How to write

I’ve noticed several news articles lately in which false claims have been made to extort money or revenge from the accused. This would be a good plot device, especially if told from the accused point of view.  A 60 year old landlord was accused of imprisoning his tenant. Police received a report from a woman who claimed he chained the door shut and padlocked her inside. Police quickly surmised the woman broke back into the house after she was evicted. This is a new twist on the tenant from hell story. I’ll never forget Michael Keaton’s cockroaches in the movie Pacific Heights. He was the ultimate creepy character but the movie never really explained his motivations, other than boredom.

There is nothing worse than being falsely accused. I’ve never been accused of a crime, but even small infractions (being accused of eating the last Twinkie) and I’m seething with indignation and defensiveness. 
Another story that caught my attention was a woman who accused a college professor of rape, every man’s worst nightmare. Judge Peter Nault commented on the “saddest” case he’s ever seen in court. “That we hurry to castigate a person who turns out to be entirely innocent … I don’t know how it could be worse.” The incident will have long term consequences for real victims who are already reluctant to come forward. Again, you could tell the story as the accused or as an actual victim whose case is dismissed in the aftermath. A woman who doesn’t get her day in court because of another woman who cries wolf could be a dangerous character. The professor spent nine days in jail and placed on leave from his job.

 The Innocent Man plot provides a wealth of material to excavate. John Grisham was intrigued by an obituary in The New York Times, which led to the publication of his first nonfiction book “The Innocent Man.” Ron Williamson was a small town sports hero who was wrongfully convicted, nearly executed and then exonerated. “Never in my most creative moment could I have come up with a story like this.”