In my creative writing class last semester, we read a piece by David Sedaris, "Repeat After Me." The main premise was Sedaris at a crossroads between his obligation to his sister's privacy and his obligation as a writer to pen and publish good stories.
A similar conflict rose in Gossip Girl (I know it's an old show, I have a lot of catching up to do...)
Besides all the love triangles and drama, there was a subplot about a character publishing an almost biography-like story (twisted creative non-fiction names, etc.) about one of his classmates in order to gain stature and fame. The classmate explicitly asked him not to write about his story, just like Sedaris' sister asked him not to write about what she told him (I'm not sure if he ever did,) but it brings up the question of whether we as authors have any justification for publishing what happens in others' lives, whether they grant us permission or not. Where is the ethical boundary?
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/277/apology/act-one
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