 Mystery: March 08, 2017 Issue [#8174] |
  Mystery
This week: Esoteric Crimes Edited by: Jeff  
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"Nobody reads a mystery to get to the middle; they read it to get to the end.
The first page sells that book, and the last page sells your next book."
-- Mickey Spillane
Trivia of the Week: Nancy Grace isn't just a legal commentator, television host/journalist, former prosecutor, and Dancing With the Stars alum... she's also the author of two novels: The Eleventh Victim and Death on the D-List. Unfortunately, they were not well-received, with Publisher's Weekly describing her debut as "less than compelling." 
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ESOTERIC CRIMES
In the mystery genre, certain crimes are extremely popular story topics: murder, kidnapping, heists, identity theft, etc.
Thrillers, too, have their crime tropes that tend to frequently pop up: terrorism, espionage, conspiracy, etc.
What I want to talk about today are esoteric, less familiar crimes. While there is no exhaustive list of crimes, it's estimated that in the United States alone, there are somewhere between 3,600 and 300,000 federal regulations that carry criminal penalties. Are all of them enforced? No. Are all of them interesting? Heavens, no! But with so many different statutes and regulations on the books, a writer also doesn't have to rely on the familiar tropes time and time again.
How does one find new and interesting esoteric crimes to write about?
It helps to have an inquisitive mind. Our daily lives are filled with situations that could lead to unusual crimes. Take the accusation President Trump leveled against his predecessor on Twitter over this past weekend. Without getting into the politics of it, Trump tweeted, "Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!" This isn't a politics newsletter, so this isn't a discussion of whether the content of that message was accurate or appropriate. Instead, let's look at the kinds of esoteric crimes that could come from that statement.
First, let's pretend that it is true. A sitting President ordering the surveillance of a private American citizen is a crime. The only two ways a government official can target a citizen for surveillance is through a criminal wiretap, or a national security wiretap. So the executive branch suddenly circumventing the judiciary and undertaking surveillance of their own citizens without approval would be a massive crime.
Second, in order to obtain either a criminal or national security wiretap, a judge has to approve it (a criminal justice in the former case, or a justice of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court or FISC in the latter case) based on evidence presented by the Justice Department. So if it was true that Trump Tower's phones were tapped, it was done so with the authorization granted by a court that had been presented with sufficient evidence to believe that there was illegal activity being committed.
Just look at all the esoteric crimes in this potential situation... you could write an entire story about a commander in chief who illegally surveils his opponents. You could write a story about a business mogul who's dealings led the Justice Department to believe that criminal or foreign intelligence laws had been violated. You could write a story about an innocent mid-level employee discovering his or her place of business is being wire tapped by the federal government, which could spin off in any number of directions depending on the particulars.
Similarly, look at some of the other situations that have cropped up in Trump's early Presidency:
 No one even knew what "emoluments" meant six months ago, let alone that there was a clause in the Constitution that's designed to prevent office holders from accepting gifts from foreign powers.
When Michael Flynn resigned, there was mention of the Logan Act, which details a fine and/or prison sentence for citizens engaging in unauthorized negotiations with foreign powers.
Kellyanne Conway got in trouble for going on a morning show and telling people to buy Ivanka Trump's brand, which is a violation of federal ethics rules, specifically the "use of public office for private gain" subsection of Subpart G of Part 2635 of Subchapter B of Chapter XVI of Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations).
There are so many potential stories there, none of which fall into the regular crime tropes. And while Trump may provide a continuing list of esoteric legal topics to explore, you don't just have to look at the federal government for inspiration. You can study court proceedings, interview law enforcement personnel or members of the judiciary, or even read news stories for information about unusual or interesting legal scenarios that could inspire or fuel your writing.
There's certainly nothing wrong with writing typical mystery tropes... murder, kidnapping, terrorism, espionage, etc. are all very popular tropes for a reason. But if you're feeling a little unenthused about your options when it comes to the crimes being portrayed in your stories, consider digging a little deeper and looking for more esoteric crimes that haven't been featured in fiction as often as others. Remember, you have anywhere between 3,600 and 300,000 different federal statutes and regulations to explore... don't be afraid to write about something off the beaten path!
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"Blogocentric Formulations"
"New & Noteworthy Things"
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This month's official Writing.com writing contest is:
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EXCERPT: Jennifer couldn’t believe what happened as she walked out of the conference room. How could she be so gullible? Feeling a headache coming on, she poured two ibuprofen tablets into her hand, popped them into her mouth, and gulped down a glass of water. Her feet dragged as she walked into her office, and slumped down in her chair.
Her best friend Phoebe rushed in. “What is wrong with you, Jennifer? I think I blushed more than you did! How could you let Phillip rile you like that? He wants this vice presidency position, and he’s aiming to get you fired.”
EXCERPT: Doctor’s waiting rooms always smell of worry. It seeps out of the people sitting in the hard chairs. They try to alleviate it, leafing through the pages of tatty magazines they’re really not that interested in. If you watch their eyes, they only linger on the pictures, skating over the words as if reading is too much for their minds to concentrate on. No-one ever talks, perhaps a couple of muted whispers. Not real conversation.
EXCERPT: Elliot Jones was woken by the buzz of his cellphone. Having lately only served as a clock and a music player, the unexpectedness of the impending phone got his mind awake and wondering, and a jilt of fear he had grown too accustomed to ran through his body. The phone still going on on the nightstand, he ran his hands over his body, searching it for bruises or cuts; signs that he had been in a fight. Not finding any, he tried to think back to whom he might have run into last night, but couldn't draw up a single face. The best he tried, his last memory was slamming that one last shot before leaving his house with no particular plan in mind. He took a long breath, trying to draw comfort from the fact that he had somehow made it back to his bed, and he had even managed to take off his clothes before passing out. Also, though he could not see his wallet, at least his phone had made it back home as well.
EXCERPT: You could feel the energy in the air. It pulsated through the night. It followed the crowd below as they marched through the streets. You could hear screams of joy, even from all the way up here. The energy seemed to keep him warm, even a little bit in the icy cold sting of the night. The sight below filled him with awe. There was a strange feeling that filled his chest. It felt as if every worry had been wiped clean and there was nothing left to stress about. Franky watched the valley of towers; it’s lights beaming into the night sky, casting a hazy glow that surrounded the city. The rivers of cars and people all rushed by. They flowed into one central area nearby where he could hear the collective babble of the brook. His heart swelled once more. He so wished to be down there with them.
EXCERPT: It was 10 a.m. on a Monday morning when a broad came into my office looking distraught. "Are you Aristotle?"she asked. "I hear you´ve got a logical mind."
"One of the best," I said. "What do you need? A more logical political system? A theory of Poetics?"
"Er. . .no. I need help finding my husband. He´s disappeared."
Oh That figured. Say whatever else you like about philosophy, it doesn´t pay very well. That´s why I went into business as a detective. It was the only way I could pay the bills.
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Feedback from my last newsletter about mystery statistics ("Mystery Newsletter (February 8, 2017)" ):
Quick-Quill  writes: "I hope you don't mind me keeping this NL. When I go to promote my "Mystery" book, I'm going to site what you put here for reference. Thanks for the info. I do agree with you. Out, say 300, of the readers who bought my Family mystery, 90% are over 45 years old. I didn't get any of the younger women in my circle to read the book. They read the Oprah and whomever book lists. You are spot on."
I'm glad you were able to identify your market. If 90% of your audience is over 45, that's a powerful statistic that will hopefully allow you to write more specifically for that audience and create work that resonates more with that target audience rather than spending time and energy trying to appeal to everyone! 
werden  writes: "Thank you for sharing
I confess I am a 'write by feel and heart' writer who is less concerned about demographics and audience
Honestly, I can't tailor my writing to a specific audience if my heart isn't in it
Still, paying attention to potential target audiences is wise for any writer
Thanks again"
It's always important to stay true to yourself. For some people, the business aspects of writing (audiences, markets, etc.) just isn't an area of interest. As long as you can either accept that fact and its business/financial/market consequences, or find someone to handle that aspect for you, you'll be just fine.
Tornado Dodger  writes: "I love statistics and your NL was spot on. It's an important part to pay attention to when you're marketing to an audience. I found it interesting to see that Occult/Psychological/Horror was down 33% while Sci-Fi was up 44%. Those are some pretty large changes. Interesting topic my friend! Great job as usual. "
Thanks, Brooke! It's always a pleasure to hear from you! 
writes: ""
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