Upside down over Marilyn Monroe

Jeff Gottlieb, a senior writer for the Los Angeles Times, discovered the story about a widow selling a crypt above Marilyn Monroe’s from a friend of the seller, Elsie Poncher. That tip led to two stories: the first about the eBay auction and the second about the results.

Today’s Tip: “Indulge your curiosity,” Jeff says.

“I once wrote a story about an Orthodox Jew who refused to give his wife a religious divorce, so she couldn't remarry. I was walking down the street when I spotted the fliers she posted to shame him. I started calling around and came up with one of the most interesting stories I've ever written.”

Jeff says once you find the story, “Have some fun with it, which often is the most natural way to write it.” To do that, you need this kind of killer detail, which Jeff got from asking the right questions of Mrs. Poncher:

When he was dying, Elsie said, her husband approached her with a request. "He said, 'If I croak, if you don't put me upside down over Marilyn, I'll haunt you the rest of my life.' "

Right after the funeral, Elsie said, she told the funeral director of her husband's wish. "I was standing right there, and he turned him over," she said.