Serious question, my writing prompt borrowed from a coworker's tough week

I figured real struggles add depth to fiction (heck, it's how stories grow), but now it seems like I'm mining their pain for ideas. Where's the line on using real life in prompts?

3 comments

3 Comments

oscarc532d ago

Real life always feeds fiction, but crossing lines hurts real people.

shanem372d ago

What specific lines come to mind that writers shouldn't cross? Like, using a friend's traumatic story without asking feels obviously wrong, but what about basing a villain loosely on a public figure? Where's that messy middle ground?

brooke_miller14h ago

So "crossing lines" means my mom will kill me if I put her in my novel?