Criminal Intent by Mary Dutta

I’ve been at odds with a pickpocket lately. A fictional one, that is.

In my short crime fiction, I’ve had characters kill people, frame them for crimes, scam them, and commit a host of other misdeeds.

The challenge in writing such characters is to make them relatable enough that readers will go along for the ride rather than reject them outright. We all have flaws, we all feel desperate at times, we all do things we may regret. A story character may take all of that to lengths the reader would not condone in real life, but as long as the motivation behind their deeds is made clear and offers something the audience can connect to, the reader will stick around to find out what happens.

That being said, my current work-in-progress, a story about a career pickpocket, is putting my ability to drum up reader sympathy to the test. I have never written about a professional criminal before, and I’m finding that the thief whose story I am telling lacks the relatability I usually give both my protagonists and antagonists. She feels quite comfortable with the criminal path she has chosen. She is not in desperate circumstances. She could easily earn an honest living rather than steal. And her victims are strangers, who haven’t wronged her in any way.

She is not the first problematic character I’ve struggled with. I ended up abandoning one story recently because I just found it too hard to create sympathy for the protagonist. There was supposed to be a plot twist at the end where it was revealed that he didn’t really hold all the objectionable beliefs he had been spouting, but was rather using them as a smokescreen to distract from his crime. But to get to that big reveal, both I and the reader had to spend the bulk of the story with someone (at least seemingly) remarkably unsympathetic. I didn’t want to spend that much time with him, and I had to accept that most readers likely wouldn’t want to either.

I think there is more hope for my pickpocket making it to the end of her story and into the anthology I’m writing for. As the story stands, I’m not buying her justifications for what she does. But I can give her the backstory, the circumstances, and the relationships to show how she developed those rationales. If she can win me over, however questionable her ethics, then I think she could win over readers as well.

Will she end up abandoning her criminal ways? Well, that’s another story.

Character Lessons, by Lori Roberts Herbst

 Since I’m in the process of outlining and drafting a new series, I’m currently immersed in creating characters. For me, breathing life into fictional humans represents a huge part of the joy of being a writer. These people exist because of me — how awesome is that?

 

But as I began fleshing out my main character, an almost-thirty-year-old named Shelley Shore, it occurred to me that for as much as I create my characters, they also help create me. From their actions, emotions, and thought processes, I am continually learning about myself — my values, my perspectives, my humanity. When Callie Cassidy, the main character in my Callie Cassidy Mystery series, exhibits resilience, I realize again how important that trait is to me. When her mother displays empathy, I touch the inner part of me that prioritizes it. 

 

It got me thinking about the huge role books and characters have made in shaping my moral code over the course of my life. Obviously, my parents did the bulk of the legwork there, but fiction also played a big part in my development. Here are just a few of the many characters who teach me what it means to be human.

 

Charlotte (Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White) UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

“You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing.”

 

Sydney Carton (A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens) THE POSSIBILITY OF REDEMPTION

“It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done.”

 

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron (The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman) TEAMWORK, FRIENDSHIP, AGING

“It was a community, and in Ibrahim’s opinion, that was how human beings were designed to live.”

 

Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee) DOING WHAT’S RIGHT

“We’re paying the
highest tribute you can pay a man. We trust him to do the right thing. It’s that simple.”

 

Theodore Decker (The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt) FINDING JOY

“I had the epiphany that laughter was light, and light was laughter, and that this was the secret of the universe.”

 

The Lorax (The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss) PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

 

Ove (A Man Called Ove, by Fredrick Backman) THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVING IN THE PRESENT

“We always think there’s enough time to do things with other people. Time to say things to them. And then something happens and we stand there holding on to words like ‘if’.”

 

These are just a few characters who have helped me grow. What about you? What life lessons have you learned from fictional characters?

 

The Callie Cassidy Mystery series is available on Amazon Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and paperback.

 

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Lori Roberts Herbst writes the Callie Cassidy Mysteries, a cozy mystery series set in Rock Creek Village, Colorado, and the soon-to-be-released Seahorse Bay Mysteries, set in a Texas cruise port town. To find out more and to sign up for her newsletter, go to www.lorirobertsherbst.com 

A Remarkable Sixty-Four-Year-Old Novel by Susan Van Kirk

 

When To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee came out in 1960, I was fourteen. In those days before the Civil Rights Movement, it was an explosive novel. A couple of years later, I read it in high school and fell in love with Atticus Finch, Scout, and Jem. I’ve re-read it every decade since then.

 

Last week was Banned Books Week in America, and since I’m a week later as a blogger on WWK, I thought I’d go back and mention this remarkable book that has sold ten million copies and been banned in some schools. It’s also been made into a movie and a play, and on its fiftieth anniversary, I watched the film again with an introduction by then-President Obama reminding us about the values we share and the timelessness of human decency.

 

When I read it as a teenager, I railed at the injustice of Tom Robinson’s death and admired the deeply felt and simply rendered lessons of a small town, white attorney. Re-reading it in later years, I am reminded of the violent, explosive, and ugly history of race relations in America. But I also marvel at the many scenes of decency and social justice. A particularly iconic scene that stays with me is the night the mob descends on the jail to kill Tom Robinson. But Jean Louise (Scout) shames them with her innocence. The timelessness of the written word!

 

Why would such a book be banned? James La Rue, Director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, said that most challenges to this book cite “strong language, discussion of sexuality and rape, and the use of the n-word.” Other criticisms have cited a “white savior character” who comes in to save the day.

 

When Nelle Harper Lee authored her greatest novel, she based it on memories of her family and
neighbors and an event she remembered in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. Her father and older brother were the inspirations for Atticus Finch and Jem. Her mother’s maiden name was Finch, and her father was a newspaper reporter and later a lawyer who defended, unsuccessfully, two Black men in the town. In interviews, she talked about her book reflecting race relations in the 1930s South.

 

The morality of treating others with respect and kindness and protecting the innocent rather than hurting them are themes that reverberate throughout the story. While it had multiple edits, the final manuscript is powerful because of the unforgettable voice of Scout, the narrator and protagonist. In our never-ending struggle to treat people based on their character, the lessons of To Kill a Mockingbird still hold true. I must admit when Atticus Finch leaves that courtroom and the entire balcony stands up, I am always moved to tears. As the minister says to the Finch children and Dill, “Miss Jean Louise. Stand up! Your father’s passing.”

 

Of course, neither the book nor the film has a happy ending. Such endings seldom happen in books or films about this subject and period in American History. But even so, To Kill a Mockingbird—whether novel or film or play—reminds us that a society’s decency and moral character is judged by how it treats its poorest, its outcasts, its mockingbirds. It forces us to think. And like many books that cause us to pause, reflect, and consider our own values, that makes it a target for book-banners.

 

 

Stereotypes in Mysteries by E. B. Davis

In paging through mystery series available on Kindle Unlimited, I ran into the Maggody series by the late Joan Hess. Since all sixteen books were available for free, I decided to reread the series. It was influential in forming my love and affinity to mysteries. I remember reading them out of the library. The first book was published in 1987 and the last in 2017, the year Ms. Hess died.

 

Many of the mystery series I tried to read before the Maggody series seemed dry, dark, and dreary. They were about the unpleasant topic of murder, who did it, how they did it, and how they were caught. Yes—seems obvious, but when I read the Maggody series, the books weren’t confined to those narrow investigative topics. They were about the characters and the development of the backstory. I had never read a mystery series that was actually pleasant, enabling me to identify with the characters, which I now know is the basis of cozy mysteries. In addition, the Maggody series was funny, as I remembered.

 

I started reading from book one. I read the first eleven of the sixteen-book series and stepped back. They weren’t quite as funny as I had remembered. They reminded be a bit of the Miss Julia series by Ann B. Ross. Both series were set in the South, Arkansas and North Carolina, respectively. The Miss Julia series was published from 1990 to 2021. The last few books of the Miss Julia series, I remembered weren’t quite as fun as the first.

Was it the South? Was it the similar publishing dates—or an era of publishing? I soon realized that perhaps it was both of those similarities, but it was also the use of stereotypes. Ms. Hess and Ms. Ross both used stereotypical characters, like the conniving religious leader out for his own goals, the upright and competing church ladies bent on punitive self-righteousness, mettlesome mothers, disenfranchised single women, dirty and morally corrupt mountain people, and unattractive, overweight people. I don’t mean to be too critical—I did read eleven books before I put the series down, but all the while reading I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable.

 

Thirty-five years ago, when these books were published, authors often used stereotypes to give readers instant familiarity with the characters. Their use streamlined character development, especially in mysteries, in which the plot and investigation were the priority. Their use was acceptable. But somewhere in the last thirty-five years, stereotypes not only became unfashionable as we were encouraged to develop those odd quirky characters (which oddly enough sometimes also became stereotypical like the gay BFF sidekick), but more so, they became politically incorrect—now more of a faux paux than the trusted familiars they once were. They used to be funny and somehow true. Now, not so much.   

 

How do you feel about stereotyping? Does their use prevent you from enjoying books from yesteryear? Do you double-check your work to prevent the inclusion of stereotypes?

Three recommendations to improve your stories

By James M. Jackson

For the past few months, I have been editing the twenty-three stories for Gone Fishin’: Crime Takes a Holiday, The Eighth Guppy Anthology. These juried crime stories have a lot of variety: a few historicals, many set outside North America, most involve regular folks, some have unreliable narrators, first person, third person, sweet tales, and those of revenge. Something for everyone. The publication date isn’t until February 1, 2025, so you’ll have to wait.

Based on that editing experience, I have three recommendations for authors before they submit their stories.

1. A Very Good Reason

Before her premature death, Ramona DeFelice Long was my editor. She insisted that in every story, no matter the length, the Lead must have a Very Good Reason (VGR) for choosing to leave their ordinary world and embark on the journey the author plans for them. It doesn’t matter whether you or I would make the same choice; what matters is that the reader understands why that Lead in that story made the choice. Without the VGR, the Lead is not believable, and the story is not credible.

Although it is most critical for the Lead to have a VGR, they aren’t the only character that needs a VGR. Readers want to understand what motivates antagonists to hinder the Lead. To a lesser extent, readers also want to know why friends and allies choose to help rather than walk away.

This concept of needing a VGR should extend to any place in the novel where a character makes a major decision. Think of a story in which the villain lurks in the basement and, despite knowing better, the Lead walks down those stairs. If the Lead knew better, then she must have a VGR to go against her (and the reader’s) better judgement.

2. Action à Reaction à New Action

The action/reaction/new action sequence is the basic building block of a good tale. While editing these works, I found two types of situations where authors didn’t do justice to their stories. The smaller issue, which I am guilty of in early drafts, is putting the reaction before the action.

Jim’s brain froze and his tongue pressed against his teeth as Fred showered him with verbal abuse.

Granted, this example is a short sentence, and it might not take the reader much effort to link Fred’s abuse to Jim’s physical reaction. But how much cleaner for the reader is this rewrite (assuming the reader knows the scene includes only Fred and Jim)? 

Fred showered him with verbal abuse. Jim’s brain froze and this tongue pressed against his teeth.

The next sentence in this scene either continues the action (Fred raised his arm to strike.) or shows more of Jim’s reaction (His neck stiffened to prepare for a blow.) or commences a new action (He inhaled deeply through his nose, turned his back, and walked away.) The continued action scenario works okay with either phrasing, but the other alternatives sound clunky with the original line.

Putting action before reaction is the way to go.

The second, more problematic issue occurs when one of the three components of Action à Reaction à New Action is missing or insufficient. In my experience, the most often missing/insufficient component is the Reaction.

Sometimes the reaction is missing, and the story moves directly from action to the new action. That’s okay if there is only one possible reaction or the author needs the action to be fast and furious. Fred throws a punch and Jim blocks it. No reason for Jim to react. But what if Fred tells Jim that if he keeps digging for information where he shouldn’t, Fred’s associates will kill everyone in Jim’s family, starting with Jim’s granddaughter? Assuming this is the first time that anyone has threatened Jim with injury to his family, it’s a BIG increase in the stakes. The reaction should match the action. Jim should question his next move before making it.

But if Fred told Jim that if he continued running on the trail, he might stub his toe, unless the story has set Jim up with a toe that must be amputated if he stubs it again, his reaction should be short.

The size of the reaction should match the import of the action.

The other issue I see is when the story has action and reaction and then crickets—nothing happens. What was the purpose of the action and reaction if nothing happens? What, then, was the purpose of that action/reaction?

3. Plot Inconsistencies

When we compose a story, it hangs together in our head. The reader doesn’t have access to your brain, which means the story as written must make sense. We writers all suffer from the literary equivalent of “butter blindness.” That’s when you go to the refrigerator to get the butter and can’t see it—even though it’s front and center on the top shelf.

We forget we left a character trapped behind a locked door on the second floor and don’t explain how they escape and appear outside in the next scene. We have an event happen on Tuesday, and two days later it’s the weekend. The problems are there to see, but we can’t see them. And it’s not our fault; it’s butter blindness.

The solution is simple: USE BETA READERS and ask them to look for inconsistencies or things not sufficiently explained. In addition to plot slips, I ask my readers to also note motivation issues.

Avoiding or correcting these three problems won’t make your story perfect, but it will delight your editors and allow them to focus on polishing the story.

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James M. Jackson authors the Seamus McCree series. Full of mystery and suspense, these thrillers explore financial crimes, family relationships, and what happens when they mix. To learn more information about Jim and his books, check out his website, https://jamesmjackson.com. You can sign up for his newsletter (and get to read a free Seamus McCree short story).