Writing Blog Number 2

20240719 Real World Events In Fiction

Real World Events In Fiction

Before I start, this is the last topic I have on my list, apart from discussing self-publishing, which I am loathe to do here because on WdC it feels as though self-publishing is seen as the only way to publish. So, if there are any writing-related topics you would like me to write about, please, let me know!

This is a topic I was asked about a few weeks ago now, and it has taken me this long to get answers.
         This is complicated.
         Okay, so you want to include real world events in your fiction story. Including them on the periphery is fine. It helps the setting, sets a definite time scale without you having to give a date. If you write a story where the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Moon Landing, or the September 11 attacks happen, then people understand the time the event is taking place. Public events are just that – public. They were reported across the world, and so if they don’t happen, then your story feels odd.
         It is when we get to centring a story around a real-life event that things get a little more complicated.
         Of course you can do it! You can even change the outcome and make an alternate history scenario – look at Inglourious Basterds (2009) or Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood (2019) for fine cinematic examples – and that, as a fiction writer, is your prerogative.
         Note – fiction writer. This does not look at non-fiction; that is something different and I do not understand the rules, laws and everything else involved in that. What this looks at is works of fiction.
         So, why is this complicated?
         First and foremost, it is the use of real people. I have covered this before – "20240526 Using Real People In Fiction"  – and will not go over it again, except to say libel actions have been taken against fiction writers for their portrayal in works.
         The second thing to be aware of is, unless you are doing an alternate history story, getting facts wrong, no matter how minor, will see your work in this day and age of hyper-connectivity slammed and hammered. If a traditional publisher thinks the facts are wrong – rejection. If a self-published work is in this situation, the negativity could affect other works by the author. A writer from New York used the “government destroyed the towers” conspiracy theory (no, I don’t believe it; yes, I have seen the actual science and understand how two planes could bring towers down) to write a work of fiction, but details like the destruction of other buildings, first responders being portrayed as unwilling to get involved because of the government and things like that saw the book slammed so incredibly the author withdrew it. However, the stink remained, and he removed all his other books as well. Now, it was a work of fiction, and advertised as such, but those details that went against established facts were too much.
         How much differing is too much?
         The answer to this question seems to be how long ago it was, how important the event was, and if anyone is still alive who remembers it. That is a lot to consider.
         Third, the fact that there are conspiracy theories out there can cloud events. The new film Fly Me To The Moon takes the ‘Stanley Kubrick faked the moon landing’ nonsense and turns it into a film. Already, the film is being hammered online because, despite being portrayed as a comedy and a work of fiction, almost making fun of the theory (I am assuming based on interviews; the film is yet to be released here), it is giving air to something as patently wrong as this story.
         Finally, unless you are willing to sift through hours of news reports and miles of newspaper column inches, finding the facts of something without BS involved can be really difficult (for example, with the September 11 attacks, to be honest), and so having the reality of the situation can be awkward, and you can be letting yourself open to the issues mentioned above. Here's my entry on research - "20240712 Contemporary Research For Writers" .
         Now, many writers are going to say, “It’s fiction! What does it matter?” Only fifteen years ago, I would have agreed. But not now, with everyone looking for the smallest thing to be wrong, the smallest detail to harp on about, the negativity in the world. Even our fiction has to be accurate or correct. It’s the world we live in; something else technology has done to us creative, if you want to look at it that way.
         Anyway, that’s the way I see it. Feel free to disagree; I am but one person.