novel with a famous person who is the main character--and I don't think that famous person wrote the book. Does this ring any bells with you? Perhaps the publishers received releases to use these people's names.

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    1. Barb, I've not heard of an upcoming novel like the one you mentioned. I do remember a couple from just a few years ago, one about F. Scott Fitzgerald and another about (I think) Joan Crawford. And yes, I feel certain that releases were/are acquired for those kinds of projects.

      I've heard of the Obama/Biden novels but haven't read them. Interesting!

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  12. "They're just told using some fictional techniques in a way that can create more interest and suspense." Which is why I have never bought into the whole "creative nonfiction" deal. The read is fiction or nonfiction. Once the author has to employ fictional techniques--for whatever reason-- he or she is writing fiction. Creative nonfiction is fiction under another moniker jsut like any other genre.

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    1. Hey Kevin. As for creative nonfiction, I've enjoyed several of those kinds of books (both Larson and Junger have been mentioned, and I'll never forget In Cold Blood), but those are certainly written in a different way from most other nonfiction I've read. I don't read a lot of it, that's for sure. As for creative nonfiction being another kind of fiction, I think I'd have to say instead that it's another kind of nonfiction. In any case, it's not something I think I'd be able to do well.

      Thanks for the thoughts!

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  13. The author that did the Obama/Biden deal got permission from both first. The first one was good and had some humor mixed in. Did not care at all for the second one which seemed very forced and caused by the success of the first one.

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    1. It's good to hear this, Kevin! I've not read them or spoken to anyone who has, and I'd wondered about how good/bad they really were. Thanks.

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    2. I enjoyed the first one. One does have to accept the premise that Biden and Obama could go places and do things without anyone ever noticing. My review is at https://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/2019/03/review-hope-never-dies-obama-biden.html

      Now, the second one, did not work at all for me and I quit a couple of chapters on. Jeanne of the Bookblog of the Bristol Library did a guest review on it at https://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/2021/05/jeanne-reviews-hope-rides-again-obama.html and she very much liked it.

      For what that is all worth.

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    3. Kevin -- Thanks for the links to the reviews. I missed those. Headed there now to read them.

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  14. I started what became the Mendoza Family Saga with a story set in 1492 on the Santa Maria with Columbus as the detective and the other characters fictional, including my Jewish protagonist; that led to a novel using the whole historical cast of Columbus's second voyage in which all the events they participated in were true—I loved doing that, because I had an "outline," good history books based on primary sources and a lot of research—along with fictional Jewish, Rom, Taino, Spanish, ahd Moorish characters; and that turned into a series in which I mixed historical characters including Suleiman the Magnificent with a growing cast of fictional characters of various nationalities over a forty year historical time span. I love being able to write my own version of history and the folks who lived it, having chosen some characters who are shrouded in mystery, eg the ladies of Suleiman's harem. I also liked what you said about truth and lies. When I was an active poet, I always said, "All my stories are true." When I turned to fiction, I loved the fiction writer's line, "I tell lies for a living" (okay, so maybe not much of a living), which is true in spirit in spite of the use of historical characters and events in novels and short stories.

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    1. Liz, you indeed made GOOD use of those historical characters. I agree, it's fun to be able to create your own version of history. I remember marveling, as I read some of the Mendoza tales, at the amount of research you must've put into those.

      Thanks, as always!

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  15. From Doug Allyn, who was having trouble commenting via Blogger:
    "As to real vs. fictional, funny you should mention it, since I'm in mid story of 'Capone's Castle,' which is fiction based on a real event. One of the events (outrageously) did take place, the other could have, and if I do this right, at the end, you should have to Google it to find out which one actually happened. Bottom line, no matter how creative we strain to be, the truth is usually wilder than anything we can dream up. Use it, it's free."

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    1. Stranger, AND wilder, than fiction, right?

      Looking forward to "Capone's Castle," Doug. Love your stories. As for "doing it right," you always have in the past.

      Thanks for the thoughts!

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  16. I've based characters on real people, and my favorite was when the real person read the story, and told me they (pronouns neutral on person) recognized every single person as various people in town except that character, and asked, "So who is it?" I smiled and said, "someone from my past." And I (almost) agree with Kinsella. Great post!

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    1. Hey Eve. That's funny, about readers' reactions to those characters. A lady told me years ago that she'd recognized one of my characters in a story as herself, and thanked me for featuring her. I said You're welcome--but the truth is, this lady hadn't even entered my mind when I created that character. Whaddayagonnado?

      I too "almost" agree with Kinsella. I certainly read a lot MORE fiction than non-, and enjoy it more, but I do read nonfiction occasionally. Not long ago I read an absolutely fascinating book about the siege of the Alamo (The Gates of the Alamo by Stephen Harrington) and--as the friend I mentoned earlier told me--every word of it was true.

      Thanks as always for the insights.

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  17. I published two short stories whose main character was a real person: Weegee, the famous NYC crime photographer of the 1930s and 40s. The crime stories grew out of research I was doing with the idea of publishing a mystery novel with Weegee as the sleuth (yet to be finished). Journalism is my background and photography is a hobby, so I've long known about and been fascinated by Weegee. Seemed a natural to make him a sleuth.

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    1. Hi Bruce. Interesting! I'm sure it was fun to use a real person as a main character when you both share such a common interest/hobby/job/pastime. I'll have to find those stories.

      Thanks for stopping in at SS.

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