How to write

I’m writing a YA Novel right now and so I’ve been doing a little research on school shootings.   Today’s news includes a story of middle school students who were released from school due to threats of violence.  

Three students plotted to kill classmates and themselves in a Columbine-style attack. Columbine High School massacre occurred on April 20, 1999.  Two misfit boys, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold,  bullied at school and seething with rage, plotted to exact revenge on their tormentors, the White Hats (”Jocks” who were identified by their white baseball caps) .  The boys shot and killed twelve students and a teacher, and wounded 234 others before committing suicide.  Due to  the overwhelming publicity the shooting generated, live broadcasts of children fleeing the school or dropping from windows, Harris and Kleblold left behind a legacy of glory seeking mimics. 

Yet they weren’t the first to commit acts of violence at school. 

12 year old Nathan Ferris, teased for being overweight, decided enough was enough.  He took a gun to school one day and killed another boy, then himself.

Jamie Rouse was 17 when he shot two teachers, killing one and also  killing a student who walked into the path of a bullet.

14 year old Barry Loukaitis, went on a killing spree at his school because he thought it would be fun.  He shot four classmates and his teacher before taking the class hostage.  Three people died. 

David Dubose, Jr., 16, killed a teacher in a school hallway

Tronneal Mangum, 13, shot and killed another student in front of their school.

Luke Woodham, 16, was bullied and went on a killing spree, stabbing his mother, a former girlfriend and another girl. He then shot seven other students.  He said “I killed because people like me are mistreated every day…I did this to show society: Push us and we will push back.” 

A common theme seems to be bullying, resulting in alienation, helplessness and finally rage, when the weak fight back.  Also the violence of our society, packaged for entertainment in movies, video games and music,  came under close scrutiny.  Blame was placed on influences, such as Stephen King’s novel, Rage, a film, The Basketball Diaries, and the Pearl Jam video, “Jeremy.”  

Students, teachers and authorities now take threats much more seriously.  While the rumors are frightening, the real horror is killers will strike with no warning.  This was the case at Virginia Tech University when Cho Seung-Hui, committed the bloodiest single-handed mass killing in U.S. history. Seung-Hui did display warning signs; previously committed to a mental hospital,  reports of stalking girls on campus, violent writings, suicide threats and social isolation. Yet no one predicted the massacre that would follow when Cho systematically killed 31 students and staffers before turning a gun on himself.  Check out Stephen King’s editorial On Predicting Violence.

I’ve  been a little hesitant about incorporating a school shooting into my novel, because the subject is so close to home.  And yet that’s also the reason I feel compelled to write about it.  I think every kid, whether they are the bully or the victim, needs to understand that their actions come with consequences.  Parents, teachers and fellow students can’t turn a blind eye to the victimization that goes on in schools and then act shocked by the consequences.  Often these killers have sought help for years, begging for a respite from the physical and mental torture they endured.  Their acts were their last desperate attempts to escape.