JAN BROGAN - More than one hundred concertgoers lost their lives in 2003 when the band Great White set off pyrotechnics inside the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island. It was a tragedy of epic proportions that didn't have to happen. John Barylick, the lead attorney representing the victims had an inside look at all the disturbing evidence and has written a non-fiction narrative account that Publisher's Weekly praised for its storytelling and called: "An exploration of the perils of greed and corruption as well as testament to the strength of the human spirit.: And added "Barylick has created a modern cautionary tale that will take your breath away."
We are extremely lucky to have John as our guest today and even luckier to have three copies of Killer Show, America's Deadliest Rock Concert (University Press of New England) to give away to names chosen at random from our comments page, so get your comments and questions for John ready.
Drinking From a Fire Hose
by John Barylick
My need to write Killer Show arose when both the criminal and civil actions resulting from The Station nightclub fire resolved (by plea bargains or settlements) without trials. There was a pervasive sense in Rhode Island of questions remaining unanswered, and frustration that facts suggesting culpability of many persons (some of whom did not face criminal charges) would never come to light.
There would be no “Perry Mason moments;” no public accounting.
Also, when I’d tell friends about some of the back stories I learned about the Station Nightclub Fire, their reaction would be, “You couldn’t make this stuff up! You’ve got to write a book about it.” They encouraged me to try to write a book that would, hopefully, become the definitive account of the tragedy.
I figured that’d be easy enough. Lawyers write stuff, right? Lots of “whereas,” “heretofore,” and “party of the first part”. Nothing to it. A friend gave me Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, and I started right in.
Lamott helpfully instructs fledgling writers to just “get that Shitty First Draft on paper.” An initial draft in my house was called an “SFD.” My first cut at chapter 1 put the “S” in “SFD.” Heavy on facts, light on description, it read like the introduction to a legal brief. “More show, less tell,” advised my researcher friend. I’d show her.
The second draft of chapter 1 was ALL show. A forced metaphor here, a strained simile there…. Hmm, this writing a book might not be so easy. Subsequent attempts eventually struck some kind of balance, and I was off and running for three years.
The problem wasn’t a lack of material for KILLER SHOW. The problem was an overabundance of evidence and stories. Thousands of pages of witness statements and grand jury testimony had become available to the public in response to a public records request made by several newspapers. To use an unfortunate analogy in the context of the case, making sense of it all was like trying to drink from a fire hose.
The eventual solution was to record bits of story arcs on small strips of paper and put them into thirty separate manila chapter envelopes. When approaching a chapter, I’d lay out all the strips in its envelope, arrange and rearrange them, then begin writing. I’m sure that there exist software packages designed to computerize this task, but I just can’t imagine doing it without having physical story chunks to manipulate. It at least gave me the illusion of control.From a writer’s standpoint, my challenge was to present all this information while maintaining a fast-paced narrative – and without exhausting the reader. One of the devices chosen to accomplish this was insertion of “lesson chapters” amidst “action chapters.” The lesson chapters address subjects such as fire science, crowd behavior, sprinkler systems, burn medicine and tort law. Hopefully, these breaks from the action not only provide richer context for the story, but also provide the reader a short breather, particularly from the actual fire chapters, which can be emotionally exhausting to read.
I’m wondering what level of technical background JRW bloggers prefer in their non-fiction narratives? What are their favorites in the genre, and how did those authors handle the delicate balance between “action” and “lessons”? (Personally, A Perfect Storm, Into Thin Air, and Devil in the White City are some of my favorites for striking this balance between research and narrative. I don’t think I’m the only reader in whose brain Sebastian Junger’s detailed description of drowning is forever imprinted!)
The Epilogue was added at the urging of my editor at University Press of New England, who felt that readers would like to “catch up with” characters they met in earlier chapters. I’m very glad for that suggestion, because the Epilogue provided an opportunity to relate a final poignant vignette about one of the fire’s heroes.
Do JRW readers tend to establish an emotional connection to characters, even in non-fiction, and do they want to learn more recent history about them? (Or, is that what Google’s best suited for?)
Or more info, check out www.KillerShowBook.com and on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/KillerShowBook.
JAN BROGAN - First I want to thank John for a terrific post; next I want to remind you all that we have three copies of Killer Show to give away, and lastly, I want second at least two of John's choices for my favorite narrative non-fiction books, A Perfect Storm and the Devil In the White City. I'll add one of my own, The Big Short by Michael Lewis, and ask, how about you? What are your favorites?
LISA ALBER won yesterday's copy of The Art Forger. Lisa, please email me at www.janbroganbooks.com
