Fictionalizing Events from Your Own Childhood -w/out Getting Sued

Grimly

Registered
Joined
Jun 22, 2016
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Is there a way to write a story derived from your own experiences as a child without getting sued? I can change the names and descriptions of other people involved. I can change their occupations. Change the setting, etc. But what about your parents? No matter how much changing you do, it could be viewed as defamatory against them, couldn't it? What if I publish under a pseudonym? Also, what if the only fictionalized parts are things that happened only to me? All of the parts in which other people are involved are true, although it happened thirty years ago, so I doubt I could prove any of it.
 

A.E.Fisher

The first draft of anything is shit
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 18, 2016
Messages
110
Reaction score
20
Location
Canada
Website
jesuisley.com
I think it comes down to whether or not you are writing a memoir. Drawing on your own experiences for a fictional story can easily be protected by using a disclaimer in the book, by changing the things you mentioned, etc. For a memoir, however, you are drawing on facts so it can get murky in the legal world.

Defamation has to be pretty damning in order to actually stick. For example, clearly painting your eighth grade teacher as a Nazi (when it's not an established fact) could be construed as defamation. But if you're throwing a different name and occupation onto the character, then you are just drawing on experiences rather than relaying fact.

A few of the characters in my past stories have be loosely based on people I've met in my life, and they were none the wiser. But when I write essays about my life, clearly using real people, I've been on the receiving end of ire over their portrayal. At the end of the day, I've chosen to take those barbs in order to keep my essays true to my own memory or experience. If you're worried, try taking a few characteristics from someone and then fill in the blanks using creativity.
 

Grimly

Registered
Joined
Jun 22, 2016
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
I guess what I'm writing is a fictionalized memoir. It's a memoir of an experience that actually happened to me, with some fictional elements added in. The fictional elements only involve me though. No other real person.
 

ironmikezero

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 8, 2011
Messages
1,737
Reaction score
426
Location
Haunted Louisiana
Many years ago, a non-fiction author I knew and admired ventured into this very realm of fictionalized memoirs. With a wink, she confided a nifty trick to avoid any legal pitfalls--change every fact by a factor of two, or by two degrees of separation. Any resulting similarity to persons, places, and/or events could be dismissed as merely coincidental. To my knowledge, she never had an issue, insisting she had a great deal of fun in the writing.
 

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman
Super Moderator
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 12, 2005
Messages
22,454
Reaction score
4,956
Location
In chaos
Is there a way to write a story derived from your own experiences as a child without getting sued?

You could write the nicest, most positive story there has ever been and someone who wasn't involved in it in any way could take offense, see something that wasn't there, and start proceedings against you. They'd have no chance of winning, but they could still start those proceedings.

If you write something which is based on truth, which shows anyone in a negative light, and you know that some of the people you're writing about are likely to object, you've got an even bigger chance of facing legal charges.

I can change the names and descriptions of other people involved. I can change their occupations. Change the setting, etc. But what about your parents? No matter how much changing you do, it could be viewed as defamatory against them, couldn't it?

You have to think about three things: what you write; how easily offended the people you're writing about are; and how determined those around you are to see themselves in what you've written. You can only control that first one. Changing names and descriptions etc. will give you very little protection against people who are determined to take offense, and those changes are no protection against the law.

What if I publish under a pseudonym?

Pseudonyms offer very little protection. They are so easily broken, and often are.

Also, what if the only fictionalized parts are things that happened only to me? All of the parts in which other people are involved are true, although it happened thirty years ago, so I doubt I could prove any of it.

The truth is a strong defense against conviction, but it won't protect you against anyone issuing proceedings against you. If you're at all worried about what could happen if your friends or family object to the book you're considering your only guaranteed protection is to not publish it. Clouding the identities of those involved by changing a few names and descriptions, writing under a pseudonym, calling your work fiction: none of these things are going to give you any sort of protection against prosecution, I'm afraid.
 

Myrealana

I aim to misbehave
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 29, 2012
Messages
5,425
Reaction score
1,911
Location
Denver, CO
Website
www.badfoodie.com
The only truly valuable advice you're going to get on something like this is from a lawyer, however, here's what I've learned.

The only way to absolutely guarantee you will never be sued over anything you write is to never write anything. You can write something completely original, and get sued for plagiarizing a book you've never read. You can create entirely fictional people and be sued for defaming a family member who is certain you based a character on her. There are nearly infinite possibilities.

Filing a civil suit requires no proof of damage or intent. All it requires is a small filing fee and legal templates downloaded from the Internet.

WINNING a civil suit is a different proposition. If you can prove that what you've written is true, or that you've sufficiently disguised the characters or yourself to the point where they can't be recognized by a reasonable person, you have a good chance of winning the suit, but nothing is a guarantee. If the people you are writing about are likely to recognize themselves, and also likely to sue, rather than just dis-invite you from Thanksgiving, you should consult a lawyer prior to publishing.

http://writersweekly.com/angela-desk/boldly-assuming-you-cant-be-sued-will-likely-lead-to-a-lawsuit
 

whiporee

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 22, 2013
Messages
563
Reaction score
77
Location
8700 foot above sea level, 1500 miles from the oce
Website
www.abeachday.com
Nobody's going to sue you. The only way you can be sued is by spreading falsehoods and presenting them as truth, and doing so in a negligent or malicious manner. If you're writing fiction, you are, by definition writing something that is untrue. Real people get used in fiction all the time -- presidents making bad decisions, rock stars kissing waitresses. You don't need to worry about being sued.

In addition, if the things actually happened to you, then truth is an absolute defense against libel. They'd have to prove it was false, prove that the fictional character you presented was based on them and that they were damaged by what was written. So no one is going to sue you.

Now, people getting angry at you and threatening to sue, that's a different story.

I have a pal who is a published, award-winning writer -- we're not close, but she takes my calls the few times I dial her. Everything she writes is thinly-veiled fiction -- she writes about her life and loves and changes the names (my father was one of them. I named one of my twin boys after him, and the other after the name of her character based on him). I went to a reading she gave a couple of years ago, and in the Q&A session someone asked her if people recognized themselves. "Sure," she said. "Does that cause problems sometimes?" "Sure." And that's all she said.

If you're going to write about things that are real -- even if they are fictionalized -- you have to expect people are going to be mad at you for it. if you're going to write about things that happened to you, you can expect your close circle will be mad about it. That's the price of offering private events to world scrutiny. You can either deal with that or you can't.

But you don't need to worry about actually being sued. Unless you're talking major best seller, even a desperate lawyer would be dumb to take it.
 

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman
Super Moderator
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 12, 2005
Messages
22,454
Reaction score
4,956
Location
In chaos
Nobody's going to sue you. The only way you can be sued is by spreading falsehoods and presenting them as truth, and doing so in a negligent or malicious manner. If you're writing fiction, you are, by definition writing something that is untrue. Real people get used in fiction all the time -- presidents making bad decisions, rock stars kissing waitresses. You don't need to worry about being sued.

In addition, if the things actually happened to you, then truth is an absolute defense against libel. They'd have to prove it was false, prove that the fictional character you presented was based on them and that they were damaged by what was written. So no one is going to sue you.

Now, people getting angry at you and threatening to sue, that's a different story.

I have a pal who is a published, award-winning writer -- we're not close, but she takes my calls the few times I dial her. Everything she writes is thinly-veiled fiction -- she writes about her life and loves and changes the names (my father was one of them. I named one of my twin boys after him, and the other after the name of her character based on him). I went to a reading she gave a couple of years ago, and in the Q&A session someone asked her if people recognized themselves. "Sure," she said. "Does that cause problems sometimes?" "Sure." And that's all she said.

If you're going to write about things that are real -- even if they are fictionalized -- you have to expect people are going to be mad at you for it. if you're going to write about things that happened to you, you can expect your close circle will be mad about it. That's the price of offering private events to world scrutiny. You can either deal with that or you can't.

But you don't need to worry about actually being sued. Unless you're talking major best seller, even a desperate lawyer would be dumb to take it.

People DO sue writers who they think have written about them even when they have no reason to do so. It happens far more often than is obvious from reading reports in the media.

They rarely win their cases, but those cases exist in horrible numbers.

Writing the truth is a good protection against conviction in such instances, but it's no protection against legal proceedings being started.
 

whiporee

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 22, 2013
Messages
563
Reaction score
77
Location
8700 foot above sea level, 1500 miles from the oce
Website
www.abeachday.com
You're right. I should have said no one is going to successfully sue you, and if they try to sue you the case will get thrown out of court as soon as it gets in front of a judge and in all likelihood you'll recover some of your legal costs.

It's not enough of a real, legitimate threat to not write. It is a pretty good excuse, though, when you're looking for reasons to not write.