tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post1815300234190711350..comments2024-03-28T15:01:21.285-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: I'm In That Book, Aren't I?Leigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-57873650954918420822023-02-10T21:09:23.985-05:002023-02-10T21:09:23.985-05:00I remember that like from ST IV. (It had a log of ...I remember that like from ST IV. (It had a log of great lines, dumbass.)<br /><br />Gilgamesh… No worries. He IS weird.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-34959685734074561732023-02-10T21:07:26.225-05:002023-02-10T21:07:26.225-05:00You are dangerous, Mr Lodi. And funny.You are dangerous, Mr Lodi. And funny.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-50629746503336066102023-02-10T21:04:49.233-05:002023-02-10T21:04:49.233-05:00Edward, I love it.Edward, I love it.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-55719479912737255002023-02-10T11:33:56.050-05:002023-02-10T11:33:56.050-05:00Great post, Jim! I have done this. In fact one of ...Great post, Jim! I have done this. In fact one of the two major characters that n my novella PAPER SON is based on historical Chinese labor wrangler Chin Gee Hee. His words, mannerisms and actions are created by me, his name, description and much of his historical backstory are historical fact. And I think in order to succeed such a character can have only be partly based in fact. The author must have agency and write the character in such a way that works in service to the plot.<br /><br />Thanks for writing this!Brian Thorntonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-64886111851339600652023-02-10T10:54:17.803-05:002023-02-10T10:54:17.803-05:00Holmes and Watson seem all too real.
Unfortunate...Holmes and Watson seem all too real. <br /><br />Unfortunately, all the Moriartys I've run into have a bad habit of outsmarting themselves. Especially when they run afoul of four teenagers and their great dane.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-76275343722681059052023-02-10T10:51:47.600-05:002023-02-10T10:51:47.600-05:00That's not quite a roman a clef. Frederick For...That's not quite a roman a clef. Frederick Forsyth used to use contemporary figures fictitiously, mainly because they would affect or be affected by the plot. His most famous example is The Odessa File, though it comes off as a Cold War version of Inglorious Basterds (in the same vein with an alternate history), where the lead blows away a well-known Nazi war criminal. <br /><br />In a roman a clef, if you decide to write a novel where your character is literally your boss, and his antagonist is the literal CEO, both with the names changed, you're still having to make real people and events conform to a story.<br /><br />Not to mention it's a great way to get sued. But The Odessa File and Valley of the Dolls are leagues apart in the types of novels they are.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-19380568724961968792023-02-10T10:27:42.924-05:002023-02-10T10:27:42.924-05:00Steve, I was being, or attempting to be, facetious...Steve, I was being, or attempting to be, facetious.<br />Edward LodiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-73856562588778267592023-02-10T10:20:37.857-05:002023-02-10T10:20:37.857-05:00Oh, Steve, what a great response to people who ask...Oh, Steve, what a great response to people who ask if the character was a real person! I'm gonna steal that one.<br />I have used a real person occasionally in a story - usually as minor characters (a waitress, etc). What's hilarious is that the one time I used a real person as the template for a supporting character, that person (who was always insisting they knew who every character "really" was) was ticked because they couldn't figure out who that one "really" was. Classic.Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-78895575135534926302023-02-10T09:40:16.713-05:002023-02-10T09:40:16.713-05:00Great post, Jim, and I agree. If a "real"...Great post, Jim, and I agree. If a "real" person appears in my work, it's always a cameo for the reasons you state so clearly: their real traits won't work for the plot. And if they're still alive, we now live in a very litigious age and there's always the chance to end up in court. <br /><br />I've had many characters (and even entire books or stories) that were INSPIRED by real people or events, but the details are always very different from the truth. Locations are easy to change, and, if I'm worried about a character, it's easy to change a major detail in description, like hair color. In some cases, switching gender works well. <br /><br />I have had people ask me if there are real people in a story, and my answer is always, "They were real to me when I wrote them."Steve Liskowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07107703903536520140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-62424308796803097832023-02-10T09:36:21.505-05:002023-02-10T09:36:21.505-05:00Sherlock Holmes was inspired by two people Conan D...Sherlock Holmes was inspired by two people Conan Doyle knew, but the final character is fictional, not a real living person.Steve Liskowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07107703903536520140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-78767537647819678582023-02-10T08:32:26.241-05:002023-02-10T08:32:26.241-05:00What about all those books using Poe, Jane Austin,...What about all those books using Poe, Jane Austin, Francis Bacon, and other historical characters as detectives to solve mysteries? The character is based on a real person, but the author puts words/actions/and personality into them and includes events from the real person's life. I have seen this work well. Perhaps it helps to only have the exterior appearance and events. The author can bend the personality to what is needed. I have done this sort of thing in a short story, but with an ancestor of mine that I never met.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-47918114755422399822023-02-10T06:23:48.032-05:002023-02-10T06:23:48.032-05:00Jim, excellent article. Actually, I have written s...Jim, excellent article. Actually, I have written several stories based on two real living people: Sherlock Holmes and his friend Watson.<br />Edward Lodi Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com