Real people’s lives are often the most interesting to read about. Writing about these people, however, can be exponentially harder than writing about fictional characters.
It’s a balancing act between fact and storytelling. Tilt the scale to one side too much and you risk these people being misunderstood or misrepresented.
Why Write about Real People in the First Place?
It’s unavoidable, really. Writing about reality always means tackling actual settings, events, and people.
Real people’s experiences add credibility and authenticity to any nonfiction story. Their successes and challenges are not fabricated by a storyteller but are a direct result of their existence in the same world as you. It’s why they are some of the most interesting characters you’ll find in literature.
They’re also necessary characters if you’re writing to educate, increase awareness, or preserve history. Their lives are windows to another time, place, culture, event, and environment. It’s why accuracy and fairness are important, as you want to portray these things as close to the truth as possible.
The Risks
Because you’re writing about real people, there are risks to consider aside from being hated. You could get sued!
Of course, if you write something positive or neutral about a person, you don’t have any legal issues to worry about. But you should always be aware of three things: defamation, invasion of privacy, and right of publicity.
The details will change depending on place and situation but here is a general breakdown.
- Defamation—making false statements to damage a person’s reputation. Libel is written defamation, while slander is spoken. If a statement is true, it is not defamatory no matter how offensive or embarrassing. Opinions and satire are also exempt. The first is not considered a fact, while the second must be so absurd that no person will believe it.
- Invasion of privacy—the unauthorized disclosure of private facts about a living, identifiable person. These facts must be highly offensive and not of public interest. However, public activities are not protected, especially now that everyone carries a smartphone. Similarly, public figures can expect minimal privacy due to visibility. Publicly available information is also not private.
- Right of publicity—a person’s right to control the commercial use of their image, voice, name, and life story. Using someone’s likeness for commercial use may get you sued.
Some risks come with your occupation. For example, a doctor writing about a book cannot use confidential information about their patients unless given permission. You also can’t disclose trade secrets from your job. Any confidentiality agreements or nondisclosure agreements also limit what you can write about.
Tips on Writing About Real People
Here are a few tips on writing about real people to limit your risks and still deliver a satisfying story to your readers.
Obtain consent.
Whenever you can, get consent. Having consent makes most of the problems go away. Being in the clear before even writing your piece is a huge weight off your shoulders.
Ask it from the person you intend to write about. If you’re going to use materials from a third party, ask them for permission too. If you can’t reach them or they don’t grant you consent, be careful to only use publicly known information.
Alter names.
Changing names, characteristics, and other identifying information is a common tactic when writing about real people. Most memoir writers do this to protect a person’s privacy.
If no specific person can be identified, then no privacy is invaded. And if they out themselves, that’s on them.
Verify information.
As always, double-check your information and rely on trustworthy sources. Keep a tidy record of your research to minimize errors and identify what information you lack.
If you need to speculate, be clear to your audience that you’re only making a guess. Presenting opinions as facts will only bring you trouble.
Is the information necessary?
Think for a moment whether some things are necessary to complete your work. It might be tempting to include a juicy piece of information but it won’t make sense if it isn’t relevant to your piece. You might even get into legal trouble for disclosing confidential information.
Think of the other people involved.
The people you write about are rarely isolated from the rest of society. If you publish sensitive information about them, innocent people could get hurt.
For example, if you write about someone’s medical history and disclose a genetic disease, you may be intruding on the privacy of their family members.
Give yourself time to disassociate from what you’ve written.
It’s easy to get emotional when writing about a real person. If you feel anger at the actions and opinions of a person, you might—consciously or unconsciously—portray them more negatively. The same is true in reverse.
Give yourself some time and space before publishing your work. Come back to it with fresh eyes and pay attention to how you’ve depicted the person.
Employ satire.
As stated, parody and satire are not usually considered defamatory. They are clearly meant to be absurd so that no person will believe them. It’s why satirists frequently get away with poking fun at living people—especially the high-profile ones.
The dead don’t sue.
It is significantly easier to write about the deceased than the living. Most laws agree that dead people have no legal rights. So you can write anything about them and it won’t violate any right to privacy. Even their estate cannot sue you for defamation.
Add disclaimers.
Disclaimers are a great way of telling people that some information has been changed and any resemblance to a living person isn’t intentional. This protects you from many legal challenges that come from the risks above.
Consult a lawyer.
If you can, have a lawyer look at your work. They have the expertise to identify potentially libelous parts and help you make them safer for publication.
What other tips do you have on writing about real people? Share them below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- How to Write an Effective Blurb for Nonfiction
- How to Find the Right Balance between Facts and Storytelling in Nonfiction
- Writing A Nonfiction Book Using Your Personal Experiences
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
