I have a group of non-writer friends that I meet up with every few weeks, and I told them at our last get together that I am doing NaNoWriMo. They were all very supportive, and one of my friends asked if I'd include him in my novel. He's been having a hard time of things lately, so I told him yes, thinking it would cheer him up.
Well, I did include him in the novel, but.. well, you guys know how the story just kind of takes a mind of its own. He got killed in a scuffle. And so now I'm going to be seeing him next week, and I'm not sure what I should say to him. Should I lie and say his character is just fine? I don't think he'll never actually read the story, unless by some crazy circumstance it gets published.
How do you explain to non writers that, really, sometimes things just just -happen- in your story that you have no control over?
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50,255 / 50,000
Nov 22, 2009 - 13 56
Oi. That's tough.
I had a friend once ask if I would include them in a story, so I ... being young and stupid and wrote them as I saw them... a self-indulgent twit. Needless to say, we aren't exactly friends anymore.
----------My advice, tell your friend that you've gotten his charrie into a bit of a pickle, but you're sure it will all work out in the final editing. You don't have to tell him he's dead- Non-writers don't understand these things, and, as always, things may change between rough draft and final edits.
Writing isn't something I like to do. It's something I have to do. If I don't, the characters in my head will drive me mad.
Oh. Too late.
54,444 / 50,000
Nov 22, 2009 - 14 14
rofl, when I saw the title I thought, "how do you explain anything to a dead person?" and then I realized it was a fictional death. Heh. I had an accidental murder in my first chapter, so that's where my mind is. Anyways, don't bother telling him about the death, since you can always edit it. I wrote several of my friends into my book without telling them, and in the original outline the love interest was supposed to die. After a complete revision of the outline, he ended up becoming the Queen of England on a reality show (yes, Queen, he's in a gay relationship... it's a long damn story, surreal comedy). So yeah, change the name, edit stuff, it'll be fine.
55,485 / 50,000
Nov 22, 2009 - 14 47
I don't know, considering your friend is going through some rough times and you used the character to lift him up a bit, I guess telling him his fictional counterpart died...might not be the best idea :p Definitely since he's a non-writer.
I included two of my friends. One because she more or less asked for it, but she wanted a character named after her, not necessarily herself in novel-form. So she turned out to be a whore and she'll die too :p We even made up the death scene together. In that way, it is fun. I also included an over the top gay guy and took the nickname from one of my gay friend to name him, but that's the only link they have. The guy could really laugh about it and he was honoured at the same time, even though I turned him into a pink heared freak with no ressemblence to him whatsoever :p
Dunno what you should do... Personally, I hate telling lies, but you could always be vague and indeed maybe edit the story later on, as suggested by previous posters.
----------First NaNo:Fall into the Difference / Gun mij de Regenboog
Chars based on existing people: 3
Gay, bisexual or fucked up people: 80%
Dead chars: 1
Suicidal chars: 1
Naked NaNo Nights: 1