Has anyone been following the Casey Anthony trial? I hate to admit it, but I’ve gotten transfixed. This has only happened a few times with me: during the OJ and the Menendez brothers’ trials.How does this relate to writing, you ask? A lot. I’m interested in analyzing what goes into a good mystery or thriller, or simply how to write great, prolonged suspense.
A complex trial like this one, with so many unexpected twists and turns, and with such rampant lies and weird pathology, by its very nature, is buzzing with suspense.
How could a pretty, popular mom kill her child? Is Casey Anthony a violent sociopath, or was her two-year-old daughter's death a swimming accident? There were no eyewitnesses, so the prosecution must build its case on what's called “circumstantial” evidence—putting together pieces of the puzzle, such as a search on the home computer for chloroform 84 times! Or the question of why would one need to apply 3 layers of duct tape to a drowning victim. And why did this mother decide to throw her father and brother under the bus by saying they did nefarious things to her, when all along the father and brother were her staunch defenders? And then, there’s the meter reader, Roy, who found the little girl, Caylee’s skull, buried up to its eyeholes, in a trash dump. If you believe the defense theory, he arranged the bones and duct tape to get the cash reward (That he never received). If you believe the prosecution, Roy was the hero, who finally found the remains of little Caylee, and helped bring her one step closer to justice. The way the lawyers present their witnesses, and all of the forensics testimony, is truly fascinating to me. One person is a hair expert. Another is an expert in detecting volatile gases. And they all want to drivel on about their gadgets.
Will I ever try to tackle writing trial scenes? A very intimidating idea! One would have to speed through the typical minutia of an actual trial to get to the meat, where someone’s sobbing on the stand, or obviously lying, and perjuring themselves. In the Casey Anthony trial, even though spectators have traveled from all over to get in the courtroom, many have fallen asleep from the droning “experts” only to be kicked out for snoring.
Has anyone tried to write a trial scene? To Kill a Mockingbird comes to me. Have you learned how to write suspense from watching a trial, used forensics in a scene, or written a mystery with any of these aspects? Anyone recall a children’s or YA novel that includes some part of a trial? Dish here.
Will I ever try to tackle writing trial scenes? A very intimidating idea! One would have to speed through the typical minutia of an actual trial to get to the meat, where someone’s sobbing on the stand, or obviously lying, and perjuring themselves. In the Casey Anthony trial, even though spectators have traveled from all over to get in the courtroom, many have fallen asleep from the droning “experts” only to be kicked out for snoring.
Has anyone tried to write a trial scene? To Kill a Mockingbird comes to me. Have you learned how to write suspense from watching a trial, used forensics in a scene, or written a mystery with any of these aspects? Anyone recall a children’s or YA novel that includes some part of a trial? Dish here.