Writers' Police Academy 2014 — Day 2

Classes started again early Saturday morning. I enjoyed the session on Policing "Back in the Day." Less than 40 years ago, police still carried revolvers (eg. six-shooters that you have to cock between shots), had only two items on their belts, and had very limited radios. Information — like license registrations — came from books, not computers, or from teletype machines that sent requests for somebody in another state to look in a book. (For a fun fictional account of cops and life in the 1970s, I recommend Life on Mars.)

I grabbed a seat in John Gilstrap's class, which had been overflowing all weekend. His take on "Technical stuff that writers get wrong" had us falling out of those precious seats. We moved from laughter to sobriety as he showed us what kind of damage bullets and explosions can do.

"There are no flesh wounds" or minor bullet wounds, contrary to what we see in movies and TV shows. Even a shoulder is a complex part of anatomy (those of us with past injuries can agree). And a broken leg will not hold a person's weight.

(The very next day I read a passage wherein a villain was standing in the protagonist's path, a piece of bone jutting out of his leg. But maybe the laws of physics don't apply in fantasy...).

Writer and former prosecutor Alifair Burke debunked myths about court cases and police procedure, especially search and/or seizure. More than 90% of searches don't have or need warrants.

The banquet was fun, as usual, though busy for those of us behind the scenes.

Michael Connelly was our featured speaker. He keeps a dedicated writing schedule to pound out all those novels. He worked as a reporter before publishing his first book. As a former journalist myself, his statement resonated with me: "There is no writer's block in the newspaper business."

The silent auction, raffle, and some practical joking topped off the evening. Here's yours truly with the crime scene quilt, one of the silent auction items. It reminds me of a little bookshop decor.

Back to Writer's Police Academy — Day 1

Writers' Police Academy 2014 — Day 1

How do you sum up a high-speed weekend of buzzing writers, detectives, forensics experts, famous authors, a prosecuting attorney, an explosives expert... and much, much more?!

Friday morning I walked into the chaos of our largest class of "recruits" ever. For part of the day I hung out in the hallways, checking people off for the firearms training and emergency driving simulators, and giving directions. I enjoyed the look on one man's face as he walked out of a classroom to hear me direct a lady to "prostitution class" across the hall.

I snuck in a couple of classes, including part of "Romance Behind the Badge." I enjoyed Rick McMahan's class on firearms basics. We learned the differences between rifles and shotguns; single-shot, semi-automatic and automatic (machine guns); revolvers and (semi-automatic) pistols.

Lisa Gardner returned this year and gave an inspiring talk on turning facts into fiction. Most of the experts she calls don't recognize her name. She can almost hear them wondering why she wants to know so much about murder! One of her great tips was to use the coolest detail, or the assumption you made that was wrong — but don't put everything you learned into the story.

Sisters in Crime hosted Friday night's reception. I talked to a couple of the instructors and met a lady from Missouri who, like me, has started a colonial-era historical. I finally drove home. Time for a little sleep before another day of excitement!

Click on the WPA tag below to see past years of Writers' Police Academy or move on to Day 2.

Writers' Police Academy 2013 — part 3

After my Saturday morning shift and a dose of firearms training, I attended the "From Crime Scene to Court" workshop on crime scene evidence. There's so much going on at Writers' Police Academy one can't catch it all. I didn't even make it to all the sessions Dave Pauly and Katherine Ramsland taught, but showed up enough to qualify as a forensics groupie.

Kathy Reichs, forensic anthropologist and bestselling author, led the afternoon special session. Her books inspired the TV show Bones. Since I don't have TV, I didn't know much about her work, but found her presentation fascinating. She bases all the forensic puzzles in her books on cases she's handled in real life.

Kathy Reichs with new fan Elizabeth Saunders

Kathy explained that a forensic anthropologist is called in when an autopsy is no longer possible because of decay, and an archaeologist when the body is too old to impact a court case, about 30 to 40 years. Her puzzles include more than murder — she's worked on disaster sites, mass graves, POW/MIA cases, and identified the bones of an 18th-century nun.

I came home and found one of her books in my bookshop, Spider Bones (no, I haven't read every book in the shop!).

I devoured it — all day Sunday and part of Monday. 

(No spoilers) One plot line involves identifying the remains of a soldier killed in Vietnam. Kathy used her work with JPAC, the Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in Action Accounting Command, for details in the story.

At my part-time archives job, I've been processing a collection of papers on the Vietnam War all month. I knew little about those times, and the work has been both enlightening and disturbing. I would have enjoyed Spider Bones' forensics, intertwining subplots and family drama anyway, but the collection at work gave me a fresh perspective.

Tomorrow (Sept. 20 this year) is POW/MIA Recognition Day. "Until They Are Home" — that's JPAC's motto.

In tomorrow's post, travel back in time to remember other POWs — from 150 years ago.

This post contains affiliate links. And here's a temporary link to two signed copies of Kathy Reichs books. 

Writers' Police Academy 2013 — part 2

5 Things I learned from firearms training

For four years of Writers' Police Academy, I've heard writer-recruits gush about the firearms training simulation, FATS. From their adrenaline-fueled talk about shooting bad guys and trying not to shoot bystanders, I pictured video targets popping up a la Men in Black ("Little Tiffany" scene).

Not quite.

This year, I experienced the simulator first hand. Being a nice little Quaker girl without small arms experience, I wasn't so sure I wanted to shoot a gun. (All you peeps from my first career — stop laughing! Notice I said "small arms.") I'd never shot a pistol before, and hadn't fired a rifle in years.

The instructors briefed us on how to hold our guns, aim, and reload. My Glock 19 was easy to handle; not so easy to aim. (I did have new monovision contacts in and consistently missed to the right. That's my excuse and I'm stickin' to it.)

The scenarios were eye-opening.

I'd always imagined good guys vs. bad guys, a view reinforced by the thrillers we read and watch (and write). Most of the scenes start with a traffic stop or emergency call, and the officer has no idea what he's walking into; ie. whether these folks, these human beings (not black-and-white targets) are good, bad, or somewhere in between. The violence escalates so fast, there's no time to react.

Here are five things I learned:

1. People with empty hands can quickly pick up or pull out a weapon.

2. Weapons can be hard to identify. Did you know there's a cell-phone gun?

3. Upset bystanders can quickly turn into threats.

4. Things happen too fast for really accurate aiming. Even practiced law enforcement shooters lose accuracy because of the adrenaline-filled, split-second timing of an armed encounter.

Anybody who owns a gun needs to practice, practice, practice. Since there's no time to think, only those who've turned their skill into instinct have a chance.

5. I like the Glock 19. I don't want one. I'm so afraid of hurting the wrong person out of fear or bad aim, or that my own gun could be used against me in a surprise attack.

That's the implication in this News 2 story on concealed weapons, cautioning civilians about using their own guns. The video includes a clip from the simulator and features one of WPA's instructors.

I have even more respect for our law enforcement and emergency services folks. If they get a little tense in certain situations, like traffic stops, they have good reason! Thus the intense felony traffic stop in Writers' Police Academy 2013 — part 1.

Training opportunities like FATS not only make us better writers, but also better able to cope with life situations (like in WPA's past self defense classes). Guilford County Sheriff's Office just started a Citizens' Academy, which will include FATS as part of a weeks-long training program.

Writers' Police Academy 2013 — part 1

Writers' Police Academy turns murder and mayhem into a three-day thrill ride for writers. 

Lee Lofland, who organizes WPA with Guilford Technical Community College and High Point Library, watched the new recruits come in after planning all year. He wrote his mother hen account of Thursday night as Day One, "All My Children." 

My fourth year working behind the scenes shifted into gear Friday morning. Between directing recruits to firearms training and peddling souvenirs, I caught part of Detective Sluder's session on Human Trafficking. He taught us the difference between trafficking (crime against a person, involuntary) and smuggling (crime against the state, voluntary), and told us about the NHTRC resources and hotline. 

Katherine Ramsland

Dave Pauly

Friday afternoon brought more free time to hear Katherine Ramsland and Dave Pauly teach about cold cases. There are over 150,000 cold cases (since 1980). 

Katherine got to help verify the body of Jesse James. "It's great fun to dig up old people," she said. 

Dave warned that a lot of murders show no signs of forced entry — the victims let intruders schmooze their way inside. (As I was writing this, I talked to a power company rep through my locked, glass door and told him to leave the paperwork outside.)

In a crowded afternoon session, Katherine (Dr. Ramsland) explained the difference between serial killers, mass murderers and killing sprees. The definitions have changed over the years, but basically, serial killers have a down time between killings, and they plan to go on killing without getting caught. Spree killers are on the move, in sort of a suicidal car-jacking supply-stealing escape, and don't stop until someone stops them (I'm thinking Bonnie and Clyde). Mass murderers have been building up some sort of grudge or anger for years, and retaliate in an explosion of killing — not necessarily the person or people who started the grudge.

Dr. Dan Krane gave an entertaining and technical presentation on DNA forensics. As a novice DNA genealogist (who solved a 137-year-old missing person case last year), I was fascinated. 

He told us what tiny amounts are needed for a DNA sample, and the importance of how the results are presented in court. In one case, a man was convicted on a partial DNA profile, when that same profile could have applied to at least three other people at the scene. 

And you only need about $50-60,000 to start your own crime lab. 

WPA throws in a few surprises every year. Instead of a speaker for the Night Owl session, we left the hotel to watch felony traffic stop procedures. 

Traffic stop with an unknown number of suspects in the car.












"Keep your hands in the air and walk backwards."

Don't mind Lee. He's just taking pictures for The Graveyard Shift.  ;-)

Here are Lee's Friday photos. 

Writers' Police Academy 2012

This was my third year working at Writers' Police Academy. Saturday was a full day, but I didn't go to many workshops this time. I was looking forward to the guest speakers (read about Katherine Ramsland's Friday night presentation here).



I did get to see the canine presentation. Joy, a Belgian Malinois, proves the adage that a working girl can be both pretty and smart.

Officer Long had her find objects in the grass, like a suspect might throw out of a car during a traffic stop. She gets a special toy for a reward.

Then she searched a police car where drugs had been pre-hidden, and alerted to the door and the trunk.




Joy is a working police dog, but she goes out in the community for PR, including demonstrations for school children. I was impressed that she can be friendly enough for people to pet her, but when it comes down to it, you'd better not mess with her "daddy"!

Marcia Clark (prosecution for a certain famous murder trial) spoke in the afternoon. She talked to an auditorium full of writers and answered questions about the life of a prosecutor with regard to catching murderers. For example, she goes to the crime scene when the police do, takes her own pictures, talks to everybody. She has to get a picture in her mind of how everything looked and what happened, so she can explain it to a jury so they can picture it.

We take DNA for granted now, but just a couple of decades ago, lawyers and law enforcement didn't have that as evidence.




The banquet was fun, as usual. I didn't get much time to chat with fellow writers at my table this year, but I enjoyed my behind-the-scenes work.

Author Lee Child was the key-note speaker. He said that storytelling goes back to the cavemen — and with tales of hunting and survival around those otherwise boring campfires, the first stories must have been thrillers!

He and the others signed books at the end of the evening.

Here are the posts about Writers' Police Academy 2010, part 1 and part 2 (best pics); and 2011.



Oh, and a special guest made the trip from Mayberry to make us all laugh.  :-)
 
"Barney Fife" (David Browning) with forensics expert Dave Pauly.

Think like Sherlock Holmes — from cracking cases to cracking writer's block

And now for some writerly mojo from Writers' Police Academy. As organizer Lee Lofland described it in his blog:

Place 200 writers in large bowl. Add dozens of police officers, firefighters, EMS folks, Sirchie Fingerprint Laboratories, and other experts. Stir in Lee Child, Marcia Clark, Dr. Beth Murray, and Dr. Katherine Ramsland. Sprinkle in a few generous sponsors. Add a very large dollop of [Sisters in Crime], and then mix ingredients well. Place entire concoction into a pre-heated police academy and wait for the excitement to boil over. Works every time!

I had to work Friday, so I jumped into the weekend's events that night. Forensic psychologist and writer Dr. Katherine Ramsland gave this year's Night Owl presentation, "Mindful Investigations: How to think like Sherlock Holmes."

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based Holmes on a real person, his mentor Joseph Bell. Ramsland explained that the character (and the man) did not so much use "deductive" reasoning, which is fixed, but "abductive" reasoning, which is more of a mental flexibility. In other words, he gathered lots and lots of data (like how people react, or what type of soil on their shoes comes from which regions of England) and the information would coalesce into a realization, an "Aha!" moment.

She said these sparks of insight actually show up on brain scans (I don't know what type of scan. I whispered to fellow writer that they couldn't measure sparks in my brain, because my "Eureka!" moments usually happen in the shower.) Ramsland recommended steps to train our brains and help those moments happen:

1. Scan. Study. Observe people. We introverted writers (she included herself here) look down at our feet and don't look around unless something interrupts our reverie. Pay attention to things on purpose, instead of reactively. When you're focused on a goal (or writing topic), immerse yourself. But also read and experience unrelated things; that's where out-of-the-box ideas may appear.

2. Sift. Relax. Play. Travel. Let information and ideas mingle around by taking your focus off of them. Rituals can help; she goes for a walk to get ideas.

3. Solve. Having a "snap" or "aha" moment will make you want to take action, to do something right then.

Dr. Ramsland's presentation got me interested in her new book, SNAP: Seizing Your Aha! Moments (affiliate link). While I'm not a crime-solver, I'd like to have better ideas for writing and perhaps other things in life.

More #WPA2012 in the next post.

Writer Wednesday Update

Catching up on recent writerly and bookish events...

I volunteered again this year at Writers' Police Academy, Sept. 23-24. I didn't get the awesome, behind-the-scenes photos like last year (part 1 and especially part 2 here), but you can check out Lee Lofland's blog for a write-up on this year's action: Friday and Saturday (fake gore alert!).

Between helping "recruits" find their way around and running errands, I witnessed a hostage situation, listened to Marco Conelli talk about life as a New York undercover cop, and my writer buddies and I got a real "kick" out of Corporal Dee Jackson's personal safety class. Despite fighting an early fall cold and mild fever (another reason for fewer photos), I enjoyed Lee's night-owl session and the banquet with guest speaker Chris Reich. One of my favorite parts is networking with other writers, both new "recruits" and people I met last year.

About two weeks ago, one of my customers called me just before I left the bookshop and said, "Of course, you're going to the library sale tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Tomorrow?!" Although I fuss at the nice FOL volunteers for not putting out any electronic publicity, they seem quite happy with just putting a sign in their yard and inviting members.

Although very strapped for cash, I couldn't resist. I stayed away from ex-libs this time and still came home with some nice finds.
  

Fashion through the centuries

A genealogy of airplanes to 1954

 

1898 pocket-sized Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing

My best find was probably this 1883 music book of basic music instruction, folk songs and rounds, hymns, and The Star Spangled Banner. One song contains instructions for when students should bang on their desks. The book includes a page of Useful Advice, such as: Don't talk or laugh loudly when you first go outside into the cold air. Don't sleep with heat that's pumped up from a cellar.





That same afternoon, I went to Jennifer Hudson Taylor's book launch for Highland Sanctuary at Barnes & Noble in Greensboro. (Yay, Jennifer!)

We met through Facebook and Twitter because we have inspirational historical writing and other topics in common. For example, Jennifer has written a historical Quaker novella, set where I currently work part-time, to come out as part of a collection in 2012.

This was probably the first time I ever met one of my "tweeps" in person! I got an autographed copy of Highland Blessings, her first book, so I can start at the beginning of the series.

Here are Jennifer's photos of her book signing (Facebook page).

Writers Police Academy - Part 2

Saturday started early. We all knew there was some kind of surprise planned for the writer attendees. As the back door guard, I got to hear the inside scoop as the SERT commander briefed the players, including a fake "writer" who slipped into the group of attendees and got shot by a disgruntled "student," who then took a whole room full of people hostage.

The SERT team came into the building with their practice guns and... I didn't hear all the negotiations, but the good guys won! I think they negotiated with the shooter during the first scenario, and shot him during the second.

EMS came in and treated the shooting victim and whisked him out on a stretcher. All that excitement, and that was in the morning before any of the classes!

I got to attend a session with N.Y. undercover cop Marco Conelli. I'm in awe of what he has to go through, not just being in disguise, but walking into dangerous situations and having to know the right information to convince the bad guys that he's just another druggie. He must have nerves of steel!

Elizabeth Owens gets her book signed.

Some of the attendees got to do FATS - firearms training in a simulator. My fellow volunteer Elizabeth and I didn't go in, but we got to guard the door and chat with Jeffery Deaver and other folks in the hall.

Thriller author Jeffery Deaver (@JefferyDeaver) was our keynote speaker at the banquet Saturday night. He was chosen to write the next James Bond novel, and he told us he's already got the first draft completed, among his many projects. He was very nice to chat with, and we had our pictures taken with him later at the book signing.

Elizabeth Saunders and Jeffery Deaver

It was an exciting, informative and very full weekend. Thriller, mystery, cozy, true crime or anything related writers were loving it. I overheard a few networking about romance and urban fantasy and I even met another historical fiction writer. My writer buddies and I got to hang out, meet writers and have a great time. CJ Lyons (@cjlyonswriter), a medical thriller author who happened to sit at our banquet table, gave us tips about pitching.

Aspiring authors Aislynn, Elizabeth and Elizabeth

Here's more about Writers' Police Academy 2010 on Lee Lofland's blog.

Writers' Police Academy - Part 1

I had an awesome weekend at Writers' Police Academy, organized by Lee Lofland (@LeeLofland), the High Point Library and Guilford Technical Community College. The Academy is oriented toward mystery and thriller writers, but it's fun for any writer. My Thursday morning writer buddies and I volunteered as helpers, so we got to hear some of the great speakers and learn from law enforcement and emergency personnel.

Friday morning included a parking lot full of those folks — and their toys — from Guilford County Sheriff and High Point Police to fire department, bomb squad, SERT (formerly SWAT team) and crime scene investigation. I kept going back to the CSI table, where he had surveillance equipment, fingerprint dust, etc. Best of all, the folks in uniform were there to answer all kinds of questions, each one surrounded by writers with pad and pen in hand. It was fun to eavesdrop on the conversations, realizing that many of the little details would go into somebody's next mystery!

We talked to a man who was the negotiator in hostage situations; he was very interesting. He had been involved in a local murder investigation some years ago that took three and a half years and "divine intervention" to finally solve. 

I got to sit in on a lecture by New York medical examiner Jonathan Hayes (@PreciousHayes).  It wasn't as gory as I had imagined — he keeps it that way on purpose — but he was interesting and even funny.

Lee Lofland

I went home for our evening break to nurse a migraine, but rallied for the fascinating late-night session with Lee Lofland, former police investigator and author of The Graveyard Shift blog. He told the story of a murder in Ohio that seemed unsolvable, but the investigator on the case had that gut feeling about who did it. The murderer eventually confessed for a deal with the DA, and the evidence finally started pouring in.