Short Stories
This week: The Body Farm Edited by: Shannon More Newsletters By This Editor
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Welcome to the Short Stories Newsletter. I am Shannon and I'm your editor this week.
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I was conducting research for a work in progress--a story about a virus that wipes out the majority of humanity--and needed to know how long it takes for a body to start decomposing. Of course, my search resulted in multiple hits, but one, in particular, caught my eye. It was a PDF file--a sample of a novel I could download for free and purchase in its entirety if I liked what I saw. After reading the first page I was hooked and proceeded to purchase the five-book series.
"A human body starts to decompose four minutes after death. Once the encapsulation of life, it now undergoes its final metamorphosis. It begins to digest itself. Cells dissolve from the inside out. Tissue turns to liquid, then to gas. No longer animate, the body becomes an immovable feast for other organisms. Bacteria first, then insects. Flies. Eggs are laid, then hatch. The larvae feed on the nutrient-rich broth, and then migrate. They leave the body in orderly fashion, following each other in a neat procession that always heads south. South-east or south-west sometimes, but never north. No-one knows why.
"By now the body's muscle protein has broken down, producing a potent chemical brew. Lethal to vegetation, it kills the grass as the larvae crawl through it, forming an umbilical of death that extends back the way they came. In the right conditions--dry and hot, say, without rain--it can extend for yards, a wavering brown conga-line of fat yellow grubs. It's a curious sight, and for the curious what could be more natural than to follow this phenomenon back to its source? Which is how the Yates boys found what was left of Sally Palmer."
~ Page #1 of Simon Beckett's The Chemistry of Death;
Book #1 in the five-book series about forensic anthropologist Dr. David Hunter
I am currently half-way through book three in the series, Whispers of the Dead, while books one and two are making the rounds at work; my coworkers are on a waiting list to read them.
As writers, we know we have to hook readers from the very first sentence, and Beckett does an outstanding job. After reading the first page of the first book I spent $60+ to buy the series and have shared them with half of my coworkers, so is there a lesson to be learned here?
Simon Beckett is a British journalist, and in 2002 he visited the Anthropology Research Facility (better known as The Body Farm) in Tennessee. He did his homework, and the homework paid off bigtime. According to Simon's website, the books have been translated into 29 languages and sold millions of copies. I can attest to how good they are; I am a prolific reader (90 or more books a year), and these are some of the best books I have ever read, but they're not for the squeamish. If you have a problem with maggots, these probably aren't the books for you.
I first heard about Tennessee's Anthropology Research Facility in 1994 when I read Patricia Cornwell's The Body Farm, and I've been fascinated ever since. It's intriguing, it's disgusting, it's educational, and at first glance it seems disrespectful, but the corpses were donated by individuals (many of them nurses like me) who wanted their deaths to mean something. They wanted to help catch bad guys (or gals, as the case may be) who hurt good people, and it's a noble endeavor.
As a nurse, I can't watch shows like Grey's Anatomy (The book Gray's Anatomy, however, is absolutely brilliant and worth a read.) I can't enjoy them because all I see are the ridiculous mistakes: Foley catheters inserted into nostrils instead of urethras, chest compressions with bent elbows that barely budge the chest, epinephrine injections directly into someone's heart, patients dying when someone steps on the oxygen tubing extending from a nasal cannula. It's maddening. I think, Don't these shows hire medical consultants? For crap sake, these are stupid mistakes that can be easily rectified by a five-minute conversation with someone who knows what the hell they're talking about! Similarly, forensic experts scoff at shows like CSI, NCIS and Bones.
If you're going to do it, do it right. While most of the population won't notice the foibles, enough will, and writers who write for a living quite literally can't afford to repel even a small percentage of society with shoddy work. Like Simon Beckett, do your homework.
Have you written a medical mystery you'd like to share? Is your protagonist a nurse, doctor, pathologist, or forensic anthropologist? Have you seen or read examples of shoddy, poorly researched work that you just couldn't finish? Share your thoughts and stories with the WDC community and I will include them in next month's newsletter.
Thank you for reading.
P.S. Every registered author who shares their ideas and/or creative endeavors relating to or inspired by this week's topic will receive an exclusive trinket. I will retire this month's limited-edition trinket at 11:59 p.m. WDC time on Tuesday, July 10, 2018, when my next short stories newsletter goes live.
Further Reading:
Free Forensic Courses.
Download a free sample of Simon Beckett's The Chemistry of Death (book #1 in the David Hunter series) here.
More free forensic stuff.
Explore Forensics.
The Smithsonian's Bones and Forensic Anthropology. |
I hope you enjoy this week's featured selections. I occasionally feature static items by members who are no longer with us; some have passed away while others simply aren't active members. Their absence doesn't render their work any less relevant, and if it fits the week's topic I will include it.
Thank you, and have a great week!
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The following is in response to "Medieval Animal Trials" :
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Princess Megan Snow Rose writes: I hate animal abuse worse then anything and it even goes on today. Why are people so cruel? I enjoyed reading your newsletter and I hope animal abuse will end someday. Like yesterday. Thank you for writing your informative newsletter.
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Lilli 🧿 ☕ writes: Animal Farm is one of my favorite. Though I read it in school, I don't think we have the capacity to truly understand it until we are adults. Great newsletter. as always! Have an awesome day!
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BIG BAD WOLF is Howling writes: Try reading about Anthros - plenty of situations there. Sometimes the stories involve their own "Natural Instincts" being i conflict with their "Human Nature".
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dragonwoman writes: It seems that man and beast got the same short shift during those times. Unfortunately man has taken to animal torture and abuse and the animals have no advocate in many cases.
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Jeannie writes: Actually, I'm shocked enough to write on this topic — innocent animals being tried for their abuses during that era. I ask myself what could have been so bad that they were put to death in this manner. Burning them makes me cringe. The people put on trial must have done something bad to bring attention to themselves. But then again, I'm sure a lot of them were innocent of their deeds they were tried them for.
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Beacon's Anchor writes: Hi there, thank you for the newsletter and I enjoyed reading it. I have learned so much from you and the other people that I want to get better so I could write better. I would like to have your trinket now. Thank you. Beacon43
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brom21 writes: I've just watched the TV movie of Animal Farm featuring Kelsey Grammar as Old Major. I recall him getting killed and the whisky drinking animal taking over. I saw a unique way to insinuate opinion through anthropomorphism. I'd love to see a modern rendition with the concept. Thanks for the NL.
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Quick-Quill writes: This is a great genre to write in. Think of using the primal instinct and add human thought process. It makes great stories. Look at the movie about the guardians. The Owls Even Avatar uses this premise.
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Jeff writes: While the larger topic of cruelty to animals and trying holding them accountable for human actions is no laughing matter, I have to admit there is something inherently funny about the idea of an animal being excommunicated as a punishment. "Bad dog! No church for you on Sunday!"
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sindbad writes: Hi, Shannon. This is rather interesting take on events that have been less published and yet a vibrant part of our history. I did learn and understand certain traditions and events that were orthodox and unique with some semblance to the present day event. Nice and interesting moments of history captured perfectly. ~ Sindbad
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Elycia Lee ☮ writes: No, I've not heard of allegory at all until now. All I know is the word 'allegro' where it means fast in Italian and when we play piano pieces, we see that word, we play fast. I reckon this is like Da Vinci Code where things mean something, is that right? I'm eager to check out more on what this means. Humans passing judgement seems really bizarre. I cannot begin to imagine what this can truly mean. I wouldn't even say I specialise in personification. I only knew about it when I wrote about Hot Air Balloon in Rachel's (choconut) contest. I don't even know what anthropomorphism is. I Googled. Now I do. Yes, actually, it's really not my cup of tea, talking animals. I feel quite disturbed by it actually. I don't know why, even though I write children's story. I love fairies but not talking animals. Yep. I'm willing to give allegory a try. Let me complete my deadline first. I hope I remember.
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Celtic SeaWolf writes: I have loved anthropormorphic tales from my first introduction to them as a child in Wind of the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. I have not tried my hand seriously attempting anthropomorphic story but I have several character sketches of various anthropomorphic characters. Perhaps I’ll use the sources found in this newsletter and develope a story for some of those characters.
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