Debra Mares, author of The Mamacita Murders, is my guest today!
Get to the Point, Counsel: Top Ten Tips on Writing Courtroom Scenes
Law-related television shows, movies and books are hot.? And it?s not because they deal with the boring aspects of real life courtroom drama.? Once you step into a real life courtroom, it involves three things: Waiting, waiting, and more waiting.? TV shows only have 30 minutes and maybe an hour.? And there?s no time to wait.? So when you?re writing a courtroom scene, get to the point!? Here are some other tips on how to write an effective courtroom scene.
1)?? Know the courtroom. Sit in one, listen to the sounds of the paper ruffling, the chains clinking, and the attorneys speaking.
2)?? Pick a juicy crime.? Make sure what?s going on in the courtroom involves a serious crime like a homicide, serious assault or something that matters to the community is at stake.
3)?? Don?t forget the past. Build the tension with the past history and relationships of the characters and play it out in their interactions with eachother in the courtroom.? Describe the internal struggles and conflicts the characters are facing before they walk into the courtroom.? It affects how they perceive and react to the courtroom environment.? A defense attorney?s dad who was wrongly convicted may be a true believer with blurry ethical lines.? A prosecutor who?s child suffered abuse from a neighbor may be hard charging.
4)?? Create a sense of urgency.? Use the time deadlines of the case and court calendar to move the story forward and have the characters rush to the finish line within your scene.
5)?? Leave out the boring stuff.? Don?t focus on the boring nuances of courtroom procedure, reasons for objections, or caselaw.? Leave that stuff for us real life attorneys!
6)?? Focus on the people.? Write about who?s in the audience section of the courtroom and who?s not.? The grieving mother of the victim or the nervous wife of the defendant provide heavy emotional appeal and conflict.? Other characters worthy of exploring include police officers, clerks, defendants, attorneys, plaintiffs, jurors, judges, victims and witnesses.? Ask yourself what makes them wind up with the roles they have.
7)?? Make the courtroom a character. The criminal justice system or lady justice can make it?s own character. ?Detail the opulence of the courtroom then contrast it with the flock of low income inmates in orange jumpsuits being herded in.? Consider a tattered courtroom measured against the wealth of high profile defendants and their attorneys.? The details of the courtroom can be used to voice the narrator?s opinion about the legal system in general.
8)?? Weave in your character?s dramatic need.? Remember what your character?s dramatic need is throughout the entire novel and make sure it?s apparent throughout your courtroom scene.? Make sure the character is struggling for that need always.
9)?? Force someone to lose. Make sure each character has something to lose in the courtroom.? Something is always at stake, like their reputation, money, veracity, integrity, freedom or mental strength.? Make your least suspecting character lose it for once!
10)???????????? Be accurate.? If you don?t know the answer to a question about the courtroom, ask an attorney or judge.? We spend a lot of time in them and they are like a second home to us, especially to prosecutors or defense attorneys.? So ask us!
Check out the courtroom scenes in The Mamacita Murders.? What do you find most effective when writing courtroom scenes?? Share your ideas by emailing them to Debra@DebraMaresNovels.com.? I look forward to hearing from you!
ABOUT DEBRA MARES
Debra is the granddaughter of a Mexican migrant farm worker and factory seamstress, was born and raised in Los Angeles, is the first to graduate college in her family, and grew up dancing Ballet Folklorico and Salsa. Debra followed a calling at eleven years old to be an attorney and voice for women, currently lives in Orange County, and appreciates international travel and culture.? She has been a county prosecutor in Riverside, California since 2004 and is assigned to the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit. Debra has prosecuted cases ranging from gang homicides and domestic violence to political corruption and major fraud. Debra co-founded Women Wonder Writers, a community outreach organization and co-created The Write of Your Life, a mentorship and writing program for at-risk young women throughout Riverside County. The Mamacita Murders is Debra?s first novel and first in a series of legal thrillers and chick lit mysteries. To follow The Mamacita Murders and Gaby Ruiz? next call to action, visit www.DebraMaresNovels.com.
Twitter URL: @DebraMares
Facebook URL: Debra MaresYou can visit her website at www.writing-ranch.com.
ABOUT THE MAMACITA MURDERS
When Laura, a seventeen year old key witness goes missing during trial, Assistant Prosecutor Gaby Ruiz is called to action. Ruiz investigates the sexual assault on Laura, who is left for dead in a motel in a drug- and gang-ridden community. Did Clown, Laura?s boyfriend, try to kill her when she tried to leave the Lincoln Gang?s prostitution ring or ? did a random assailant ransack Laura?s room and assault her or ? or did law enforcement try to kill Laura to protect one of their own? ?The investigation twists from the backwoods in Tuckford County to the back rooms of law enforcement buildings all the way to the Walled City.
Gabriela Ruiz is a sex crimes prosecutor in Tuckford County and runs The Mamacita Club, a community outreach effort from her chrome Vintage Airstream motorhome. She travels with her girlfriends around the county to reach at-risk women. Women affected by drugs, gang and domestic violence, sex crimes, and broken homes?they?re all in The Mamacita Club. Gaby has spent all of her professional life seeking justice for others. But it is not until Laura goes missing, that Gaby is able to start searching for justice for herself and begin to fix her own guilt-ridden past for not protecting her mom from an abusive relationship?this time to save her own life and seek closure over her own mother?s death.
WATCH THE TRAILER
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