Write thrillers, mysteries, and other related crime dramas and avoid writing cliches by following these rules.
Joe Friday: “Just the facts, Ma’am”
Don’t use “Let’s take him downtown for questioning.” Roth writes that real cops never say that.
What is Attempted Murder?
The Crime Writer’s Reference Guide, 1001 Tips for Writing the Perfect Murder by the late Martin Roth, is not a book that you read for pleasure on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
When writing a story that requires an accurate portrayal of a crime, you reach for it and use it to describe blood. You’ll need to read it, though, so you know why you write with accuracy and detail a fictional crime story.
Of course, you don’t want to be as dry as a crime report, but you want to write real-life drama.
When you are writing a story that needs an accurate portrait of anything that deals with a crime, you reach for this book and use it for blood.
How to Become a Serial Killer
Take a story about a serial killer. You need to create a profile and look up serial murder in the book’s glossary. Turn to the designated pages and discover that there is not just one type of serial killer, but four. You read the passage in the book, “studies reveal that most serial killers are white males between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five and are usually products of working- or lower-middle-class families.”
Your profile takes shape, and you read on, “Many serial killers are charming, selfish, impulsive, and ambitious. Many come from broken homes or homes where they were abused. Few serial killers express any feelings of guilt or remorse for their crimes.” A brilliant start for a classic character study. Now that I think about it, most of the crime stories I have read or seen in movies fit this profile.
Turn to the designated pages and discover that there is not just one type of serial killer but four.
Writing Crime Dialogue
I enjoyed the chapter on language. It is an essential tool for any crime writer, with terms such as “throwaway,” which refers to guns or clothes the mugger wears and discards to avoid pursuit.
How about “pigeon,” which means victim. This chapter supplies enough dialogue ideas to keep you writing dialogue for twelve CSI spin-offs. Wait, CSI spin-offs are close to twelve and counting.
All kidding aside, you need this book dog-eared and well-used if you write about crime.
How to Write a List of Character Traits
Reading the book filled my head with straightforward ideas for stories and ample characters. What also fascinated me was the character description of cops, including what their lives are like and what they are not like, which sparked a range of ideas. My fingers were itching to click the keys on my keyboard and start writing.
Roth’s book gives you all the information you need to create a crime. You can start with the criminal act, the crime scene investigation, the prosecution of the criminal, and conclude with a life sentence in prison. He offers numerous examples of television shows that accurately portray crime stories.
As an exercise, you can watch a few crime shows and see if the production company followed Roth’s standards.
Listen to the Police Dialogue
Mark Wahlberg stars in Mile 22, a drama about a secret special forces unit within the government. I recommend you listen to the dialogue in this movie. You will hear crime jargon, such as “motive” and “driven.”
Director Peter Berg shoots scenes with a handheld camera that follows agents, police, and special forces as they meet and collaborate to solve the crime.
Although it is a dramatization, you get the idea of what it’s like within a collaborative meeting between police forces.
Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade
“He said: “I’m going to send you over. The chances are you’ll get off with life. That means you’ll be out again in twenty years. You’re an angel. I’ll wait for you.” He cleared his throat. “If they hang you, I’ll always remember you.”— Dashiell Hammett, “The Maltese Falcon”
The Crime Writer’s Reference Guide: 1001 Tips for Writing the Perfect Murder
Finally, if the chapter you are reading isn’t enough to fill your creative imagination, which is hard to believe, there is a section called “Where do you go from here.” This chapter includes a list of other books on the same subject. You can head to the library and create a new pastime of reading how-to-write crime stories instruction books. “The Crime Writer’s Reference Guide, 1001 Tips for Writing the Perfect Murder” is the reference book for any writer about to write a story centered on crime. Even if you have it written, you can use this book to cross-check your accuracy. “Just the facts, Ma’am.”