Posted by https://nypost.com/2017/04/16/how-dominick-dunne-went-from-hack-novelist-to-star-reporter/
“There was no greater, cheaper, more compelling content.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_%C3%A0_clef
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Before I could express my thoughts on Dominick Dunne I had to look into two other names: Truman Capote and Andy Warhol.
Warhol was primarily a commercial artist and he was extremely successful at it.
Capote is the more pertinent artist in relation to Dunne. His relationship to Harper Lee is a stunning education and as a child he worked at it and declared himself a writer at age eleven. From there he only elevated his craft through his efforts and schooling in New York City. Born in 1925, Capote hit it big with the publication of Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1958. He described his career as “before and after” the release of the short novel.
Capote attended trials as a kid with Ms. Lee. After Breakfast he is best-known for In Cold Blood, true crime with a lot of fiction mixed-in or roman a clef.
All three were and are unusual characters as males. They were driven and highly successful. All might also be described as effeminate or gay; picked-on could be another description. Each prospered as an artist.