Join crime fiction author Cathy Pickens from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, August 6, for a free workshop hosted by the St. Louis Writers Guild. Our remote speaker will live-stream the workshop via Zoom, and attendees can participate online as well as at The Lodge Des Peres, 1050 Des Peres Rd., St. Louis, MO, 63131. The in-person gathering will follow the 2/28/22 St. Louis County Health Advisory. MASKS ARE OPTIONAL, and we will not collect attendee information for contact tracing. No food or drinks will be served.

Writing With Crime

Dickens borrowed from real-world crimes and detectives to craft his fiction—even modeling the first fictional police detective after a famous London officer. Even if you aren’t writing mystery or thriller fiction, you can find inspiration and telling details for your projects hidden within the crime news and court cases.

But if you’re not a lawyer, police detective, or forensic scientist, how do you access the cases and the technical details to make your fiction ring true? Or how do you uncover the real story of a crime for a memoir or true crime tale?

In this workshop, we’ll explore the rich resources provided by real crime cases and explore some examples of how other writers have used them. Bring your questions—or alert me in advance—if you have specific questions you’d like answered. (cathy@cathypickens.com. Mention August 6, St. Louis Writers Guild Workshop in your email.)
“Join current SLWG meeting” button at the top of the St. Louis Writers Guild’s Events page (https://www.stlwritersguild.org/events).

Bio:
Cathy Pickens, a lawyer and college professor, is a crime fiction writer (Southern Fried Mysteries, St. Martin’s/Minotaur) and true crime columnist for Mystery Readers Journal. She is professor emerita in the McColl School of Business, served as national president of Sisters in Crime and on the national board of Mystery Writers of America.

She is also the author of CREATE! (ICSC Press), offers coaching and workshops on developing the creative process and works with writers on telling their stories.
Her other books from History Press include:
Charleston Mysteries
Charlotte True Crime Stories
True Crime Stories of Eastern North Carolina
Triangle True Crime Stories
True Crime Stories of Upstate South Carolina
True Crime Stories of Western North Carolina (coming September 2022)