Crime mysteries have been popular for a long time, especially when it comes to crime-based television shows. Shows, such as "CSI," opened the door to scientific and investigative work that happens after the crime as investigators try to find evidence. Even though the shows definitely speed up the process of finding the DNA and fingerprints, there is some inspiration that you can take from this. Many podcasts are trying their hand at solving mysteries that have been cold for years, and a success story of this is Payne Lindsey's podcast, "Up and Vanished."
The podcast documents the investigation of the missing beauty queen and high school teacher, Tara Grinstead, as she disappeared from her home 11 years ago.
No one has seen or heard from her since the day she went missing and the residents of the little town of Ocilla, Georgia have wondered what happened to her. While Payne's podcast rattled some feathers, people quickly started talking. Many would say that it is because of the podcast that two suspects have now been arrested.
Don't copy - be original
The reality is that you can definitely get inspired by a True Crime podcast for your novel. These podcasts will often talk about the crime, research the crime and everything there is to know about it, and even talk to some of the investigators on the case. Even though you may not be interested in writing a story loosely based on a true crime, you can listen to what the detectives are saying about how they investigated the crime and what methods they used to rule out suspects in the case.
Listening to these kinds of podcasts is almost like you are interviewing a detective about a real-life case, which is something that James Patterson does for his novels.
Sometimes, it can feel odd to take inspiration from a true crime, especially because you don't want to replicate the storyline exactly. People who are crime fanatics may already be familiar with the case that you are being inspired by.
It may be wise to only take about 10 to 15% of the storyline and apply to your novel to make sure that you won't be accused of writing a bad true crime. In addition, you want to be sensitive towards the people suffered through the tragedy.
Remember these are real events
After taking inspiration from a crime podcast, it's important to remember that these events are indeed real life events and they happened to real people.
Some of these crimes may have been so horrendous that people have suffered emotionally and psychologically from these crimes. It's important that when you take inspiration from the true crime that you respect the victims and you respect what happened. You don't even have to mention of person who is guilty of the crime out of respect for the families and victims who may still be suffering. Be inspired by true crime, but use common sense and be sensitive when documenting it in your novel.
Have you ever let a true crime podcast influence a storyline in one of your novels?
