Hi, Terri Reed here. Writing suspense books requires research. Unless of course the author is familiar with the workings of crime scenes, law enforcement and criminal behavior. I'm not. However there are so many great resources for research. The most obvious resource is books. I have a library full of research books ranging from homicide investigation to crime scene techniques to guns and ammo.
The next resource is my local police department and the officers who are living what I portray in my books. Many state and county local police forces will have a citizens academy or will allow a lay person, such as a writer, to ride along in a patrol car or to visit the police station and ask questions. The hit TV show CASTLE depicts this scenario. My experience wasn't quite like Castle's.
The other place I go to for information regarding all things to do with the law, justice and criminals is the online community. Many law enforcement professionals are willing to be a resource for writers. Many have become writers themselves. Many have blogs or websites dedicated to providing research material on a variety of subjects that are geared toward helping the suspense writer.
Let me share a few favorites with you.
http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/
http://writersforensicsblog.wordpress.com
http://www.inreferencetomurder.com
If you have a site that you think might help a suspense writer, please share! I love finding new places.
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I love Lee's site, and his annual writer's police academy. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Terri,
ReplyDeleteWOW, great resources. I'm off to check out some of these sites. Wish I could add more. But, alas, most of mine are for historical research.
Terri,
ReplyDeleteI have to wonder what your google search history looks like! lol How to kill someone with a ...?
Sandra, have you gone to the Writer's Police Academy? I really want to one of these years.
ReplyDeleteRenee, I'll know who to go to for historical research.
ReplyDeleteKaren, I know, right! I think about that all the time.
ReplyDelete