Every book that draws on lived experience faces the same problem: the people in your story are real, and they didn't ask to be characters. Pseudonyms aren’t enough protection. But avoiding the hard stories means shelving the book you actually want to write.
In this 90-minute workshop, we'll work through a practical framework for writing about real people that protects their dignity without flattening your narrative. You'll leave with tools you can use immediately.
What we'll cover: The spectrum from trade nonfiction to fiction and where your book falls on it. Why pseudonyms alone don't solve the problem. Composite methods and other approaches to characters. Real examples from published memoirs and autobiographical fiction.
This workshop is for you if: You're writing a book that involves patients, clients, family members, students, or colleagues and you're not sure how to handle their stories responsibly.
Note: Zoom details are included in your email receipt.
About the host: Joshua Doležal is the founder of Big Sky Insights, a book coaching firm. He holds a PhD in American Literature and has spent 20 years teaching memoir and narrative medicine, including the ethics and craft of writing about real people's most vulnerable experiences. He is the author of two books and many essays in The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Kenyon Review, The Missouri Review, and other fine magazines. He writes The Recovering Academic on Substack.