 Mystery: October 21, 2015 Issue [#7282] |
  Mystery
This week: Agencies & Organizations Edited by: Jeff  
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"The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense
of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery."
-- Anaïs Nin
Mystery Trivia of the Week: It took Jerrilyn Farmer a while to find her true calling. After growing up in Illinois, she moved to Los Angeles to become an actress, but ended up working as a television writer for game shows and sketch comedies. In the late nineties, she finally tried her hand at novels. Her first book, Sympathy for the Devil, won the Macavity Award and was nominated for both an Edgar and an Agatha. Her second book was also nominated for an Agatha, as well as a Lefty.
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AGENCIES & ORGANIZATIONS
In mysteries and thriller fiction, it's not uncommon to read about characters working for some kind of agency or organization. From private investigators working for their own firms to government-sanctioned special agents and covert operatives, there's a good chance that writing in this genre means you'll have to give some thought to the place your character works. When it comes to these agencies and organizations, you have three options:
 You can use a real agency/organization;
You can invent a fictional agency/organization; or
You can invent a fictional group within the agency/organization.
Using a real agency/organization.
The easiest thing to do is to create characters that work for existing agencies or organizations. After all, the United States already has the FBI to investigate federal crimes and the CIA to manage intelligence services around the world. Great Britain has the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Russia has the Federal Security Service (FSB, formerly KGB), Israel has Mossad, and China has the Ministry of State Security (MSS). Practically every country in the world has a network of agencies and organizations that will probably fit what your character does, so it might make sense to have your character simply work for the CIA, FBI, NSA, DEA, ATF, or any of the other alphabet soup of organizations.
Some examples of properties that use real organizations:
Michael Connelly's Detective Harry Bosch (LAPD)
James Patterson's Alex Cross (Former FBI)
Ian Fleming's James Bond (MI6)
Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta (Commonwealth of Virginia)
Inventing a fictional agency/organization.
Sometimes it's just easier to invent an entire organization yourself. Perhaps you're worried about portraying the organization accurately, or want more control and specificity, or simply want something that more accurately reflects your interests. In cases like that, you might consider coming up with your own agency or organization.
Some examples of properties that use fictional organizations:
S.H.I.E.L.D., from Marvel's various comic books
N.U.M.A., from Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt series
CONTROL, from the Get Smart television series
C.O.B.R.A., from the G.I. Joe series
IMF, from the Mission: Impossible series
Inventing a fictional group within a real agency/organization.
This option is the compromise between options number one and two. Perhaps you don't want to go to all the work of creating your own expansive government agency but you want to do something a little more unique than just another FBI or CIA agent. Or maybe you like the fact that a subsection of a real agency lends it a little legitimacy.
Some examples of properties that use fictional groups within real agencies/organizations:
The X-Files, subsection of the FBI in television series of the same name
Third Echelon, subsection of the NSA in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell video game series
SD-6, purported subsection of the FBI in the Alias television series
Office of Scientific Intelligence, subsection of the CIA in the Bionic Woman and $6 Million Man series
When it comes to which type of organization you choose, there is no right or wrong. Each option has pros and cons; as long as you write your agencies realistically, it's an equally valid choice to use an existing agency, create your own, or create a subsection of a real one. There have been remarkably successful properties that use all three types of agencies and organizations.
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
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I encourage you to check out the following mystery items:
EXCERPT: "You know this song perfectly describes you and Johnny, right?" Sarah said to Jessie, who was sprawled on the floor of her dorm room with every course book she had in front of her. "What?" Jessie said, not taking her eyes off of what ever book she was studying at the moment. Sarah had stopped studying over an hour ago. "This song. Listen to the lyrics. You are the moth and Johnny is the flame you are unswervingly drawn to." She said just before flopping back onto Jessie's bed and then making a swerving motion with one hand.
EXCERPT: It was unmistakably a dead body in the water. The face was hidden by the plants for the most part and only the eyes were barely visible. There was a also dark blue dress half sunk in water and touching the surface. In the darkness of the river bed surroundings, a passer by could not have noticed anything. Kathir used to frequent here early evenings almost every day and would sit near a large tree adjoining the river. "Should I tell the police?" He wondered. It could put him into trouble. He was recently graduated and looking for a job to accrue his skills if not out of necessity. The police might interrogate him, suspect him and complicate his life and career. He has observed enough of these problems as faced by the localites here, though they were not the perpetrators of the crime itself. He decided to ignore and leave the place immediately. Why not convey this to the police through a phone call from a public booth or drop a anonymous letter somehow? They may not have difficulty tracing him back if he did those things, perhaps. In fact it could become more complicated if they found him that way. Why he had to hide himself? they would ask
EXCERPT: The muted thump of bass bled out into the street as calm and quiet as possible in a city as large as Chicago. At nearly three am there weren't a lot of places still open, and those that were had begun the last call announcements ten minutes ago. Abyss was one of the only clubs in this particular neighborhood. They'd opened, despite the protests of the inhabitants of the apartment buildings flanking it, only a few month prior. And for a while they'd had velvet ropes and long lines, but the newness, the shine was wearing off. Its popularity was waning.
EXCERPT: David waited until the rest of the family was at the breakfast table to say "Mom fell again last night."
"She's OK and sleeping in. I think it's time to make a tough decision," he said while staring at the piece of bacon in his hand as if the answer was there.
"You're always ready to ship Mom to a nursing home whenever she gets a scratch, David," his brother Phil said, shaking his head. "She's not going to leave this house unless it's in a coffin."
"Phil's right." Michelle spoke up, looking at David. "Phil and I see Mom every day and you come to visit 3 or 4 times a year. I think we have a better idea about Mom's ability to stay here in the house."
Michelle hoped her words were convincing. She wouldn't admit that she really thought it was time for Mom to move into an assisted living center. Or that she knew the real reason for Mom's resistance to move out of the house. Michelle still suspected that she was the only one around the table who knew.
EXCERPT: It is possibly the most important question that mankind has asked. It is a challenge that evades the sciences and leads the human race on an endless quest for knowledge and answers. It's answers could change the future and our perception of the past. It could produce a new society with new values but could also destroy old values and hopes. The questions? “How did the universe come into existence and how did life arise and develop into the incredibly complex forms on earth today?”
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Feedback from my last newsletter about understanding your mystery market:
Quick-Quill  writes: You are right on point. What makes a movie or TV show is action and suspense. Whether its a true series like "24" or a series like NCIS in which the crime is solved in a hour its not real. What has happened is the effect its had on the public. When being called to jury, you relate what you hear to TV or movies. "Why can't they sent it to a lab and get the DNA?. Just because in theory it's possible doesn't mean it can actually happen that fast. People don't tell the truth right off when a cop leans on them like they do in movies. There are no Godfathers, ready to break the witness' legs if they talk. In writing you are more free to draw out the story line to give the reader all the thrill of a movie/TV show. The key is adding the spooky music! These is the orchestration of describing setting, fervant looks and whispers. Be the conductor of your novel and give the reader the best experience you can.
Great insights! Thanks for writing in!
willwilcox writes: Thanks for the shout-out Jeff. I'm not much of a mystery writer, but when I can add humor...I'm all over it!
You're very welcome!
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