Now Your Character Can Play James Bond. Gadgets with Heather Weidner

Today, I am hosting Heather Weidner. Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby Doo and Nancy Drew. She is President of the Sisters in Crime, Central Virginia Chapter where I recently spoke on the subject of Violence in Writing. Heather’s short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series. Today, she's talking about gadgets that give your protagonist a little James Bond swagger.

Fiona - 

Gadgets! Fun! How did you get interested in the subject?

Heather - 
My sleuth in Secret Lives and Private Eyes is a thirty-something private investigator who has a knack for getting herself in and out of humorous situations, and she often uses what she has handy when she’s on a case. 

Here are some real gadgets that might just be useful. I’m wondering how many Fiona Quinn has.

Fiona - 

(I'll never tell.) 

Heather - 

Tile - is a tag that you can add to things to track where they are. If you’re within a certain radius, you can ring the tile locate it. You can also use the Internet to see the last place you had the item. 

This Camera Pen lets you capture video and audio discretely. You can also use it as an ink pen. 

Spy-Tronix has a variety of home and business-use hidden cameras. My favorites are the electrical box or the fake book with the hidden camera. 

If you’re worried about hidden cameras, this detector will allow you to sweep an area for wireless cameras and eavesdropping devices. 

Identity Stronghold sells RFID blocking wallets to prevent electronic pick-pocketing. 

Here is a sunscreen flask, for those who need a hidden secondary container on a sunny day. 

This aluminum Coke can has a hidden safe for your valuables. Just be careful not to recycle your treasures by accident. 

Pocket Stashes provide you with keyring options for hiding cash, change, or a lighter. 

There are lots of tactical purse options for those who carry concealed weapons. There are also quite a lot of coat, jacket, and vest choices for those who don’t want a purse. 

Pepper spray comes in a variety of sizes and styles. This is a model disguised as lipstick.

This one’s not available yet. It’s just a concept, but I did use the idea in a story. It’s called Undercover Colors. Users can put a finger with this nail polish in their glass to detect the presence of a date rape drug.

And don’t forget your smartphone. In addition to the communications and camera options, there are lots of apps for emergency air horns, compasses, flashlights, and GPS. And most have a way to track them if they’re missing. (Go to this blog article to read more about that)

Fiona - 

Very fun, Heather! I am a total gadget girl. I love this kind of stuff. Hey, can you take a second to tell us about your new book?
Heather - 
Secret Lives and Private Eyes

Secret Lives and Private Eyes is a fast-paced mystery that will appeal to readers who like a strong, female private investigator. 

Business has been slow for PI, Delanie Fitzgerald, but her luck seems to change when a tell-all author hires her to find rock star, Johnny Velvet. Could the singer whose life was purportedly cut short in a fiery car crash still be alive? And as if sifting through dead ends in a cold case isn’t bad enough, Chaz Wellington Smith, III, a loud-mouthed strip club owner, hires Delanie to uncover information on the mayor’s secret life. When the mayor is murdered, Chaz is the key suspect. Now Delanie must clear his name and figure out the connection between the two cases before another murder – probably her own – takes place.

Fiona - 
Visit Heather on her website

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

As always, a big thank you ThrillWriters and readers for stopping by. Thank you, too, for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you 
helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.

Pivoting 180 and Looking Backwards: Writing Historical Fiction

Today, we are visiting with the wonderful Monte Dutton. If you missed his earlier article on writing sports themes in your plot go HERE. Now we're going to pivot 180 degrees and look backwards in time.

Fiona - 
So Monte, I've read your books that have a sports theme perhaps riff is better word. I was surprised to know that your newest manuscript is a step in a different direct. How did this new story call to you? Is it a complete change of genre?

Monte - 
Let's see. Let me try to remember how Cowboys Come Home came about. I'm a fan of Larry McMurtry. One of my favorites of his novels is Leaving Cheyenne, which is a 20th-century western. Cowboys Come Home has little to do with it, though it's set not too far away. I came up with the idea of writing the adventures of a couple war heroes returning to Texas after World War II. I'm fond of "closing of a man's frontiers" story. 

The story is based in a part of Texas with which I have some similarity. I first started this because I was encouraged to write a western. I first rejected it, but then I happened to take a long driving trip shortly afterwards, and I kind of daydreamed this story. I wrote a few chapters, and the potential publisher wasn't interested. I think it was looking for a more orthodox western. In other words, I think my story lacked sufficient sagebrush and tumbleweed. So I abandoned it, but the story was on my mind, and I put enough pieces of it together in my mind that I went back to it when my current crime novel, Forgive Us Our Trespasses, was going into the editing-proofreading-dickering-back-and-forth stage.

Fiona - 
Have you been to Texas?

Monte -
Yes. Many times. A part of my family settled in central Texas. I have a close friend in the town on which my Janus, Texas, is based. I spent a lot of time in Texas researching a non-fiction book called True to the Roots: Americana Music Revealed. Each year I emcee a town charity event in that town. I traveled to the DFW area for NASCAR races during the two decades I spent writing about auto racing for a living. As a boy, I went to livestock sales, rodeos and horse shows out there. The culture and heritage of Texas is prominent in me, even though I am a South Carolinian.

Fiona - 
And the tug about WWII?

Monte - 
I gradually became a war buff over the years. I majored in history (and political science) in college. I discovered that, no matter how much one reads, it's no substitute for looking at the lay of the land. First, I started going to Civil War battlefields. Lots of them are near NASCAR venues. Then I got curious about the American Revolution. Then I became interested in World War II. I haven't walked those battlefields, but I've done a lot of reading over the past, oh, five years. Cowboys Come Home begins at Peleliu in the Pacific, but the scene moves quickly to post-war Texas, where Ennis Middlebrooks and Harry Byerly come home hoping for peace but things don't work out that way.

Fiona -
I have an undergraduate degree in history degree; but to be honest, the thought of writing a historic fiction is daunting, especially when people from that era are around and someone could say, "Hey Gramps, is this right?" Did you feel brave starting the journey? What were some of your concerns?

Monte - 

I guess the difficulties are both big and little. I spent a lot of time as a boy talking with my father's uncle, who was stationed in the Pacific during the war. Imagination is involved, too. The book has a lot to do with the relief of war's sacrifice, both at home and among the soldiers (the major characters were Marines). There's an element of post-war corruption and profiteering. The folks back home are tired of rationing and repression. The soldiers are tired of military discipline. A certain desire to go wild hangs in the air. A lot of this involves me trying to put myself in their places. The little things are so much easier to research with the Internet at my disposal. I look up the various models of cars, the brands of beer popular and available, the history of roads and when a dam was built. The real town adapted in the story had a large training camp during the war, and I put some effort into what really went on. The corruption involved in parceling out that land is a major catalyst to the story. I'm not trying to conform with real history, but I'm trying to make a story that is plausible.

Fiona - 
What surprised you the most about the process of researching your book. And what road maps can you give other writers?

Monte -
This is my second trip back in time. My second novel, The Intangibles, was set in the South during the turbulent sixties. Though I wasn't as old as the characters there, I was alive and had many memories to draw upon. This is a greater leap. 

• I'd start out trying to gain a broad overview of the time. For instance, in the past few years, I've read biographies of FDR, Churchill, and MacArthur. They're not characters in my novel, but their stories gave me a feel for life in that time. 
• The next stage is to apply and envision the mood of the time. I have to feel like I know the characters so that I can have a firm grasp of what each would do in the pertinent circumstances.
• Study the language of the time. 
• Try to talk the way people talked. Watch old movies. Use words like "swell" and "scram" and cliches of the time. 

I just got my first one-star review of Forgive Us Our Trespasses. The reason was that the reader didn't like the foul language. I got it from overhearing the kids of today and monitoring their social media and the like. I don't feel comfortable trying to censor and tone down. I doubt many will quibble with the language of Cowboys Come Home. These characters are harsh in other ways. They don't waste time on their Twitter feeds. They waste time drinking liquor and chasing women. They brought home both the audacity and the fatalism of war. Live life to the fullest, for tomorrow may be your last!

Fiona - 
You mentioned physically visiting places - that's huge. I am a big proponent of experiential research. What are some resources that you've used and can recommend?

Monte - 
I'm a photographic person. To write this, I needed to know what it's like to sit on a horse and chat with your buddy while pondering the sunset. I needed to know what the banks of the Red River looked like. I needed to know what it was like to live in a house with a party line. I needed to look up the harsh weather conditions of the 1946 Cotton Bowl, which was played in ice and snow to a scoreless tie between LSU and Arkansas. I needed to know what high school cheerleaders wore in 1946. You can't recreate what it was like in 1946, but you can imagine by visiting places that haven't changed all that much. The Fort Worth Stockyards. An old Texas town with buildings that have been around since that time. An old school building, preserved for history. A lot of these experiences were just stored away and, what do you know? A need for them arose.

Fiona -
Can you talk about your genre change?

Monte - 

I feel as if, as a novelist, I'm flitting about, moving from one genre to another. Part of it is to find a niche. Another is that I'm not suited by nature to stay in one compartment. Writing a novel is both damned hard and damned rewarding. To do it effectively, which is my goal, I have to be absolutely in love with my story and characters. I love my characters. Writing about Riley Mansfield, the pot smoking songwriter of The Audacity of Dope, was fun. So were Chance Benford, the converted football coach of Crazy of Natural Causes, and Denny Frawley, the murderous politician of Forgive Us Our Trespassess. I get tired of all of them, though, by the time the tale is told. My curiosity takes me to something else. Ennis and Harry aren't much like anyone I've written about previously. I've really enjoyed getting to know them.

You can stay in touch with Monte through his
Web Page and Twitter.

As always, a big thank you ThrillWriters and readers for stopping by. Thank you, too, for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you 
helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.

Can I Pour You a Cup of Tea? Rituals and Your Characters with Miriam Ruff

How do we humanize our characters? How can we make them three dimensional - someone we'd like to know and maybe even hang with? You can give them interesting hobbies, you can give them pets with great personalities . . . Have you considered giving them a ritual? In my writing, I often like to counterbalance volatile and physical with composed and mental.

In my Lynx series, Lexi Sobado's mentor taught her to meditate on phrases as a child. It was a daily ritual. And now here is a quick blip from a scene where she is using that ritual to help her get through a harrowing moment:

    Spyder pulled back on the yoke, easing the corporate jet up through the cloud bank. “John Quincy Adams said, ‘Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.’ I wish you to apply that quote to this moment and tell me your thoughts.”
    I peeked out from under my eyelids. I didn’t want to apply quotations; I simply wanted to survive the next five hours with Spyder piloting this Cessna. He was a competent pilot, but this was a blustery day and the turbulence severe. I was experiencing a big old helping of déjà vu from the last time I had been in a plane. It had crashed…
     “Come. I wish to hear what you have to say,” Spyder prompted.
     I licked the dry stickiness from my lips and tried to think past the drumbeat of my heart. My joints had locked and my muscles braced. I shoved my feet into the floor, pressed my back flat against my seat, and pulled the safety belt so tightly that it denied circulation. “The difficulty I am experiencing right now is fear of dying,” I finally managed; my voice not much above a whisper.

CUFF LYNX

I find it interesting when a character leans on ritual in times of crisis like a good friend. Or perhaps even as a means of forging friendships.

I thought today you all might enjoy meeting my friend Miriam

Ruff. Miriam is a ritual tea drinker. So let's explore that a little, see how she talks about her ritual; how her ritual appeals to all of the senses; how she uses it in her life. I find this intriguing in terms of character development. I'll be interested to hear in the comments section what your take away from this interview was and also if you have rituals in your life and/or use them in your writing.

Fiona - 
Welcome, Miriam. I'm wondering how you found your way to loving tea and the ceremonial way that you prepare it.

Miriam -
I really don't remember when I started avidly drinking tea - I know I was very young, six or seven I think. At that time most of what I liked about tea was the taste and the calm feeling it gave me.

It wasn't until I was grown and had the opportunity to drink "quality" tea - loose leaf tea from a specialty tea preparer or tea importer that I began to understand that there was more to tea than just taste.

I was in my thirties, I guess, when I began switching over to only imported teas and making a ritual of the process. There was care in the boiling of the water, the smell of the tea in the tin before it was brewed, the aroma as it was brewing, the "mouthfeel" as I sipped slowly, and the final enjoyment of the cup (a very large one, naturally). I began to read more about tea, ask questions, and was finally driven to my current favorite importer by a letter to the editor in the Washington Post. I cold-called the guy and got great information. Now I try to pass all that along - pay it forward, so to speak.

Fiona - 
Can you take us through your ritual step by step?

Miriam - 

1. Select the tea. First, whether I feel like black, green, oolong, or white, and second, which type of the category I've chosen appeals to me most at that time.
2. Put the kettle on to boil the water.
3. Place my tea of choice into a filter bag (my pot doesn't have its own infuser), measuring it out more by art than by science. It's generally considered best if you use one teaspoon for each person and then "one for the pot," but I adjust according to how fast I know the tea will brew. A bolder, larger leaf will take much longer to brew than a small leaf because of surface area.
4. I watch the kettle. Only black teas should be steeped with boiling water. You wouldn't believe how many people I've run into who say they hate green tea because it's so bitter. The problem is that they've been using boiling water, which pulls out all the bitter in a green tea, which is an un-oxidized tea. You should use about 195 degrees for a green tea, between 180-190 for an oolong, depending on if it's a black or a green oolong, and about 175 for a white tea. You can get a tea thermometer to test the water. I just have a sense of it now, so I don't bother.
5. Don't follow the instructions that say steep 3-5 minutes - way too strong!! I first waft the steam from the pot by my nose to get a hint of the aroma, which is also an indication of how much it's steeped. I start tasting a small amount at about one minute then every 30 seconds after that until it's done.
6. I should mention that I set aside a period every day to do this and make sure I'm not checking e-mails, looking at my phone, etc. Tea is a meditation, and it should be treated as such.
7. Then I set aside a half hour or so to drink a couple of cups, first rolling the brew around my tongue to taste it fully, then just enjoying the tea with my mind clear.

The tea in its triple-foil-lined package (a Darjeeling GFOP) and the accessories needed to make it.

Putting the filter with the tea into the pot to prepare for brewing.

Pouring the water over the tea in the pot to allow to brew. Water should always be poured OVER tea - tea should never be added to hot water or it won't steep properly.

There is an option for people who only want a small amount of tea at a time. I have a "tea duckie" that's good for infusing a single cup at a time. It has an infuser basket at the bottom that you fill with tea leaves. Then you pour the water over the duckie in the cup and let it steep until it's done. If people are interested in getting them, they can contact me on social media for information. 


Fiona -
You have a scientific background, I can see bits of that as you describe the art of creating a beautiful cup of tea.

Do you feel that balance, aesthetics and science in your preparation? Is that part of the appeal?

Miriam - 
I like to think of tea as the mixture of science with art to create a beautiful environment.

Yes, it is definitely part of the appeal. At first, I did everything by the book. Then I assessed where that didn't work and determined how to change those things. Now, especially when I'm introducing someone new to "good tea," I tell them the science of it but make sure to let them appreciate the aesthetics. When done properly, they're completely hooked by the experience, and I feel rewarded.

Fiona -
If I was writing you as a character, what kinds of thoughts would you engage in as you sip your cup? Are you being mindful and meditative? Do you allow your mind to free-roam and give you new ideas? Do you really really struggle to keep from checking your e-mail?

And thank you for introducing me to good tea.

Miriam - 
You're very welcome.

I really try to be mindful and meditative, but I find I do great thinking when I let my mind wander where it wants to go. I let the experience of relaxing with the tea fuel my thoughts and my creativity. I get really, really annoyed if the phone rings or if someone comes to the door, and I'm very good about not checking my mail while this is going on. I find I'm much more productive after a tea session than before.

Fiona -
How frequently is this a private ritual and when might you share this special time with others, or do you? How does that change things?

Miriam -
I make this my private ritual every day, but I do have times when I invite friends over for tea. I walk them through the process if they're not familiar with it, and if they already are, we try to steer the conversation toward positive things, thereby reinforcing that tea is a positive ritual. I even make tea when I'm tutoring for my students, so they can learn something new and share my appreciation. I find it is an excellent method of helping us communicate more easily.

Fiona - 
Do you feel a kinship if someone says they are a tea drinker? Do you then question them and put them on a tea drinking hierarchy -- for example I was drinking Yogi tea before you "fixed" me. Did you feel I was rehabilitatable? Do you just prefer to move on to other topics if people tell you they drink Lipton sweeeeeeeeet tea?

Miriam - 
Yes, I do feel a kinship, and I love to swap tea stories with people who already know about how to brew and drink good tea. And, yes, I'll admit I do put people in a sort of hierarchy. Funny story: I was at my boyfriend's a couple of weeks ago, and one of his roommates was reaching for the Lipton bag. "Hold on!" I told him, "we're about to make some real tea." Turns out he loves tea and really appreciated the good stuff when it came out. Now I do this routinely for the house.

And, yes, it's very gratifying to see my students pick up tea drinking habits. It's a lesson you can't learn from books, only from experience, and it's part of the way I show them that you can learn in many different ways.

Fiona -
After the tea ritual is over how do you feel and for how long does this feeling last? And piggybacking on that thought, what would disturb this feeling and how would that make you feel?

Miriam - 
It usually sets me up for several hours, and I may continue to drink small amounts of tea throughout the day to help boost the feeling. It's a tactile reminder of the meditative state. 

I get angry when something intrudes on my tea time, whether it's by myself or with other people. It's so important to my mental and emotional well-being to have that quality time, that I'm upset when it's disturbed. If that happens, though, I do try to repeat the process later in the day.

Fiona - 
Now we know how to agitate our tea drinking heroine.

Miriam -  
Yep.

Disturbing any meditative or ritualistic process is agitating, I'd say. The sense of fulfillment comes from the completion of the ritual.

Fiona - 
Do you find that rituals permeate your life? Do you have systems that help to maintain inner quietude like - like a certain place you put your keys and a certain way you hang your clothes? If yes: did the tea ceremony help create the idea of ritual or did your natural rituals (read as habits) bring you to the tea table? So which came first the chicken or the egg?

Miriam -
Yes, I have a lot of rituals, and that's both good and bad. Too many rituals, and rituals that disturb a normal life, are unhealthy. People with OCD, for example, have ritualized behaviors that can be quite detrimental. However, rituals of studying and working were what got me through college successfully and with an Honors degree. I believe my tea ceremony came out of my natural sense of a need for order (kind of like why I'm drawn to science), which was then combined with my need for something that would bring about emotional well-being. It is also something that allows me to be artistic, too, and in a way that fosters my writing.

Fiona - 
Have you found similar personalities in those whom you've met that are ritualistic tea drinkers (meditative practioners)? If yes, can you name some, knowing this is a generalization and not a precise categorization?

Miriam - 
I have met similar personalities, and I find that it's a common ground that allows us to get along well together right from the start. One of my mother's old friends from college is a tea drinker, and I often go to her house for afternoon tea. The brewing (which she leaves to me), the pouring, the refilling of the cups has become a joint pleasure. A lot of the people I know, though, are from the importing companies where I get my tea, so I can't say that I really "know" them, and we don't do tea except for discussions about certain cultivars while I'm ordering.

I've found, though, that some of my friends and students whom I've introduced to the practice are eager to repeat the ritual when we get together, and I even made tea the centerpiece of my friend's parrot's birthday party, although the bird abstained.

Fiona - 
Too funny. How could we learn more about tea and ritual?

Miriam -
I've actually written an e-book on brewing and drinking the perfect cup of tea, that will hopefully allow others to partake of the same pleasure that I have. It's called "Tea-sing Your Taste Buds," and its available in the Products section of my website: www.bumbershootwriting.com.

The guide has a lot of resources for people who want to follow up on where to buy tea, how to choose it, etc. I'm also absolutely willing to talk with anyone interested in discussing the topic. They can just e-mail me, and I guarantee I'll respond.

Fiona - 
At Thrillwriting we traditionally ask about your favorite scar.

Miriam - 
Define scar.

Fiona - 
It's for you to define.

Miriam - 
I'd have to say disappointment, probably, that some of the people I've introduced to tea have drunk it and said, "That's nice." Ouch, that hurt. It's like a writer being told their story is "fine." Fine. What does that mean other than you couldn't care less one way or the other?

Fiona - 
What have you written recently?

Miriam - 

I have a couple of stories that came out recently. "Shades of Black" is the most recent one, and it's a little bit different from most of the pieces I write in that it's a contemporary psychological horror story - I tend to prefer science fiction and related genres. I also have another story called "Inmish Taka" that will be coming out once the cover art is completed, and it's set in the same universe as "The Coup," which is also on my website

Fiona - 
How can we stay in touch?

Miriam - 
I'm on Facebook at facebook.com/bumbershootwriting and Twitter at @ruffmiriam.

Bumbershoot, Inc.
A full-service writing and editing company.
Thank you so much for visiting and sharing Miriam.

As always, a big thank you ThrillWriters and readers for stopping by. Thank you, too, for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.

How Can Military OODA LOOPS Help Your Readers Understand Your Character?

Writing (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I'm editing for clients, I often find myself putting in the comments: Help me follow this by using an O.O.D.A. loop. For those of you unfamiliar with this concept, let me explain.

The term O.O.D.A. loop was coined in the 1950’s by Colonel John Boyd. Colonel Boyd was an F-86 pilot and commander of a fighter group toward the end the Korean War, trying to train fighter pilots to be more effective. 


O.O.D.A. stands for:

Observe 
Orient 
Decide 
Act


I'm going to show you his diagram of an OODA loop, but please don't get overwhelmed. It's a great diagram that you might want to scroll back up and look at after you read the article - or just look at the second simplified graphic and call it a day.


Okay, first I'm going to overwhelm you:

Full diagram originally drawn by John Boyd for his briefings on military strategy, fighter pilot strategy, etc (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Let's look at that in terms of plot rather than in terms of shooting people out of the sky - 

• OBSERVE - you write what is happening around the character.
• unfolding circumstances
• unfolding interaction with environment
• outside information
• ORIENT - This is the most important step in the concept. Here you must consider aspects of the character that would shape how they observe a situation. If you have several characters in a scene, each will have their own way of perceiving and thus deciding and acting. If you have a group, the orientation is the place where the conflict lies. No two people will ever have the same orientation. See? Important.
• genetic heritage 
• cultural tradition
• previous experiences
• education
• gender
• mental health (and so forth)
• DECIDE - 
• this is either a cognizant decision OR it can be reflexive. (The baby is falling the mom's hand shoots out, and she's caught the baby in the blink of an eye.) 
• this is the time to walk the reader through the thought process - how did they decide to A over B? 
• Was it a hard decision? 
• What stood in their way? 
• What was their most important tool in making that decision? Morality? Greed? Survival?  
• ACT

Why is it called a loop? Once the character has cycled through these four steps, then the environment is changed. Their actions have changed things, and they and their fellow characters will be moving through the loop again and again and again.

Here it is simplified:

Wow - that seems incredibly simple. BUT now fill in the blanks
What about that scene would your character observe - what would catch your characters attention amidst what they are doing. Example: a robbery suspect-

• An artist might remark of his facial features. His brow is furrowed. It looks like he's in pain. He probably needs money for a fix. Gives him her money.
• A physical therapist might take in his gait. He has a limp. He can't chase her. She runs.
• A soldier might be watching the guy's hands. He's not touching his shirt. He probably doesn't have a weapon. Dives in to tackle him.

How did your character align themselves with the information, what did they cognate?

What did they decide to do about it? Think hard - what in their life experience, age, cultural, temperament, current health, current relationships, and so forth, might impact this moment?

Humans go through this loop thousands of times in a day. If you lay them out in your writing, the progression makes more sense to the reader. 

Example:
Barbara went on a date last night with the guy whom she thinks is THE guy.

Barbara is called to reception at work. There is a bouquet of beautiful flowers waiting for her there. She smiles. She feels excited and happy. She beams as she walks back to her cubicle, grinning and blushing, accepting the comments from her colleagues about how lovely the flowers are. Yup this could be THE guy, and he obviously feels the magic too. She gets to her desk and puts the flowers down, picks out the card and sits, giving the envelop a kiss before opening it. Ruh roh! It's not from the guy she thought it was from. It's from some creeper who just won't leave her alone, and the card says. "You looked beautiful last night." She grabs the flowers and throws them in her trash.

She has a new observation. It changes her orientation. She makes a different decision. Which leads to a very different action.

If you are practicing show-don't-tell, then putting your characters into situations that show your reader walking through this loop, especially explaining their orientation (back story), you will help your readers to understand your characters so much better. 

I hope you found this article helpful.

As always, a big thank you ThrillWriters and readers for stopping by. Thank you, too, for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.

An Alpha Male Character in Retirement: Info for Writers with Retired Chief of Police, Scott Silverii

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You have the perfect-for-your-plot character planned for your WIP. It's an alpha male in retirement. Maybe a soldier. Perhaps a cop, or fireman, or any other career that attracts a certain kind of "I'll stand against evil/bad things" type of guy.

I'm talking about males here. Yes, there are alpha women - you can find lots of articles about them on my blog - just check the archives. But today, I'm going to focus alpha males in retirement.

To this end, I am visiting with ThrillWriting friend, Scott Silverii. No, he would never call himself an alpha-male. He's an extremely humble guy and that might feel like bragging to him, so I'm going to call him that, and I do have a graduate psych degree, and he does meet all of the qualifications. So you can trust me here, I picked the right guy for this interview.

Fiona - 

Scott, today, we're talking about alpha males in retirement.

Scott -
Sure - from an outsider's perspective - Ready.

Fiona-

(See? Humble. Note that for your character - this is a quality I see in good-guy alpha males. And I guess, I should have included that in the article descriptors. If you're writing a bad guy alpha - braggadocio and megalomania would replace humble.)

Scott, I know several writers who are working on plots that include protagonists who have retired from jobs that are high adrenaline and also have a hierarchical structure in place -- the police, the military. And now these men have retired from that line of work.

Scott -
It's funny, but now that I've retired from that life, I notice so many more books with "retired" protags having left an adrenaline-fueled occupation.

Fiona - 

Can you talk about the transition?

Scott - 
I'd once feared leaving law enforcement, but as I began to see the possibilities for a life on the other side, the dread gave way to optimism. I retired in August 2015, and have experienced a bit of stress that was associated with leaving the structure of command and the constant camaraderie with other alphas.

Fiona - 
And adrenaline? - Do you seek that out in other areas? Do they have adrenaline junkie clubs?

Scott - 
Oh goodness, I do and don't miss the adrenaline moments - a total double-edged sword. 

I don't miss the slow build up to a crisis event that culminates with just seconds of action (sometimes terror - Ha!!). I do miss being the go-to guy when the poop hits the fan. I thrived on the stress and potential for danger. Not that I was a risk taker, but I enjoyed removing the risk as much as possible and executing a sound operational plan.

Fiona - 
In your doctoral thesis, you wrote about the sheep dog mentality (for more about sheep dogs go to THIS TW blog article. For more about Scott's thesis and book go to THIS TW blog article) where the alphas -- or sheep dogs-- think of themselves as "other" In your experience with friends and colleagues, does this continue after you leave the job? If yes, how does one cope? If no, how does one integrate?

Scott - 
The Sheepdog mentality is something that I've been able to witness from a distance. While it's vital for cops and 1st responders to have a winning mindset and also understand that often times society doesn't fully understand how difficult it is to remain in the social margin, I also think it's counterproductive for law enforcement to adopt a separatist ethos. 

I mean, I see young officers' not even in the basic academy yet who are posting and getting tatted about being the protector and about civilian sheep. they've not even investigated a garden hose theft yet, and already they've assumed this us versus them ideology - it too is a double - edge sword.

How to reintegrate? Working with writers has been my anchor back to society. I meet and work with people who are just as intense and willing to take risk as I am - most just don't carry the weapons. Sharing my experiences and knowledge of over nearly 26 years also helps me to ease into the "white picket fence" life. 

I'm not 100% percent cozy yet, but I believe that once you've had your eyes ripped wide open to life's realities, they can never filly rest or blink at what goes on around you

Fiona - 
I'm thinking about soldiers now - I've read many of them wishing they were back in the fight, not for the fights sake but to support their fellow soldiers. They feel like when they are out being civilians they have left the burden to someone else. Is this something you've seen in the police world as well? Some guilt?

Scott - 
Good point. It's a form of Survivor's Guilt. You see the cops shot and attacked across this country and you hurt. I mean crying tears of sadness and guilt about "leaving" them on the street. 

As a Chief and Commander in various divisions since 1992, I've always carried the burden of concern and guilt for everyone. I still stare at every traffic stop I pass, just in case the officer needs help. Yes, the bonds of this fraternity don't stop when the pay check stops, but I fully understand that it's no longer my job, but protecting others will always be my duty.

Fiona - 

How often do you see things happen and feel compelled into reflexive action and then think, wow - that's not my responsibility anymore? And the follow up question - what could you see that would make you jump in and at what level would you jump in? A phone call? A take down?

Scott - 
Funniest examples are traffic violations. I was never a traffic cop, but now that I'm in a personal vehicle, I see all the reckless things people do and they continue doing them because they don't see a police unit. It's like I'm a ghost who gets to see the reality of life. If I saw a drunk driver, I'd make a 911 and follow from safe distance. If someone was injured I'd stop to render aid. If I saw a cop in a struggle, I'd flash my badge and join them in any situation. I'd also, always defend the innocent. Thankfully, I'm still commissioned as a retired officer and authorized to carry.

It wasn't the uniform that drove me to help others.

Fiona - 
I'm not going to ask you about your own personal EDC, (it's dangerous to let others know what you carry, folks, just like it's dangerous to announce you're going out of town on social media). But what are you aware of others carrying as part of their stay-safe strategy after years of being exposed to the worst? Do they have go-bags in their trunks?

Scott - 
Honestly, some still use the old stash the pistol in their wife's purse method. I know its crazy, but it's true. Retirement is about minimizing the clutter of life. That also includes your gear. Cops wear it strapped around their waist for the life of their career. I think most go back to the basics. A commission card / badge, weapon / magazines and handcuffs.

Emergency preparation once retired is more about reacting to your families needs. The tools to get you and them out of a fix. First aid kit, tools described above - not for enforcing the law, but protecting self and others.

Scott and his wife, Liliana Hart, together they make SilverHart.
I can't imagine that Liliana would let Scott
 slip a gun into her purse. Just sayin'

Fiona - 
Wait - they stash their gun in the wife's purse? She has to carry that weight and responsibility????

Scott - 
Ha! You've never heard about that?

Fiona -
Pshhh - Carry your own gun - I have my own stuff to carry.

So, this gives a whole new insight to the guy standing outside the dressing room while his wife tries on clothes. He wasn't being helpful - he just didn't want his gun to be out of sight.

Scott - 
True! But many a rookie has their wife carry in her purse. And the rookies also have more negligent discharges in bathrooms than on the firing range.

Fiona - 
Ha! Noted.

Why are you guys playing with your guns in the bathrooms?

Shhh. I don't really want to know.

You mentioned at the beginning of this interview that you've been reading a lot of plots that include retired alpha males. What are the things that make you scoff and say - that's not what happens! And conversely what has a writer gotten right about the nuances of an alpha in retirement that you thought, huh, that's pretty insightful.

Scott - 
One thing that's incorrect is that a retired alpha has the same access to resources as while they were active. The reality is that policing is an all or nothing fraternity. Once you leave, they may like you and hang out, but it's very clear you're no longer one of "them"

Fiona - 
That must hurt.

Scott - 

Yes, it does a bit, but you come to understand and expect it. If cops are honest, they/we had the same attitude while on the job when others left it.

What I see getting it right is the culture of the retired alpha - often solitude, inability or unwillingness to fit into the mainstream. But I love that despite it all, the retired book alpha still has a burning heart for service and a kick ass skill set

Fiona - 
Yes, I love that.

Scott -
Me too - can't beat experience

Fiona - 
So the alpha male retired. He's out of the fraternity. He doesn't fit in with society per se, describe a normal retirement day that might lead to an interesting plot line (just to put you on the spot) what would a retired military/police see that the normal public wouldn't and would they feel compelled to follow the bread crumbs or would they say f-this it's on someone else's shoulders. Not to group everyone into the same corner -- just maybe triggers that he had to act on.

Scott - The New Normal - It's funny, but after you've been in charge of others for you entire adult life, you still have the calling to command. So your kids become your Unit. That in and of itself is a story line. They refer to drill sergeants and have learned about pressure point control tactics, and even how to properly hold a knife in a fight. I can see the 12 year old in her cafeteria with the blade protected.

So the retired alpha plot involves the need to supervise and keep the new Unit safe. While we're at the movies or getting gas, the alpha's head is ALWAYS on a swivel. I see drug deals that are obvious to me because I worked undercover for 12 years. We don't voluntarily go into bad areas, but I witnessed two outside of a gym - probably steroids because they looked young, red and puffy - Ahhh - youth.

Unless it was something about to go down at my home, like a person casing the place with multiple pass-bys or bogus door knocks, I wouldn't get too jazzed up. the biggie is watching who interacts with our kids - mostly what adults are in their spheres of influence and why are they there.

Fiona -

Here's where I punt - What should I have asked you? What did you want writers to know about? 

p.s. Scott is a writer, too. Check out some of his titles:

Scott- 

I'd like writers to know that most of you do an amazing job getting it right. 

The truth is, they are under no obligation to "document" the police or military as a researcher or reporter. Yet, I've found no other documentor of the professions that take as much care to capture not only the procedures, but the nuances of alphas. I don't tell war stories, but because I love and respect the care writers give to their own stories and the people they reflect in their work, I'm always happy to share.

Fiona - 
Scott, you have a program to help writers write this kind of thing right. Can you tell me about your SWAT Academy? What can writers try on their own - whose brains can they pick. . .

Scott -
Thanks - in addition to the always accessible SilverHart Writers website featuring experts from police, fire, forensics, military and law, we're hosting the SWAT Academy in October 2016. 

The Suspense Writers Adventure Training (SWAT) is a writer's fantasy camp where they'll get to live the alpha-life they create. 

Drive high-speed police cruisers, raid drug dens, and become part of a SWAT tactical unit that searches for the fugitive, shoot weapons on the range, work actual crime scenes, and much more - also we have learning labs in between the field activities featuring the best in their fields to teach authors what to do with the awesome experiences they have. 

The best part is everyone actually lives, eats and trains on an actual law enforcement special operations complex. Even the instructors live on site. It's the only event like it in the world, and it's open for registration.

Fiona - 
How awesome is that? Very fun!

So here's some contact information:
FACEBOOK

As always, a big thank you ThrillWriters and readers for stopping by. Thank you, too, for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.

PMS Is Your Friend and Other Things I Learned Taking a Wilderness First Aid Class: Info for Writers

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

First of all - HOLY MOLY the list of horrible things that can go wrong far from help is long and daunting. What awesome plotting fodder. Things should never go easily for our heroes and heroines.

When faced with an emergency where professional help is anywhere from far away to non-existent, things just aren't looking good for your character. You can apply this information to a wilderness setting in your writing or to a natural disaster or terror activity in an urban center where resources have been stretched thin or destroyed. 

I'm using my crack acting skills. Can you feel my pain?

PMS is your friend -- no, honestly.

PMS stands for:

• Pulse
• Motor (ability to move)
• Sensory (Can you feel this?)

Your character needs to check these at the beginning and the end of the first aid application to make sure they didn't do something that would make the situation worse. What? Your character made it worse? Hmm. Interesting plot twist.

For other cool acronyms that your character would know if they have advanced (more than band-aids and "Stay calm, I've called 911") first-aid capabilities go HERE.

Do NOT use paracord to tourniquet a limb unless the pressure is dispersed by a wider fabric. Your character can do a lot of harm. Use something that is wider, at least a few inches wide. (more about paracord and survival HERE) 

Do NOT - put sticking-out bones back in the skin. Same with sticking-out organs, for that matter. Cover them with sterile water-soaked fabric. Remember this phrase -- Sticking out? Leave it out.

Do NOT - pull sticking-out objects that impaled the victim out of the victim. Your character should brace the object and keep it in place until the victim has medical support. Remember this phrase --If it's in - leave it in.

Being knotty is good. 

Knots are important and can be oh so helpful. (Go HERE for an article on knots) This class added to my knot repertoire, but I realize I need more. Did your character learn to tie knots as a Girl Scout? Guess what? They're easily forgotten. Your character needs to practice them to keep them handy. This can be written into the plot line with any little thing - even a perfectly tied up tomato plant in the garden that caught someone's attention could lead to a conversation about why they have this skill. 

• "I raced sailboats from the time I could walk." 
• "My family was big into camping, and I spent most of my youthful weekends around a campfire tying knots and listening to stories." 
• "I'm an Army Ranger, I dream knot sequences."

This is the new knot I learned -- a Prusik Knot:

Obsession Climbing

How cool is that?

• It can help someone climb out of a bad place. 
• It can keep someone who's going after and injured person from falling into a bad place. 
• It can tie up a tarp to protect the victim from heat stroke, or rain...
• It can be used to create a traction splint for a broken femur so the bone parts don't migrate out through the skin, sever the femoral artery and have your character bleed out. (yeah - gross.)

Below is a video of a traction splint. You're not going to have one of these in the wild. Your character will have to devise what she can from what she finds or happens to have carried in with her. Remember, the more trained your characters, the better they will equip themselves and the better they will function. You get Joe-everyday back in the woods for a first time hike or Suzy-running-for-her-life in the jungle, and you've got problems. (Yay!)

(Go HERE for an article about running away in the woods)

Matthew A

If your character is well trained, find information on how to properly apply first-aid with the right equipment, then figure out interesting new ways to make this happen. If you need some ideas look under the Saving Your Heroine tab to see this in action with tampons, condoms, cans of Coke, dental floss, and others.

Also, if your character knows what they're doing, they probably had plans in place for themselves and their children. In this HUG A TREE article, I included videos I made about helping a tracker to find you, giving notice to the rangers, and packing a basic hiking bag that even kids should carry. 

People are freaking heavy. 

Just sayin'                                                                                     In the movies when they throw the 200 pound man over the shoulder and are running and gunning their way out of a situation - well, that's theater; unless of course, your character is highly trained and in top physical condition.                                                                                                                                               Let's just say if you think that's how I'm getting you down the trail, it ain't gonna happen. If push comes to shove (and it may look like just that) PERHAPS I could devise a way to yank you by the foot down the trail. BUT doing something like that would put me at risk of injury. What? Now both of your characters are down for the count? tsk tsk tsk - what a plot twist!                                                                                                 

My point here was - people are heavy. At one stage of a rescue, my job was to shift -- NOT LIFT -- just shift a guy up the back board with the help of two other people. That was a hard earned two inches of movement. 

While we were encouraged to get the person to the rescue workers, if I'm alone, I'm going to try to get you safe and comfortable then I'll jog out and find help (marking my trail so we can find you). Seventy pounds is about my drag-your-butt-out-of-there limit. 

The Corporal's Corner

To actually move someone a short distance -- say up a hill and back down -- it takes eight.

• The victim is strapped in place and ties are put in such a way
  
  that the victim won't slide out the top or bottom - your rescuer forgot? WHOOPS!
• The head is protected with a blanket/jacket/whatever-is-handy if the victim had any spinal or head trauma.
• Three people stand on either side of the backboard/hastily-constructed carrier.
• Two more people stand at the head of the carrier system. 
• The top right person is lead (this rotates through each pass) They say, "Ready?" (waits for confirmation from two standing in front) "Pass."
• The carrier is moved up to the hands of the two in front. The two in the back run around the outside to now be front people. The leader is now the new person at the top on the victim's right hand side. Two people are in front and thus oh so very slowly is the victim passed fire-bucket-brigade-style up and down a hill. When on flat ground they can just grab hold and walk.
• Any extra people who are around can act as balancers,
  
  watchers of holes, and rotate in to give relief. 
• Everyone should be very quiet and focused so commands can be heard and heeded. What? Too much noise and they missed that there was a hole? The whole rescue team is now in a pile at the bottom of the hill? tsk tsk tsk. Now there's a plot twist (and an ankle twist. . .)

"Ready - Transfer" in action

I hope this was helpful as you plot your next great novel!

A HUGE thank you to CERT (for more information go HERE) and instructors Bill and Ray who were incredibly patient and knowledgeable. 

And as always, a big thank you ThrillWriters and readers for stopping by. Thank you, too, for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.