Issues

One aspect that I am most worried about when creating my piece, is the reliability of my sources. Considering that the event that I am researching is not that well known, I do not have as much information about the story as I may have hoped.  If, for any reason, I am to accidentally make a false statement, then that will be defamation on my part.   However, this will not stop me from creating this story, the most important thing I will have to focus on is making sure that the few sources I have are truthful. As Lee Gutkind says in his book Keep it Real (p. 56), ‘fact checking is what makes the (story) trustworthy in the eyes of the reader’.

Also, there is the issue of my work sounding similar to other peoples’ writing. ‘Ensuring that all the language in the writing is your own’ (Gutkind, L. p. 31) is very important; which is why I will be using scenes in the narrative as this is much more interesting, compelling and unique. As well as this, I do not want my work to just be a broad overview of the story, as this can be extremely boring and repetitive.

The final aspect I feel will be an issue when creating my story, is the reliability of my main character.  There is heavy indication that Mrs Winchester did not have capacity, and therefore her account of that time can be considered erratic.  By resolving this, I will specifically include the fact that she was not in her right mind, especially after the death of her daughter and husband.  I anticipate that I will be able to find some kind of evidence, i.e. Medical records and personal accounts. If not, I will hopefully be able to find accounts from other characters during that time.