What Happens When Your Character Calls 911? Writing Workshop with Jacqueline Sheehan & Detective Sergeant Vic Caputo

What Happens When Your Character Calls 911?

On Sunday, April 7, from 10 a.m. to noon, author Jacqueline Sheehan and Detective Sergeant Vic Caputo present an overview of what happens when your character calls 911. This introductory program is designed to help writers increase your understanding of law enforcement and forensics, with the overall eye on adding authenticity to your fiction. If the police become part of your narrative (as they must if something goes wrong in the lives of the characters) then it is essential to understand contemporary policing in order to create full characters.

Crime scenes always tell a story, which shows up as physical evidence, but also in behavioral clues. The major purpose of the criminal investigation is to gather information, and Detective Sergeant Vic Caputo will share what might happen in an investigation. We will use several fictional case studies as examples. The workshop will take place at the Northampton Center for the Arts.

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Detective Sergeant Victor Caputo has worked in Law Enforcement since 2001 and began working for the Northampton Police Department in 2004. In 2005, he took a Military Leave of Absence to serve with the US Marines in Iraq as a Provisional Military Police Officer, returning in 2006. He has served as a Bike Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, Sexual Assault Investigator, Patrol Supervisor and was assigned to the Detective Bureau in 2015. He is a certified instructor in the areas of Defensive Tactics and Firearms and holds masters degrees in Public Administration and Criminal Justice. He grew up in Williamsburg and still resides there with his wife, Luann and daughter Julia. His favorite book is The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien.

Jacqueline Sheehan is a New York Times Bestselling author and a psychologist.

She is the author of six novels, writes NPR commentaries, and essays including the New York Times column, Modern Love. She is one of the founders and past president of Straw Dog Writers Guild. You can find her at Writer’s Night Out on the first Tuesday evening of the month, at The Basement in Northampton. Her characters frequently require assistance from the police. She teaches workshops at Writers in Progress in Florence, MA and will co-lead a writing retreat in Prague in July 2019. www.jacquelinesheehan.com