Blog, Blog, Blog

1. Choose a time period and locale: Modern day / Kings College / Prof. Jenkle’s class, English160 Writing Intensive, Introduction to Literary Study / room 285 in the Hamilton Hall building

2. Develop a detective: Jarod Van Hooten / early 20’s / male / student / interests in poetry, analytical mathematics, and chess

3. Outline the crime: Somehow Van Hooten’s blog entry on How to Write a Detective Story was posted anonymously, word for word.

4. Include some clues: Mention of Johnny Depp, quote “you stole my story” from Secret Window, complaints of technology, typing in a daze, woke up at the computer, coffee, still drunk, mention of how he hates technology, examples in passing conversation of how it has gone wrong in the past

5. Identify the MMO:
Motive – to sabotage the blog entry method, to show the faults of the system and get Jenkle to change it
Method – in a daze, mix of alcohol and caffeine, devised this plan, knowing the next morning that I wouldn’t remember and cause a big stink about the blog method and how it doesn’t work
Opportunity – no one was around at home, no proof of writing the story because he left in a rush without taking his stuff, still drunk from the night before, too much coffee the day of

6. Identify the alibis of the suspects:
Bobby Jovi – Van Hooten carpools with, had mentioned the story in the car on the way home from class on Friday, Bobby had expressed his concern of having to come up with a story, fresh out of ideas, and not having the time to sit down and write one this weekend as he was going up to visit friends at Utica College.
Mike DiBenedetto – Van Hooten had left a critical response to one of his blog entries, maybe this was his chance to get back at him
Prof. Jenkle - Jenkle assigns blog entries to be posted the night before a class by a deadline. Professor Jenkle, as it turns out, has dreamed since his adolescence of becoming a writer like his hero, William Shakespeare.

7. Provide a climax: Van Hooten makes a scene when he is accused of not handing in a posting. "Someone must have stolen it." "Show me proof you wrote it." Van Hooten voices his opinion about the system, then starts accusing everyone, lastly concluding that Prof. Jenkle is trying to steal it and become a famous author.

8. Write the denouement: Van Hooten gets a phone call from his mother. She ask if he needs the papers he left on the kitchen table, there's a note… "YES!" he exclaims, turns to Jenkle and the class, “this is my proof”, then back to his mother, “read it off to me,” and puts on speaker phone… “Jarod, this is me, you wrote this story last night, and, in a flash of brilliance decided not to put your name on it so we can use this to prove how the blog system doesn’t work. Hopefully you follow according to plan. Don't let me down. Love, Jarod.”

9. Summarize with a short conclusion: "Next time I will make sure I better plan out my attempt to sabotage the system. I shouldn’t even be writing this, as I am sure it will somehow end up on the blog as Jenkle's own story.
I do not know why I tell you all of this now, except, I see a lot of myself in you."


- a story by Prof. Henkle