Today I hand the blog over to fellow crime writer Jane Isaac. I’ve been following Janes blog for a while now and this year she released her first crime novel, An Unfamiliar Murder, which I read and blogged about in August. I like Janes style and when she offered to do a guest post for me, I jumped at the opportunity to host her.
Jane studied creative writing with the London School of Journalism. Her non-fiction articles have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online. Several of her short stories have appeared in crime anthologies. She blogs about her writing experience, ‘Diary of a Newbie Novelist’ at Newbiewriters.com
Jane lives in rural Northants, UK with her husband, daughter and dog, Bollo. When she is not writing she loves to travel, is an avid reader, Mum, dog lover and enjoys spending time with her family. She believes life should be an adventure!
Jane loves to hear from readers and writers. Visit her website where you can read an excerpt of the novel, peruse her blog, ‘Caffeine’s Not a Crime’, and email her through the contacts page.
Getting Into The Mind Of A Killer – Jane Isaac
As novelists, research forms the basis of what we do and this is particularly prevalent in crime fiction. There are characters, settings, plots and storylines to consider, in addition to police procedural research.
The more accurate our work is, the more authentic and believable. This is especially the case with our characters: we need to research their back story, check the feasibility of the person we are creating, before we can make them appear real.
When drawing up the main character in my crime series, DCI Helen Lavery, I spoke to police officers at all levels in the British force in an attempt to analyse their work and home life, in order to build a character that was interesting and engaging, but also realistic in modern day policing.
Unless you have access to prisons, work with criminals, or know any (and even if you’d want to), researching your protagonist can be problematic. For An Unfamiliar Murder, I resorted to reading endless case studies of true crime and watching documentaries about killers and their backgrounds to draw up my murderer’s profile. I’ve read crime fiction for years, yet I wasn’t prepared for the nightmares I experienced after reading real crime. For some reason it’s quite acceptable to be scared out of our wits by the product of another writers mind, but reality? That’s a whole new ball game.
So, what makes a killer? One element to consider is their humanity. It seemed so easy when we were young – all the baddies were ugly, evil monsters. The reality is that even the worst people in this world have some redeeming features, e.g. apparently Hitler loved his dogs; it is said the Yorkshire Ripper was very charismatic and could walk into a room and make everyone feel special. Many of these people appear to function normally in society until they are caught. So, we need to create a character that is realistic. If we make them too bad they become unbelievable.
Another element is motive. Statistics suggest that most people are killed by someone they know, someone close to them. What is their motive? Is it revenge, greed, lust, power, fear, jealousy, blackmail…?
We also need to consider their background in an attempt to provide some kind of explanation as to what they’ve become. This is particularly notable with serial killers. What motivates them to kill? Why do they choose specific victims?
Sometimes, even if we have considered all of the above, we need to seek assistance to confirm the validity of our work. I’m currently polishing the script for the second book of my crime series. The plot is more complex than the first and I researched extensively, yet I still felt it necessary to have my killer’s back story checked by a clinical psychologist to ensure it is feasible.
Much of what we research never makes it into the book. But if we get the back story right, it brings our characters alive on the page. And as a fiction writer, if we achieve that, we’ve met our goal.
An Unfamiliar Murder
Arriving home from a routine day at work, Anna Cottrell has no idea that her life is about to change forever. But discovering the stabbed body of a stranger in her flat, then becoming prime suspect in a murder enquiry is only the beginning. Her persistent claims of innocence start to crumble when new evidence links her irrevocably with the victim…
Leading her first murder enquiry, DCI Helen Lavery unravels a trail of deception, family secrets and betrayal. When people close to the Cottrell family start to disappear, Lavery is forced into a race against time. Can she catch the killer before he executes his ultimate victim?
You can get an Unfamiliar Murder in the following places;
Paperback US
Paperback UK
Kindle US
Kindle UK
You can contact Jane at Twitter, on Facebook and on her Blog.
Margot Kinberg says
Rebecca – Thanks for hosting Jane.
Jane – Thank you for sharing the way you researched your characters. I couldn’t agree more that without that careful and thorough research, characters don’t ring true. Then even if the plot is solid and believable, something’s lacking. It’s interesting too to find out new things along the research path, or so I’ve found. In some ways writing a novel is an education in itself.
Jane Isaac says
Thanks for your comment, Margot. I agree, writing a novel is certainly an education. Sometimes I wonder which I enjoy most, the research or the writing!
yasminselena says
Nice host, Rebecca! x
Jane, 100% agree with you on bestowing humanity on the protagonists, I did the same in my debut, I think it helps them transcend from a 2D stereotype to a 3D soul. On a totally different note, I’ve never heard of Bollo as a name before, where did that come from?
Jane Isaac says
Thank you, Yasmin, for your comment. I’ll have to look out for your book.
You won’t be the first to ask about the name Bollo. It comes from a British comedy series called ‘The Mighty Boosh’. There was a character in it called Bollo and we just loved the name and the originality of it!
Nice to meet you.
yasminselena says
I never saw The Mighty Boosh, but now that you’ve said it, the name rings a vague bell. How cool! I did see Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy though. His Boosh sidekick, Julian Barratt, shares my birthday : ) If you do check out Gunshot Glitter, I hope you like what you see. Nice to meet you too, good luck with ‘An Unfamiliar Murder,’ ; )
Jane Isaac says
Hi Rebecca!
Thank you so much for hosting me on your blog. I’m honoured.
Jane
x
Kenneth Hoss says
Great post, Jane. Love your insight into researching your killer. Reading another authors fictional works and reading about a real homicide can be an eye-opener. I was fortunate, or perhaps unfortunate enough to have dealt with these types of things first hand. But no matter how you do it, I couldn’t agree more, research is the key to a believable story. Keep up the great work and good luck with your book.
Jane Isaac says
Thanks, Ken. I look forward to reading yours:)