Being Real in Crime Fiction
“He chambered a round in the weapon.”
“I know,” my wife answers.
“He would have already had a round in the chamber.”
“I know,” she says with a sigh.
Moments pass and more scenes play out on the screen.
“They kicked in the door,” I tell her.
This time she doesn’t bother to reply.
“It may have been unlocked. They didn’t even try the knob.”
More silence from her side of the couch.
“There’s no way a judge would have given them a warrant and there weren’t exigent circumstances justifying—”
She’s giving me the look. I pick up on this because I’m a trained observer. After spending some time as a police officer in Virginia, I spent years working as a Special Agent in the U.S. Secret Service. During that time I became quite adept at noticing the actions of others and picking up on the subtleties of body language. Of course, in this instance, my wife is a few inches from my face. She’s starting at me. She’s mad. I need to shut up and let her watch NCIS in peace.
Fortunately for my wife, I don’t provide much commentary when I’m reading fiction, although there are plenty of novels in which DNA is processed in an hour, crime scene techs lead dangerous raids into drug dens, and cops have the rank of Captain or Lieutenant but don’t actually supervise anyone. For the most part, I read those books in silence and keep my opinions to myself which is probably one of the reasons I’m still married. However, it was several years ago that wanting crime fiction to be more authentic did motivate me to start writing. Five novels later, I’m still driven by a desire to make crime fiction as realistic as possible without it becoming boring.
Although my background is in law enforcement and national security (I still work for the government), not all of my protagonists are active duty police officers. However, each of them has some history in policing which allows me to integrate what I’ve learned into the story while injecting as much realism as possible. Now, I’d be lying if I said I portrayed the profession of law enforcement in a completely authentic manner. Having characters sit in a courtroom for six hours waiting to testify in a case, only to then find out the case is being continued to a different date is not book-worthy material. Nor is anything page-turning about standing post for twelve straight hours in a hotel in Portland, Oregon because the Vice-President is sleeping on the floor above. I’ve done those things and trust me, those are stories best left for…well, never. But one can be authentic in a novel without being realistic to the point the reader wants to use the paper pages to slit his or her own wrists.
When I’m writing a story, I immediately try to filter out the typical Hollywood errors many of us have come to accept. For instance, I know from experience that crime labs get backed up and not only is DNA not getting tested in a day, but there’s a reasonable chance the heroin you sent in for testing isn’t coming back for a month or two. Also, jurisdiction does matter. No, NCIS is not going to investigate the death of everyone who ever served in the Navy or Marine Corps. That doesn’t even make sense.
And all those books in which the local authorities and federal agencies don’t get along…that’s mostly bogus. As was the case with me, many feds were local police officers at one point, so I generally filter the tired clichés of agency rivalries out as well. Also on my hit list: warrantless searches, computer hacking, unrealistic response times, any police involved shooting in which the officer doesn’t get an administrative suspension pending an investigation, endless supplies of ammunition, a knife fight in which nobody gets cut (someone always gets cut), officers and agents calling each other “officer” or “agent,” and a slew of other things. That last one really gets me. People really think police officers walk around and talk to their coworkers that way.
“Did you secure the crime scene, Officer Smith?”
“Yes I did, Detective Jones.”
Come on. It’s a workplace. How do you think people sound at your accountant’s office?
“Junior Accountant Stevens, do you have those numbers I needed?”
“They’re on your email now, Senior Accountant Miller!”
Being authentic in fiction has certain advantages. When readers pick up a novel, they are willing to dive into an unfamiliar world and they appreciate certain insights. If a reader is willing to make the commitment of time and energy necessary to immerse herself into 300-400 pages of uncertainty, then hopefully the author has put forth significant effort on the frontend. Gaining credibility with readers might be another advantage. It’s important to me that readers trust I won’t take them too far astray in how I depict certain processes and actions.
Of course, like any novelist I have to take certain liberties and not every detail I write out is going to be authentic. However, there is no doubt in my mind that authenticity has its place in fiction. It just doesn’t have a place on my couch when I’m watching television with my wife.
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