How to write about real people, events or places in your novel
You want your writing to be authentic and believable so you’re incorporating real people, places and events into your story. But how much creative licence can you take when you are writing about facts in a fictional world?
Furthermore, what if you are inspired by other people’s work and want to reference their work in your story? Like song lyrics, movie lines, other books and so on. What are the rules around using real quotes, ideas, characters, settings, real people, historic events…especially if you want to change them?
WC_Product_Variable Object
(
[children:protected] =>
[visible_children:protected] =>
[variation_attributes:protected] =>
[object_type:protected] => product
[post_type:protected] => product
[cache_group:protected] => products
[data:protected] => Array
(
[name] => FOCUS ON... Avoiding Infringement
[slug] => focus-on-avoiding-infringement
[date_created] => WC_DateTime Object
(
[utc_offset:protected] => 0
[date] => 2024-08-02 11:02:01.000000
[timezone_type] => 3
[timezone] => Australia/Sydney
)
[date_modified] => WC_DateTime Object
(
[utc_offset:protected] => 0
[date] => 2025-02-07 14:08:29.000000
[timezone_type] => 3
[timezone] => Australia/Sydney
)
[status] => publish
[featured] =>
[catalog_visibility] => visible
[description] => “Just do it. Their courses are excellent, their presenters are amazing and it is money well spent.”
Avi Vince
In this Focus On… seminar, our inspiration meets the rules. Because there are a lot of rules about this stuff, covering several areas of law, from copyright to defamation to intellectual property.
But don’t worry! The answers won’t stop you writing your heart’s story or block you from finding the right way to tell it.
Helping you write with confidence—it’s all in the details
This Focus On… seminar will address the most common questions our students ask us about these issues, and more.
We will:
- Explore when it’s ok to use real people and places in your story – and when it’s not
- Look at whether you’re crossing the line from inspiration into plagiarism
- Consider when you can use quote from a song, movie, book etc even when you attribute it
- Learn if and when you can make reference to brands in your story
- Discuss whether there are any restrictions on writing about historical events and figures
- Outline what permissions you might need to write a ‘based-on’ story
- Understand if it’s ok to reimagine an existing story with your own take on it
- Learn what the deal is with book titles (it’s kind of odd)
- Discover the truth about fanfic and professional publishing.
- And much more
FOCUS ON improving your craft
Each of our popular FOCUS ON seminars explores an important aspect of the art of writing – in an accessible and efficient way. The session consists of a 1 hour expert presentation plus an additional 15 minute Q&A – designed to entertain, educate and inspire you to improve your craft.
“Honestly, these FOCUS ON sessions are the most time-effective writing professional development I have found. They get straight to the point, and give you the vocabulary and jump-off points to do further research if you need it. But, most often, they nail everything you need to know. Bang on!”
Kathy Carruthers
[short_description] =>
[sku] =>
[global_unique_id] =>
[price] => 50
[regular_price] =>
[sale_price] =>
[date_on_sale_from] =>
[date_on_sale_to] =>
[total_sales] => 182
[tax_status] => taxable
[tax_class] =>
[manage_stock] =>
[stock_quantity] =>
[stock_status] => instock
[backorders] => no
[low_stock_amount] =>
[sold_individually] => 1
[weight] =>
[length] =>
[width] =>
[height] =>
[upsell_ids] => Array
(
[0] => 203241
)
[cross_sell_ids] => Array
(
)
[parent_id] => 0
[reviews_allowed] =>
[purchase_note] =>
[attributes] => Array
(
[pa_location] => WC_Product_Attribute Object
(
[data:protected] => Array
(
[id] => 7
[name] => pa_location
[options] => Array
(
[0] => 142
[1] => 171
)
[position] => 0
[visible] => 1
[variation] => 1
)
)
)
[default_attributes] => Array
(
)
[menu_order] => 0
[post_password] =>
[virtual] =>
[downloadable] =>
[category_ids] => Array
(
[0] => 24
[1] => 5905
)
[tag_ids] => Array
(
)
[shipping_class_id] => 0
[downloads] => Array
(
)
[image_id] => 241951
[gallery_image_ids] => Array
(
)
[download_limit] => -1
[download_expiry] => -1
[rating_counts] => Array
(
)
[average_rating] => 0
[review_count] => 0
[cogs_value] =>
)
[supports:protected] => Array
(
)
[id:protected] => 241749
[changes:protected] => Array
(
)
[object_read:protected] => 1
[extra_data:protected] => Array
(
)
[default_data:protected] => Array
(
[name] =>
[slug] =>
[date_created] =>
[date_modified] =>
[status] =>
[featured] =>
[catalog_visibility] => visible
[description] =>
[short_description] =>
[sku] =>
[global_unique_id] =>
[price] =>
[regular_price] =>
[sale_price] =>
[date_on_sale_from] =>
[date_on_sale_to] =>
[total_sales] => 0
[tax_status] => taxable
[tax_class] =>
[manage_stock] =>
[stock_quantity] =>
[stock_status] => instock
[backorders] => no
[low_stock_amount] =>
[sold_individually] =>
[weight] =>
[length] =>
[width] =>
[height] =>
[upsell_ids] => Array
(
)
[cross_sell_ids] => Array
(
)
[parent_id] => 0
[reviews_allowed] => 1
[purchase_note] =>
[attributes] => Array
(
)
[default_attributes] => Array
(
)
[menu_order] => 0
[post_password] =>
[virtual] =>
[downloadable] =>
[category_ids] => Array
(
)
[tag_ids] => Array
(
)
[shipping_class_id] => 0
[downloads] => Array
(
)
[image_id] =>
[gallery_image_ids] => Array
(
)
[download_limit] => -1
[download_expiry] => -1
[rating_counts] => Array
(
)
[average_rating] => 0
[review_count] => 0
[cogs_value] =>
)
[data_store:protected] => WC_Data_Store Object
(
[instance:WC_Data_Store:private] => WC_Product_Variable_Data_Store_CPT Object
(
[prices_array:protected] => Array
(
)
[internal_meta_keys:protected] => Array
(
[0] => _visibility
[1] => _sku
[2] => _global_unique_id
[3] => _price
[4] => _regular_price
[5] => _sale_price
[6] => _sale_price_dates_from
[7] => _sale_price_dates_to
[8] => total_sales
[9] => _tax_status
[10] => _tax_class
[11] => _manage_stock
[12] => _stock
[13] => _stock_status
[14] => _backorders
[15] => _low_stock_amount
[16] => _sold_individually
[17] => _weight
[18] => _length
[19] => _width
[20] => _height
[21] => _upsell_ids
[22] => _crosssell_ids
[23] => _purchase_note
[24] => _default_attributes
[25] => _product_attributes
[26] => _virtual
[27] => _downloadable
[28] => _download_limit
[29] => _download_expiry
[30] => _featured
[31] => _downloadable_files
[32] => _wc_rating_count
[33] => _wc_average_rating
[34] => _wc_review_count
[35] => _variation_description
[36] => _thumbnail_id
[37] => _file_paths
[38] => _product_image_gallery
[39] => _product_version
[40] => _wp_old_slug
[41] => _edit_last
[42] => _edit_lock
[43] => _cogs_total_value
)
[must_exist_meta_keys:protected] => Array
(
[0] => _tax_class
)
[extra_data_saved:protected] =>
[updated_props:protected] => Array
(
)
[meta_type:protected] => post
[object_id_field_for_meta:protected] =>
)
[stores:WC_Data_Store:private] => Array
(
[coupon] => WC_Coupon_Data_Store_CPT
[customer] => WC_Customer_Data_Store
[customer-download] => WC_Customer_Download_Data_Store
[customer-download-log] => WC_Customer_Download_Log_Data_Store
[customer-session] => WC_Customer_Data_Store_Session
[order] => WC_Order_Data_Store_CPT
[order-refund] => WC_Order_Refund_Data_Store_CPT
[order-item] => WC_Order_Item_Data_Store
[order-item-coupon] => WC_Order_Item_Coupon_Data_Store
[order-item-fee] => WC_Order_Item_Fee_Data_Store
[order-item-product] => WC_Order_Item_Product_Data_Store
[order-item-shipping] => WC_Order_Item_Shipping_Data_Store
[order-item-tax] => WC_Order_Item_Tax_Data_Store
[payment-token] => WC_Payment_Token_Data_Store
[product] => WC_Product_Data_Store_CPT
[product-grouped] => WC_Product_Grouped_Data_Store_CPT
[product-variable] => WC_Product_Variable_Data_Store_CPT
[product-variation] => WC_Product_Variation_Data_Store_CPT
[shipping-zone] => WC_Shipping_Zone_Data_Store
[webhook] => WC_Webhook_Data_Store
[report-revenue-stats] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Orders\Stats\DataStore
[report-orders] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Orders\DataStore
[report-orders-stats] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Orders\Stats\DataStore
[report-products] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Products\DataStore
[report-variations] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Variations\DataStore
[report-products-stats] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Products\Stats\DataStore
[report-variations-stats] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Variations\Stats\DataStore
[report-categories] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Categories\DataStore
[report-taxes] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Taxes\DataStore
[report-taxes-stats] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Taxes\Stats\DataStore
[report-coupons] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Coupons\DataStore
[report-coupons-stats] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Coupons\Stats\DataStore
[report-downloads] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Downloads\DataStore
[report-downloads-stats] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Downloads\Stats\DataStore
[admin-note] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\Notes\DataStore
[report-customers] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Customers\DataStore
[report-customers-stats] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Customers\Stats\DataStore
[report-stock-stats] => Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\API\Reports\Stock\Stats\DataStore
[order-item-yith_gift_card] => YITH_Gift_Card_Data_Store
)
[current_class_name:WC_Data_Store:private] => WC_Product_Variable_Data_Store_CPT
[object_type:WC_Data_Store:private] => product-variable
)
[meta_data:protected] =>
[legacy_datastore_props:protected] => Array
(
)
)