How To Write a Novel Based on a True Story

January 31, 2012 by 3 Comments
Harlow CobanToday we welcome guestblogger, Harlow Coban! Harlow is the author of Life in Death, her debut novel which is now available. A fast-paced murder mystery, Life in Death is the first part of the Kari Marchant series. Read on to find out how to effectively turn your real life stories into captivating fiction!   My story isn’t a warm and fuzzy one.    My father was murdered when I was 12 years of age.   A few years ago, at my uncle’s urging, I looked into what happened to him.  The police had suspects, but no one was ever arrested and the case remains unsolved.   I learned a lot about police procedure when I looked into my father’s murder.  It was then that I decided to write a novel.    While my murder mystery novella, Life in Death, is not entirely based on what happened to my father, it draws from real life experiences I had with him.    Writing the novel was a cathartic experience for me.  What I liked most, and found particularly cleansing, about the experience was my power to spin the story as I saw fit.  We all love, hate, laugh, cry, and everything in between, so we’re never at a loss for stories to tell.  Here’s how you get started writing a novel based on a true story:
  • Determine what kind of story you want to write.  Talk to family and friends.  Look at newspaper articles.  I don’t want to be morose, but look at obituaries, too.  Take notes.  There are stories there. 
 
  • Determine the story’s theme:  Good/evil, love/hate, birth/death, peace/war, etc.  Again, take notes.  This may be where the title of your book comes from or maybe not.  The title of my book came to me in a dream.
 
  • Construct a compelling plot.  I suggest creating a plot outline to start with.  I used the “what if” technique to determine what would happen in my chapters.  Basically, you ask yourself “what if” this or that happened to your character and expand from there.
 
  • Create dynamic scenes.  My advice is something has to happen in “every” chapter or scene. 
 
  • Create multi-dimensional characters.  Many writers, including yours truly, base their characters on real people and then add nuances to create more complexity and depth.   This is one way to go.
 
  • Read, read, read.  The more you read, the better writer you’ll become.   
  • Lastly, start writing.  “Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland.     
Truth can be stranger than fiction, but maybe not as entertaining.  The key to writing a novel based on a true story is in how you spin the story to make it enjoyable for readers. Harlow Coban, authorAbout Harlow Coban: Author Harlow Coban was born in Kansas City, MO, but grew up in Denver, CO.  She relocated to North Carolina five years ago with her husband, two dogs, and 16-year old twins. She shares a birthday with the notorious Napoleon Bonaparte.  In keeping with his legacy, she is currently working on taking over the world.  Harlow’s positive attitude and fresh take on life are her tools and conquest is certain. She spends her free time writing, dancing, traveling and defending mailboxes from her 16-year-old twins’ driving. Her debut novel, LIFE IN DEATH (to be published in early 2012), is a murder mystery which pulls from real-life situations from her own family history.  She felt compelled to share her story with the world while offering a thrilling, entertaining, and amusing escape for readers. In keeping with her commitment to improving the lives of children, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of her book will be donated to the Boys and Girls Club in her home state of North Carolina. She loves to connect with her readers and can be found on Twitter, her Blog or on Facebook.
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Goodbye 2011! Here’s My Year-End Wrap Up

December 31, 2011 by Leave a Comment
All in all, 2011 was fairly decent with a few lows and many more highs. As we say “so long” to 2011 and hello to 2012, I felt the need to be self indulgent and review my year with you!   2011 was the year my book, Unfinished Projects published by Main Street Rag, debuted. I traveled about 5,000 miles this year promoting my book throughout the Carolinas along with visiting New York’s Book Revue Bookstore and the St. Louis poetry scene. I met so many fantastic people on all of my road trips, but my favorite gigs were in Charleston and Waynesville, NC. I don’t think I laughed so hard in Charleston after the Monday Night Poetry and Music show in April—ever. (I think it involved not getting caught on Spruill Ave, Hurricane Katrina and Star Wars tattoos—thank you, Aaron, Kevin and Katrina!) Waynesville (about 20 min west of Asheville) was also a trip and a half. My hosts from the Mountain Writers Club took me and my best buddy/honorary poetry roadie Jane to the Sweet Onion where the conversation was a lively as an electric eel. Stay tuned for more road trips in 2012 when I visit Columbia, SC, Asheville, Charleston and Hickory to promote my new book, After the Steaming Stops, coming out in March or April.   2011 was the year I cut my hair. I was so bored with my long hair and tired of strangers telling me I looked like Kathy Griffin, the comic. So I got my hair cut in mid-May. It was a good cut, but so…different. I couldn’t style my hair like before and my husband kept calling me “Prince Valiant.” Oy. The good news was that folks said I looked younger than my 29 years. I’ve got my hair now to about my shoulders after 7 months and I want to go long again. Another part of the good news is that I found a curling iron that keeps up with my style even in bad humidity and my long hairs don’t clog our sinks anymore.   2011 was the year I became a Reiki Level II practitioner. Reiki has helped calm me down—but only so much since as you all know I’m a very intense person. I’ll be training to be a Reiki Master this spring! I’m using my Reiki to be more aware and intuitive, plus with my hair growing longer, my intuition will only get stronger! (there’s a theory that the longer your hair, the better your psychic abilities)   2011 was the year I called 9-1-1 after my three-year-old daughter Erin severely sliced open the bridge of her nose when she jumped from the bathroom sink onto the edge of a plastic trash can. I guess she was practicing for a role in Spiderman? I remembered my health ed classes and kept steady pressure on her wound. She was cool with everything and found it interesting that her older brother practically fainted when he saw her five stitches. 2011 was also the year my son wandered into the deadly April 16 Raleigh tornadoes—I wrote a poem about it. He ended up safe but you should have been a fly on the wall when my husband, who was at work at the time, asked me where Daniel was and I said, “IDK!” and then he said, “Well, the roof of the Lowe’s in Sanford just blew off!” Daniel followed a neighbor with Chihuahuas back to her townhouse to ride out the storm. Oy vay.   2011 was the year I got Craig-Listed by my boss. I was the editor for a fledgling magazine for three months and the publisher (I use that term loosely) put my position up on Craig’s List with me still in the job! I quit the next business day. I have to say I met SO many awesome people in that position that it was worth the time. But I realized I don’t want to take a “jobby job”—I’m having too much fun as an entrepreneur where I set my own hours and have the opportunity to increase my income. Take this job and shove it!   2011 was the year I sang in public for the first time in 10 years. I got the singing bug back, so watch out! I want to take singing lessons next. 2011 was the year I gave blood again after 10 years. And 2011 was the year I took a humor workshop AND wrote and performed five humor-themed speeches. I used one of those speeches in my emcee duties at the CHERUBS Angels Masquerade Ball for babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH), but I cheated since I made fun of Charlie Sheen the whole time.   2011 was the year I visited the Ozarks, Fort Smith and St. Louis for the first time with my husband. In St. Louis I saw my first cousin KC after 17 years! That was cool. 2011 was the year I took up running again and published a blog post once a week—do or die!   2011 was the year every single one of my dresses, save one or two, came from the boutique consignment store, Our Friends Closet in North Raleigh off of Durant Road in Falls River Town Center. 2011 was also the year of teaching fantastic writers in my memoir workshops, fiction editing workshops and blogging workshops (both in person and online)—may the knowledge continue in 2012! I taught poetry at the Nazim Hikmet Festival in April, sponsored by the American Turkish Association and the Town of Cary, and will return to teaching at the Festival this year as well. I do it to be invited to the crazy Turkish after-party, but please don’t tell anyone that!   Well, goodbye 2011 and I know 2012 will create a wealth of good memories and fun! In 2012 I’m going to keep posting my blog once a week, memorize a classic poem every month and practice my singing and comedy routine, along with writing some more riveting poetry—so watch out!   Your Turn:   How did you survive 2011? What are your promises to yourself for 2012?
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It’s One Space After a Period!

November 6, 2011 by 5 Comments
Are you still double spacing after you end a sentence? Well, stop! All of the style guides The Chicago Manual of Style, the AP Stylebook, and the Modern Language Association (MLA) except for the American Psychological Association want you to space only once after you end a sentence. I know, I know, it may be really hard to break the habit of hitting the space bar twice, but you’re still not listening to your 8-track today, right?
Why the Change?
  You might be wondering how you didn’t get the spacing memo. Since word processors came into being in the late 70s/80s, spacing only once after a sentence has become the norm. This is because typewriters monospaced all of the characters, so that an “i” took up the same space as an “m.” Computers use proportional spacing so each character is adjusted for the space and double spacing after periods became an extra unnecessary step. In addition, newspapers frowned on having all of that wasted space in columns which could become valuable ad dollars. In my high school typing class in the late 80s, I was taught to double space after periods and colons—it took me awhile to change my old habits, but I have faith you can too! But Don’t Two Spaces Look Better? Not really. Two spaces make the document “holey” and disjointed. It DOES NOT make it easier for someone to read your work nor does it help the reader know you ended your sentence. As an editor, my eyes go directly to the double spaces and then I start hyperventilating, wondering how many spaces I’ll need to correct. So yes, this blog post is really a public service announcement for my present and future clients! What if You Don’t Want to Change Your Double-Spacing Ways?  My, aren’t we stubborn? Well, you can stick it to the Man by double spacing in your emails, drafts and letters. Just don’t double space when you’re sending off that email to your future agent, editor or publisher. Bottom line: please save the spaces! It only takes a small change to make a big difference! Your Turn: Are you a single spacer or a double spacer?  How do you feel about this convention?
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