Police Procedure and Investigation by Lee Lofland, 2007, Writer's Digest Books, $19.99, softbound, 368 pages. Cover: pretty cool. Where we got it: bought it. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
This is a guide for crime writers, and it's excellent. There's all sorts of information, from an overview of law enforcement in America, to courts and the legal process, to autopsy, to arrest and search procedures.
Lofland lists courses recruits have to take in the police academy, gives diagrams of different law enforcement hierarchies (police department, sheriff's office, and so on), gives readers an idea of what it's like to be a detective (he was one himself), and tells what prisons and jails are like.
If you're at all interested in writing about law enforcement, this is the book to have.
If you like this one, try: Armed and Dangerous: A Writer's Guide to Weapons, by Michael Newton; Code Blue: A Writer's Guide to Hospitals, including the ER, OR, and ICU; and Private Eyes: A Writer's Guide to Private Investigators, by Hal Blythe, Charlie Sweet, and John Landreth.
You can find Lee Lofland online here: The Graveyard Shift, Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, WritersPoliceAcademy.com, and CriminalJusticePrograms.com.
The Art and Craft of Storytelling: A Comprehensive Guide to Classic Writing Techniques by Nancy Lamb, 2008, Writer's Digest Books, $16.99, softbound, 264 pages. Cover: good. Category/Genre: Reference; Writing How-to. Where we got it: bought it. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
From the three approaches to storytelling to the fundamentals of endings, this is a book chock-full of lists about writing. Lamb goes over ways to structure your story, strategies for creating your opening paragraph, types of conflict, point of view, voice and tone, setting, and much more. She also defines a number of genres and categories within those genres, then supplies a list of books to read, all of which are listed by genre.
Lamb does have a tendency to repeat herself; the book is perhaps a third to a half comprised of repetition. But if this doesn't annoy you (or if you simply need that much repetition to absorb new information), you might want to try this book. Lamb makes a lot of good points, and even seasoned pros might do well to review some of her ideas.
If you like this one, try: On Writing, by Stephen King.
You can find Nancy Lamb at nancylamb.com, Twitter, and Goodreads.
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Writer's Guide to Investigators and Investigation Techniques by Greg Fallis, 1998, Writer's Digest Books, $16.99, softbound, 246 pages. Category/Genre: writing reference. Cover: not a stand-out, but it works. Where we got it: bought it. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble.
From the qualities of a good investigator to undercover work, this book covers a lot of ground. The clientele, autonomy, and functions of both public and private investigators are explored, and in this section, the reader gets the low-down on federal, state, county, and municipal agencies. Crime scenes are examined, both from a police detective's and a private detective's perspective. There are chapters on interrogation and interviewing, surveillance, and tailing, as well as information on sources from where your characters can get data.
Undercover work, including sting operations, decoy operations, and the physical and emotional danger of undercover work, is likewise dissected. The author also goes into vision and hearing enhancement devices, along with the interpretation of facts.
Well done. A go-to book for writers interested in investigative techniques.
If you like this one, try: Private Eyes: A Writer's Guide to Private Investigators by Hal Blythe, Charlie Sweet, and John Landreth; How to Solve a Murder: The Forensic Handbook by Michael Kurland; and Police Procedural: A Writer's Guide to the Police and How They Work by Russell Bintliff.
Police Procedural: A Writer's Guide to the Police and How They Work by Russell Bintliff, 1993, Writer's Digest Books, $16.99, softbound, 261 pages. Category/Genre: writing reference. Cover: attracts the eye. Where we got it: bought it. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble.
Part of Writer's Digest's 'The Howdunit Series,' this book explores police from the day they join the force to the day they serve in court as a detective witness. First off, Bintliff gives an overview of the police force, which reveals information about patrol operations, training, certification, and police perspectives, plus information on the station house. There's even a layout of an average police department -- although it has, inexplicably, a dead-end hallway and a room with no label.
Bintliff provides the structure of a police detective division and outlines how these divisions work; he also explains how detectives find solutions to common problems. He looks at burglary, robbery, larceny, assault, homicide, arson, and vice. There's a chapter on arrest and procedure, and one on interviews and interrogations, which includes the use of lie detectors. Courtroom procedures round out the book.
A great book whether you want to write from the point of view of the police or merely have them feature in your novel.
If you like this one, try: How to Solve a Murder by Michael Kurland, Private Eyes: A Writer's Guide to Private Investigators by Hal Blythe, and Just the Facts, Ma'am by Greg Fallis.
Space Travel: A Writer's Guide to the Science of Interplanetary and Interstellar Travel by Ben Bova with Anthony R. Lewis, 1997, Writer's Digest Books, $16.99, softbound, 273 pages. Category/Genre: writing reference. Cover: not outstanding, but good enough. Where we got it: bought it. Where you can get it: Amazon.
The authors begin this book with two 'laws of science fiction' (that technology or future science must be so essential to the story that without it the story would collapse; and that science fiction writers may create anything imaginable, as long as no one can prove that their creation is wrong).
Next, the authors focus on the different types of rockets and their uses; artificial gravity, weight versus mass, and orbital eccentricities are all explored, as well as the seen and unseen dangers of space. The future of the space industry is covered, followed by space habitats, the Moon (its geography, what it's like to work on the Moon, and possible uses for the Moon), and advanced spacecraft.
An overview of our solar system is given, and the stars have their own chapter, as do starships. The authors also discuss the universe (geography, theories on its origin and behavior, and more). One unexpected but potentially very useful chapter deals with the legalities of space. The main text closes with the military uses of space, and is followed by an epilogue, bibliography, references, glossary, and index.
We like this book. It's an essential reference book for anyone interested in writing about space travel.
If you like this one, try: How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card, Aliens and Alien Societies by Stanley Schmidt, World-Building: A Writer's Guide to Constructing Star Systems and Life-Supporting Planets by Steve Gillett, and The Writer's Guide to Creating a Science Fiction Universe by George Ochoa and Jeffrey Osier.
The Writer's Guide to Creating a Science Fiction Universe by George Ochoa and Jeffrey Osier, 1993, Writer's Digest Books, $18.95, hardbound, 314 pages. Category/Genre: writing reference. Cover: glaring, especially the spine. Where we got it: bought it. Where you can get it: Amazon.
The authors begin by exploring the basics of space -- its characteristics, orbits and gravity, and so forth -- and continue on to spaceships, space stations, and space colonies. Next comes a chapter concerning the Sun and the planets: how they were formed, the atmospheric and geologic characteristics of the planets, and how terraforming might be accomplished.
Chapter Four deals with designing a starship, faster-than-light travel (the authors say travelling close to the speed of light is highly improbable, but there are ways of handling the problem), generation ships, and more. There's an introduction to the Milky Way, information on supernovae, neutron stars, and black holes, and how to design a planet.
Next, the authors cover aliens and possibilities for galactic civilisations, including empires, republics, and federations. Molecular technology and virtual reality are also discussed, as well as time travel, invisibility (as yet no one has come up with an entirely convincing way to make something or someone completely invisible), androids, cloning, and genetic engineering. The book closes with a chapter on alternate histories and parallel universes. There's a bibliography at the end.
The books Writer's Digest has on writing science fiction are excellent. This one is a good overview of the many things a science fiction writer may want to know.
If you like this one, try: How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card, Space Travel: A Writer's Guide to the Science of Interplanetary and Interstellar Travel by Ben Bova with Anthony R. Lewis, World-Building: A Writer's Guide to Constructing Star Systems and Life-Supporting Planets by Stephen L. Gillett, and Aliens and Alien Societies: A Writer's Guide to Creating Extraterrestrial Life-Forms by Stanley Schmidt.
