Writing Magazine March 2020

28 MARCH 2020 http://www.writers-online.co.uk

T

he answer to your specific question is: yes and no!

But first of all, dear Bemused, I’m sorry to hear about

this. It’s unfortunate when a well-meant gesture is received

badly and only you can hazard a guess as to what your

friend might be worrying about.

I assume and hope you have only used her first name, but perhaps

she fears that others who know you both, will assume that what you

have written is all true about her. And she doesn’t quite trust your

assertion that this character is ‘lovely’.

Maybe she knows that you know where her skeletons are buried

and her imagination has run riot, involving all sorts of cats leaping

from bags – just to mix the metaphors. There could be things going

on in her life right now that you are not privy to, that are making

her extra sensitive and over-anxious. Maybe next time you meet,

when you have both had time to reflect, you could gently try to find

out why she had such a reaction.

Having said this, even when the context is entirely innocent,

people can be strange.

Tread carefully when you use

real people’s names, suggests

Jane Wenham Jones

to a writer

whose best friend doesn’t like having a

fictional character named after her

I have just finished my second novel, by which I mean I have completed

the final edit and am about to send it to my agent. When telling my best

friend this, I mentioned that I have named the best friend in the story,

after her. I expected her to be thrilled but she immediately demanded

to read the manuscript before I sent it off and became annoyed when

I flatly refused to let her do this. I have assured her that it is entirely a

work of fiction and that the friend in the book is a lovely person – much

nicer than the heroine in fact. It still all ended up rather acrimoniously,

with her only half-joking about having a libel case, and me retorting

that I could name my characters however I liked and she didn’t have a

leg to stand on. I can change the character’s name for the sake of our

friendship, but it will be with bad grace because I think it is ridiculous

and any other name will feel wrong now. My question is: I am correct,

aren’t I? I am entirely within my rights to use any name I like.

BEMUSED

Brighton

Tread carefully when you use

What’s

in a

name?