The Book Sense 76
-- The Children's 76
-- Category Top 10s

"Drop the gun or I'll shoot!" The FBI agent tightened his grip on the Glock 9mm and held it out in front of him.

For a thriller author, believability and credibility are important in effectively creating a fictional world. Even though it's fiction, your plot has to be supported by facts and information that not only sound real, but are real to those in the field. For example, in the passage above, if I'd written that the agent pulled his Smith & Wesson, those who know that agents carry Glocks would feel like I hadn't done my homework. And they'd be right.

In addition to paying attention to the quality of prose, character development, setting, conflict, action, and suspense, an author has to do extensive research in areas he or she may not be knowledgeable. But research can have an important secondary benefit: the people a writer calls for information can lead to other contacts and experiences that prove crucial to building that author's knowledge base.

Eight years ago, when I was writing my first (as yet unpublished) novel, I received a call from the head of the California Department of Justice's crime lab training division. He needed a reference on one of my employees, who had applied to his program. After answering his questions, I asked mine -- which dealt with a character in the novel I had been writing. He was very accommodating, and I held on to his phone number.

Two years later, when I started outlining my first published novel, False Accusations, I again contacted this gentleman. When I explained what I needed, he permitted me to audit a weeklong class at the crime lab on blood-spatter pattern analysis. Also taking the class was Mark, an FBI agent, who was helpful in putting me in touch with other people for a different novel I was beginning to outline. Mark and I maintained a relationship after the class ended, and a short time later, he was promoted to the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He became one of the profilers at what used to be called the Behavioral Science Unit, made famous by Thomas Harris' book The Silence of the Lambs.

The following year, Mark invited me to tour the FBI Academy, a trip that proved crucial when I began outlining my just-released thriller, The Hunted. A good part of The Hunted is set at the Academy, and many of the places the character goes -- where he trains, eats, sleeps, attends classes -- I also went, to smell the smells, taste the food, hear the noises, and talk to the people. There's no substitute for experiencing a place first-hand.The depth of the experience always comes out in your writing.

I needed to do extensive research for both False Accusations and The Hunted. Over the years, my research contacts have come in all forms: sometimes they exist for the length of a single phone call, or they can be lifelong sources. My FBI contact started out as a contact, and he became a good friend.

If you can't locate a live person to provide information, other resources are available. For example, for mysteries or thrillers, a useful tool is the "Howdunit It" series from Writer's Digest Books. Other resources I've found helpful is The Mafia Encyclopedia by Carl Sifakis, or, for a text that covers a host of topics, The Writer's Ultimate Research Guide,* by Ellen Metter.

When the manuscript for The Hunted was finished, Mark reviewed it and told me where I had missed the mark regarding FBI policy and procedure. After making the corrections, I was secure in the knowledge I had done my best to be credible. Again, the story is fiction -- but a good writer bolsters his fiction by shoring it up with facts.

The next time your FBI agent pulls his gun, make sure it's a Glock. You'll be glad you got it right.

*Out of print. Try Facts in a Flash: A Research Guide by the same author.

The Hunted

Search for Alan Jacobson's books on BookSense.com

Alan Jacobson, pictured above at the FBI Academy's indoor target range, has just published his second thriller. His first book was recently picked up to be made into a TV movie.

Further Reading

John Sedgwick
Nevada Barr
John Grisham
John Searles
Don Foster
Tom Nolan
Browse Archived Interviews
Browse Archived Excerpts

Top

Contact Us | Security & Privacy | Copyright