The topic was supposed to be "To what extent is it OK to base character traits/actions on those of real people" but that wouldn't fit.
So yeah, I'm not talking about 100% ripping off a person or even a real event here. I know it's illegal (not to mention immoral and, if you know the person personally, downright awkward) to write something that badmouths a real person. But what if there's something someone does/did that you admire, and you want to write a character who does something similar? Do you need the person's permission?
I'm also not talking about a specific life experience. For example, the guy in "127 Hours" (or however many hours it was) would have been pretty annoyed if one of his friends wrote a book obviously based on his experience. I'm not planning to do anything like that.
I mean something general that a person does, which for all I know plenty of other people might do. For example, let's say that when I was a kid, there was a woman who walked past my house every day wheeling her disabled husband in a wheelchair so he could get fresh air, even though it hurt her back terribly to push him*. Assuming I changed the appearance, location, and other traits of this woman so she wasn't instantly recognisable, and all other parts of this character's life were totally fictional, if I wanted to write a character who did this, would I:
a) not be allowed to write it
b) have to ask their permission
c) have to pay them royalties
d) not have to do anything; they don't own copyright to the concept of being super nice to their husband by taking him for a walk every day?
*This is a fictional example and any resemblance to real people is purely coincidental.
Anyway, this is the general gist of what I'm asking. I want to write a story based on a similar theme, but some of the characters will contain aspects of real people.
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