Prose Workshop: Writing Crime with Helen Hagemann @ the Fremantle Arts Centre, Friday 13th November 1pm-3pm. Class to read an extract from The Ultimate Writing Coach including a section called Why not Turn to Crime by Simon Brett. Exercises will be on writing crime scenes and discussion will revolve around police procedure.
Venue: Room 3, Upstairs, North Wing
Cost: $20 OOTA - $25 NON-OOTA
Writing Crime Scenes by Garry Rodgers
- The mechanism of death. We die because our central
nervous system gets unplugged and that can happen in a number of ways.
Mental and physical death are two different things. Garry also has a
spiritual belief that the spark of humanity in us lives on after death,
based on what he has experienced. People are quite hard to kill so the
quick ways we kill in novels can be quite unrealistic. Shutting down the
CNS requires force. Firearms and knives are the most common ways, but
it is messy and not something that happens quickly.
- On crime scenes. Writers often forget to use all
five senses. Crime scenes are not pleasant and by evoking the senses,
you can make this experience more real. Terminology is often used badly
as well. Check what you write with experts. Also, get your basics right
e.g. revolver vs pistol. A lot of acronyms are used at the crime scenes
so include those.
- On the emotional impact of the crime scene when you’re a professional vs a ‘rookie’.
The coroner focuses on the cause of death, not on the fact that it
happened. You have to try to establish who, what, when, where and by
what means. First responders will have arrived before the investigators
so the chaos of the scene will have dissipated somewhat. First
responders can walk into danger if the factors that caused the death are
still there.
In death, the body will change very quickly. [I mention the Body Farm, Death’s Acre by Bill Bass.]
The biggest factor is temperature. The warmer the temperature, the
larger the body, the faster the decomposition. The body temp will
eventually reach equilibrium with the scene temp. Most indicative are
mortis (change) in body; pallor (color) algor (temperature), rigor
(stiffening), livor (pattern of blood settling) and decomp (breaking
down of tissue). It’s nature’s recycling.
- Time of death is critical to get right so the
investigation can check the alibis of suspects, but it’s not just about
the body. Bodies can be found days or weeks after the event, so the
stage of decomposition should be compared to the scene itself. But other
factors are also important e.g. cellphone records are crucial because
so many people carry them. The history will show the last call made but
also when calls are received and go unanswered. Also check when the
person was last seen. If in the home, when is the post dated. It’s the
overall pattern. It’s not just the pathologist pronouncing time of
death. It is also approximate unless there is an eye witness.
- The best way to get away with murder is to completely get rid of the body.
The ocean is a good place and Garry mentions some mob hits where the
bodies have been disposed of in nasty ways. But it is actually very hard
to do. Plus most writers need a body to write the book around.
- On dental records. It always seems coincidental
that people get ID’ed so fast through dental records. Most dentists do
have records but they are not kept centrally. You need to have an idea
who the person is in order to narrow down where their records might be.
When a person is reported missing, one of the things the police will do
is obtain their dental records in case they are needed for
identification later.
- Using DNA. The science of genetic fingerprinting,
which is now very sophisticated. In fact, so sophisticated it is
hyper-sensitive and can be contaminated at the scene or during
investigation. The maternal DNA can be used to identify a body against a
list of potential suspects. There wouldn’t be a crime scene
investigation today without DNA so it is critical to include.
- How the body is identified. If the DNA or
fingerprints don’t match anything, it can depend on the circumstances,
but there are always unidentified bodies. The good old-fashioned
detective work needs to be done in this case, for example, receipts
found on the body or aspects found at the scene. Investigation is a
multidisciplinary approach, pulling people from different teams.
- Gender and homicide. Are there equal rights in the
death business? Males are more violent than females. There has to be a
strong motive for a woman to commit murder. Domestic violence is a
common one. Knives are often used as they are handy at the moment of
conflict. Planned and premeditated murders are rare, but women are more
intelligent and might contract out the killing. So murder by women is
likely to be violent and sudden or crafty and difficult to detect.
Reference: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/07/22/writing-death-crime-scenes/
FINISHING AND SUBMITTING TIPS (
An Extract from The Ultimate Writing Coach)
Write something every day, even if
it's only 10 words. If it's rubbish, you can change it later.
When the
first draft is done, hide it for a month. Then go back and read it with a fresh
eye.Proofread
your work. Typos, spelling mistakes and clunky grammar will irritate your
readers. Submit a
neat manuscript, typed in double-spacing on one side of A4, with numbered pages
and secure but loose binding (such as treasury tags). Include a polite and
friendly covering note. If you don't
like the rules, break them. After all, it's your book. While I was waiting for the muse to descend, I'd forgotten
the golden rule: practice makes it better. Actually, I'm no great fan of golden rules (see tips box).
But this one holds true. Writing is a craft like any other: you have to work at
it. If the text is feeble, fix it. Those binned sheets of purple prose aren't
signs of failure — they're a resource. Having grasped the uncomfortable fact
that Becoming a Writer would involve hard graft, I was ready to start producing
something with a beginning, a middle and — hallelujah! — an end. [from Secrets of a Novelist by Nia Williams]
November 21, 2015
