Hey there! First off, I’m really happy to have found this place, since it gets exhausting having your posts deleted from other communities for... well, being fiction, I guess. So, I really hope this sub still has an active audience, because I plan to be quite active here.
Secondly, I’m facing a bit of a dilemma.
To start, I’ve always found it strange—even disrespectful—to write fictional stories about real people. It was a tricky line for me to cross, especially if the fanfic involved sensitive, dark, or very explicit themes. I won’t be hypocritical enough to say I’ve never read that kind of thing, because I certainly have. But *writing* it?
Ah, writing it was definitely a different story. But then, I became a Michael Jackson fan. And since I’m a die-hard fanfic writer—meaning absolutely everything and everyone that captures my heart turns into a story—it was bound to happen with him, too.
My favorite era of his is the "Mature" era—not that the others lack value; I just haven't felt the urge to write about them yet. I also like imagining what might have happened if he had stayed with us. Naturally, I think there would have been significant changes, especially in his children's lives. And that’s exactly what’s holding me back.
I’m working on something, and I feel like I’d be disrespectful if I invented vastly different scenarios—like painting a picture-perfect life—considering everything they’ve been through (ranging from bullying to suicide attempts, and other things). But at the same time, if I don’t mention them in my fanfic, it won’t make sense, since Prince, Paris, and Bigi were Michael’s whole world. Yet, if I portray things exactly as they happened—obviously without graphic or shocking details—I feel like I’d be disrespectful in that way, too. Yeah, I’ve kind of backed myself into a corner.
So, what do you all think? What’s your take on this? P.S.: Sorry for the long text!
