The Presidential Inauguration of Joe Biden is (finally) set to take place on January 20, 2021.
I’ll resist the urge to make any comments about the departing Commander in Chief.
I’ll also abstain from making any comments regarding the embarrassment on the Capitol just a few days prior to the Inauguration ceremony.
Instead, I’d like to take the opportunity to geek out on the fact that Joe Biden has made fanon canon by running for (and winning) the presidency.
What do I mean? It was all foretold in Hope Never Dies and Hope Rides Again from the Obama-Biden Mysteries series, a pair of action-mystery novels released in the genre of Real Person Fiction.
@shameonpretzel Day 🐼 of the COVID-19 pandemic (I’ve lost count at this point – please excuse the janky hair and no makeup 😅) ##audible ##nofilter ##iwokeuplikethis
♬ original sound – user9204755766240
WHAT IS REAL PERSON FICTION?
Real Person Fiction (or RPF) is a subgenre of fan fiction that uses real-life people as its protagonists. This could mean anyone: celebrities, historical figures, your friends and family, even your next-door neighbour.
Real Person Fiction occupies a dubious realm within the fanfiction space. There’s no harm in putting fictional characters in precarious situations; after all, they’re not real.
But there exists an ethical grey area when a person from real life becomes the subject of someone’s written fantasies. For one, there’s the risk that an unsuspecting reader might mistake what they read as fact about said real individual.
Also, depending on the information included to make the Real Person Fiction authentic, it may inadvertently reveal details that become an invasion of privacy.
And lastly, Real Person fiction can be downright creepy depending on the audience (and might actually get the writer in legal trouble).
Here are some tips to follow should you decide to write Real Person Fiction (RPF):
WHERE TO POST REAL PERSON FICTION
Real person fiction can be found in abundance on such sites as Archive of Our Own (AO3) and Wattpad. It also used to be available on Fanfiction.net; however, all real person fiction has been removed from the site as of 2002.
EXAMPLES OF REAL PERSON FICTION
The fanfic After by Anna Todd started as a One Direction fanfiction on Wattpad. It has since become a best-selling Young Adult novel and a critically-successful movie adaptation, with a sequel released in 2020.
In a broader sense of the term, the movie Space Jam can be considered Real Person fiction, as it stars Michael Jordan playing himself in an adventure where he plays basketball to win back the freedom of the Looney Tunes.
As mentioned above, Andrew Schaffer wrote the Barrack Obama — Joe Biden bromance murder-mystery novels Hope Never Dies and Hope Rides Again. The covers for both books are ridiculous cheese, but both are solidly entertaining works of fiction. I highly recommend listening to them on Audible.
DO’S AND DON’TS OF REAL PERSON FICTION
DO Be Respectful
It’s very easy for Real Person Fiction to cross the line into uncanny valley territory. If you’re going to write fiction based on an actual person, take a moment to consider if they would like you to portray them in a less than flattering light.
Example: Spock and Kirk embroiled in a romantic tryst is one thing, but Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner engaged in a cross-country killing spree will likely ruffle a few feathers.
DON’T Share Your Real Person Fiction with your Subjects
Please, for the love that is all that holy, do not share your fiction with your muse. They won’t be flattered, they will equal parts mortified and creeped out that you made them the subject of your dark twisted fantasy fiction. I repeat, do not pull a Tina Belcher.
DO Have Fun With It
Creativity knows no bounds. As with any fanfiction, there are no rules on how you can write.
However, also consider taking real individuals and using them as the INSPIRATION behind your characters rather than the actual subjects. In order to market and sell Anna Todd’s After, the novel was eventually changed so the Punk version of Harry Styles became Hardin Scott.
You could do the same and turn a potentially creepy fanfiction into a potentially lucrative income as a published author. The choice is ultimately yours.
So what do you think? Have you ever read Real Person Fiction before? Do you think Real Person Fiction is bad or good, and can you think of other instances of the genre in mainstream media?