The Narrator as Detective

Dale, AJ

The Narrator as Detective

Dale, AJ

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Publisher:: National association of Writers in education
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Writing in Practice - The Journal of Creative Writing Research, 2015, 1 (1), pp. 1 - 5
Issue Date:: 2015-03-19

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Dale, AJ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7559-6641	en_US
dc.date.issued	2015-03-19	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Writing in Practice - The Journal of Creative Writing Research, 2015, 1 (1), pp. 1 - 5	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	2058-5535	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/37690
dc.description.abstract	This essay examines the role of the narrator as detective in the construction of a non-fiction narrative based on an unsolved murder. The majority of so called “true-crime” books are written as long pieces of journalism with little investigation of character and a tendency to summarize and sensationalize events. However, there is scope for a different kind of narrative where the narrator, working alongside the reader, functions as a “real” detective to reconstruct from the words and documents of others a “true account” of the crime and to reveal its deeper implications. Drawing on the writer’s own experience in investigating the murder of a prominent police whistleblower in Sydney, Australia, this essay examines the technical and practical difficulties facing a writer when investigating an unsolved murder. Keywords: narrative non-fiction, true crime, narrator as detective, unsolved murders, police corruption, noir, practice-based research	en_US
dc.publisher	National association of Writers in education	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Writing in Practice - The Journal of Creative Writing Research	en_US
dc.title	The Narrator as Detective	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.location.activity	UK	en_US
utslib.for	190402 Creative Writing (incl. Playwriting)	en_US
utslib.for	2005 Literary Studies	en_US
utslib.for	1904 Performing Arts and Creative Writing	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/Creative Writing Program
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CPCE - Centre for Creative Practices and the Cultural Economy
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.consider-herdc	true	en_US
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	1	en_US

Abstract:

This essay examines the role of the narrator as detective in the construction of a non-fiction narrative based on an unsolved murder. The majority of so called “true-crime” books are written as long pieces of journalism with little investigation of character and a tendency to summarize and sensationalize events. However, there is scope for a different kind of narrative where the narrator, working alongside the reader, functions as a “real” detective to reconstruct from the words and documents of others a “true account” of the crime and to reveal its deeper implications. Drawing on the writer’s own experience in investigating the murder of a prominent police whistleblower in Sydney, Australia, this essay examines the technical and practical difficulties facing a writer when investigating an unsolved murder. Keywords: narrative non-fiction, true crime, narrator as detective, unsolved murders, police corruption, noir, practice-based research

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/37690