True Crime Becomes Fiction

For me, it is SO easy to make things up. I begin with a story or character or even a place, and then I just go with it. Most of the time I have no idea what is going to happen, but apparently my pen does.

When I am at school in the summer I can let my imagination run wild through the many assignments given to me throughout the program. I love it! However, when I return home I have to switch my brain back to AP format and a journalist point of view.

When I became a journalist I thought, This job won't be that difficult, I write all the time. Oh, how wrong I was.

Recently I got a phone call from a local law enforcement officer explaining there had been a shooting in a nearby town. Throughout the course of the day, different people called in and gave their side of the story and information they had.

By the afternoon the story was that a man had hurt a younger girl, and the younger girl called her father, so the father flew in from the West Coast to get revenge. A shoot-out began as the two men drove at high speeds down a major highway in our county. One of the men was shot in the shoulder, but managed to kill the other man and another woman before he was shot in the head. He still got up and walked afterwards.

Sounds a little crazy, right? That's because a lot of it is. It would make an interesting murder mystery, but in the world of journalism and reporting the news, the truth is key.

This is where my job begins. Because the case was spread over multiple small towns in the county, I first talk to each sheriff. If I can't get in touch with them, I call the police chiefs in each of the towns. Most of the time, with cases like this, I get turned over to the bureau of investigations, which opens up another can of worms, in that they have a press department to deal with reporters, which means I typically don't get much information.

Piecing together a story that is accurate takes a lot of time, and people don’t want to wait. If they hear of a shooting, they want to see an immediate story on our Twitter or Facebook page. If they don’t, they wonder why on earth this is not being reported. This is news!! It is, but every single detail in this story MUST be confirmed, which is not so in creative writing.

The beauty of my job is, I not only get to gather information and figure out what actually happened in a jumbled-up case like this, but I am inspired to create new characters.

We can find characters all around us. I love turning people I talk to on a daily basis into characters. Not everything has to remain the same, but if I think it's funny that the local police chief enjoy hunting and prank calling his friends, I might use that later for one of my characters.

It's always a good idea to write down interesting places or characteristics because you never know what you might need later on for a story. While I have to work hard to find out the truth, the original rumors are much more interesting and can be turned into something later through my creative writing once I leave the newsroom.

So, here is a challenge: Go to dinner alone; try a fancy restaurant. Why not treat yourself? Be sure to bring a notebook and watch the people around you. Try to describe everything the girl several tables down does. Does she use her cell phone throughout her meal? Does she have fancy shoes on? Maybe she looks as if she’s dressed for a date but she’s alone. Take those descriptions and create her character.

PS: I did this in a restaurant a few weeks ago, and the family a few tables over thought I was so strange for eating alone (why is that? I love it!) and talked about me the entire time. The result? I created a nosy woman who talks too loudly about others because she has a hearing problem. See? It's not that difficult! Now, let's see what you come up with!

ABOUT THE BLOGGER

Courtney Warren is a writer for her local newspaper, as well as a graduate student at Hollins University where she is pursuing a degree in Children’s Literature. She has a bachelor’s degree from Delta State University, the home of the Fighting Okra (which she is incredibly proud of). She loves to read just about anything placed on the shelves but has a special place in her heart for the Harry Potter series.

When she is not writing about herself in third person, she loves to write stories about middle schoolers with spunky attitudes who intend to save the world, as well as drinking Earl Grey tea from a very prissy teacup.

Check out her blog, Tea, the Spirit, & a Pen.

Interview with Kitty Keswick

Author Kitty Keswick is gearing up for a booksigning in her hometown of Turlock, CA, on Sunday, June 20 from 2-4 pm at the local Borders. Kitty mentioned that the high school in Freaksville is based on Turlock High School, where she went to school. We asked her to tell us a bit more about those high school years.

If you could go back and change one thing about your high school years, what would it be?

Nothing, I loved my high school years.
What was your most embarrassing moment? (If you aren't too embarrassed to tell it)

I competed in Speech and Debates tournaments. (I lettered my sophomore year.) One competition (on a Saturday), I was crossing the street. I had on new flats and I slipped and fell on my butt in front of some of the people that were later on a judging panel. I can’t remember if I won that debate or not, just that I fell in front of a lot of people. I’m a bit of a klutz, so this was one of many mishaps and the least embarrassing one to share.

What is your favorite memory of high school?

Too many… to list or chose. I’d say the overnight stays with the debate team. We traveled all over California. The rest is classified, so, er, my lips are sealed….yeppers, sealed.

Have you been back to Turlock High? If so, what's different? If not, do you plan to go?

Funny, I never planned on returning to Turlock. I left for college when I was seventeen and never really looked back. But Fate has a funny sense of humor (you’ll meet her in Furry), and she likes to throw wrenches in all your well-laid plans. I’m back in Turlock, not by choice. It isn’t the small farm town I remember. It’s grown, and now I get lost frequently trying to find my way around. I’m not sure if this is where I’m landing. It might be a small trip in my life’s journey. You never know where the path will take you. Sometimes it comes full circle, perhaps so you can learn something you missed? I have no clue.

Are any teachers still at Turlock High who taught you?

I have three favorite teachers who really made a lasting impression on me. Interestingly enough, they were all English teachers. Mr. Jack, my English teacher and debate coach, still teaches, but he’s at the new high school. My other favorite English teacher, Mrs. Boyle, retired. I did email her to tell her I finally sold one of my stories. And my favorite teacher who pushed me very hard, Mrs. Dillman, passed on a few years ago. I will miss her candy bars and sense of humor. We’d come into the classroom, and there would be candy bars on our desk. She’d tell us that we could touch them, but would have to describe them in a short essay. After the essay we got too munch on our treats.

Besides writing essays, do you have any writing-related memories of high school?

I used to write stories about werewolves in spiral notebooks…nothing has changed.

We know you still write in spiral notebooks, and you still write about werewolves, but you’ve added ghosts and Valkries and other beasties of the night. One other thing has changed, though. Now your tales are being published. Why did you choose to write paranormal both then and now?

I think it chose me.

When you were in high school, what did you dream of becoming? Have you reached your dreams or are you working toward them?

I always wanted to be a writer. I started out as a Journalism major, but with my dyslexia, I struggled a lot. I switched my major to Interior Design. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t my passion, writing is. It is who I am, and my struggles just make the reward so much sweeter. I want to continue writing, because I have so many stories rattling around in my head.