Researching and Writing True Crime [Rebecca Morris]

All Levels | Whether a fifty-year-old case, or a present-day one, writing about crime is different than any other genre. We’re fascinated with crime (there are hundreds of network and cable TV programs about crime) but the truth is it is ugly and complicated. As Agatha Christie said, the crime itself is the end of the story—an author must learn why it happened, how it affected the community, and the context in which it happened. This class will also address how to obtain documents, research cold cases, find sources, conduct interviews, and how true crime writing uses storytelling techniques.