Writing "Almost nonfiction"

[Leyelle]

Call it slant fiction if you like. Do you ever write fiction VERY heavily inspired by real life? I'm currently working on a short piece heavily based on my experiences living with a tailor. The story is literally set in the house and neighborhood I was living in. Minus the nasty chickens and noni trees.

Alicia's feelings in chapter one of "Damsel in the Red Dress" are almost exactly my feelings from last November (when I started the story)

Anybody else?

[SumireHime]

Yes, my stuff is thinly veiled. "French Cup" is based on my old queer neighborhood and I based a lot of the characters on real people I knew, some of them a mix of people I knew. I was even working in a four star hotel at the time, so one of the main characters' jobs was mine, too. I based a lot of his experiences with guests at that hotel he works in verbatim on guest experiences I had. From an outrageous Karen claiming a crumb in her hand was a bug that she found in her mattress so she deserved a free stay to a review of our hotel that claimed we allowed birds to crap all over a guest's car so they deserved legal compensation. The "French Cup" in French Cup is even based on a real coffee shop that I used to frequent with all of my friends every week, most times multiple times per week. The concept that their neighborhood was dying and being taken over by Karens who wanted to gentrify it was true, too. They took over so many queer businesses in our neighborhood and made them vanilla. I wrote "French Cup" as my personal protest. When they started trying and succeeding in making us LGBTQ people illegal in my city (no more drag queens, no more hormones for trans people, it's a crime to hold hand with your boyfriend, etc) I really lost it. When they raided our coffee shop and pelted it with tear gas for "illegal gathering" (gathering while gay) I went mental. All of this is in "French Cup"! Until we are free to be ourselves, I'll keep writing more.

[Leyelle]

Tear gas?
I don't understand how that is even legal. I'm so sorry all of you had to go through that. Life can be crazy messed up sometimes

[SumireHime]

Thank you for that (: yeah life is super messed up, but there's always stuff to be thankful for with it. I'm glad I had these experiences. They brought me closer to the people I love, going through it together.

[kyupol]

Used to do that a lot...

[NickRowler]

A lot of non-fiction tends to dramatize real events. Usually events in real life aren't really a plot, writers tweak things to make a more fluid narrative.

[Leyelle]

A lot of non-fiction tends to dramatize real events. Usually events in real life aren't really a plot, writers tweak things to make a more fluid narrative.

Well, while that might be the case, it wasn't what I was talking about in this instance lol. I mean making a story with characters and so on that aren't technically real but are largely based on reality.

[Leyelle]

There are a lot of ideas from real life that make their ways into "A Dozen Morning Glories" and while I wouldn't say the story is accurate enough to life to be considered "almost nonfiction" quite a lot about the different character's struggles come from people I know, or myself. Someone I know even said he felt represented reading the first chapter.

I think one of the most major ideas that stems from real life is trying to make other people satisfied with you at the risk of your own emotional well being, especially when you're in emotionally abusive scenarios. Colorism is also an issue in the male lead's life and it's something I've lived with first hand in my country.

If we look at it this way, most people are probably writing things at least somewhat inspired by nonfictional that comes from their own personal lives