I started reading Chasing Evil by retired FBI Agent Bob Hilland and psychic medium John Edward. Almost immediately I thought, “Ooh…an FBI agent and psychic would make great characters in a romantic suspense.”
Last week, I finished a serialized mystery for my readers in which the murderer (spoiler alert) was the author, who was running from a past in which he’d killed someone as a teen. In my mind, I was thinking of Anne Perry, who helped a friend kill her mother when they were teenagers.
Finally, years ago I was watching Airplane Repo, and thought, “I’ve got to have a character who repos airplanes in a book.” AJ Devlin, in the Sophie Parker mysteries, is just that.
Seems innocent enough to use these real-life people as inspiration, right? In my case, I think I’m safe.
But there is a line in which being inspired can infringe on the real-life people. Take, for example, Ivy Smoak, who wrote a romance involving a pop star and NFL football player. On the surface, you might wonder what the big deal is. There are plenty of popstar and football romances. The problem was that Smoak wasn’t just inspired by Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s romance, she used specifics in their lives. Yes, the names were different (same initials), but the lives of the characters were essentially Swift and Kelce. The backlash was immediate, and the book is no longer available, although you can see it on Goodreads.
The truth is authors are inspired by real people and events all the time. Sometimes real-life people are characters in books. The trick is how to use these real-world people and situations without getting into legal hot water.
Why Real Life Makes Fiction Stronger
Stories resonate when they feel true. Not necessarily factual, but emotionally believable. Real life provides nuance that pure imagination sometimes struggles to replicate. Let’s face it, often real life is stranger than fiction!
When writers draw from lived experience, characters often gain depth. Conflicts feel grounded. Dialogue sounds more natural.
That said, realism does not mean replication. The goal is not to recreate what happened, but to reshape it into something that serves the story.
Inspiration Versus Replication
One of the most important distinctions writers must understand is the difference between being inspired by real life and reproducing it too closely (e.g. creating an airplane repo character vs Swift/Kelce fan fiction).
Inspiration takes an element of reality and asks questions. What if this happened under different circumstances? What if the people involved made different choices? What if the emotional stakes were higher?
Replication, on the other hand, copies specific details. A character looks like a real person, behaves like them, works the same job, lives in the same place, and speaks in the same way. This is where writers can run into creative, ethical, and even legal problems. We saw this with Ivy Smoak. It also happened to author Chelsea Curto, who wrote a hockey romance with a female hockey broadcaster named Piper. Real-life hockey reporter, Piper Shaw, took issue with it.
In my case, AJ Devlin was an airplane repo man, but nothing about who he was or where he lived was based on the real-life airplane repo men on the TV show.
In the Anne Perry similarity, my character was a man who killed a bully as a teen, and bullying was a theme in the story. That’s completely different from Anne’s case.
A good rule of thumb is this: If the real person or those who know the real person would immediately recognize themselves on the page, you probably haven’t changed enough. Fiction should blur the lines, not copy them.
Note that simply changing a name or location, may not be enough.
Using Real-Life Scenarios as Story Foundations
Some of the most compelling fictional moments begin with ordinary real-life situations. An uncomfortable family dinner. A workplace rivalry. A chance meeting that could have gone differently. These moments are relatable because they are rooted in common human experiences.
The key is to treat real-life scenarios as starting points, not as the story itself. Ask how you can heighten the tension, raise the stakes, or introduce complications that didn’t exist in reality. Fiction allows you to explore a version of events that never happened but could have.
For example, maybe you once had a brief, awkward encounter with someone who could have been a love interest under different circumstances. In real life, nothing came of it. In fiction, that moment might spiral into a second-chance romance or a forbidden attraction.
Drawing from Real People Without Writing Them Directly
Many writers worry about using people they know as inspiration for characters, and with good reason. In the Sophie Parker mysteries, I have Sophie describe her aunt’s kitchen, including a yellow Formica table, in which she got her finger stuck in a hole under it as a child. My sister recognized herself right away. Luckily, she wasn’t mad, but writing about family, friends, or others you know can be risky.
A better approach is to create composite characters. Instead of basing a character on one person, blend traits from several people. Take one person’s sense of humor, another’s emotional wound, and a third’s coping mechanism.
You can also change external factors by adjusting age, gender, profession, cultural background, or family dynamics. Even small changes can dramatically shift how a character feels and functions on the page.
Most importantly, focus on emotional truth rather than factual accuracy. You’re not trying to document someone’s life. You’re trying to explore a feeling, a conflict, or a transformation.
Writing from Personal Experience Without Writing a Memoir
There is a difference between using personal experience and telling your own story directly. Many writers find that their most powerful scenes come from moments they’ve lived through, but the strength lies in the emotion, not the event itself.
Instead of asking, “What happened to me?,” ask, “How did it feel?” Were you betrayed, hopeful, ashamed, relieved, terrified? Those emotions can be weaved into fictional situations.
This approach allows you to write honestly without exposing yourself or others in ways that might come back to bite you. It also gives you more creative freedom. When you’re not bound by what actually happened, you can shape the story to create a stronger arc, deeper character growth, and a more satisfying resolution.
Writing About Sensitive or Painful Real-Life Events
Many powerful stories tackle difficult subjects: trauma, illness, grief, abuse, loss, natural disasters, etc. Drawing from real life can lend authenticity to these narratives, but it also carries responsibility. Think of Titanic or WWI fiction. We can tell these stories because they happened so long ago. But if events are more recent, such as 9-11 or Covid, readers might not be ready to relive that.
Consider whose story you are telling and why. If the event involves other people, especially those who did not choose to be part of your creative work, think carefully about how much detail is necessary.
Respecting privacy does not mean avoiding hard topics. It means handling them with care, empathy, and intention. Ask yourself whether the scene serves the story or simply relives an experience without adding meaning.
Sometimes the most respectful choice is to fictionalize heavily or wait until enough time has passed when it’s not so raw in people’s memories.
Writing Famous People From the Past and Present
Many writers feel drawn to famous people (historical figures, celebrities, political leaders, artists, or cultural icons) because their lives already feel larger than fiction. These figures come with built-in stakes, mythology, and reader curiosity. Used thoughtfully, they can add richness and realism to a story. Used carelessly, they can feel gimmicky (Smoak was accused of a money-grab), inaccurate, or legally risky.
The first distinction to understand is how fiction treats famous people differently than private individuals. Public figures generally have fewer privacy protections, especially when they are widely known or long deceased. However, fewer restrictions does not mean no responsibility.
Historical figures exist through records, letters, secondhand accounts, and cultural memory. Even well-documented lives contain gaps, contradictions, and unanswered questions. For the fiction writer, those spaces are where you can be creative. That said, if you go way off, it can work against you. Pocahontas never had a romantic relationship with John White. Philippa Gregory is often criticised for historical inaccuracies in her books. There is a line in which readers will go off course with you, but that line isn’t set. So while some readers will enjoy the retelling, others will point out what you got wrong.
When working with historical figures, it helps to decide early whether your story is:
- Historically grounded but fictionalized
- Alternate history
- Loosely inspired by real events
- Using a real person as a symbolic or thematic presence
Being clear about this choice keeps reader expectations aligned with your intent.
Many writers choose to imagine the emotional makeup of a real historical figure rather than recreate events beat for beat. Others invent fictionalized versions inspired by real people, allowing more freedom with motivation, dialogue, and personal relationships. The Guilded Age TV show uses a mix of real people (Lina Astor), inspired by real people (Alva Vanderbilt inspired Bertha Russle), and made up characters (Marian Brooks).
Writing famous people from the present or recent past requires more caution. While public figures can legally be depicted in fiction, especially if they are well known, the risks increase when stories imply criminal behavior, immoral acts, or private conduct presented as fact.
This is where transformation becomes especially important. Rather than placing a recognizable modern celebrity directly into your story (ala Smoak), many writers create a fictional stand-in, a character inspired by a public person, but given a different name, background, and personal history. This allows you to explore power, fame, influence, or scandal without anchoring those themes to a real individual’s life.
Genre also matters. Satire, parody, and speculative fiction traditionally allow more flexibility with real people, while realism and contemporary fiction carry higher expectations of truthfulness. Romance, fantasy, and historical fiction often benefit from fictional counterparts rather than direct portrayals, unless the famous figure’s role is brief or peripheral. For example, I’ve read contemporary romances set in the movie-making world that reference other stars (e.g. Tom Hanks). However, they’re usually mentioned in a conversation or narrative, and don’t appear on the page.
A helpful guiding question is whether the famous person is essential to the story or whether the story is really about what they represent. If the narrative explores ambition, corruption, or obsession, a fictional character shaped by those ideas may serve the story better than a real name ever could.
Ultimately, famous people, past or present, work best in fiction when they are used with intention. They should enhance the theme, deepen conflict, or anchor a setting, not appear as novelty cameos or shortcuts to reader interest.
Using Existing Fiction and Fictional Characters as Inspiration
Writers have always borrowed from other stories. Jane Austen’s novels have inspired countless modern retellings, sequels, and reinterpretations across genres. Wicked reimagines the world of The Wizard of Oz by shifting the narrative focus to the Wicked Witch of the West. These stories work not because they copy the original, but because they transform it into something new.
Many successful adaptations take one of the following approaches:
- Retelling a familiar story in a new setting, time period, or genre (e.g. Clueless as a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma)
- Reframing the story from a different character’s point of view (e.g. Pride and Prejudice from Darcy’s POV, often with spice added)
- Exploring unanswered questions or gaps in the original narrative (e.g. The Song of Achilles exploring Achilles’ relationship with Patroclus told from Patroclus’ POV).
- Challenging the moral assumptions of the source material (e.g. Wicked by Gregory Macguire a Wizard of Oz retelling from the Wicked Witch of the West’s POV, and The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, a retelling of Homer’s The Odessy from Penelope’s POV highlighting double standards and moral judgments placed on women in classical mythology)
Note that all the examples above are from classical works in the public domain. Characters and worlds created by contemporary authors are generally protected, meaning you cannot legally use them in your own published fiction without permission. Public domain works of classic literature, folklore, myths, and fairy tales can be reimagined.
Even when working with public domain material, originality is still essential. Readers want to recognize the source, but they also want to be surprised. A successful reinterpretation brings something new to the conversation rather than repeating what already exists. Consider Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorn and Roses, a Beauty and the Beast retelling that took the world by storm. Or The Rose Enigma by Lauren Lopes, another Beauty and the Beast retelling in the modern world with no magic.
When writers draw inspiration from other fiction, it helps to ask what aspect of the story truly captured their imagination. Was it the romantic dynamic? The power imbalance? The moral ambiguity? The setting? Once you identify the core appeal, you can strip away the surface details and rebuild the story around your own characters, world, and themes.
This approach is especially common in romance, fantasy, and speculative fiction, where tropes and archetypes act as the base elements to build a new story. Enemies to lovers, beauty and the beast, forbidden love, and chosen one narratives all trace their roots to earlier stories, yet feel fresh because each author brings a unique perspective. I used Jane Austen’s Persuasion as the base for Meant to Be because I love the idea of destined love and second chances, but changed it up by setting it in modern times and adding a suspense element.
Using other fiction as inspiration is not about borrowing someone else’s success. It’s about paying homage and exploring the elements that resonate with readers (e.g. universal fantasy) that make the story endure.
Legal and Ethical Considerations Writers Should Know
While most writers will never face legal trouble for their fiction, it’s still important to understand the risks.
Defamation occurs when a false statement harms a real person’s reputation. Fiction does not automatically protect you, especially if a character is easily identifiable as a specific individual.
Disclaimers stating that a work is fictional are common, but they are not foolproof. Courts look at whether a reasonable person could identify the real individual being portrayed.
Red flags include using unique names, very specific jobs or locations, and distinctive personal details that point clearly to one person. In Curto’s case, initially people were on her side, but when it was learned that there are only 36 hockey broadcasters and only one is a woman who happens to be named Piper, sentiment turned. I’m not aware of any legal action taken, but it points out this situation in which a person saw themselves and their situation in a book.
Infringement occurs when you use protected materials without permission. This would be writing in another author’s world or using their characters. For example, you can’t write about J.R. Ward’s vampires. Some authors do allow you to write in their world, but they give permission, such as Susan Stoker, through Aces Press.
Plagiarism is when sentences are copied verbatim (or very closely) from a protected source.
Ethically, writers should also consider intent. Are you telling a story, or are you trying to expose, embarrass, or punish someone? How often have you thought of a person you dislike and thought, “I’m going to kill them in my book?” Fiction shouldn’t be used as retaliation against someone you dislike.
Real life is one of the best ways to find ideas and inspiration for your romance fiction. Your experiences and observations can provide texture and depth to your writing. However, real life needs to be obscured enough to protect the people, places, and situations you’re writing about if you want to avoid hurt feelings and lawsuits.
