Getting it Right: Technical Advice for Novelists
Police and detective stories have withstood the test of time, and they are not going away anytime soon. When writing crime novels, you should consult experts so that you write it correctly.
Most crime writers have no personal experience with the crimes about which they write, nor with the investigations of such crimes. All too many — in my opinion — rely on what they’ve learned from other novels or movies and shows they’ve watched.
The fact is, when you rely on what you have read or watched for entertainment as your main source of expertise, you are inevitably going to get it wrong. Maybe you’ll be close, but for me, personally, close doesn’t cut it.
Authors Who Get it Right
One of my favorite authors has always been Elmore Leonard. Unlike most, the “King of Dialogue” had the remarkable ability to write as a twenty-year veteran cop, and as a twenty-year convict, though he was never either one. Clearly, he spent a tremendous amount of time studying both, and had some great technical advisors along the way. Joseph Wambaugh is a cop-turned-author. He regularly consults cops on the job today so that his writing is authentic and true to the time; it has been decades since he worked the beat. Michael Connelly has a host of LAPD technical advisors. As a former cop-beat reporter, he knows the importance of being technically correct in characters and scenes.
Mistakes are Made
I once read a book wherein the author spoke of “livor mortis” but had clearly confused it with rigor mortis. Livor mortis — perhaps more commonly called postmortem lividity — is the process of blood settling within the body after death occurs. Rigor mortis is a stiffening of the muscles due to chemical changes within the body after death. Both livor mortis (or postmortem lividity) and rigor mortis are physiological changes that occur after death, the results of which are used by investigators and medical examiners alike in determining time of death, when applicable. Meaning that when the body is found within the time frame that allows for it, and when the death was not witnessed. Postmortem lividity is also used to determine if a body was moved after death. If the settled blood is not consistent with gravity — for example, if the lividity is on the back and buttocks but the victim is found face-down — then the investigator knows the crime scene has been altered or the body otherwise relocated. (Perhaps the recovery site is not the murder site.)
These are only a few of the many technical issues that should be researched carefully before applying investigative technical scenes or police procedures to one’s prose. Honestly, most of this information is now available on the internet, so it isn’t difficult to discover if you are careful of your sources. What is not available on the internet, however, is the mind of a cop: the thought processes of an investigator, the ideas, emotions, and struggles of the men and women who do the work of which you write.
How to Find Experts
So how do you find out about that? Well, don’t just guess, or rely on what you’ve read or watched. Ask!
One great resource is Writer’s Detective, which is a website and blog of a police officer in California named Adam. (He uses the pen name B.A. Richardson as he is active duty law enforcement.) He also has a Facebook group where he and other experts — including yours truly — will answer questions. Many writers use his services and I can personally tell you his advising is always spot on. My understanding is he will be coming out with a “how to” type book that will offer even more technical advice for writers. One of the other great resources I have met on Adam’s page is a Milwaukee PD sergeant named Patrick O’Donnell. I know that he too is preparing a book on the topic.
Along the lines of Facebook groups, I have found a few other groups to be great resources for writers, including Legal Fiction, which is hosted by an attorney, and Trauma Fiction, a group hosted and attended by medical experts.
My Experience
I have personally served as a consultant on several books. I’ve been mentioned in a couple, including one by a best-selling romance author. She had found me through a friend and asked if I would be willing to answer questions and provide some guidance while she wrote her book. I made myself available to her for several months as she worked on her novel.
Some consultants charge for their work, which is completely appropriate. However, many authors don’t make enough (or any) money on their books, and do not have a budget that would allow them to pay for technical advisors. My technical advising thus far has been without compensation, but I’m not sure I would do so again unless the person asking was a friend or associate, and the commitment was minimal.
Are All Cops Experts?
If you do find a retired cop who is willing to help, make sure he/she has expertise in the area you seek. Not all cops are investigators (in fact, most are not). Not all cops are experts in traffic enforcement, or gang enforcement, or arson investigation. If you want an expert, find someone who could qualify in a court of law as an expert in whatever it is you are writing about.
A word of caution: There are those who have “supervised” and who claim an expertise in the field they were assigned. In some cases, this may be true. But in many cases, supervisors do not conduct investigations. Nor do they tell their investigators how to conduct investigations. Supervisors are generally administrators. In my department, many of the supervisors who were selected for Homicide Bureau had no investigative experience, because it is not a requirement and is not necessary for the role they played.
What Does it Cost?
Sometimes, nothing. The aforementioned Facebook groups are examples of where to find free advice. Just make sure the person offering the advice has some level of expertise and didn’t Google the answer to your question. (You could have done that.) Books, such as those referenced, are close to free and worth whatever you pay for it, guaranteed.
If you do find someone with expertise who is willing to help you without compensation, you should be very appreciative of his/her help. The knowledge they share with you was hard-earned, and likely has a greater value than even they know. The romance author I mentioned thanked me in her book. I didn’t expect anything more, but you might consider sending a gift certificate for a coffeehouse or maybe a steakhouse as a way of showing your appreciation. Most importantly, don’t use them and move on. I reached out to that author when I published my first book and she never even replied to my email.
Writing Advice for the Cops
Conversely, if you are a cop who is determined to tell your story, you too should get it right! Meaning the writing part. Learn to write so it is enjoyable to read. Writing to entertain is far different than writing police reports and affidavits. I learned that valuable little lesson the hard way, having submitted some of my early work to an editor and an agent at a writer’s conference, only to have it returned peppered with red ink. The harsh reality was I had a lot to learn (and still do) about writing. Since I didn’t take college courses on creative writing, there was much I didn’t know, such as identifying and slaying as much passive voice as possible, and paying attention to proper sentence structure.
Hire an Editor
Lastly, I have an editor. She is invaluable to me. Every published author has at least one. If you are self-publishing, you need to find a qualified editor (or two) and submit everything you write to her for review. Doing so has freed me to write more and worry less about commas and lay, lying, lain, and laid (my greatest grammatical nemeses).
Best of luck to all of my fellow writers, authors, novelists, dramatists, bloggers, scribblers, and other assorted and glorious wordsmiths.
If you enjoy this blog, please share it with your friends. Dickie Floyd’s debut novel, A Good Bunch of Men, is available in paperback on Amazon, or you can download it at Kindle, Ibooks, Smashwords, and other ebook outlets.
