Writer's Fallout Shelter

I've always believed that my life was a giant story. Along with that, I firmly believe that my friends would be brilliant as characters in other stories. There are many times where I've based my characters off friends. It's easy to "base" things because you can use personality quirks or facts from their past as information for your characters. This allows you to take some pieces of fact and make it work in a fictional piece.

When it comes to writing things that actually happened, I always ask permission first. If the person doesn't want part of their personal life posted on the internet or written in a book with the potential to be published, then you have to submit to their wishes. The same goes with you. Do you really want that much of your life readily available for upwards of thousands of eyes to read? Once you can grant yourself permission, and get theirs, you can write it. Then, if you'd like, you could put "Based on a True Story" beneath the title. Sometimes people are easily connected with stories that are true and admire the writer for having the courage to get it out there. Other times, people will shy away and not read it because of how close the author is tied to it all. And some times, if it's done right, we don't even realize that it's the author's first hand experiences. It all comes down to what you feel is right.