tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post302370739688303027..comments2024-03-14T18:09:09.667-05:00Comments on Do Some Damage: Forensics/technology is making my life miserableUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-59130170793332496392014-01-13T09:35:06.437-05:002014-01-13T09:35:06.437-05:00Joelle and Do Some Damage Blog, thanks for having ...Joelle and Do Some Damage Blog, thanks for having me! I know good and well Joelle talked to strangers and sold a bunch of books!Donnell Ann Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07943037206984648849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-56224970545500120912014-01-13T09:34:02.824-05:002014-01-13T09:34:02.824-05:00Oh, Al, I love this solution. As I have a book th...Oh, Al, I love this solution. As I have a book that would be a complete failure updated and unable to work plotwise. And, yes, Google, would definitely not fit in that arena.<br /><br />It happens. I read a Ken Follett novel in which he used an automobile that wasn't out yet. Not criticizing you understand, this is one of those things he shakes his head at and put on his website. Thanks for stopping byDonnell Ann Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07943037206984648849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-7935453983969637682014-01-13T09:15:07.281-05:002014-01-13T09:15:07.281-05:00In most of my stories I adopt Sue Grafton's so...In most of my stories I adopt Sue Grafton's solution and write in real time in the recent past. That has problems of its own. I once caught a character using Google in 1997, when it debuted in 1998.Al Tucherhttp://alberttucher.writersresidence.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-3968622641446934502014-01-12T19:14:55.776-05:002014-01-12T19:14:55.776-05:00Terry, agreed about technology. I think most read...Terry, agreed about technology. I think most readers assumed that with the smart phones once the batteries were removed a bad guy, Feds what have you would be unable to track. My understanding is now these phones come with a built in battery, which will make plotting more difficult in a small town or big ;) Thanks for commenting. Donnell Ann Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07943037206984648849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-30553317567311747152014-01-12T16:52:46.896-05:002014-01-12T16:52:46.896-05:00I use the 'small town' scenario which help...I use the 'small town' scenario which helps avoid a lot of forensics. But all technology is advancing faster than we can publish, not just forensics. I had to get rid of a reference to a 'floppy disc' (and lose a GREAT line) when I revised a book after I got the rights back. Cell phones used to be the size of most of our cordless phones, and smart phones didn't exist. And forget it if you have a reference to someone getting film developed. I was talking to an ex CIA "spook" (his term) about cell phones and he said, "Don't worry about it. If they can't do it now, they will in 6 months.)Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-50483495896662361352014-01-12T15:51:28.176-05:002014-01-12T15:51:28.176-05:00Two more resources to me who have been completely ...Two more resources to me who have been completely helpful is former FBI agent Steven K. Brown who wrote The Complete Idiots Guide to Private Investigating and Five Things Women Need to Know as well as well as Colleen Collins and Shaun Kaufman in How to Write a Dick. So many resources out there to help writers, and still I whine!<br />Donnell Ann Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07943037206984648849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-55838956996628063332014-01-12T15:10:37.208-05:002014-01-12T15:10:37.208-05:00Diane, yes, plots are constantly changing because ...Diane, yes, plots are constantly changing because real life events occur that screws them up. <br /><br />Thanks for these resources. I'm familiar with Tom Adair, but not the other groups you reference. Will check them out!Donnell Ann Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07943037206984648849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-81392054042731156142014-01-12T14:39:28.663-05:002014-01-12T14:39:28.663-05:00Hi Donnell!
In one of my books, my heroine is a...Hi Donnell! <br /><br />In one of my books, my heroine is a social worker lobbing for affordable health care. I wrote about five years ago. Now, it's a plot change in my book. <br /><br />Why? Because it's already came to pass and not very poplar to Americans. If there's one thing I've learned about time, it constantly changes! <br /><br />And you are right Donnell, the writer needs to beware of those changes in order to write a believable plot/characters. <br /><br />There are a couple of resources out there your readers and writers out here might find helpful.<br /><br />Crimewriter how to is a group started by John Ouellet. John is a Former Army Infantry Officer. Retired FBI Special Agent, 23 years in the Detroit Field Office.<br /><br />This group is designed for the established and aspiring crime novelist who is stuck in mid plot trying while project realism into the story. <br /><br />Discussions will help the author with the details and day-to-day of how federal agents and detectives go about their work. Think the procedural. <br /><br />Help can be provided on the bureaucratic make up of departments/agencies, proper titles, SWAT and tactical operations, task force alignments, jargon, etc<br />Link: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/119984-crimewriter-how-to<br /><br />Also for forensic stuff, Tom Adair has a very helpful blog called Forensics For Fiction. Tom is a retired senior criminalist with 15 years of forensic experience. <br /><br />His link is: http://forensics4fiction.wordpress.com/.<br /><br />Another awesome group out there for any writer whose hero or heroine centers around law enforcement is, Public Safety Writer Association.<br /><br /><br />Memberships include, FBI agents, state, city, county LEO's, Homeland Security, forensics' people, journalist and mystery writers. Fantastic group of people eager to share their experiences and offer advice and information. <br /><br />There link is: http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/policewriter/info<br /><br />Thanks for posting Donnell! <br />Diane<br /><br /> Diane Kratzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07530526492083838512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-1891947425713667852014-01-12T13:38:12.211-05:002014-01-12T13:38:12.211-05:00Hi, there, hoping Joelle's having a smooth une...Hi, there, hoping Joelle's having a smooth uneventful trip to Austin. I told her not to talk to strangers, so it should be interesting how many books she sells :)<br /><br />I'm so glad to know I'm not alone in the technology/forensic explosion out there. Thanks Chief Harris, you've been invaluable and patient. Thank you for the nice reference. I'm not perfect but I sure try.<br /><br />Dana, I appreciate where you're coming from. Ashantay, wow, you were ahead of your time! I might have been stubborn and kept it, but I totally, totally get why you changed your poison! <br /><br />As for me, I do like writing cop, DEA and in the future FBI protagonists, so I'm willing to do the research. I'm fortunate to have so many resources willing to help a hand. For anyone who hasn't been to a citizens academy, see if your city has one. Wes Harris Writecrimeright.com and Lee Lofland's Writers Police Academy and of course Wally Lind's Crimescenewriter a Yahoo group is also an incredible resource. I may get things wrong but it's not for lack of trying. <br /> Donnell Ann Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07943037206984648849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-65870014517024529142014-01-12T13:15:15.307-05:002014-01-12T13:15:15.307-05:00I also write about crime in a small town, and my s...I also write about crime in a small town, and my stories are as much about the romance as the murder. Even so, I used ricin as the poison in my first book, and had to go back to edit after some nutcase sent that poison to the White House last spring. Luckily, I still had time to make the changes! No way I could write about forensic crime - I'd screw it all up, for sure. Admire those who do it, though!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01017798302672033231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-63630165770692077142014-01-12T13:11:17.847-05:002014-01-12T13:11:17.847-05:00I have two ways to deal with it:
1. I write very l...I have two ways to deal with it:<br />1. I write very little that requires a lot of state of the art forensics. My cops are in a small town. They often have to send their samples to a private lab, and the results can take weeks or months to get back, not "while you wait" as in many CSI shows. That way I acknowledge there are forensic concerns and not get too bogged down in what exactly they are.<br />2. I don;t worry about it. As Barb said above, who knows what will have changed by the time it's printed--even if I self-pub--and again by the time someone reads it. I'm a writer, not a crime scene investigator. Chancler and Hammett and McBain don;t suffer because the techniques are out of date. I worry more about the rest of the book. If anyone is so upset by some slightly out of date forensics they don;t want to read me anymore, they don;t have to read me.<br /><br />Besides, these advances move at their own pace across the country. Not everyone gets them at once. There are many more reasons not to worry than there are to worry.Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-43956630819473343702014-01-12T11:35:51.564-05:002014-01-12T11:35:51.564-05:00Donnell is very conscientious in ensuring she accu...Donnell is very conscientious in ensuring she accurately depicts police and criminal procedures. If only every author took such pains to get it right. Check out her books<br /><br />Wes Harris<br />WriteCrimeRight.comGreat examplehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11429565084689598059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-91083025526390956262014-01-12T10:50:50.004-05:002014-01-12T10:50:50.004-05:00I feel your pain, Donnell. It's impossible not...I feel your pain, Donnell. It's impossible not to feel like we're missing something every time we turn in a story, forget what's changed by the time the story makes it onto the shelf. :-)Barb Hanhttp://www.barbhan.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-83022885379926036312014-01-12T10:15:21.015-05:002014-01-12T10:15:21.015-05:00I know what you mean. I'm constantly checking...I know what you mean. I'm constantly checking and still always have the nagging feeling that I've missed something new.Mari Nicolnoreply@blogger.com