Your Sunday Moment of Zen — Dinosaurs

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Some of you (Hank, probably!) may remember when I posted pictures of a spontaneous art installation on our street — a children's castle had, taken over by toy knights, had been left by a tree. 

I'm delighted to report that not only is the castle still there after all this time, but others have gotten into the creative spirit. 

Another neighbor on the same street, who's always had a rock garden with succulents, recently added dinosaurs. Yes, dinosaurs.

Do you think when no one's looking, the knights and the dinos get together (they're only a few doors down from each other) and have swingin' dance parties at the castle? 

(Yes, I've seen the Toy Story trilogy too many times to count...)

Happy Sunday!

What We're Writing: Deborah Crombie #AmWriting #Mystery

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Confession: Book tours wreak havoc on a writing schedule.

I was on the road promoting Kincaid/James #16, TO DWELL IN DARKNESS, from September 20th until November 1st, with just a couple of sporadic and very frantic 24 hour stops at home.  It was a fabulous experience. I met so many wonderful readers and booksellers, saw friends and new cities, and got very good at packing. But did I get much writing done?  Um... There were days I had trouble remembering what city I was in, much less the plot of my book...

But now that I've had a few days to catch up, I've put on my writing hat and I'm digging in. (This really is my hat, dog hair and all. My niece bought it for me at Universal Studios! I feel just like Castle!)  However, I'm still not quite set on the title of Kincaid/James #17, and I'm struggling with character names.

Sometimes names are easy--I just instantly know what a character should be called, and it sticks. And sometimes I try combination after combination after combination trying to find the right one. Very frustrating, as I have trouble writing a character until I know his or her name.

There are so many parameters to consider. After sixteen books, it's hard not to repeat character names. (Assuming I remember what I've named all the characters in previous books... And yes, I know I've used "Jasmine" twice, but I had complicated reasons for repeating that one.) 

It helps me to write down the names of sets of continuing characters along with the proposed names of new characters for a book. Here's the page for THE SOUND OF BROKEN GLASS from my novel journal.  If you've read the book you'll see that

some of these names didn't make the cut. 

I've never been comfortable using the names of close friends and family. That takes out a good few, and so is a tradition I won't swear to keep up. 

Then there's the fact that Britain, and London in particular, are very multi-cultural and multi-racial, so some of the characters' names need to reflect that.

And THEN there's the rule about not having characters whose names start with the same letter, or characters whose name have the same sound. For instance, you don't want all your female characters to have names that in "y" or "ie." I've obviously broken the "same letter" rule--I have Duncan, Denis, and Doug as continuing characters, for starters. Oops.

Oh, and you don't want to give a character a name that is inappropriate to their age. You wouldn't want to name a woman born in the fifties "Tiffany" or "Brittney"-- it just doesn't feel right. Baby naming web sites are a great resource for this challenge. Here's one I pulled up, as I'm trying to decide on names for two ten-year-old boys.

Add to this the fact that my books tend to have a fairly large cast, and it gets mind-boggling. I keep a notebook handy when I'm reading or watching TV to scribble down names that I think might fit. Here's a page from my jottings for the book in progress. It will be interesting to see how

many of these actual make it into the finished book.

So, fellow REDS, how do you go about naming your characters? Do you have system? Do you change names in the course of a book if they don't seem to be working?

And readers, how much attention do you pay to names?

Brad Parks and the Moonlighting Dilemma

 DEBORAH CROMBIE: Here at JRW we are always thrilled to have a visit from the talented, erudite (take that, Brad!) and always entertaining Brad Parks! And Brad's topic today is one that is dear to my heart, as I've dealt with the same "Will They/Won't They and what the heck happens if they do?" dilemma in my own books.

First, here's a bit about Brad's new book, The Player--

When he hears residents of a Newark neighborhood are getting sick—and even dying—from a strange disease, investigative reporter Carter Ross dives into the story—so deep he comes down with the illness himself. With even more motivation to track down the source of the disease, Carter soon hits upon a nearby construction site. But when the project's developer is found dead, and his mob ties surface, Carter knows he's looking at a story much bigger—and with even more dangerous consequences—than an environmental hazard.
Back in the newsroom, Carter has his hands full with his current girlfriend and with the paper's newest eager intern, not to mention his boss and former girlfriend Tina Thompson, who has some news for Carter that's about to make tangling with the mob seem simple by comparison... 

It was a hard choice to pick just one quote from the praise for this book, but in the end I went with Booklist:

"Compulsively readable. . . Ink-stained heroes are a dying breed. Enjoy this one while you can."
   
But then I was already hooked just from the synopsis...

Take it away, Brad!

BRAD PARKS:

The show originally aired Sept. 20, 1977. It was the third episode in the fifth season of Happy Days, then one of television’s most popular programs, and it was given the innocuous title “Hollywood: Part 3.”

            By most measures, it was another rousing success for the franchise. It pulled a 50-plus share—these days, only the Super Bowl surpasses a number like that—and was watched by more than thirty million people.

            Sadly, it will not be remembered for any of that.

It will be remembered as the one where Fonzie jumped the shark.

Thanks to YouTube, which assures that no moment of ignominy is ever lost, you can judge the scene’s merits for yourself. Go ahead. I’ll wait. Just don’t get lost in shark attack videos for twenty minutes like I did. It’s only a 45-second clip…

 

… Okay, so first reaction: Wow, was that really a future Academy Award-winning director driving the boat?

Second reaction: Pretty bad, right?

Now, let’s be clear, I am theoretically here at Jungle Red to pimp a new book—it’s called THE PLAYER, it got some starred reviews, please buy it—but I am mostly here to pump the Reds and the rest of the salon dwellers for your collected wisdom about a writing problem I’ve been pondering.

But first back to the Fonz. As all except for a few iceberg-stranded Inuit know, that scene ended up inspiring the website, www.jumptheshark.com, which invited users to opine about the moment

their favorite shows passed their sell-by date. In the early days of the internet—we’re talking 1997 here folks—it quickly became a sensation.

While the site no longer exists, “jump the shark” has solidified its place in the modern lexicon to the point where it is so overused—do we really need to talk about when a politician has jumped the shark?—the phrase, itself, is in danger of jumping the shark.

But what I really want to explore is one of the most heartbreakingly common causes of JTS Syndrome: when two characters whose sexual tension has been a primary source of conflict in a long story arc finally get it on.

This sad turn of events is perhaps best captured by the eighties classic Moonlighting. When Dave and Maddie finally got together, a show that had Americans huddled around their 28-inch round-screen televisions went straight into the tank.

            Now, let’s be clear, since we’re all readers: book series can jump the shark, too. We can all think of authors who charmed us with their early work only to disappoint us later. But we’ll mostly be too polite (cough Janet Evanovich cough) to mention them.

            Nevertheless, I’ve been thinking about this a lot because of a writing dilemma I’m currently having. In THE PLAYER, the aforementioned fifth installment of my series featuring sometimes dashing investigative reporter Carter Ross, two characters who have been gravitating towards one another for quite some time end up getting even more enmeshed. (I won’t give away more, though all twenty-eight of my fans can probably guess who I’m talking about).

            The question is: what do I do now? In some ways, events have conspired to the point where it would be unrealistic for the characters not to get together.

            On the other hand, if I let them have their Happily Ever After, would their matrimony lead to shark-jumping?

            Now, I’d like to think the relentless pacing of my novels, the layers of suspense that I build—to say nothing of my deathless prose—make it impossible for the series to even come close to hurtling any cartilaginous marine fishes.

But I bet the writers at Moonlighting thought that, too. And look how that turned out.

            Clearly, the consummation of a longstanding relationship can be done well. Going back to the television world, I think of the show Castle. When Richard Castle and Kate Beckett got together at the beginning of this season, the show’s intensely loyal following—which I count myself among—braced for the worst. Yet we’ve been rewarded with another marvelously entertaining season. The interplay between Castle and Beckett has changed, obviously, but it’s as delightful as ever.

The question is: what separates Castle from Moonlighting? How do you get two characters together yet still keep it interesting? Do you have to find a way to keep some kind of dynamic tension between the lovers? Or do you run the risk of jumping the shark even more, like Moonlighting did when it had Maddie marry some dude she had just met on a train in a lame attempt to keep her and Dave apart?

Help me Reds! You’re my only hope.

Brad Parks is the only author in history to have won the Shamus, Nero and Lefty Awards. His latest book, THE PLAYER, received starred reviews from Kirkus and Library Journal. RT Book Reviews made it a Top Pick for March, saying, “Parks has quietly entered the top echelon of the mystery field.” The Reds know this is absurd, since Brad has never done anything quietly in his life. Nevertheless, you can visit him at www.BradParksBooks.com.

DEBS: So, readers, tell Brad (and us!) what you think? (If you can tear yourself away from watching YouTube videos of the Fonz...) Is it possible to overcome the Moonlighting Syndrome?

Police Procedure II: Making It Believable

THE ENVELOPE PLEASE: Yesterday's winners: Karen Cantwell, Meg Gardiner, Marianne in Maine. Send your address to julia "at" juliaspencerfleming dot com.

BREAKING NEWS: Today we're giving away 3 COPIES of the trade paperback of Julia Spencer-Fleming's Agatha & Anthony-winning debut, IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER to lucky commenters!

HALLIE EPHRON: Today we are delighted to welcome back Lee Lofland -- with more sage advice for crime fiction writers and his take on the credibility of TV crime shows.

Lee, is it ever credible that a civilian would get involved in a police investigation, as so many of our novel plots require?



LEE LOFLAND: Maybe, but not to the extent that we see in many books—actively pursuing the bad guys, fighting with suspects, dodging bullets and shooting it out with armed villains. No, that sort of thing doesn’t happen.

Instead, police sometimes ask for assistance from outside experts, such as a forensic psychologist or forensic anthropologist.

A perfect example of a civilian’s involvement in a criminal case was during the investigation into the murder and dismemberment of a young woman in Ohio. Police uncovered a small amount of skeletal remains, possibly human remains, so the lead investigator (Jim Nugent, an investigator I’d consider one of the top homicide detectives in the country) called on world-renowned forensic anthropologist, Dr. Elizabeth Murray. Dr. Murray worked hand-in-hand with Nugent, and it was her expertise that eventually identified the remains and pointed police to the killer.

By the way, I found that case so intriguing that I wrote about it, and another. The combined stories are scheduled for release later this month in a book called Masters of True Crime: Chilling Stories of Murder and the Macabre.

Masters of True Crime features true crime tales written by 17 star-studded true crime authors (well,16 star-studded true crime authors, and me). The book is already available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. And, Dr. Murray, the anthropologist in the above mentioned case, is a special guest lecturer at the 2012 Writers’ Police Academy.

Civilians get involved in police investigations through civilian search and rescue teams, psychics (this is rare), microbiologists (anthrax/terrorism-type crimes), etc. But civilians do not get involved like we see in so many books.

However, I think it’s the duty of a good fiction author to write believable make-believe, meaning anything is fair game as long as it sounds or seems realistic. A perfect example of fantasy realism is the TV show Grimm. The officer on the Grimm show faces evil fairytale-like creatures, and he uses fairytale-like weapons and power(s) to stop them. Now that’s believable make-believe.
 


HALLIE: What television crime show most consistently gets it right? 



LEE: Hands down, there’s not another show out there that comes anywhere near the realism of Southland (TNT). They get it right because the writers, producers, directors, and actors all do their homework, and lots of it. In fact, prior to filming each season the actors portraying police officers attend a mini police academy, including ride-a-longs with LAPD patrol officers.

HALLIE: Any that consistently gets it wrong? 


LEE: Easy answer...Castle. And that brings me back to believable make-believe. In many instances, the show attempts to depict their characters in realistic situations. Unfortunately, they fail miserably.

HALLIE: Darn. I like that show. But I have wondered...

So gentle Reds, what are your favorite crime shows? Have you ever wondered about their "procedures" -- like fail to turn on the lights in a dark house that we debunked yesterday? Now's your chance to find out if it's believable or not.