Short Fiction. Write it. Sell it.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

101 Things

An Author Needs to Know

About the Police and the Law

Where did the Miranda rights come from?

"Miranda's full name was Ernesto Miranda. He was arrested in 1963 after a kidnapping and sexual assault in Phoenix, Arizona. After two hours of interrogation without access to a lawyer, he signed a written confession to the crimes. When the case went to trial, the court allowed the confession into evidence, even though Miranda had not been told of his rights to remain silent and to have an attorney present. In a 5-4 decision on Miranda v. Arizona, the Supreme Court ruled that the confession could not be used in court, as it was obtained without due process.

The standard list of rights now read to a person upon being arrested are known as the Miranda rights, as they are taken from, and required by, this decision.

The decision states: The person in custody must, prior to interrogation, be clearly informed that he has the right to remain silent, and that anything he says will be used against him in court; he must be clearly informed that he has the right to consult with a lawyer and to have the lawyer with him during interrogation, and that, if he is indigent, a lawyer will be appointed to represent him.

This did not end up helping Miranda himself. On being tried again, this time without the confession being used in court, he was again found guilty, and served eleven years in prison. He was later stabbed to death in a bar fight. The suspected killer was read his Miranda rights, opted to remain silent, and fled to Mexico. The murder case was closed."

http://www.infoplease.com

2 comments:

Tamara said...: This is really interesting history, Jody. Thanks.; August 20, 2014 at 1:12 PM
Jody E. Lebel said...: @Tamara. I just saw your post. Don't know what happened to it in my feed...but anyway...yes, kinda ironic that his killer was probably given his rights because of Mr. Miranda, which he invoked, which enabled him to get out of jail on bail to await further proceedings, which gave him time and opportunity to escaped. I don't usually feel bad for killers but ...oh, hell, I still don't feel bad for him.; August 22, 2014 at 10:01 PM

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My day job puts me in contact with real cops, detectives, FBI agents and DEA guys. I have worked thousands of cases from the homeless guy on the Metrorail who got arrested for jumping the turnstile -- that’s right, arrested for not having a quarter -- to the Tamiami Strangler, a serial killer who strangled hookers along the famous trail in Miami. I produce court transcripts for a living.

Who better to look at your mystery stories to see if the police procedures are true, the clues are solid and the whole thing works? I will not hesitate to point out the good, the bad and the ugly in your story. Both of my WW mysteries made it to Johnene. From there? Cross your fingers.

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WW Mystery Writing Tips

Not every crime has to be intentional. An accidental killing is manslaughter as opposed to murder.

Long gone are the days when fiction was meant to instruct us. Today, fiction must entertain. If you bore the reader, you lose a fan. Keep losing fans and you will not have a writing career, you will have a hobby. Take a hard look at your WIP (work in progress). Here are four areas where your story might be lagging.
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Your tag line is the hook that gets someone interested in reading your work. It's one of the most important lines of your story. Take time to make it sparkle.

Criminals don't always think the crime through--especially if the crime is one of passion or revenge--but don't have them make stupid or stilly mistakes just to get your story written. Make the mistakes something that you just normally don't think about. Like the pruning skin in this story.

You don't always have to have crime scene details to make a mystery story work. Cozy mysteries sell well if you make the characters interesting.

Don't be fuzzy with your clues. Make up good ones and own them.

I've noticed that WW loves female cops and really loves little old ladies.

Once again WW chose a story with a female cop and little old ladies. Just remember to use the proper words for the crimes and before you say things like, he jimmied the lock, understand just what that is.

You've only got 700 words. Make them count. Don't waste words on things that don't matter. And NEVER give a clue and then later in the solution change it to the opposite. That's not fair. Just how is the reader supposed to figure it out then?

There are many ways to lay out the solve-it-yourself story. You don't always have to have the reader guess who the perp is. This week's story was presented with a fresh angle. We knew who did it. The question was did she cover her tracks well enough to fool the police?

As writers we often ask the reader to suspend disbelief a bit, but don't overdo it. Keep it as real as you can or you'll lose the reader.

If you have four suspects, have four good motives. Otherwise what's the point in having four suspects? It is almost a sin to have four suspects and not have even one decent red herring in the bunch. That's just a waste of words.

When the reader expects one situation, and gets another, that's really a form of a red herring. I expected a tired old theory and was given the surprise of a fresh twist. As the reader I was tricked...and that's a good thing.

When you reuse characters be sure to make them interesting and likable. Being cranky is not the same as being interesting. Be careful to not let one of them become mean. It's hard to like someone who calls people names and teases them about their not so glorious past.

Don't introduce a main character too late in the story. The reader feels cheated.

You don't always have to have police involved for a mystery to work. Be realistic if you are going to use animals in your story. Lassie wasn't real.

Write in more than one good motive. Two or three people could have done it, but only one has the means and opportunity to go with that motive.

I realize you only have 700 words to get in your story, but use every one of those words wisely. Don't repeat to fill the space. If your story is really done in 350 words, your story is too simple.

Try not to use the same old tired solutions. We're writers. Come up with something new and interesting. Treat the readers to a challenge. If I see one more muddy footprint on a white carpet...I'm going to hurt somebody.

Readers like to follow the same characters. Once you sell a mystery to WW, try building up a following by using the same police characters in future stories. Do us all a favor though... make them likable.

I know I'm repeating myself (talk about deja vu) but please try your very best to come up with a fresh twist or interesting solution that hasn't been done before. We want WW readers to LOVE this mystery page...not become bored with it.

Don't use too many names in your story. It just confuses the reader. The story this week handled this extremely well. You knew who you were reading about from the character's description. It all flowed well and never pulled the reader out of the story.

A short story is really just a very short novel. The same rules apply. Give us characters we will love and care about. Don't have them doing silly things.

Once again we have someone not acting right. Check your facts. Check your facts. Check your facts. Did I mention you should ALWAYS check your facts? Getting the details right should just be a given.

Make sure the solution makes sense. Common sense. Put yourself in their shoes. What would you do? Think? How would you act? Don't throw in a rotten fish just for smell.

Know the proper use of words. Men don't leer at each other -- generally. lol. Don't make up a silly details to fit your story line. Make sure everything works and people act in character.

Short Fiction. Write it. Sell it.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

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