StoryForce: 3Tips for Non-Fiction
Often when writing about real events we worry about using the real names, dates, and places. Military members, veterans, and families may have a story to tell, but worry about the security issues, impact on others, and backlash on self. Here are some tips to telling your truth, but providing cover for everyone else involved:
- Put a disclaimer at the start or end stating names, dates, organizations have been changed to protect the identity.
For example, I was assigned to Headquarters Support Battalion, Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune Military Police Company in 1995. To alter this, I could say I was assigned to a military base on the east coast as a military police officer in the mid-nineties.
- Protecting the innocent, guilty, and yourself.
During my time as a military police officer, I saw horrible events and arrested a lot of people. While I don’t particularly prefer talking about it, writing is a means of putting those thoughts somewhere outside of my head for a while. To protect myself and others I could change some things around.
One example could be the time I arrived to the Marine Corps Exchange on a call to pick up a shoplifter only to discover the shoplifter was being treated by EMTs. This young person had a razor blade protruding from the bottom lip. The person had stolen a pair of shoes, tripped on the way out, and the blade thankfully, went forward instead of back as the individual fell.
This makes for a vague commentary, but you know, as a reader the truth of this incident is in the fact that this was a kid committing a crime and getting injured in the process. You may decide from the information I gave in the last example this happened at a base on the east coast, but of course, I had more than one duty station, so leaving the location out means it could have happened at any Marine base. I could further suppress the identity by calling it a military shopping center, as words such as PX and BX, even exchange, often identifies a branch of service.
- Switch it up: If someone is tall, make them short. You can change the race, the hair, eye color, or any other relevant details. If the person is single, now he or she is married. No kids, well, give them three.
The events still happen, and that is the truth of it. Altering the identity of an individual or being vague about timelines and locations can help protect you and them should someone read your work and believe they know someone. This is a good practice even if the story is not something you believe someone would be worried about. It adds another layer of comfort to your writing and you know that no one will come back later and claim you tried to signal someone out.
If interested in being a part of StoryForce VI, contact Laura Moore or Ted Koch or visit