Today’s post is part of a series on professionals sharing tips and expertise in order to help novelists convey accuracy in their fiction. If you are writing any scenes that include doctors, lawyers, investigators, or law enforcement officials, be sure to study these posts (and print them out for reference).
The following guest post is from novelist and former police officer Janice Cantore:
“Write what you know,” a phrase every writer has heard. Some think it’s hooey and some think it’s gospel. When I first began writing, I thought that it was gospel. I wanted to write suspense novels, and I’d lived through a lot of action. I’d been in car chases, foot pursuits, arrested murderers, stopped rapes—I even dodged bottles and spit during the Rodney King riots, so surely I could write an exciting, compelling book. Sadly, all of my early manuscripts were rejected. The common complaint: they read too much like a police report. Continue Reading…
