A cathartic journey

[The Backlash Cometh]

Some time in the near future, I'm going to embark on a cathartic writing journey. One that I suspect may have legal issues tied to it because I want to write a non-fiction about what passes for normal in my neighborhood. I know it will be extremely difficult to write because witnessing the events nearly emotionally broke me, so dredging it all up again will be just as painful. However, they made a terrible mistake when they harassed my 81 year old father, so maybe the time has come to write it all down.

So, for those of you who do this for a living, what is the realistic prospect of getting zapped with a lawsuit for writing a book which outlines what you sincerely believe is a crime, and one that is sanctioned by the general community?

[petgoat]

1. It sounds like the book is important to you. The lawsuit comes

in only when you publish the book, so let the publishers
worry about that.

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. I think it goes beyond being important.

I think holding onto my sanity depends on it. It just can't believe that we worked so hard to reach this level of "affluence" just to end up in the middle of America's darkest secret.

It never occurred to me that a publisher would take on the risk. Do you know this for a fact or just your best guess?

Now the bigger question, is there a writer's club, like a quilting club, where people can be paired up based on interest and skills and someone can get feedback on their writing as the book evolves?

[petgoat]

3. Publishers' lawyers read the manuscript to look for

defamation and invasion of privacy, and they can suggest
workarounds. Identities and locations can be disguised.
Don't let fear of legal hassles inhibit your writing.

Non-fiction books are commonly pitched as proposals before
they are completed. An excellent reference on this is
Michael Larsen's How to Write a Book Proposal.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0898797713/kevinandrewmurphA

With any luck you'll sell the project (and get the lawyers'
advice) before you've written it.

Writing the proposal is a good exercise anyway, because it helps
you structure the book in your mind before putting it on paper.

A community college in your area surely has writing courses.
There are online groups.
Here are some links to groups.

http://writers.meetup.com/
http://www.writerswrite.net/websrch3.cfm?search=wgrp

Just google "writers group" and your city and you'll
probably find a lot.

There's also a writers forum at democraticunderground, I've
heard, though it's not much trafficked lately.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Thank you so much, PG.

That proposal idea sounds wonderful. I've always had a problem bringing things down to manageable levels, because I tend to see things holistically. Though this suits my obsessive compulsive nature to tackle something so complicated, I'm getting old and worn out and I want to start seeing results for my efforts.

That's probably why I enjoy gardening.

I'll see what I can do to find others on DU who share my experiences, and might be interested in being part of a writing group.