Modern life is no fun

[David Steele]

In an attempt to get back to some sort of writing habit, I decided to have a go at a new story. I set out with the intention of writing something more commercial than I'd previously attempted, and set out to write the opening scene to what could be loosely described as "Female Jack Reacher."
Only trouble is, the more I thought about it, the more difficult this seemed. We (especially in the UK, I think) live in a goldfish bowl of cctv, atm recognition, cell phone tracking, automatic number plate readers.. Not to mention forensic science.
From an action playground point of view, this has significantly reduced the opportunities for a good fist fight, a decent car chase or (heaven forbid) a broken bone or two.
Maybe the Cosseted Society is a story idea in itself (Demolition Man, anyone?) but, crikey - it's hard work thinking of anything an action girl might get up to in the 21st century that doesn't end with an expensive bill from Claims 4 U.
What is a sociopathic wanderer to do for kicks these days?

 

[Nicole Wilson]

In an attempt to get back to some sort of writing habit, I decided to have a go at a new story. I set out with the intention of writing something more commercial than I'd previously attempted, and set out to write the opening scene to what could be loosely described as "Female Jack Reacher."
Only trouble is, the more I thought about it, the more difficult this seemed. We (especially in the UK, I think) live in a goldfish bowl of cctv, atm recognition, cell phone tracking, automatic number plate readers.. Not to mention forensic science.
From an action playground point of view, this has significantly reduced the opportunities for a good fist fight, a decent car chase or (heaven forbid) a broken bone or two.
Maybe the Cosseted Society is a story idea in itself (Demolition Man, anyone?) but, crikey - it's hard work thinking of anything an action girl might get up to in the 21st century that doesn't end with an expensive bill from Claims 4 U.
What is a sociopathic wanderer to do for kicks these days?

There are plenty of ways around leaving evidence, but if she truly is a female Jack Reacher, she's not going to care about that. She's a wanderer and can't be found by normal means anyway.

 

[Jennifer Stone]

If you want something more elaborate and yet able to keep up with modern tech, you could go for a more steampunk setting. Or maybe the perp takes advantage of a glitch in the cctv system or something. I like the idea of the screen showing an empty street, it flickers or goes to static for a moment. When the screen returns to normal, there's a dead body. The time constraint might make things more interesting for the perp.

 

[Chase Gamwell]

Go watch a bunch of trailers and game play videos for Watch Dogs. That's the perfect example of the glitch in the cctv system that @Jennifer Stone is talking about. (And, honestly, the game is absolutely fantastic because of this kind of stuff).

 

[Emurelda]

The more difficult it is to commit a crime the more intelligent the criminal..i mean author...has to be.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

In an attempt to get back to some sort of writing habit, I decided to have a go at a new story. I set out with the intention of writing something more commercial than I'd previously attempted, and set out to write the opening scene to what could be loosely described as "Female Jack Reacher."
Only trouble is, the more I thought about it, the more difficult this seemed. We (especially in the UK, I think) live in a goldfish bowl of cctv, atm recognition, cell phone tracking, automatic number plate readers.. Not to mention forensic science.
From an action playground point of view, this has significantly reduced the opportunities for a good fist fight, a decent car chase or (heaven forbid) a broken bone or two.
Maybe the Cosseted Society is a story idea in itself (Demolition Man, anyone?) but, crikey - it's hard work thinking of anything an action girl might get up to in the 21st century that doesn't end with an expensive bill from Claims 4 U.
What is a sociopathic wanderer to do for kicks these days?

I know just what you mean about intrusion into our lives. In writing my first psychological thriller, which featured a serial killer taking victims as part of a bizarre live action role-play game, I was forced to include a lot of malarkey about CCTV cameras as the detectives traced his movements in town. To get away from yet more technological nonsense, I had my murderer operate outside the system of financial checks by using only cash, having no bank account, squatting in an empty flat and working for cash wages in the black economy. I also had him commit all of his killings out in the wild places of Cornwall, miles away from surveillance cameras. He didn't use mobile phones, as this is another way of tracking someone's movements.

You're also right about the problem of how writing a crime novel set in the present day is getting the forensics correct. Because of the proliferation of CSI crime series, as well as the established novels of Patricia Cornwell, Jefferson Bass, Jeffrey Deaver and Kathy Reichs, every reader thinks that they're an expert of forensic medicine and criminal psychology. I can well understand why writers choose to set their stories in times before forensics dominated investigations. Sherlock Holmes's deductions look simplistic nowadays.

And don't get me started on the detail involved with trying to get British police procedures accurately described. My detectives had to be armed for a manhunt of the serial killer, something that meant so much red tape that I wished I'd set the story in America where police officers are all routinely armed.

 

[Chase Gamwell]

I know just what you mean about intrusion into our lives. In writing my first psychological thriller, which featured a serial killer taking victims as part of a bizarre live action role-play game, I was forced to include a lot of malarkey about CCTV cameras as the detectives traced his movements in town. To get away from yet more technological nonsense, I had my murderer operate outside the system of financial checks by using only cash, having no bank account, squatting in an empty flat and working for cash wages in the black economy. I also had him commit all of his killings out in the wild places of Cornwall, miles away from surveillance cameras. He didn't use mobile phones, as this is another way of tracking someone's movements.

You're also right about the problem of how writing a crime novel set in the present day is getting the forensics correct. Because of the proliferation of CSI crime series, as well as the established novels of Patricia Cornwell, Jefferson Bass, Jeffrey Deaver and Kathy Reichs, every reader thinks that they're an expert of forensic medicine and criminal psychology. I can well understand why writers choose to set their stories in times before forensics dominated investigations. Sherlock Holmes's deductions look simplistic nowadays.

This is kind of the reason I set my murder mystery WAAAAAY out in the sticks. The fictional town my detective works in is called Pine Falls, located six hours north of New York City. Because of this, there is no internet and cell service is spotty, at best. The main character is forced to rely on gut feeling and old fashioned leg work to get the case solved. Of course, this puts the story in danger of being half baked because of how far removed it is from civilization, but with all of the stuff you mentioned, writing a murder mystery set in modern times becomes a daunting prospect.

I plan on writing a sequel to the first, but I'm not sure how to approach it yet. Of course, there are tons of camera's everywhere and everything can be tracked nowadays, so that makes things a whole different manner of difficult. If nothing else, you would have to write it as you are - cash only, no cell phones, etc. On the other hand, you could always go the hacker/technology manipulation route, but that opens up a whole different can of worms...

 

[Alistair Roberts]

Well there are ways around this, it requires a modern mind. Stolen identities, card readers so you can steal several identities, but you need a devious mind. Of hell, just pinch a damn time machine, and be done with it! Actually, if you'll excuse me, I think...... sssssh

 

[Amber Zade]

In an attempt to get back to some sort of writing habit, I decided to have a go at a new story. I set out with the intention of writing something more commercial than I'd previously attempted, and set out to write the opening scene to what could be loosely described as "Female Jack Reacher."
Only trouble is, the more I thought about it, the more difficult this seemed. We (especially in the UK, I think) live in a goldfish bowl of cctv, atm recognition, cell phone tracking, automatic number plate readers.. Not to mention forensic science.
From an action playground point of view, this has significantly reduced the opportunities for a good fist fight, a decent car chase or (heaven forbid) a broken bone or two.
Maybe the Cosseted Society is a story idea in itself (Demolition Man, anyone?) but, crikey - it's hard work thinking of anything an action girl might get up to in the 21st century that doesn't end with an expensive bill from Claims 4 U.
What is a sociopathic wanderer to do for kicks these days?

She could poison people. I believe that's the most common way women commit murder.

The constant surveillance could make your story more interesting. I'm sure people still bump into one another, still trip, still get lost, and still find nooks and crannies to catch a private moment or to kill. but it would have to be more slick ... wouldn't it? ... and honestly, that's more like a woman anyway. I know we're real fond of women kicking a$$ these days ..... and I like that sometimes .... but there's something ultra sexy about a women dealing death blows with simple items like .... hat pins ..... OR ..... a teaspoon of sugar..... or one quick jab to an exact spot.... No need for her to get her hands dirty .... or get her hair mussed.

 

[Nicole Wilson]

Well there are ways around this, it requires a modern mind. Stolen identities, card readers so you can steal several identities, but you need a devious mind. Of hell, just pinch a damn time machine, and be done with it! Actually, if you'll excuse me, I think...... sssssh

More modern times calls for smarter criminals like @Emurelda said. There are tons of ways to get around our current conveniences; you just have to look

 

[Jason Byrne]

Just have it set in the 80s! You know how effing awesome "female Jack Reacher while Slayer blasts in the background" would be?!

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Or set it in rural New Zealand--no cell coverage, no cctv, no internet service, local police station is only sort of manned on any given day...hell, most people don't even lock their doors (my neighbour says she doesn't even have a key to her house). SO easy to commit a crime and get away with it! Of course, there's the neighbours...more vigilant than any cctv surveillance. Dear neighbour, Lyall...anything out of the ordinary at our house and he's tearing into the drive to check on us...nosy bastard

 

[Paul Whybrow]

A murder story set in Stone Age times would be a challenge, forcing the writer to focus on human emotions. There would be problems with language, for what words would cave people use to converse? With no modern technology to carry the action and only very primitive tools, the story would be elemental with lots of heated accusations, deep suspicion and physical action.

It might even lead to a Neanderthal Sherlock Holmes:

 

[KG Christopher]

Lots of stone age stories, think of Gilgamesh, written during the stone age, IE before the bronze age.

 

[KG Christopher]

Found this, modern ways of killing someone

http://www.theguardian.com/books/pi...ld-methods-for-modern-mystery-writers-cartoon

 

[David Steele]

Thanks for all your advice. had an interesting conversation about this over the weekend with my stepson, who says that the best way to tackle the subject would be "head on". he suggests I write a story where everyone is fed up of the nanny society, and they all go up to a remote Highland village to act out their fantasies - for real - with people being hired to clean up the mess and make the problems go away afterwards. A kind of Fight Club meets Hostel, but with willing participants.
I worry about him, sometimes.

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Sounds like something my daughter would come up with...make sure we never introduce those two to one another...

 

[Jason Byrne]

Sounds like something my daughter would come up with...make sure we never introduce those two to one another...

Or maybe instead TOTALLY DO.