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Writing About Crime and Police, Part 2

© Roxianne Moore

Continuing on the theme of writing crime and mystery fiction, I'd like to take a look at two very different resources. The first is a workshop-type book, designed to take you through the process of writing a novel. The second isn't for writers at all. It's a handbook for police, and it's a very valuable tool because it gives a more accurate picture than any writer's handbook could.

Teach Yourself Writing Crime & Suspense Fiction: and Getting Published by Lesley Grant-Adamson, is a British book that emphasizes writing and plotting crime fiction. While some topics are singularly British, most of the book is applicable to any country.

Grant-Adamson first discusses the different categories of crime fiction, from hard-boiled detective novels to police procedurals. The other categories include:

• Classic detective stories
• Modern crime novels
• Comic detective stories
• Historic crime
• Suspense
• Women in jeopardy and romantic suspense
• Thrillers

Each chapter concludes with tips for working on your novel. The book is constructed like a 10-week course, leading writers through the process of preparing a first draft, editing and submission. The eleventh chapter discusses short stories, including how to write for BBC broadcast. You'll find a very definitive guide to plotting, chapter outlines and continuing your work.

The Law Enforcement Handbook by Desmond Rowland and James Bailey is not written for fiction writers. In my opinion, that makes it an even better resource than the other two books on crime writing that I've discussed. Here, you'll find the proper procedure (at least in much of the U.S.) for stopping and searching vehicles, conducting a homicide investigation, raids and searches, identifying weapons, and many other aspects of police work.

I found this to be a very valuable source of information on day-to-day police work, as well as the nuts and bolts of conducting an investigation. The chapter on Street Psychology was particularly useful for learning about how police approach suspects. The chapter on Suspect Interrogation was also useful.

This book is available only from Barnes and Noble, and I'm not sure if it can be ordered from other countries. The other books can also be ordered from Barnes and Noble, but you should be able to find them in local bookstores.

So, if you're interested in writing crime fiction, or adding an element of crime to your stories, start reading.

Until next time, keep writing!

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