Using real people’s names in your adventure memoir

I attended a presentation on memoir and the speaker said this: “When you write about your own life, you’re also writing about others’ lives.” (Kathryn Tafra of Motif Editing.)

You’ll have no doubt met loads of people when you went on your travels. You may have written about them in your journal or scribbled down notes after a conversation, or even recorded your conversations with them, interview style. The people you meet on your travels become a fun part of the story, and readers want to get to know your travelling companions and the people you meet.

The problem with writing about others is they may not want you to write about them. Or, just as important, they may be put in danger by what you say. Or you only caught their first name, or you didn’t get a chance to ask.

Using real people’s names

Always, always be respectful. Tell them you’re writing a book and ask if you can include their name. If they say yes, ask them to spell it. If they say no, then consider whether their presence in your story is necessary. If it is, change their name or make up a descriptor-name (more on that next), and change enough detail to get the spirit of the person across without the identifying features.

Pro journalism move: Get their name and contact details. This is super helpful if you’re writing memoir with a history element or really getting into the details of that person’s story. Send them what you’ve written about them so they can fact check. Sophy Roberts did this when she was writing A Training School for Elephants.

If you didn’t get a chance to catch their name, give them a sensible one or a fun descriptor-name. Maybe this person looked like a Steve. Or maybe he had massive thighs so you name him Tree Trunk Steve. 

In Northbound, Naomi Arnold meets her version of Tree Trunk Steve when she’s walking Te Araroa: Quadzilla. That’s his Instagram name. His real name is Jack Jones, but when you’ve got a username like that, you’ve got to embrace it!

If they’re a passing character, their job title or short descriptor will work: the bartender, the person at the gate, the cop directing traffic who paused mid-flow to give you directions.

When to bend the truth and change a name

But there are times when you may want to change peoples’ names or identifying features. You might want to do this if:

• there’s a chance they might sue for defamation (that’s a whole blog post in itself – it’s coming)
• naming them risks their safety 
• they asked that you not use their name, but are okay with you writing about them
• their presence in your story is important but you don’t want to embarrass them

How to acknowledge changes

For more important or substantial people, you can use an author’s note to explain what you’ve changed and why. This builds trust with your reader (always important with memoir).

Here are two extracts from author’s notes showing two ways of explaining changes to peoples’ identities.

“I have changed the names of most but not all of the individuals in this book, and in some case I also modified identifying details in order to preserve anonymity. There are no composite characters or events in this book.” Cheryl Strayed, Wild.

“All of the characters are real, and our interactions described to the best of my ability. None are composites. There are a couple of people who have had their names changed, and similarly one or two whose locations have been slightly altered, to protect their identity.” Leon McCarron, Wounded Tigris

Wrapping up

By all means, write about the people you meet! Your book would be dull as if you didn’t. Use their names if you have permission or change them if you need to. Always be respectful and honour their wishes. Add an author’s note if it’s appropriate.

Not sure if you’re on the right track? I’m a book editor for travel and adventure writers. Book a free chat with me and we can talk about what’s most appropriate for your book. I’ve edited books for adventurers from New Zealand to Germany and am happy to help you figure out what’s best for your story.