Creativity - Recipes from A Jail: Character Development for Writers

Amazon Author Link

In this article, we have not just one but two prison recipe treats. Thanks to the help of Harriet Fox, who is a writer and a California Corrections Officer, we will learn how to make a celebratory cake complete with icing and a some very spicy hot tamales.

To read Harriet's article about her work as a female corrections officer in a male jail, go HERE. 

If you want to understand the difference between a prison and a jail, go HERE.

With Harriet's help and the kindness of two of the men who are in her jail, we have two recipes to help us further write our characters right.

Some of the items an inmate had in his cell.

Fiona - 

How do inmates heat their food?

Harriet

The hot water pot is in the dayroom. Sometimes they will prep their foods and put them back inside a plastic bag and then put on top of the hot water pot to cook. Some recipes do not require that. Some deputies allow inmates to do that, while some do not.

Harriet (cont) - 
In the hot water pot picture, you will see a plastic pitcher. Inmates take their large potato chip bags and open them on both ends... they slide it through the door jam where it closes...with both sides open on either end of the door, the pitcher pours in one end and the inmate behind the door has his cup up to the bag. They get hot water throughout the shift from the inmate workers we choose to use to clean/help out for that shift. I bet if I tried, the water would be all over the floor! Amazing jail tactics inmates use; super smart with what they have.

Fiona - 

These sources were photographed and are offered in their original form. If you have trouble reading them, perhaps zoom out on your computer. I'm afraid that on a phone this will be difficult. My apologies.

This is  Commissary form (called Canteen in prison)

Harriet - 

The form is filled out. You will see all the stuff they can order. The prisons I have been to have the Canteen store window by the Yard.

Fiona - 

And from the items that they can purchase, with a limited range of cooking utensils, cookware, and  means to prepare and cook, the inmates have devised their own cuisine. 

CAKE

HOT TAMALE

A big thank you to Harriet for her help and to the men who shared this with us. You can check out Harriet's writing at this  Amazon Link

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.

The Company You Keep - Does Your Character Act "Out of Character" in a Group Dynamic?

Dr. Vivian Lawry

A big welcome to Dr. Vivian Lawry. Vivian holds a BA, MS, and PhD in psychology and was a professor of psychology prior to her retirement.

In this article, we're talking about what happens to a character when they get into a group where a character might act "out of character", which is a fun way to develop the plot

Can you first give us a working definition for "group"

Vivian - 
We usually think three or more, but some "group" effects are present even with only two. Also, the "group" needn't be physically present to exert influence.

Fiona - 
Can you explain that last sentence?

Vivian - 
Some group memberships are literal memberships--for example, a church congregation, sorority, bridge club, etc. such groups are often in our thoughts, and serve as a reference or standard for behavior even when the member is alone.

S one group (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Fiona - 
Does "group mentality" work both ways? For example, people in a riot become riotous, but people in a disaster, where they see all hands on deck, become heroes?

People in a religious forum feel more religious. . .sort of like a magnifier?

Vivian - 
Absolutely. I just mentioned formal groups--which are the ones having the strongest influence at a distance-- but crowds, mobs, any physical gathering of people, shapes our behavior to act or remain passive. 

Fiona - 
Can you give us a short tutorial on what we need to know about group dynamics to help write our characters right?

Vivian -
Well, there is a phenomenon known as behavior matching, a tendency to do what others around us are doing. This is reflected in everything from eating to body language. Even a person who has eaten his or her fill will eat more if someone else comes in and starts eating. If others are slouching, your character isn't likely to remain formal.

Fiona - 

Yes, it's hard to pass up a piece of chocolate cake when everyone else is moaning about how delicious it tastes.

Just sayin'



Vivian - 
A related phenomenon--I suppose it could be a subset of behavior matching-- has the label diffusion of responsibility. This is the tendency for people to stand passively by when others are present. There was a classic case, decades ago, in which a NYC woman named Kitty Genovese was murdered in the courtyard of her apartment. The murder took approximately half an hour, and dozens of her neighbors watched from their windows. No one came to help or even called the police. The more people who could help, the less likely anyone will take responsibility for doing so.

And then there is group disinhibition. This is sort of the opposite. It is that people are more likely to take risks, break the law, be violent when others are doing so. Think looting, or harassing a homeless person. Disinhibition is even more powerful when alcohol is involved. I recently posted a blog on alcohol for writers that goes into that a bit.

But the bottom line is that we behave differently with others present than when alone.

(LINK to Vivian's blog article - alcohol and character development)
(LINK to ThrillWriters' article - math formula of drunkenness)

Fiona - 
So there's a lot that can go on - lots of different ways we could route our character either toward the good angels or to the lowest common denominator. Is a character aware that she is acting out of character in the moment? If yes, what kinds of self-talk might they experience?

Vivian -
Sometimes there is conscious self-talk, especially if it is something one doesn't ordinarily do, such as taking drugs. One might think, "It can't be that dangerous, all my friends are doing it. Will they think I'm a wimp if I don't? Will they still be my friends?"

Self-talk is less likely in a riot, or emergency situation with adrenaline mixed in. People are just generally less thoughtful.

Perhaps we should give a nod to the power of individual action here. Although people are unlikely to break from the group, when someone does, it's often empowers others. For example, if someone is urging gang rape and one man speaks out forcefully, refusing to participate or even take stronger action, others are likely to follow the rebel. It's difficult to be a minority of one, but having someone to rally around makes it easier.

Fiona - 
You were talking about an adrenalized episode where actions outstripped thought process. Now, we move to the next scene where the character is reviewing their actions OR are confronted with their actions. What types of internal gymnastics might go on?

Vivian -
The first is likely to be, "Hey, everyone was doing it." Another common justification is blaming the victim, who was asking for it, deserved it, etc.

Somewhere in here, we should mention that sometimes the presence of others inhibits undesirable behavior, such as theft, spousal abuse, etc.

Fiona - 
What question should I have asked you so we have a better understanding of the subject?

Vivian - 
It just remains for the author to decide how her character behaves vis a vis others AND WHY. Almost any behavior is believable if the justification is clear to the reader.

Fiona - 
THIS article on OODA loops might help you to walk your reader through the internal/external event so everyone walks out the other side of your passage on the same foot.

You can see how Vivian uses her background in psychology and group dynamics in her short stories.


DIFFERENT DRUMMER: A Collection of Off-beat Fiction. Thanks! 

Virginia Is for Mysteries II

Thank you so much for your insights, Vivian. ThrillWriters, if you want to stay in touch with Vivian you an reach her on her 

website, and you can follow her on 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.

Special Agents and the FBI: Info for Writers with Dana Ridenour

ThrillWriting welcomes special agent, retired, Dana Ridenour.

Fiona - 

Would you tell us about how you found yourself in the role of special agent for the FBI?

Dana - 
It all started on a band trip when I was a sophomore in high school. Our band went to Washington, DC for a competition and part of our trip included a tour of the FBI Headquarters. I left the tour and told everyone that I was going to be an FBI agent. I was 15 years old. 

As far as my background, I was born in Louisville, Kentucky. After graduating from Meade County High School in 1984, I attended the University of Kentucky. After two years at the University of Kentucky, I changed my major to Police Administration and transferred to Eastern Kentucky University where I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1989. I wanted to become an FBI agent more than anything, but at the time the FBI was primarily only hiring lawyers and accountants. So, after college, I attended Chase College of Law and earned my Juris Doctor in 1992. 

The federal job hiring freeze hit in 1992 and lasted until 1995. I took and passed the SC Bar Exam and practiced law at a small law firm in Georgetown, SC. I was hired as a special agent for the FBI in November of 1995.

Fiona - 
Can you tell us the basic qualifications for serving as a special agent?

Dana - 
To be considered for an FBI Special Agent position, a candidate must have a four year college degree, be between the ages of 23-37, and have some work experience. 

The average age of the agents in the FBI Academy is about 29, so the Bureau rarely hires people right out of college. 

A candidate must fall into one of the five FBI Special Agent Entry Programs to be eligible for employment: 

• Language 
• Law
• Accounting
• Computer Science/Information Technology
• Diversified.

Fiona -
Have you read books or watched movies and thought - "No that isn't right at all!"? What are the biggest mistakes you've seen and how should we fix them?

Dana - 
The FBI is hardly ever portrayed factually in novels, television, or movies. I think the biggest mistake is making the FBI look like it has all of this outstanding technology. 

The FBI is always behind on technology. I remember when I arrived at my first office from the FBI Academy and took one look at the antiquated Dell computer sitting on my desk, I thought to myself, Is this a joke? This can't really be my computer. 

The other HUGE mistake that the movies and television make is having the FBI swoop in take over their local cases. That simply does not happen. The FBI stays busy with federal cases, so the Bureau does not take over homicide cases like portrayed on TV. If a case is found to fall into federal jurisdiction, then the FBI does take over the case as in cases of terrorism both domestic and international. Police departments will sometime ask for FBI assistance with cases, but the FBI does not take their case when that happens. The FBI assists with whatever the local or state department needs, then allows that department to prosecute the case however they chose.

As far as fixing the problem, they should hire me as a consultant!

Fiona - 
Yes they should! 

ThrillWriting is a big proponent of hands-on experience to write it right, but sometimes that's just impossible.

Dana -
In all seriousness, they should hire more retired agents as consultants to give the shows more authenticity. I think most people would get bored watching FBI agents sitting at a desk doing paperwork which is reality.

And talking to an expert is the best way around this.

Fiona - 
Dana, how much of the time were you in the field and when you were in the field can you talk about your clothing choices? Did you ever try to run down a bad guy in strappy heels and a Greek-draped dress?

Dana - LOL

I consider myself extremely lucky because I spent my entire twenty years working on the criminal side of the house. During my twenty years on the job I was assigned to four different FBI Field Divisions and had the opportunity to work a wide variety of cases to include multi faceted narcotics investigations, domestic sex trafficking of minors, and violent crime. 

Working primarily on drug and violent crime squads, I almost always dressed in jeans and baggy shirts that I could conceal my weapon under. I had to be ready to run at a moments notice, so I avoided stilettos. On the rare occasions that I did dress up for court appearances and such, I had a change of clothes in my Bureau car. I never went anywhere without a change of clothes. 

My first office was Mobile, Alabama, so you never knew when you might be chasing someone through the swamps and get all wet and dirty. One of the first things that I did when I retired was get rid of all my oversized shirts. I had Columbia shirts in every color and I was happy to donate every one of them to Goodwill.

Fiona -
What equipment was part of your EDC (every day carry)? Which piece of EDC did you use the most/find most helpful?

Dana - 
I never walked out the door without my FBI credentials, badge, gun, and handcuffs. 

There is a joke in the Bureau that when you leave the house you do the law enforcement pat down on yourself. You check your pockets and waist for your badge, gun, creds, and Bureau car keys. 

Although I never had to shoot anyone, working mostly drug matters, the gun was my most helpful piece of equipment. I probably used a small flashlight more than any other piece of equipment that I owned. A pocket-sized flashlight is a great piece of equipment. 

I spent about half of my career as an undercover agent which is a whole different ballgame. When I was working undercover, I didn't carry my gun, badge or credentials. In fact, I didn't carry any kind of identification that had my real name on it. I dressed for whatever my role deemed necessary. During the days when I worked undercover infiltrating the animal rights extremists, I was vegan which meant that I didn't wear any leather products. I wore a lot of hemp and canvas in those days.

Fiona - 

Tell me about being a woman in the bureau - did you get to do interesting assignments that your colleagues didn't because of your gender? Twenty years to now - what do you see as changing (if anything) for women in the field?

Dana - 
I get asked the female question a lot. I can honestly say that I was never treated any differently because I was a woman. I was lucky to land on squads with fantastic people. Most of the time I was the only female on my squad. I'm not easily offended which made me able be blend with my squad-mates and be "one of the guys". 

I think some women have trouble with this concept, but for me it was easy. I didn't want special treatment because I was a female. I think my male squad-mates appreciated the fact that I tried hard to fit in and not be judgmental. 

My first undercover role came about because I was a woman. I was the only female on a drug squad and DEA needed a female undercover. They didn't have a female in their office, so they asked to borrow one from FBI. I had never done any kind of undercover work, but the case was fairly short term and only required a few meets. The case targeted a medical doctor who was trading prescriptions for sex. The case was a success and I became addicted to undercover work. That was the case that made me want to apply for the FBI undercover program. 

The number of women in the FBI is growing steadily. I was fortunate to be able to return to the FBI Academy at the end of my career and take two different classes through the training program acting as their class counselor. The counselor position required me to live in the dorm with my class and be with them from the first day of class to their graduation day, a five month program. I did this two different times in the last year of my career and it was so rewarding. I had a chance to get to know the future of the FBI both men and women. I can testify that we are in good hands. 

The future of the FBI is bright. The young men and women who make up the new Bureau are bright, talented, and dedicated. I think we will see more women in FBI management in the future. I'm looking forward to the day when we have a female FBI director. I wonder if it will be one of the talented women who I mentored in the Academy.

Fiona - 
Here on ThrillWriting, we always ask about the story behind your favorite scar; would you indulge us?

Dana - 
Of course...

This might sound a little strange but my favorite scar comes from an eyebrow piercing that I had done when I was working undercover. I was preparing for my first long term, deep cover case and my alias was actually ten years younger than my true age. 

Most of the people in the group that I was trying to infiltrate were young and covered with tattoos and piercings. When I finished the investigation I had my right eyebrow pierced, my bellybutton pierced each ear pierced three times. Toward the end of the investigation an asshole SAC (I’m retired so I no longer play nice) saw my eyebrow piercing at a mandatory all agents conference. Even though he knew that I was a full time undercover agent, he insisted that I remove the eyebrow jewelry that basically left a hole in my forehead for a couple of weeks. I can cover the scar with make-up but my right eyebrow droops just a little because of having the piercing. I was probably too old to have my eyebrow pierced to in the first place. 

On my second long term, deep cover case I ended up getting a couple tattoos to better blend in with my targets. I wouldn’t classify them as scars, but they are pretty permanent. All in the name of undercover work.

I wouldn't trade any of the scars because working undercover was the highlight of my twenty year career.

Fiona - 

Getting tattooed for the job is pretty strong method acting! It shows an incredible dedication to your job.

Earlier, we talked about writing FBI characters/plotting correctly. To that end, I wanted to bring up your new book.

Amazon Link

Can you talk a bit about your novel?

Dana - 
You build relationships to betray relationships. That is the motto for the FBI’s undercover program, and special agent Lexie Montgomery is just beginning to understand what that means. 

Lexie’s first assignment is infiltrating a radical cell of the Animal Liberation Front. Underground and operating in splinter groups throughout Los Angeles, the only way in is through Savannah Riley, a new recruit. Savannah left the safety of her small southern town for the bright lights of the city. Pulled into the animal rights movement by her college roommate and a gorgeous anarchist, she sinks deeper and deeper into the dark, paranoid world of ALF extremists. As the actions of her cell escalate beyond simple demonstrations and graffiti, Savannah turns to Lexie to keep her grounded. But as the two women grow closer and the FBI’s case builds, Lexie is forced to decide what betrayal really means.

Fiona - 

Does this come from the animal rights undercover you spoke of earlier?

Dana - 
I didn’t want to write a run of the mill FBI novel. I wanted to use my personal experiences as an undercover agent to capture the psychological toll that underwork has on an agent. When an agent works long term, deep cover investigations, he or she is changed at the end of the case. You lose a little piece of yourself with every long term case.

I spent most of my career as an FBI agent working undercover. I spent several years infiltrating domestic terrorism cells, many like the ones portrayed in the novel. The novel is based loosely on real cases and real people. My mother encouraged me to keep a journal when I became an FBI Agent. I started keeping a journal when I began working undercover. I kept the journal hidden in the ceiling panels of my undercover apartment. As I worked, I documented feelings and experiences along the way. These journals were a big part of formulating my Lexie character.

Fiona - 

So this novel would be excellent background research if you're writing FBI characters.

Writers - if you have brief questions about the FBI, Dana says you can contact her. She likes to support her fellow writers.  Here are some ways you can stay in touch with her:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Website

Thank you so much Dana!
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.

Is Your Character Considering Suicide? Info for Writers

Detail of The Death of Socrates. A disciple is handing Socrates a goblet of hemlock (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

TRIGGER ALERT - While this article is a combination interview and basic review of psychology, if you have had any contact with someone who has attempted suicide or suicided, or you have contemplated suicide, this might engage you in thoughts along those lines. Please read safely and with my best wishes.







Fiona - 
I would like to introduce you to The Bergh (how cool is that for a pen name?), a fellow Kindle Scout winner and writer friend. He writes horror - the kind that submerges crazy voices in your head that a year later, when you're lying in your bed listening to the house creak, bouys thoughts of terror to the surface.

The Bergh recently wrote a short story that struck me in a new way - one that is equally frightening but in a different way. Apparently on Twitter there was a discussion about books with "The Girl" in the title - the one on the train, the one that was gone, the  . . . Well, it seems popular books have to have a girl in the title. And thus a challenge was born.

The Bergh - 

I’ve never penned a story or novel based off of an idea for a title before. Usually it’s the story’s idea that captures me and holds me hostage, demanding to be written; so this was a first for me. Yet as much as I thought the title was wickedly clever, I didn’t want this to be just a cheesy satire or an attempt to milk the very teet I was poking fun of. I wanted this to be a story that could stand on its own.

The only idea I started with was that the Girl would be searching for a title to something she had written. But, and I can say this in all honesty, what came out as I continued writing frightened me. It wasn’t the light-hearted story I was attempting to write. Instead, this story dove deep, sinking into a dark place that I have shared with very few people in my life. It’s not an autobiography; it’d have to be called “The Boy Who …” and, quite frankly, books with “Boy” in the title don’t sell as well as those with “Girl.”

AMAZON LINK

(KIDDING!)

There are times when I feel creative ideas, especially exceptional ones, aren’t so much created by their auteurs, but discovered. Like finding treasure buried in sand -- you can’t claim to have created what you find, you just swept away the dirt and grime in order to reveal what was always there but just kept hidden. This story, for me, fell into that category. I don’t think I could have come up with it if I had tried to. Instead, I opened up a vein and let the story bleed onto the page, almost literally.

Depression. Suicide. These are subjects that are difficult to approach. I had no intention of including even the thought of these themes in the story, and yet it’s where the narrative demanded to go. And so, rather than the Girl searching for a title to her story, we discover she’s searching for the title to her suicide note.

Fiona - 

If you are writing suicide or suicidal ideations into your plot, here is some information you might find helpful:

The following information was presented at a suicide intervention talk for the Medical Reserve Corps and is incormporated with the permission of the instructor.

SUICIDE WARNING SIGNS

• Talking about wanting to die or kill oneself
• Looking for ways to kill oneself such as searching on line or buying a gun
• Talking about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live
• Talking about feeling trapped or unbearable pain
• Talking about being a burden to others
• Increased use of alcohol or drugs
• Acting anxious or agitated, unusually confused
• Reckless behavior
• Sleeping too little or too much 
• Withdrawing from society
• Showing rage or seeking revenge
• Extreme mood swings
• Low or no energy, unable to perform daily tasks like taking care of self or kids
• Feeling numb or nothingness
• Fighting with family and friends
• Thinking of hurting self or someone else
• Unable to get rid of troubling thoughts or memories

NOW, be careful to only pick a few of these characteristics for your character - your character would not exhibit them all. And perhaps would exhibit them only to certain people and put up a front for others.

You'll see that many of the above signs are also part of mental health conditions. Not everyone with a mental health disorder knows they have a mental health disorder. Most go undiagnosed. Many people who are undiagnosed self medicate with alcohol and/or drugs. You'll see drugs and alcohol on the list below - but frequently it is the overt/obvious-to-others expression of an underlying mental health issue  -- what others might notice. Conditions that are health factors in suicide:

• Depression (full article)
• Please note that while this is the diagnosis that most people associate with suicidal ideation, it's important to understand that Most people with depression do NOT attempt suicide BUT most people who attempt suicide are depressed.
• Depression affects (according to the CDC) 20-25% of Americans over the age of 18 in any year.
• Substance use disorder
• Bipolar disorder (full article)
• Schizophrenia and psychosis (full article)
• Personality traits of aggression, mood changes, and poor relationships
• Conduct disorder
• Anxiety disorder
• PTSD (full article)
• TBI (traumatic brain injury)
• Smoking
• Serious cronic helath issue and/or pain

Environmental Factors:

• Access to a lethal means (example guns in the house)
• Prolonged stress
• harassment
• bullying
• unemployment
• relationship problems
• Life events
• divorce
• death
• job loss
• Exposure to someone else's suicide

Historical Factors:

• Previous suicide attempts
• Family history
• Child abuse

Is your character going to be helpful?

• Acknowledge
• Take suicidal talk seriously. 
• Be willing to listen
• Care
• Talk to the person about what's troubling them and how they feel. It will probably take some effort to overcome reluctance to having this conversation on the part of the helper. It's a hard thing to hear/talk about for both parties.
• Treatment
• Get professional help immediately
• Call a hot line. You can make one up but the real one to find help in your area is 1800-273-TALK
• Go to the local emergency department or community health center
• Contact their primary health provider or mental health provider 
• If all else fails 911

Is your character going to do the wrong thing?

• Cheer the person up or tell them to snap out of it.
• Assume the situation will take care of itself
• Let them swear you to secrecy
• Argue or debate moral issues
• Risk their personal safety. (if they're doing it right they'd leave and call the police) - this might be a planned murder suicide in your plot, and you can get your character out and possibly save multiple lives - or not, how do you want your plot to play out?

Some stats to inform your writing from the CDC&P:

• Approximately 38k people suicide each year (suicide is the end result so differentiate attempted suicide and suicided) Compare that to the 14,196 in 2013 according to the FBI who were murdered
• 70% of people who commit suicide  give some kind of warning to their friends or family. 
• 50% have a positive blood alcohol level (for an alcohol level article go HERE)
• Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for adolescents aged 12-18
• Females are 3x more likely to attempt suicide, but males are much more likely to suicide.
• Between 20 - 40% of people who suicide have attempted suicide in the past.

Perhaps your plot line indicates that someone in your character's life has committed suicide. All characters will follow a bereavement journey in their own way. In some this might have them recall a death (especially of a beloved pet which is an immensely traumatic event that isn't recognized enough in mental health and in general) or might uncover a characters own underlying issues. But there are some commonly experienced feelings:

• Alone
• Sad
• Deveasted
• Angry 
• Afraid
• Ashamed
• Guilty
• Abandoned

Struggles after a suicide that you can lace into your plot line might include:

• Disbelief that it was indeed a suicide.
• Ambivalnece - glad that they are now at peace though they wish the other character had worked out a way to be happy and alive,
• Coping - coming to terms moving on
• Review - going over the event sifting through events and conversations
• Searching - making sense of the loss
• Renewal - seeing a path to carry on. Reprioritizing  and reviewing values

The Behrg - 

About three or four years ago I was diagnosed with MDD (Major Depressive Disorder). I won’t go into the details of what triggered my disease, but it has been – and continues to be – the most difficult thing I’ve ever experienced.

If you’re one of those who have never experienced depression or suicidal thoughts, count your blessings, but know that someone within your sphere of influence is most likely suffering right now. We can all do better at reaching out to those who are down, lifting instead of kicking. 

And to those of you who find every day is a battle, know that you’re not alone. There is help. Seek a professional – believe me, it can be life changing. As difficult as it can be, reach out to a friend, a prevention hotline, ANYONE who can help you in those moments when the darkness seems to surround you from all sides. And know that without the darkness, we’d never appreciate the light.”

Fiona - 

Suicidal ideation (thinking about) is not uncommon. If you read this article, and it has triggered you please talk with someone. A number to call is:

1-800-273-TALK

1-888-628-9454 (Spanish)

Crisischat.org

A big thank you to The Behrgh for sharing. 

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.

12 Steps to Getting Your Heroine Laid: Info for Writers

Twelve steps - that's it.

Really, it's pretty easy from a physical signalling point of view.

Just how far your heroine lets things go before she throws up a block is up to you. I mean -- she is acting a little stressed out. A little wild monkey sex might just be the thing...

It's going to take some plot-thought, though. There are lots of decisions that influence the 12 steps to getting your heroine laid.

Consider your characters - both partners of the potential hot and steamy scene. Things can go very very fast or very slow. It can go smooth as silk, or you can take them on a turbulent ride.

Who's involved?

1. What are their personal moral backgrounds?
2. What have they experienced in their intimate pasts? What would help? What is a roadblock?
3. How do they see intimacy? What is the import? Is she using him to gain state secrets? Or does she have too many cats and too little human affection?
4. Where do they want this relationship to go? Is this a wam bam thank you, man; or is this heading to a lifetime of commitment.
5. How about the cultural norms of the region, the time period, and the families?

This information is based on scientific study. Desmond Morris in his seminal book Intimate Behaviour: A Zoologist's Classic Study of Human Intimacy laid out 12 simple steps. 

The 12 Stages of Physical Intimacy

1. Eye to body – The girl is in the power seat.

The female will take in the body structure, clothes, bearing and other clues. If she is attracted, she will seek step 2.

But it doesn't have to produce attraction. All primates follow these same patterns so either person can re-route the interactions at any point in the continuum. Someone might be walking in and meeting their boss for the first time or their whomever. Eye to body - prejudging happens first.

2. Eye to eye –
Eye to eye for the first time is a very important stage setting for their interactions. What does your heroine see there? Safety? Menace? Disinterest? What does she offer up in her gaze as a return? Self-preservation? Intelligence? Cunning?

In attraction-interaction the woman will hold the gaze for a nano-second longer than is the norm, and then flick her hair or give some other preening body information, allowing the male to approach (see this blog article on attraction).

Ah, potential studmuffin passed the test. He got a hair flick offered up. Now the ball is in HIS court.

Stud-muffin likes what he sees; she has merriment in her eyes. He'd like to know what's put it there. He weaves his way through the crush.

3. Voice to voice – Holy smokes - someone has to start the interaction, typically the approaching male. Please, nothing schmarmy...

Let's keep it simple. How about he says, "Hi, I'm Reed," and then offers his hand for a greeting handshake?

4. Hand to hand (or arm) – She accepts the shake, and they are 1/3 of the way to bed!

Well a handshake isn't really going to get him past #4. This is walking hand in hand, or her resting her hand on his forearm, possibly her taking his arm as she totters along on her high heels.

How's your hero doing in his wooing efforts? If he jumps around the continuum, I'm not saying he's not going to get any. I'm just saying there's kind of a plan in place for all primates and if he moves from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 and so on up the charts, it's going to be a smoother ride. (He did hold back that schmarmy pick-up line, right?)

5. Arm to shoulder

So they leave together walking arm in arm, things are looking up from your heroes dry spell.

"Wait," you're thinking. "What if it didn't work this way? What if things jumped from steps 0-6 in 1.2 seconds?"

Your hero, chasing the villain is running down the street. The villain turns and pushes the girl into the hero's arms and vaults through the doors as they close on the subway. The heroine has not assessed hero's body, not caught his eye, didn't give him the "you may approach" signal, never heard a word from his lips directed at her only the "Stop!" that he was shouting at the bad guy. All of a sudden without the benefit of hand to hand then arm to shoulder, he's got his arms wrapped around her waist.

That, my friend, is going to take some unraveling. It could be a really fun piece of writing. She may be moving through the steps to quickly catch up - but since she didn't get to signal, things are not going as biologically planned. It's going to be awkward. They're going to flounder to get back on the path - whether their aim is to take all 12 steps or not.

6. Arm to waist, or back –
Read this as a man signalling that this is his (potential) mate. Back off, buddy.

It is also read as a protective gesture.

Think about how the couple walks into the room/restaurant/event. Does your hero stake his claim so all of the other men glancing up know the girl's not available?

Also think slow dances and whispered conversations.

7. Mouth to mouth – the kiss. Sigh. Do you see that they are more
than halfway down the path BEFORE the kiss can happen.

8. Hand to head – This can start with something like tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Or she puts her head on his shoulder, and he strokes her hair. Maybe she is attending to his head wound. Lots of creative ways to do this. Think about it, since you've grown up, how many people besides your hairdresser, do you let touch your head? There has to be a special connection for this to feel okay.

Don't skip this step as you write the ramping up of a romance - for some reason it's one that often gets overlooked. Your audience may not know why they didn't buy into the scene - but on some biological level, they know a step has been missed. If she's a spy who needs the flash drive - that's okay; it's not about an emotional commitment. But if this is your main romance, slow it down studmuffin and do your due diligence.

9. Hand to body – This is the first step to foreplay. This is decision making time for your characters - how far are they willing to let this get in this scene?

10. Mouth to breast –Either partner can make a decision about calling it a pass, and moving toward the door. Feelings are going to be hurt. Frustrations are going to be ramped. Sure, she can say "stop" and "no" at any point. But really this is kind of the polite time to give the partner a heads up - "This is fun, but I'm not the kind of girl who does it in the back seat of a car with a stranger -- no matter how well tasks 1-9 were performed."

11. Hand to genitals - The further the characters move towards coitus the more difficult/frustrating/plot-twisting it will be if they are suddenly stymied. His anatomy isn't cooperating. The husband bursts into the room. They hear a window break downstairs.

12. Genitals to genitals – TAH DAH!!!!!

On stage or off stage. Fast or slow. Bumbling or smooth - lots of wonderful decisions to be made here. Coitus Interruptus. Completely content. Raisin in the sun - in desperate need of rehydration...

Now to write the ramifications.

Enjoy!

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.

Podcasting: Information for Writers with Armand Rosamilia

Fiona - 
Welcome Armand Rosamilia a fellow Kindle Scout winner and pod caster extraordinaire! 

Armand, tell us a bit about your background and how you found your way to being an author. What genre do you enjoy writing?

Armand - 
I was born in New Jersey. My mother has always been a huge horror reader. She's still a huge Stephen King fan. At twelve, I began reading her Dean Koontz paperbacks and loved them. I couldn't get enough of reading, especially horror and fantasy. I started writing my own horrible stories as a kid and wrote an essay in school about becoming a writer when I grew up. I became a writer but the growing up part I'm still working on. 

I love writing in many genres. Horror is always going to be my favorite but I've written contemporary fiction, crime thrillers, paranormal thrillers, zombies, traditional horror and haunted house stories. I even ghostwrote a military romance and I've done erotica.

Fiona - 
And pod casting? Tell me about your show and how you got going.

Armand - 
I managed heavy metal bands in the mid-90's when I was still living in Jersey. No one you ever heard of, trust me. While doing it, I would get them to radio stations and interviews. A couple of times a DJ got me talking on the air because I had some good road stories to share. I guess I got the bug.

So then flash forward about 20 years. I meet Vern Shank, a local guy who was putting an AM station together. He asked me if I wanted to do a show on Friday nights with another author, and we could talk about writing and stuff.

I jumped at the chance and also got my way and had my own heavy metal music program right after, from 10 pm until midnight. It was a blast, especially when it went FM. The problem was the long drive to the station each week, and I have a problem driving at night, so it got dangerous for me. I had to quit but I still wanted to do the author interview thing because it was a lot of fun. So the podcast was born. Arm Cast: Dead Sexy Horror Podcast, which debuted 2 years ago July 4th weekend.

Fiona - 
Congratulations on your anniversary! 

If an author wanted to develop a pod cast, obviously they'd want to be professional about it. What kinds of equipment would they need to together on their own?

Armand - 
I went to the World Horror Convention in Portland a couple of years ago, right before I started the podcast. There was a panel about podcasting and one of the guests, Desmond Reddick, said not to worry about every little thing. Just start and tweak it in the beginning. It was sound advice. I didn't want to have to edit an hour show for five hours like some podcasters were talking about having to do. Not every word had to be perfect.

I spent about $100 on a mini-board with a mic and headphones from Amazon and ran it through a free program, Audacity. I bought a $39 program to record with and get everything to an mp3 file

Fiona -
I know that when I do interviews, I keep the time frame to precisely one hour - I find that produces the amount of in depth information I want to give to my readers. However, that one hour on one day turns into several hours of editing, formatting, and doing graphics and links on another. Can you break down your time for us? What kind of investment are we looking at here?

Armand -
I use one hour as a ballpark. Most people will listen to a podcast while working out, on the commute to work or cleaning the house. No more than an hour of their time. 

My edits are very, very small. I find the beginning where we started and then the end where we say goodbye and everything in between usually stays unless a call drops. I record via Skype or with a hand-held in person. My time investment is minimal because I'm so busy with my actual writing career. I also love the raw feel of the interviews with screwups and goofing around.

When I do my second podcast, Arm N Toof's Dead Time Podcast with co-host Mark Tufo, it's pretty much the same thing although Mark likes to annoy me so much with the closing because he knows it drives me nuts. He'll keep talking even though I need a 5 second break so I can find it on the tape later. Drives me nuts.

Fiona - 
The goofing around is always fun.

Where do you find your interviewees and what topics do you like to cover? Is it a fairly narrow range - do your listeners know about what they're going to be getting or do you like the surprise factor?

Armand - 
It relaxes the guests and makes for an interesting interview. We also go off on weird tangents about things unrelated to writing or film making or whatever the guest is involved in, too.

I interview people I find interesting. Not just horror authors. I have actors and actresses, filmmakers, pro-wrestling writers, musicians, comic book creators... anyone I think will be fun to interview. I let them know before we start we have no interview questions. At all. I do no more research on them once they are booked. I want to genuinely learn about them at the same time the listeners do. I think it is more organic that way.

Fiona - 
Pro-wrestling writers! I bet they have some stories!

How do you market yourself so people can find you?

Armand -
In the beginning, I only had Arm Cast Podcast and used a service called Libsyn to get the episodes out there. I promoted it hand in hand with my writing as part of my brand. Then, I met the guys from Project iRadio at a convention, and they were looking for established podcasts to add to their network. They had author Brian Keene's podcast as well as Three Guys With Beards, which is Jonathan Maberry, James A Moore and Christopher Golden. All big names in the horror field.

Not only did they want my podcast but wanted me to do a second one with another author. I asked Mark Tufo because I knew he'd be perfect for it. We started Arm N Toof almost a year ago.

Fiona -
Can you tell us a couple of the hurdles that you had to jump in the beginning. Maybe something about your learning curve that you can transect for those interested in following along? And piggy backing on that question are there any resources that you would suggest?

Armand - 
Getting listeners was the big hurdle at first. The guests were never a problem because I've been in the business for many years. I've been writing full-time for almost six years. Even though podcasting is a growing medium it still has a lot of growing to do. Getting listeners involved is a struggle at times. They'd rather be readers than listeners. The tide is slowly changing, though, which is a good thing.

I folded the podcasts into my brand, as I said. So I try to promote all of it together and anytime I can talk about either podcast I will. It is about promoting to new listeners and fans of the author you're interviewing. The goal is to capture their attention so they'll go back and listen to the old episodes and subscribe to the new ones each week.

Arm Cast Podcast has a new episode every Friday morning about 9am EST and Arm N Toof Podcast is every Wednesday about 9am EST. It is fun because many people will start sending messages if they're posted up late.

There are a few resources out there but I like to keep it simple. I use simple programs like Audacity and LAME as well as Pamela to capture the interview off of Skype. That's really it for programs. I've upgraded my headphones and mic, but that's about it.

Fiona -
It is a tradition that our guests here at ThrillWriting tell us the story behind their favorite scar. (Barring scar then your favorite harrowing story). Would you indulge us?

Armand - 
I have a small scar on my left thumb. Very faint unless you really look at it, but I notice it often. My brother is about 18 months younger than me, and we'd fight like cats and dogs. Really beat each other up. He once kicked me in the back of the head and messed up my bottom teeth. I've broken his arm and given him a few concussions. But this scar was from a fight we had over an argument about playing football in the street. He pushed me over a fence and there was a small strip of barbed wire still on it. Ripped my thumb up really bad. I passed out because I do that when I see blood. I guess I was about twelve years old. It might've even been the reason I started reading Dean Koontz books because we were punished all the time, and I was stuck in my parent's room with all of my mother's books.

Fiona - 
Thank you.

And now I give you the opportunity to touch on anything that you hoped I would ask you about, but didn't know enough to ask.

Armand -
Obviously you missed the burning question: why are you so damn sexy? Frankly, it's a curse. All of these genetic perfections came together in one person. It's almost not fair. Or you could've asked me about my preference: plain or peanut. The answer: Both

Fiona -

You have a new book out! Dying Days 6 

Continuing the Dying Days zombie series!

Darlene Bobich, the Zombie Killer, is on a mission to save her family. Can she succeed, even as more obstacles are thrown in her way: survivors bent on their own selfish needs, evolving zombies and the rotting world around her? 

Dying Days are truly upon us.

Fiona -  
Big thanks for stopping by!

Folks, if you want to get in touch with Armand -
his WEB SITE, his FACEBOOK page, his twitter handle is @ArmandAuthor. 


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.

Violence 101 and the Monkey Dance: Information for Writers with Rory Miller

Welcome, Rory! Let's start by telling us about your violent background and why you have the expertise to break the concept of violence down for writers.

Rory -

I'd been a martial artist since 1981, starting in judo when I was seventeen, and dabbling in anything I could find. At 21 I got a security job in a casino and after the first big fight - rolling around under a roulette table - I realized it wasn't anything like sparring. 

The first job that came through was with the Sheriff's Office working the Corrections division. For the next 17 years, (1991-2008) I was in jail. Working close custody, booking, mental health. Booking, especially got a lot of action. The arrestees were newly arrested, usually mad, often still high, sometimes not very well searched and when the cuffs come off there are two uniformed but unarmed corrections deputies right there. We all got pretty good at talking and de-escalation, but no matter how good you were, there were still fights. Housing was calmer, but the officer was dealing with 16-190 (alone for numbers up to 75, we had two officers watching the 190) people who mostly considered violence a perfectly legitimate way to solve problems. 

It was direct supervision, so you were in the modules with the inmates. That's the basic job. When we initially formed the CERT (Corrections Emergency Response Team) 

Fiona (Please note, I am a member of CERT - Community Emergency Response Team - If you've read my articles that include information about CERT, I do NOT do what Rory did - you couldn't pay me enough.)

Rory continues -  CERT transitioned over the next decade from a mostly unarmed riot control and cell extraction team to a full hostage rescue team. In 2002 (weird, normally I don't remember dates at all and the years are popping up this morning) I had a rough year. First body recovery with Search and Rescue. I blew a hole in someone with what was supposed to be a "less-lethal" shotgun round. Suicide of a friend. Knee surgery. Other stuff. My usually support system wasn't working. I'd go train MA and people would be fantasizing about things I wished I didn't experience. I started writing to get it out of my head. My first book was Meditations on Violence.

In 2008, I got a phone call asking if I was interested in a contract with ICITAP (International Criminal Investigative Training and Assistance Program) administered by the Department of Justice. Basically, if I wanted to join the team training the Iraqi Corrections Service. So I spent a year in Iraq seeing an even crazier bureaucracy, but I learned a lot. 

I kept writing, I wrote Force Decisions and outlined Facing Violence in Iraq. When I got home, I really didn't want to work for a bureaucracy again, so I started teaching seminars and writing. VAWG started as an on-line class for writers. Somewhere very early in my Corrections career, I started to really have trouble with fiction. If most entertainment is on some level about sex and violence, I found most authors (I read SF mostly growing up) sounded like they had never been in a fight and only had actual sex with a partner once. I agreed to do the online class for purely selfish reasons-- I want more fiction I like.

Fiona - 
In your experience, males and females fight differently. You talk about this in your book Violence for Writers. Can you help us to understand what you've observed over your decades of being in conflict situations? 

Rory - 
There's a lot of background that we need first because we don't have good language for this. And when we get to the gender stuff, there are the caveats. Some of it is biological, but some of it is very specific to our place and time. 

The first division I think is critical is social versus asocial. 

In social violence, your character (or the aggressor or whoever) is thinking of the other person as a person. 

In asocial violence, the other person is not a person. To a drowning person, if you are foolish enough to try to swim out and calm the drowner down, they will not see you as a person but as a potential floatation device. No matter how skilled your words, the sweetest, nicest person will climb on your head and drown you in their search for air. 

In social violence we fight, with asocial violence we hunt. The mindsets, skills and everything about the act of violence is completely different between fighting and hunting. But in our language, we try to group everything under fighting.

Social violence is about communication. When we are fighting, it is a form of communication. You are establishing status, or territory, or enforcing a rule.

This is where it starts crossing with the gender stuff. Never having been a woman, I'm not an expert on that, but I'm going to hit this a little from the trainer and the criminal point of view. We talked about drowners. That kind of scared-animal dynamic can come from other things, like bad drug reactions (fighting someone on PCP is quite an education) or emotional reactions. 

There two types of asocial are what I call resource and process. The resource predator wants something from you. Usually money for drugs today. But go back a few hundred years and that might have been food or money for food. And when you need to feed your kids, you don't take chances. Overwhelming force with maximum surprise. If you get hurt you can't feed your kids (or your addiction) tomorrow. The attacker does everything in his or her power to make sure the victim never gets a chance to fight back, so there is no fight. 

The process predator enjoys the act of violence. It's not about stuff, so you can't buy him off. He is seeing you as a toy, something to be played with and he can do to you whatever a seven-year-old boy can do to his sister's dolls.

So, gendering. Men and women approach social and asocial violence differently and they have different biological things going on as well as very different socialization.

Humans are a pretty broad spectrum of stimulus/response, so this will be a huge generalization; but, generally, men and women have very different adrenaline (that's shorthand for a bunch of hormones and neurotransmitters). If there is a threatening stimulus most men get a big spike of adrenaline immediately that tapers off quickly. Most women have a slow build up of adrenaline that never peaks as high, plateaus for a time and tapers off slowly. 

Experientially (and I write this from the guy's point of view), when I'm having a big argument with my wife, the subject comes up and I get mad, and she's being reasonable. My assumption is that she's being reasonable just to piss me off. I get madder and finally take a walk to cool off. I come back about 10-20 minutes later, realizing she was right all along, I need to apologize and about the time I start to say, "Honey, I'm so sorry..." I walk into a shit storm of fury and she can stay mad for hours. Maybe years. Breaking it down, she wasn't pretending to be reasonable to piss me off. She was being reasonable because the adrenaline hadn't hit her yet. Adrenaline was making me stupid (no one is smart when they are afraid or angry). When I calmed down, the coincides really well with where she hits her peak adrenaline. 

I got exposed to this idea from Tobi Beck's The Armored Rose

The Armored Rose is primarily a book about the difference between men and women when they meet a physical confrontation. The book focuses on the physical differences between tendons, hands, body ratio as well as the chemical differences in the endocrine system and how it effects the reactions both he and she have on the fighting field . . .The book has been used by the US Marshal’s service and the Australian Federal Police Academy for training officers for physical confrontations. 

I used this imformation in planning cell extractions (when you have to forcibly remove a combative inmate from a cell) with great success. It's also one of the reasons I liked working with female officers-- when I was too jacked up on adrenaline to think clearly, they could still think, plan, communicate, and use fine motor skills. 

It also explained something I'd seen in both martial arts and with officers. Frequently about 20 minutes after their first sparring session (and sometimes for years) women would have a tendency to tear up. Not quite crying, but something going on. We'd wonder about repressed memory and all that bullshit (those do exist but it wasn't the problem) it was just the adrenaline hitting after the effect. Guys eye's moisten too, but since the adrenaline tends to happen during the encounter, we don't tend to notice it. The adrenaline delay can be a superpower, especially if the woman can control the pace of the encounter.

Men and women in our culture are socialized to violence very differently. I think this is changing, but especially in my generation, fist fighting was just part of growing up a boy, roughhousing was "boys will be boys". By the time a man had reached adulthood, he not only had some experience with violence, but most of that experience was fun. And most women either had no experience or only the experience of being punished (spanked) as a child.
Most of Hollywood and the writerly community confuse fighting with violence.

Fiona - 
You coined a term called the "monkey dance." I recently had an experience where my husband and I had a huge misunderstanding. What he saw was me doing a monkey dance, and he stepped forward to end it like a good friend would. (I'll get you to explain that in your response.) However, I don't monkey dance. I wasn't posturing. Some stranger sexually touched my 15-year-old daughter, (Hubby didn't see it, I did) and I wasn't playing around I had a clear agenda. 

 Would you please explain monkey dances and males v. females. 

Rory - 
The Monkey Dance is ritualized male-on-male dominance fighting: 
     "What are you looking at?" 
     "Who the fuck is asking?" 
     "Oh you think you're bad?" 
     "Bad enough, mother fucker." 

• The body language, the approach, the physical contact can be a two-handed push, a finger poke to the chest, knocking a hat off... 
• The two handed push can be answered with the same and that can go on for a few reps, and then the big looping punch. 
• It's a pattern. It's predictable. Even highly trained people do it when they get triggered. 
• It is archetypal fighting, and it is incredibly inefficient. Designed not to hurt anyone seriously.

Women seem to be doing something similar more and more, but it is really hard to tell with things like youtube videos whether something is actually happening more, or just trending. A video with a million shares doesn't mean the event happened a million times.

When it gets to the fighting part, men and women are very different. Guys, generally, have internalized a bunch of rules on fighting. Women, generally, have only been taught not to fight and when that threshold is crossed they have no rules. Ask almost any cop or bouncer whether they would rather have a force incident with a man or woman and almost all of them are more afraid of women. Guys punch and wrestle, women gouge and bite and don't stop.

Fiona - 
A little more from my story. I wasn't interested in fighting the guy I was confronting. My goal was to cause a commotion to get a security guard involved so the pedifile could be arrested. I was making a scene - a BIG scene to get the professional help I needed. I'm sure it looked exactly like a monkey dance to my husband. But I had no intention of my "calling him out" turning into a fight. 

Would you list the basic stages of the monkey dance and what males do to save their friend.

Rory - 
1) Hard stare 
2) Verbal challenge 
3) Approach and posturing 
4) Contact 
5) Punch

Both males play, and they can stay in stages 2-3 for quite some time. The ideal result is for friends to pull them apart. It gives them both a face-saving exit without injury.

But this is not what a professional would do - You for example would never monkey dance.

Fiona -
Agreed.

Rory -
Monkey Dancing-- all fighting, really-- is incredibly stupid. It is inefficient. It is designed as communication. As a rule, pros go hands-on to stop something or to make something happen. If the person can be persuaded, there is no need to go hands on and if the person can't be persuaded, half-measures increase the risk of injury to everyone involved. 

The monkey dance is all about proving who is the bigger monkey. Professionals do get triggered sometimes, their egos do get involved, but the good ones eventually get over the need to prove themselves. If I'm not trying to prove myself and not trying to send a message, I don't have to follow the steps. If someone wants to monkey dance with me:

• I have the positional option-- I can leave. 
• I have the verbal option-- saying almost anything that's not on the monkey dance script defuses it. 
• I can apologize, ask a thoughtful question, almost anything.

Physical will only happen if I'm being paid. If I have to put someone in cuffs explosive movement anywhere in steps 1-4 will confuse and freeze him. 

The other difference between social and asocial is that the social violence patterns are scripted, which both means that they are predictable and departing from the script induces a freeze while the person in his or her social brain tries to catch up.

Fiona -
I find all of that such fabulous fodder for our plots. Thank you Rory. 

Rory Miller's book  Violence, a Writers Guide is one I quote from in my talks and encourage writers of all genres to read.

This book has a lot of information for writers that will help get into the heads of the characters and figure out how each individual character will apply their OODA loops (read about that HERE) 

I HIGHLY recommend that you read this book before you write violence into your plot.

This is Rory's BLOG.

A big thank you to Rory Miller for sharing his information.

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.