Using stories in the news as subplot, fictionalized?

backslashbaby · Oct 9, 2009

Shoot! I hoped I wouldn't run into this, but a story about a murder I read has jumped up and fit beautifully into my plot. I would fictionalize very much of it, but if folks are familiar with the murder (which they may or may not be), they'd know parts of it came from real events.

Is that a problem?

The genre is strange, quirky satire-magical-realism, and I use lots of barely fictionalized real things. This is the first one I've encountered outside of politics and my own life that I'd be using. It fits bizarrely well. There are elements of stranger-than-fiction that work absolutely perfectly with my plot and themes.

But is it wrong/not done?

WKolodzieski · Oct 9, 2009

Hi backslash,
Personally I don't think it would be a problem, especially in the genre of satire. IMO anything goes here. I play with pop culture and politics and such throughout my entire book. For one example, in one chapter there is a classroom massacre. Though it's fictionalized, I through in a similarity to the name of the V-Tech Killer, which I'm hoping will add to the underlying satirical message of the novel. Good luck, best wishes.

backslashbaby · Oct 9, 2009

Thank you! And it's always awesome to see others using political/social satire

Good luck to you!

It's such a strange story - the murder - that it sounds like my fiction. I wish that's all it was, of course.

But I do really want it in there; if folks know it's based on reality, I'd hope it would even add to the story, as the political references are supposed to. The book really highlights how strange real life is.

Strange Days · Oct 9, 2009

Should not be a problem at all, I think. As long as it's fictionalized enough- no legal troubles also. Besides, since the News is a public source, there's no copyright on it.

offyatindy · Oct 9, 2009

This is a great question. I share your interest because my novel (if you want to call it that) is essentially a fictionalized business plan. (I started writing it while working on my MBA.) Some of the characters are easily identifiable. Others are place holders for real positions in companies. Some even do the same things as the real life characters. If this was a news article, I could use "truth" as a defense against any claims of slander or libel. My question then is, what is a fiction writers defense? Can you use truth when the characters follow their real life counterparts? Is it social commentary when they follow a fictional path? Hyperbole - because no reasonable person would believe it? I believe these are reasonable arguments that will allow me to publish such a book, but I am not an attorney. (I plan to consult with one.) Any thoughts on these issues?

maestrowork · Oct 9, 2009

Fiction based on true stories are common. As long as you don't use the real characters or copy the exact events... make it your own.

katiemac · Oct 9, 2009

Shoot! I hoped I wouldn't run into this, but a story about a murder I read has jumped up and fit beautifully into my plot. I would fictionalize very much of it, but if folks are familiar with the murder (which they may or may not be), they'd know parts of it came from real events.

Is that a problem?

The genre is strange, quirky satire-magical-realism,

I don't see a big problem with it, but I would warn against using a well-known case. It could completely destroy the satire element if readers recognize the murder and, you know, don't think there's much to ridicule about it.

That said, if this were to be published it would most likely hit the shelves a couple years down the road, so chances are slim the details would be fresh in people's minds. Either way I'd just be careful how you handle it.

backslashbaby · Oct 9, 2009

Thank you, StrangeDays and Ray

Offyatindy, good questions. With politics, I usually do hyperbole and change the names and find that it works well. But politics is easy that way, I think.

I definitely use a lot of true things in politics that are absurd on their own (highlighted nicely in the story, I hope). I don't mind if people recognize that it was from real life - the opposite, really.

But this:

katiemac said:
I don't see a big problem with it, but I would warn against using a well-known case. It could completely destroy the satire element if readers recognize the murder and, you know, don't think there's much to ridicule about it.

That said, if this were to be published it would most likely hit the shelves a couple years down the road, so chances are slim the details would be fresh in people's minds. Either way I'd just be careful how you handle it.

Hmmmm. So true. Let's see, here too it's the absurdity that I'm interested in exploring. The real-life absurdity. But not to ridicule in this case. Yes, I'd better make that very clear.

I touch on serious and sad things, too, so I think I'm OK. The satire is dark or Gallows Humor all the way through, not really the spoofy kind (except for comic relief). Thanks so much for the insight!

TereLiz · Oct 9, 2009

Frankly, I think authors take stories from the news all the time as inspiration. Just as long as you are "inspired" by the event, and not piggybacking on the renown of the case.

Anyway, good luck with it.

katiemac · Oct 9, 2009

Hmmmm. So true. Let's see, here too it's the absurdity that I'm interested in exploring. The real-life absurdity. But not to ridicule in this case. Yes, I'd better make that very clear.

I know you're not out to ridicule the case, of course, even though that's the word I used. But satire especially can be a fine line, so you'll need to build it very specifically.

My response was prompted by a particularly nasty murder that happened very recently. I'd recognize the details years from now, but I don't think it's made national news. I'm hardly likely to be offended if someone decided to satire the circumstances, but by using a real-life event you're up against more than what you put in the book.

So anyway, I think you already got my point. A well-known case might be harder to pull off than a local one, but even then I think you could make it work. It's all in the approach.

kaitie · Oct 9, 2009

I know it's not a literary example, but my first thought is Law and Order does this all the time. Often I know exactly which case they're basing things from. Same goes for the few episodes of CSI I've seen. Granted, I used to watch a lot of forensics shows, but if you change it up some and put in different names I don't see why it would be a problem, either.

Caitlin Black · Oct 9, 2009

Go for it.

(You'd be amazed - I had seven typos in the above 3-word sentence... go me. Blech, it's still early(ish))

backslashbaby · Oct 10, 2009

LOL, Cliff! Thank you, and thank you TereLiz. It's not a well-known case. I think it might have been if there weren't so much other news at the time.

Kaitie, I thought of Law & Order, too. They definitely do it, yeah. And mine would be more fictionalized than they do.

If the story I'm interested didn't involve a cult of a 3,000 year old demon dog, I really don't know that I'd be so obsessed with using it. But man, ancient demon dogs? How could I not

?

kaitie · Oct 10, 2009

Okay...I want a link to this article!

backslashbaby · Oct 10, 2009

kaitie said:
Okay...I want a link to this article!

Lol, but I'll sound like a fiend if you read about the real case after I've picked through it for my plot! You can read my book later, though

Using stories in the news as subplot, fictionalized?

backslashbaby

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WKolodzieski

backslashbaby

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Strange Days

who cares, anyway?..

offyatindy

An Iron Engine of Indeterminate Age

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

katiemac

Five by Five

backslashbaby

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TereLiz

Necromancer to the stars

katiemac

Five by Five

kaitie

With great power comes

Caitlin Black

Wild one

backslashbaby

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kaitie

With great power comes

backslashbaby

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Using stories in the news as subplot, fictionalized?

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who cares, anyway?..

An Iron Engine of Indeterminate Age

Fear the Death Ray

Five by Five

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Necromancer to the stars

Five by Five

With great power comes

Wild one

~~~~*~~~~

With great power comes

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