I'm working on volume two of my memoir. Volume one was published in April. Except in a few cases involving criminal acts and a suicide, I used real names of my teachers, friends and associates. In volume two I am wondering if I should use fictional names for all characters. There is a case of manslaughter and numerous references to dubious and obnoxious behaviour of some people so I am thinking it might be best to not use real names. Obviously people close to the events will recognize the characters involved, but to strangers it might as well be fiction. I am thinking of another memoir that is quite successful here in British Columbia called "Always carry a candle." It is a description of the arrival of a young public health nurse in the cowboy/logger/mill town of Williams Lake in 1962 and her introduction to the wild and wooly life of a traveling country nurse. The author changed all the names. That might be a good idea for me too. The events occur on a remote island on the B.C. coast. People who were there at the same time as I was will know who I am talking about but you wouldn't.
My answer from when you asked the same question a year and a half ago: I stick by the part where real names add nothing to the story. Nobody will care/notice except the real people, and since they're the ones you're concerned about, it seems like a no-brainer.
Thanks. I'm getting closer to the end. Real close. Appreciate your reply again. I was hoping to hear another opinion soon. The book has not been submitted to the publisher yet even though my contract from book one states they have first refusal of my next work.
Unless the people are famous it adds nothing so you might as well use pseudonyms if you’re writing about your experience as a staffer in the American government or your career as a baseball commentator or a tell all about your life as a rock band groupie not so much
