If your cash is running out fast and you have an incessant need to write Casey Short USA Jersey , why not turn to crime?
No! Not committing crime, but to writing about crime. Crime is all around us, and people want to know about it. Don't believe me? Turn on the five o'clock news, Lifetime TV or USA TV Network. You'll see true crime stories run rampant across television schedules. True crime on television is the number two genre (next to romance). And guess what? Someone has to write those movie scripts--might as well be you.
Many movies are adapted from books. Again, someone has to write those books. It's legal, profitable, and downright intriguing.
You ever wonder Carli Lloyd USA Jersey , when you're watching the news, "How could she be so stupid?" or "Didn't they know they were living with a maniac?" I do, it's only natural. In fact, I think we feel it could never happen to us.
But, crime can happen to any one of us. That's where true crime writing comes in. It answers the questions in story form.
For instance, we have learned that kids believe 'strangers' are ugly and 'scary-looking'--like monsters. But we know that's not accurate, so we teach our kids that a stranger can be good looking Becky Sauerbrunn USA Jersey , well educated, and considerate. We can tell them about Ted Bundy (without the violence) and show them a picture if we really want to make the point. Many surviving crime victims often say that the person was so nice; they never suspected he could be capable of such destruction. We know this because we were told a story either in verbal, written, or picture form.
If true crime writing interests you, begin by searching local newspapers for stories. Don't search across the country, unless you are independently wealthy! Anytime you see an article that looks interesting, clip it and put it in your 'true crime clippings' file. If there are more articles about the same crime Alyssa Naeher USA Jersey , then you know it is intriguing enough to warrant your attention. Still... it does not mean it is enough for an entire book. To discover the answer to that question will take research.
Do you have a fascinating criminal? Is the crime random, or was the victim chosen for a reason? Is the place of action special (was it at Disneyland, for instance)? Can you write about a totally different lifestyle than what we know? Is the criminal a member of MENSA? Is she dressed up as a clown when she commits her crimes? Is the victim the first woman space rocket engineer? Perhaps the victim is a deaf child. All of these facts increase the story's public interest and can take us into a world we have never been in before.
Are there subplots in the crime (not only did he murder his best friend, he also barged into his friend's family life and became like another son, then he robbed them one night, and then...). These questions will help you decide if you have a story worth considering?
True crime writing is lucrative and actually a challenging kind of fun. It is about combining journalism with novel writing. Nonfiction with fiction. If you have what it takes -- determination, time Allie Long USA Jersey , and a strong stomach -- you can take up this as a career and soar.
College students tend to wax enthusiastic about the lessons they pick up in class. Curiously, this very admirable trait, a thirst for knowledge, has a downside to it. When one learns at a rate best described as "alarming," which college students often must do, little time exists to sit and sift through all that new material carefully. And this burdensome task would mandate yet more study time, which luxury few students can afford.
This means that Ali Krieger USA Jersey , for very practical reasons, they will tend to accept readily the sermons that echo from academic pulpits. Consumers of media information have nearly the same problem -- a large flow of information thrust at them, and little time to sort through it. Election years only magnify this problem, and political candidates can grind axes with the best of them. When a scandal breaks out, the media blitz can sometimes blind even the more critical viewers. So we have done some of the extra homework for these groups to help them make the best of this unhappy situation. Here, we offer a clear-headed set of rules to disperse the fog quickly, adding daylight to the topic at hand.
As a first step in adopting a cautiously critical posture Alex Morgan USA Jersey , we would like to introduce the rule, "take careful notes and develop a long memory by referring back to them now and again." Spin-doctors count on the fact -- a most unhappy truth -- that most people do not remember what the sales script said that they fed to the masses last week. This way, when they later change the story, you can call them on it. If it's a political speech in question, "Tivo" it, so you can play it back when later when spin proponents deny that their guy ever said it in the first place.
Second, isolate the parts of the speech or lecture that seem to form the main points of the argument. Often this or that advocate will avoid stating the main points of his argument explicitly Abby Smith USA Jersey , only implying them. Make the implied parts explicit yourself by asking, "what assumption(s), does this depend upon that he has not stated openly?" Then write them down. For instance, if one were to argue, "We had to attack his country because the guy is a tyrant," then note that this assumes -- unless otherwise qualified -- that we must attack all countries where tyrants rule. Given today's political climate, this would not promote a very promising course of action. So stated Abby Dahlkemper USA Jersey , we would have to attack almost everyone, starting with the I.R.S.
So remember to make a list of the important claims in question -- whether the speaker or writer has stated, implied, or simply assumed them.