When youβre a writer, there's a tricky line you have to balance between having
experiences with people and using those experiences as material. As a writer
who spends time with a lot of writers, Iβve been on all sides of this equation.
I've been the girl who found herself summarized, not so kindly, in an exβs
article in a magazine. I've counseled a friend through a fight with another
writer who was making my friend into a regular "character" in her columns and
didnβt understand why my friend had an issue with it since her name had been
changed. And Iβve been the one whoβs lifted scenarios, situations, names and
characteristics of the people she knows.
Obviously, I try to be as careful as I possibly can. While we canβt copyright
what we say and do among friends and lovers, everyone should feel comfortable
behaving exactly as they want to without fear of ending up as a tragic or
unintentionally amusing character in a friendβs novel. I take bits and pieces
from different people or change so much that even the people whoβd been at the
incident Iβm describing might not recognize it (for my first novel,
Party Girl, I actually
went through each chapter with a lawyer who made sure of this).
Now that people have started reading my new novel,
Bought, I keep getting
questions about who Emma, the protagonist, and Jessica, her friend/antagonist,
are based on. And the truth is, theyβre based on aspects of me, as well as
aspects of many women β not to mention men β Iβve interacted with over the
years. And itβs funny how unsatisfying an answer that seems to be for some
people. "Really?" theyβll ask, hands on hips, head cocked, as if Iβm holding
out. Sometimes I think novels should have a page inserted at the beginning that
reads, "This is a novel, which means that the characters are manufactured. If
youβre looking for yourself or someone you know, please wait for the memoir."
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website.
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BOUGHT
When I read a book that in some way parallel's a part of my life, I am curious to see how the author handles it. I never thought how difficult it must be for a writer to make sure they do not "lift" situations from the life of a friend.
I look forward to reading your book.
(Robin McKay 1:13pm June 19, 2009)
I look and see if characters and scenes come from acquaintances or family of the author. Most authors use a compilation of people they know but change a few obvious aspects. Readers like to identify emotionally with relationships on the page. I believe there's a story everywhere if you observe and watch interactions. Interviewing mom was the way I got material for a acrostic poem in a chapbook from a creative writing course.
(Alyson Widen 5:54pm June 19, 2009)
When I read a book I want to connect with the characters. My aim is to enjoy the story not spend time trying to figure out if they are based on a real people.
(Rosemary Krejsa 8:53pm June 19, 2009)
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