Question about fiction: Which setting would work better?

@weeveeship. I am not qualified to give legal advice, but I do not see any problem with a blend of options 1 and 2. No one imagines that only good things happen in the world and that it is libelous of someone or something to mention bad things. As long as you make sure your characters are fictitious, are composites, or are enough changed that they can’t be recognized as actual persons, you should be fine.

In your place I would probably mention actual street names, landmarks, etc., but change the high school name slightly: for example, Southfield High might become South Meadow High. This is what “thinly disguised” means.

Those all seem to be fine ideas to me, and I don’t see any problems with them other than style.

As to the first option, if your characters aren’t named for real people and aren’t recognizable as real people, then you should be okay, even if you name actual institutions. “Places” can’t sue you, but people and corporate entities can. So I think I’d avoid mentioning known private or public companies, though you don’t have the same restrictions with government departments, bureaus, school systems, etc. (I’m not a lawyer, so my ‘legal opinion’ is worth exactly what you have paid me for it. Talk to an attorney if you have questions.)

Your second option is very common. Certainly you’ve heard of Gotham City and Metropolis, for example, two of the best-known aliases for New York City around. You could also use real city names and place names, but make up a new Borough or village. New York City could use a South Borough, I think, or even Newborough – not to be confused with the real town of Newburgh – for example. And those places can contain elements of any other ‘real’ place in the city that you want to include. Hell, you could even have a Short Island in New York Harbor; I think I may have even been there once.

I think I did hear of a case (maybe it was on Oprah) about someone who wrote a book, using fake names, but the actual people pretty much knew it was them being written about and described and they sued. I wish I could recall and site the actual example where I heard this. And I could be completely wrong. I just want to make sure you don’t get into any hot water.

But you might want to see if there are any lawyers who deal with this kind of thing (are there literary lawyers? Or would they be copywrite lawyers?) who might be able to give you a few answers pro bono before you continue.

Even if your characters are composites, if they are too close to the real people, those people may get really pissed off (even if they are cast in a positive light) merely for the sake of privacy.

I like the idea of using made up names and places, and making sure that the characters really are composites, not actual people with noticeable characteristics with only one or 2 things changed (like hair color or the fact that John liked apples rather than pears).

Good luck with the story. Hopefully I will see it on the best sellers list one day.

The thing is, they can’t sue you for making them look bad unless they can prove that they are the people you were writing about. And to do that they would have to demonstrate that they possess the identifying characteristics and behaviors, which could be very unflattering to themselves.

No recognizable trait is going to belong exclusively to one person. All you have to do is say you didn’t have any particular individual in mind. (Book-length works of fiction typically have that disclaimer in the front, on the copyright page.) Besides, truth of the claim is defense against libel.

Your story is fiction. It should not rely too heavily on “what really happened” in any case. You must be selective and must shape what you take from your personal history into a story using your experience, your knowledge, and your imagination. There is no need for your characterizations to veer too close to any people you actually know.

Is this story headed for publication? Publication is a long shot for most of us, so your worries may be moot.

@Jeruba You are probably right, but we are rooting for @weeveeship aren’t we?

Course we are.

An interesting example of this type of story is “Traffic”. The main character says that she attends Cincinnati Day School; the author, Stephen Gaghan, attended Kentucky Country Day in Louisville. There really is a Cincinnati Country Day School.

I don’t think 3 is a good idea. I lean towards 2, but it is kind of neat when you read a book or watch a movir and recognize some of the places because you lived in or have been to that city. I think keep big landmarks in the story, and make up the high school name. But, I rarely read fiction, and have never taken a writing class, except for required classes in high school and college.