Thanks gang.

Guest, I saw your post earlier today and realized that I hadn't been very clear here about what disturbed me, and this was because it wasn't very clear in my mind either. So I have put some more thought into it, and this is what I realized:

Of your questions, the one that's closest to home is: Are you afraid of appearing to others as if you have exploited this person just for the sake of a song? But it's not a question of appearances: I'm afraid that I have in fact exploited her for the sake of the song. Even if it does her no tangible or intangible harm, and even if nobody else sees anything exploitative about it... I'm worried about what it says about me if I can look at a person in pain and see a character.

This year I've been on a songwriting roll and am actively seeking true stories to write about; I'm reading history books, and encouraging people to tell me their family stories. The letter from our mutual friend asked for my prayers, but my immediate response was not to pray but rather to think, "Hey, I should write a song about it." And now that response strikes me as callous.

Having said that, now that I've put my concern into words, it seems a little absurd: if you're worried about being callous, then you're probably not, eh?

Anyway, Guest, I was reassured by your third paragraph and hope it's true that Writers SHOULD feel uncomfortable when writing about living people whom they make characters in their work.

Marion