How do change name and is that enough

karenmary

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Hi there.

I wrote a short memoir for a contest a few months ago and stuck it at the bottom of a pile (unsubmitted) because I realized I had no idea how to change the name of "the antagonist" or if it were enough to change his name, did I have to change other things about the story ... I got hung up on those details.

I'm revisiting that now. Any advice?
 

Storyteller5

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I'm not clear on why you need to change it. Is your antagonist based on a real person and you don't want them to be able to identify them if it is published later as fiction? :)
 
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karenmary

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Storyteller5 said:
I'm not clear on why you need to change it. Is your antagonist based on a real person and you don't want them to be able to identify them if it is published later as fiction? :)

The "short memoir" is about illegal activity, and I'm nervous that writing that truth might have repercussions, but it is a great story, just the same.
 

Storyteller5

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If it's a great story and you look to publish it as fiction, I would change the names. At the beginning of most novels, if not all, there is a small disclaimer about "any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental, etc".

I'm not sure what the rules are if you are publishing it as a memoir. I'm thinking most law enforcement agencies are too busy with other things to track down something from a book. :)
 

tenpenynail

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Save than Sorry

Yeah, if you want to really distance yourself from the reality of it--change all the names, the setting, and even eye color.
 

expatbrat

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There was an author who recently published a tell-all story about criminal activity around here.

No one sued him or anything like that - they just shot him dead (the criminal world seems to work that way)! The book is selling rather well but the author is not going to benifit from any of it.
 

karenmary

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Whoa ... love that tip expatbrat! Thank you for sharing it. A good reality check if you ask me.