Fictional Story around Actual Event

Just off the top of my head, this is what is done every time someone writes a novel about Jack the Ripper--and there's tons of them. Or any other unexplained/unsolved event that an author's imagination can get hold of, for that matter.

I'd go for it, if that's the story you want to write. Since you live there, it'll be easier for you insure that the story isn't stepping on any toes.

Good luck with your idea.

You didn't mention whether you were going to fictionalize the town's name, location, and the name of the victim - things you might want to think about. One thing - if you do write it and are successful in having it published, if the story has enough connection to the actual murder, local people will tell you that's what you wrote about (and some might not be happy with your slants). Puma

Alli, this connects with another thread running here -- about using real people in historical fiction. There's a range of views, but one thing most people here seem to agree on is that what's ethical is not just what's legal.

My personal view: if the subject is the murder itself then research the heck out of it and use the real names where appropriate, and include references in your book, on your web-site etc... and at worst it will inform, interest and provoke discussion -- which I think are all fine things for historical novels to do.

On the other hand, if the subject is inspired by the murder then you may have a crime novel inspired by history rather than an historical novel focusing on a crime. That being so, I think it's more considerate and respectful of readers, relatives and locals to depersonalise the details. It can still raise interest in the subject, but it won't risk misinforming readers, self-promoting at the expense of truth or any of the other ethical traps that I think writers sometimes fall into when they try and turn history into entertainment.

I don't think it's about avoiding offense (because good writing often offends). I think it's about due care for the subject, and recognition that others care about the subject too.

It seems to me Judith Rossner did this with the true story of a female mill worker who gave birth young and years later took up with a younger man who was somehow revealed to be her own illegitimate son. Ms. Rossner did a lot of asking around the area about the story, but no one would talk until AFTER she made the events up, having failed to uncover facts. Once the novel was published, some information about the real story surfaced.

I'm doing this with two of mine.

One of my WIPs took place in Illinois, but I found a clipping for it in an Ithaca, NY newspaper, so transplanted my event (a botched abortion in the 1910s) to the Finger Lakes, NY because it felt very CORRECT for me to. The vibe -- having the thunderbolt hit while I was reading it AT the Ithaca library convinced me to make a copy of the microfilm page for future reference. And now I'm up to almost 50,000 words.

The second of my WIPs took place in the Chicago suburbs in the early 1950s, and I know in the beginning it will sound very much like the actual crime, but I'm changing what happened and expanding on it, even though I'm keeping it in the same area. A woman disappeared and they didn't find her body for some time, but it turned out she was acting really strangely before she disappeared and kind of went nuts and killed herself (I copied about 5 or 6 clippings over the course of two months during the search). My woman is going to be having an affair instead THEN disappears, and my story will concentrate on the damage that is done to her family after she's gone--their father's remarriage and the terrible turns their lives take later, all from their mother being gone.

I think if you change names and alter some important details, you're fine. Sure, locals may recognize a kernel of reality, but you've protected yourself by changing some stuff.

It's done all the time and nothing in the world unethical about it as long as you don't change any of the known events. Change the names if it will make you more comfortable since offending people in your town *might* be a possibility. If that isn't a worry, then don't.

Part of my story is based around actual events although my charachters are all completely fictional - one town is easy not to name because the town wasn't named until near the time the story ends.

Jennifer Donnelly does this in A Gathering Light. If i remember right, she had a note at the end of the book where she discussed taking a real event and creating a novel from that.

Yes, this is done all the time. I agree you should change name and descriptions to protect the innocent. Are you running with a completely made up scenario or one that's secretly percolating among some residents? Just asking....

Isn't this what James Michener did?