Recently, I traveled to see my parents and take care of some business in Michigan. My family and I stayed with my parents for the duration of the trip, save for a few days we were in another part of the state doing that business.
We were watching TV at my parents’ one evening. A police procedural-type show was on. My retired police officer dad always watches with a mindset of whether the policing on the show is comparable to his real life experience as an officer. Sometimes it is, sometimes it clearly is not.
I realized I was watching the show through somewhat of the same lens. I was never a police officer, but I’ve done a lot of research – reading, speaking to current and former officers of all ranks and varied police departments – and noted the same discrepancies my dad had. “That wouldn’t happen that way,” “why don’t they have guns during this standoff?” and several other holes in the policing side of the story were observed by both me and my dad. Other than those obvious holes, I enjoyed the episode.
My dad read my book, and only had one complaint, and I understand why. My only response was that it made sense before another plot point was cut. I had felt that the character dynamic was preserved, but he mentioned the overall ramifications it may have during a real-life investigation. Noted. That interaction will be handled differently in future books.
At a recent activity for my son’s former Boy Scout troop, I spoke with an alumnus of the troop with a background in law enforcement. When I told him about my book, he was interested. He also lamented about the inaccuracies portrayed in entertainment: “I wish I could solve a crime in 48 minutes!” This reflected similar advice I received from an online support group called Cops & Writers on Facebook. The law enforcement officers in that group remind the writers to portray the passage of time – summer turning to fall and winter and so forth. Some crimes take months or years, and very few take only a few days or weeks – if you’re lucky.
I’m still moving forward with drafting the next book, and there are more outlines waiting to get the attention they deserve. As I said previously, I won’t be making any major announcements until I feel real progress toward a next step has been made.
I continue to watch my favorite shows for the content I loved before, but I can’t help but notice the little things I now know make a difference. Have you ever researched something so much or so thoroughly that you begin evaluating things differently? Let’s talk on Facebook!