and why writers should be paying attention to it.

Hey everybody, welcome back to the blog. Today, I found that yet again the story about Brian Laundrie is the main news story. It’s because they believe they may have found his remains. This, my friends, may be the most sad news story of all news stories in the news today.

Why sad, you ask angrily? Well, let me explain…

You see, this couple, Brian and Gabby were high school sweethearts. They were traveling together, and something happened to them and the relationship that was unexpected and unwarranted. Because Brian may likely be discovered as a skeletal remains now, we may never find out the truth.

Do I need to mention that TWO sets of parents are grieving? They have lost their CHILDREN. Forever. NO do overs. These folks ain’t coming back, y’all. (and please, no comments about who killed who, and why, what, etc. – no one knows for certain anything.)

Writers need to pay attention to stories like this because we are writing for readers. We are writing for an audience. That audience reads these stories in the news just like writers do. They read them all ad nauseum, and to be honest, I don’t think they want to read books like them. Who wants to read about grisly crime scenes where a young woman’s body was found three to four weeks out in the wild? Who wants to read about a young man who was viciously murdered by alligators or snake bite or worse the body was in water for weeks and weeks?

Think about what you are saying.

Nobody wants that for entertainment, in my opinion.

So, let’s keep it real y’all. Keep our books entertaining…not blood thirsty.

Now, if you want to write like this, it’s your choice, but could you turn that pile of bones into a werewolf or vampire? Make it someone less human? That’s my preference anyway.