Freelance Writing Contracts
For freelance writers accepting new projects, it is in your best interest to secure a written agreement that outlines the terms of the project. I know — most of us would rather jump from a 10-meter diving platform than sign...
Adding Criminal Law and Procedure to Your Fiction: Part II
In my October 6 article for Sidebar Saturdays on Adding Criminal Law and Procedure to Your Fiction, I considered whether you should worry about getting the law right in your stories and novels. It’s up to you, authors—after all,...
Internet Research – Will It Bring The FBI Knocking?
Regardless of genre, plot, or how much we love making things up, writers learn early on that our stories demand research. For the majority of us, the internet is the first place we turn. Unless of course, first-hand knowledge or...
Creative Theft – Plagiarism vs. Copyright Infringement
“Good artists copy; great artists steal.” The quote is widely attributed to Picasso. Most likely, the idea existed before Picasso made it famous. The literature is littered with much older discussions of how artistic theft...
Adding Criminal Law And Procedure To Your Fiction
The Case for Getting it Right For my novels about a female prosecutor, much of the “legal research” is in my head from a career in criminal justice and the court system. Police work and courtroom drama are great for building...