In the news today, an arrest in a horrifying murder case in Florida, one that's being compared to the murder of the Clutter family in Kansas, the case which inspired Truman Capote to write his groundbreaking "nonfiction novel," In Cold Blood. In Cold Blood inspired much of the "new journalism" of the 1960s and 1970s, although it can't be said to have begun the interest in writing about terrifying real life murders. That trend goes back, in America, to lurid tabloids like The Police Gazette, and 19th century folk songs inspired by real life murder cases, like "Banks of the Ohio" (linked here to the Johnny Cash version).
Writing about murder is not for everyone, nor should it be. But taking stories from real life can be a starting point for many writers and aspiring writers. If you're interested in a decidedly non-bloodthirsty approach to putting real life stories together into a fascinating narrative, look at Tracy Kidder's books on building a house or teaching in a grade school.
