Using people you know in fiction

Jason from Devon is writing a novel based on people he knows, but is concerned about possible legal implications. He writes: I live in a fairly small town and the people here range from the slightly odd to massively eccentric. I’ve got an idea for a book based on these people (you wouldn’t believe how out there some of them are) but I don’t want to end up in trouble if someone recognises themselves. Apart from changing the names, how can I disguise the fact that I’m using real people?

The best way of doing this so that people in your life won’t realise you’ve used them is to combine two or three real life people into one fictional character. If, for example, the pub landlord is a misogynist and the vicar has a drinking problem, you could easily put the two together as one character and make him the local magistrate.

What I suggest you do is create a profile for each composite character. Put down as much factual information as possible, but also change anything which would enable the person to recognise themselves. 

So, for example, if you intend to use the man who works in the petrol station and he has brown hair and brown eyes, give him a different job, change the hair to red and give him green eyes. Make him taller or shorter than the person you’re going to base your character on, or make him fatter or thinner, give him more hair or make him bald, depending on how much hair the actual person has.

If you change the way he looks and where he works, he is unlikely to associate himself with that character, meaning you can still use his eccentricities without fear of recognition. Few of us recognise our own eccentric habits, but are quick to spot odd behaviour in others. 

At the top of each profile make a note which character/characters they are in real life to remind you of the foibles and traits you want to incorporate.

Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Flash Fiction Competition
Flash 500 Humour Verse Competition

Flash 500 News

Long lists

The long lists are up for the second quarter 2012. You can find the titles of the flash fiction long list here and the humour verse long list here.

Our readers say that choosing the entries to go forward to the next stage of judging is getting harder all the time because the standard in both flash fiction and humour verse is so high.

New judges

The flash fiction judge for the third quarter 2012 is an award-winning crime writer, Ruth Dugdall, and our judge for the humour verse is a multi-talented poet, writer and performer, John Hegley.

Change to prize for Highly Commended winner

Don't forget that from last quarter the winner of the Highly Commended award in the flash fiction category can choose between a copy of The Writer’s ABC Checklist (print edition - see note below about the e-book version) or a copy of Bad Moon Rising (in whichever e-format suits the winner).

Disqualified entries

I'm going to repeat a paragraph from a previous newsletter: I’ve mentioned the rules in several newsletters and have even put the necessary sections in bold on the websites, but still we receive entries with the entrants’ names on them. We also receive poems of more than thirty lines and stories of more than 500 words. Please, please comply with the rules. It’s heartbreaking to disqualify anyone’s work, but we have to do so in order to be fair to those who keep to the rules.

Accent Press have put The Writer's ABC Checklist on at a special price

The Writer’s ABC Checklist is available as an e-book for the low price of 77p/99c (normally £7.99/$12.95). I don't know how long the offer will last, but all the Secrets to Success books published by Accent Press are currently available at this extremely low price as e-books. The print editions are not on special.

For all of you who have made the second quarter long lists, congratulations and good luck with the next stage of judging.

If you missed out this time, here’s hoping you make it through to the long list in the third quarter. For more info on everything to do with both competitions, visit the websites: Flash 500 Flash Fiction and Flash 500 Humour Verse Competition.

Kind regards,

Lorraine

Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Flash Fiction Competition
Flash 500 Humour Verse Competition

Trace your Roots

Today marks the launch of one of the best books you'll ever find on researching your family tree. Trace your Roots comes from the pen of Maureen Vincent-Northam, co-author of The Writer’s ABC Checklist, colleague and very good friend. Trace your Roots is a superbly researched book on a serious subject, leavened with Maureen's inimitable brand of humour. To tell us more about it, Maureen has kindly answered some questions.

How did you come to write Trace your Roots?

This is a much-updated version of a previously published book and I wrote it to sort of redress the balance. At one time, the only genealogy books available were those of a seriously academic ilk, but all sorts of people want to trace their family tree and many appreciate a lighter tone. With Trace your Roots I had this firmly in mind while still taking the subject seriously.

Tell us a little about the book.

The book is set out as hundreds of tips with each of the 10 main chapters covering a key topic area. For example, parish records, civil sources, archival, and modern records. These tips are effective because, very often with family history research, you really do need to think outside the box. It’s easy to hit a brick wall so I suggest alternative ways of looking at things as well as recommending some lesser-known resources, many of which I’ve used in the past with positive results. I even give lessons on pidgin Latin!

How did you first become interested in genealogy?

I started out, many moons ago, by working on historical projects for other writers. I undertook some research for a local government department and then opened shop as a family history researcher. I don’t do much of that now, concentrating more on writing and editing, but I’ve always enjoyed delving into the past, and love mystery stories, and of course, genealogy involves both.

Any there interesting characters in your own family?

There are a couple of family stories: Winston Churchill was supposed to have been very impressed with, and congratulated my grandfather on, his building skills – this being one of Churchill’s own leisure pursuits – though I have difficulty picturing Mr C with a spirit level and trowel. I’ve also heard a half-formed family tale of a bare-knuckle fighter, possibly called Ruben – very tantalising and I’m not altogether sure I should be as excited by this as I am.

You mention researching connections to famous people in your book: can you tell us more?

I’ve been involved in researching the 13th century de Bohun family who were Earls of Hereford and the ancestors of Daniel Boone, the American pioneer. And I once had a client with connections to a branch of the royal Tudors.

What's your next writing project?

I have so many and, as you know, quite a few half-written ones! At the moment I’m looking for interest in a memoir-writing idea.

MaureenVincent-Northam is the author of Trace your Roots and co-author of TheWriter’s ABC Checklist. She’s judged online writing contests, contributes regularly to markets aimed at writers, and wrote and tutored an online workshop that centred on researching and writing family histories.

www.maureen-vincent-northam.co.uk

http://trace-your-roots.blogspot.co.uk/



Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Flash Fiction Competition
Flash 500 Humour Verse Competition

Formatting and Layout

Paddy from Ireland sent in the following email: I'm reading a Jennifer Johnston novel at the moment.  I notice that whenever she goes into flashback, she uses italics. Is this necessary, desirable or purely at the discretion of the author?

The important point is to avoid confusing your readers. The author has to signal that the writing is moving into flashback scene. You can do this by using italics, as Jennifer Johnston does, but it isn’t strictly necessary. 

Leaving a clear line of space and not indenting the opening paragraph signals to the reader that you have moved to a new scene, so as long as your opening sentence shows clearly that we are now reliving a moment from the past, you don’t need to use italics. Having said that, lots of writers prefer to show the entire flashback in italics – it’s up to the individual author and also the publisher’s house style.

Julia from Cambridge had a formatting concern. She said: When we submit email entries to competitions, or any email submissions really, should we indent paragraphs by pressing the space key or by setting the tab? Which do you prefer? I ask you this because you once commented on my tabs in a competition critique not being right and I wondered if this was because I indent by pressing the space bar?

I would advise against using tabs or the spacebar. What I do for my own work is set automatic indents using the paragraph settings from the menu. When I’ve finished the document, I go back and simply remove the indent in the opening paragraph by backspacing.

I know editors prefer writers to set indents in this way because it is easier for them to change the formatting when it comes time to laying out magazine or website content. If you indent with the spacebar or tabs, each indent has to be manually removed (or the editor has to remove all formatting from the text), which, of course, causes more work in the layout stage.

Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Flash Fiction Competition
Flash 500 Humour Verse Competition