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I've got an MC whom is a survivor of a fictitious disaster which I (well, for the moment anyway) have based on the real-life nightmare of the Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island, and I was wondering if by doing so I might come across as being exploitive, unethical and overall hurtful? Anyone from New England (which I am) will certainly be familiar with what I am talking about, but for those whom aren't the incident happened a few years back in a nightclub called "The Station" which was overcrowded and had insufficient exits. There was foam padding on the cieling installed to help control noise but the ignorant SOBs whom decided to put it there didn't take into account how incredibly flammable it was, then one night it caught fire and in a matter of seconds it quickly spread throughout the building, 100 people died and hundreds of others were maimed, a lot of which was captured on some particularly horrific video footage.
What I have in mind for my MC is different enough that legally I'm not worried, but anyone from New England with half a brain will know what I used as a basis because I'm also from there and because the overall mechanics will be the same, an overcrowded nightclub with too few exits and a fire that ignites the cieling then quickly spreads, and from the vantage point of my protag the panic, smoke inhalation and being burnt by debris falling from the cieling. And while the story is not going to center on this at some point he is going to have to relive it for the reader, and though I will avoid getting overly graphic as much as possible the horror of what these people went through will be obvious, this is what has got me worried.
So for me it's not a question of can I but more importantly SHOULD I? The reason why I am thinking of using this whole scenario is because like 9/11 this disaster it didn't touch me personally but I still felt haunted by it, and when a writer cares about something that usually comes across in his/her story. But also the absolute last thing I want to do is sucker-punch the survivors and families of victims whom, if by some miracle I ever get published, stumbled upon my book without realizing where it goes.
I know it will depend a lot on how I write it and I realize that whenever you describe a realistic tragity it is inevitable that it will push the wrong buttons for some readers, but still I go back and forth on the whole question, I really don't want to be reckless with something that has effected so many people.
This all of course assumes anybody will ever care to publish or read anything I write!
But that aside I thought this might make an interesting topic.
What I have in mind for my MC is different enough that legally I'm not worried, but anyone from New England with half a brain will know what I used as a basis because I'm also from there and because the overall mechanics will be the same, an overcrowded nightclub with too few exits and a fire that ignites the cieling then quickly spreads, and from the vantage point of my protag the panic, smoke inhalation and being burnt by debris falling from the cieling. And while the story is not going to center on this at some point he is going to have to relive it for the reader, and though I will avoid getting overly graphic as much as possible the horror of what these people went through will be obvious, this is what has got me worried.
So for me it's not a question of can I but more importantly SHOULD I? The reason why I am thinking of using this whole scenario is because like 9/11 this disaster it didn't touch me personally but I still felt haunted by it, and when a writer cares about something that usually comes across in his/her story. But also the absolute last thing I want to do is sucker-punch the survivors and families of victims whom, if by some miracle I ever get published, stumbled upon my book without realizing where it goes.
I know it will depend a lot on how I write it and I realize that whenever you describe a realistic tragity it is inevitable that it will push the wrong buttons for some readers, but still I go back and forth on the whole question, I really don't want to be reckless with something that has effected so many people.
This all of course assumes anybody will ever care to publish or read anything I write!
But that aside I thought this might make an interesting topic.
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