Why ask why? Because we need to know why. But, why?

Why did he go on that rampage? Why are they robbing THAT bank? What was the reason behind taking the victim's worthless bracelet? Why, why, and more why's. Everyone does whatever it is that they do for a reason, including criminals. But, do they always have a specific reason for acting in a certain way or for commiting a crime in a specific way. And, why did they decide to commit that particular crime in the first place? These are questions I, as a reader, frequently ask of the material I'm reading, and it got me thinking. Do readers, in general, seek a motive for the characters' acts and/or behavior, or do they simply accept them, incorporate them into the story, and keep moving? Let's talk about that.

One movie I've always loved is the first in the Die Hard movie series. Our wonderful villain, Hans, is trying to convince the executive on scene, Mr. Takagi, to provide him with the code for one of the vault's seven locks. Mr. Takagi makes a comment alluding to the fact that Hans and his crew are 'terrorists' and Hans laughs and asks what made him think they were terrorists? Mr. Takagi is stunned and his response is along the lines of 'you mean, this is just about money'? I always found it interesting that the fact that they were only after bearer bonds ($640 million to be exact) surprised him. Then again, Hans did deliberately try to mislead the police into believing they were holding those hostages in the high-rise pending the release of various political prisoners, so perhaps Mr. Takagi just picked up on that. But, my point is, he really seems to find it hard to believe that they were doing all of that and going through all of that just for money. I personally thought it brilliant. They shut down everything, locked everyone out that was out and locked everyone in that was already in, had someone to figure out how to open the locks to the vault and, in the end, knew that cutting off the power would break the final seal. Of course, they hadn't counted on Bruce Willis being in the building with them, and well, that was their mistake. But, getting back to motive, theirs was the desire for money. They didn't care who they had to go around, over, or through to get it. It was all about the bearer bonds. Simple enough. No deep-seated psychological issues with their mothers, no childhood conflicts with their peers, no backstory about an aunt by marriage twice-removed who collected decorative hairpins, no contributing factors. Just one solid, unshakeable focus--one driving force--one motive: money.

What I enjoy most of all about this is its simplicity. Whether you've seen this film, or whether you like it or not is really not relevant here. You have to admire the fact that motive is kept so simple and basic. There's no looks back into their childhoods or disillusioned youths. All they want is money. Although, sometimes motives that stem from various factors that have built up over the years can be extremely interesting as well. Take serial killers, for instance.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking. Serial killers? Not again. Sorry, but I, myself, happen to enjoy the complexities of a serial killer. Their motives and methods always run deep and are dark and sinister. I enjoy reading, and writing about, their personal lives, the way they hunt, how they choose who to hunt, and... Well, you get my drift. There's nothing basic or simple about a serial killer, or at least, there shouldn't be, and I think that's why they interest me. Mass murderers and/or thrill killer type characters can be just as complex at times. Of course, there are always the leads from the film, Natural Born Killers. Not a lot of deep motivation there, I don't think. But, that's a whole other ballgame. I will say though, I really like that film. It's strange and the characters are all bizarre and you hate them all and yet, you can't turn away. But, onward and upward.

Like I've said, I like a motive--a reason--a driving force behind a criminal. One caution here though. Make sure when you write them, do not go overboard with that. Don't include little snippets of their dreams and childhood heartbreaks on every other page. Don't go on and on about how their mother's re-marriage warped their perception of the world as they knew it. And, I don't even want to hear about the teddy bear that got tossed by mistake when the family moved. While that might be used to explain why the reunion was turned into a massacre, I don't believe I'd stick with the story long enough to reach that chapter.

Give me motives and reasons, let me get to know your characters as people and as criminals. Go back if you need to, but don't let all that bog you down. Stick relevent tidbits in here and there, but keep your story moving. Oh, and only tell me things once. Trust me, I'll remember. Nothing turns me off a story quicker than reading the exact same sentence twelve times on twelve different pages. Oh yeah. It's happened. I won't name any names, but you know who you are. Don't do that!

I'm going to close with mention of one character for which no motives or reasons were ever necessary. He was so brilliantly written, and portrayed, that it never mattered. No matter how many times you see this particular film, you never care why. You know why all the other characters do what they do, and it's important that you do. It helps you to get to know them better, and believe me, they are worth getting to know. But there is the one guy...

I'm speaking, of course, of the film, No Country for Old Men, and the character I'm referring to is our cold-blooded killer, Anton. You know he's after the money from the deal that went bad, but who does he work for? Does he work for either side? Who does he answer to? Getting to know him for just a couple of minutes makes one wonder if he would ever be in a position to answer to anyone. This is a man who is colder than cold--professional though and even honorable, in his own sinister way. But, reason? Motive? Who can say. Is it his job? Who cares. He's a terrifying persona--calm and methodical and oh so deadly if he feels you are in his way. This is one case of a character where no motive and/or reason is offered.

This is the only occasion I can recall where reasons behind a character's behavior don't seem relevent. Really, the only one. As a writer, I always try to get something in there to let you see the world through my criminal's eyes--let you get inside his/her head so you understand. As a reader, I want writers to do the same for me. It seems to make them, and the story, more real for me. How about you?

Updated Link to Dan O'Shea's Church Flash Contest

Here's an updated link to the contest http://danielboshea.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/let-us-prey/ with all the contributors and the links to their stories. Wouldn't want you to miss any. Mine is below (Bless Me, Father). Get on over there and start reading. I guarantee you will enjoy these deliciously dark and sinister tales.

Bless Me, Father

Here's my contribution to Dan O'Shea's flash challenge. See my previous post for a link to all the stories. I can't wait to read them all. Here's mine and I hope you enjoy.

BLESS ME, FATHER...

Mary Catherine needed to hurry. The morning was getting away from her and that wouldn't do. If she didn't get to St. Michael's before 8:45, she would miss confession with Father Mark. No. That wouldn't do. Not at all.

Mother had an odd look about her--not a peaceful one by any means. Mary Catherine figured it was because she had seen the knife coming. That was most unfortunate, but Mother did need to see a servant of God ready to smite her. She tucked Mother into her bed of sin, naked before God, both in this world and the next. Mary Catherine took a quick shower before she dressed for Church. Who knew a throat wound would bleed that much.

Father Mark was alone in the Church. All the older women in the parish arrived bright and early for confession and stayed on for the early Mass. No one went to confession before the 9:00 a.m. Mass anymore, and that was just fine with Mary Catherine. This morning, she wanted Father Mark all to herself.

"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned," she began. "It has been one day since my last confession."

The priest recognized the young girl's voice and bright red hair through the grating in the confessional. He smiled. These children. So devout.

"Is that you, Mary Catherine? Are you certain that you need to seek penance today, child? What could you possibly have done in one day that would necessitate your seeking absolution?"

"Well, the first thing this morning, I killed my mother," she responded. "And now, I'm going to kill you."

The priest couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Uh--I--what did you say? My child, if you've done something ser..., I mean, perhaps the best thing for us to do would be to go now to my office where we can speak privately. If you're having some sort of episode..., or problem, well, I know that I can help you if you just trust me. Let's..."

The priest saw the barrel of the gun Mary Catherine was pointing at him through the grating.

"No, Father, we are not going anywhere. See, Mother and I were arguing again this morning. She drinks a lot, you see. Gets up every morning, and first thing, grabs a bottle. Oh, but I forgot. You already knew that, didn't you?"

"I'm not sure what you're saying, child. How would I..."

He stopped when the girl began tapping the grating with the barrel of the gun again.

"Don't interrupt me. I'm trying to explain. Anyway, we started arguing, and I told her how much I hated her. I do, you know, and I tell her as often as I can. But, this morning, she surprised me and grew a backbone. She took a swing at me and told me she hated me too. She said she had always hated me and wished I had never even been born. She said when she found out she got knocked up, she wanted to get rid of me, but couldn't because of who my father was. Well, more to the point, because of what my father was."

The priest wondered if he could make it out of the confessional before the girl pulled the trigger. Even if he could though, he wondered, what then? What if he dove behind a pew? Would she fire anyway? Would she look for him in the pews?

"Are you listening? You look like you're in your own little world, Father. Just in case you're thinking of making a run for it, think again. There's only so far you can run, and I do mean to kill you today. So, just pay attention. I have many other things to do today, you know. You're not my only errand."

Errand? Is that what killing him was to her? An errand? My God, he thought, please let me get out of this somehow. Please let me find a way to reason with this disturbed child. Perhaps if I just try to remain calm, he thought, and try to keep her talking. Someone's bound to come into the Church and that surely will make her stop this insanity.

"What did you mean, what your father was? Please tell me."

"I will, if you would just shut the fuck up. Oh. I'll add a Hail Mary to my penance for that one. Anyway, Mother told me what and who my father was. She said he was a priest. Can you believe it? A priest. And she also said, you sick and wicked bastard, that the priest was you."

Oh God, no. Now, he wasn't sure keeping this child talking was such a good idea.

"You don't understand how things were, child. I was struggling with my faith, I was young, the times were different, I was confused and your mother..."

The gunshot echoed through the empty Church. Blood splattered all over the front of Mary Catherine's new Sunday dress. Who knew a headshot would bleed that much.

"Dear God," she whispered, "I beg for absolution for this and all my sins of today. I wonder what my penance should be. I'll decide then, shall I? Let's see. I've got it."

She put the gun back into her purse, straightened up on the kneeler, closed her eyes, clasped her hands and began.

"Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed..."

New Flash Challenge!

There's a new flash fiction challenge that's got a real kick. Whatever crime or type of evil occurrence strikes your fancy is supposed to take place within your chosen place of worship. Freaky? You bet. Possibilities? About a million. I'm getting in on this one. I've already got the idea for my tale and it's a dark one, folks, a really dark one. But, come on. Is there any other kind? The participating authors are listed, along with a link to their blog, which is where the stories will be posted. The deadline is March 1, so mark your calendars. Scope that list of submitters. We are all going to be in for a real treat.

http://danielboshea.wordpress.com/2010/02/12/every-now-and-then-i-gotta-flash-someone/

The Crime Factory is Open For Business!

This is a new zine that is a MUST read. It is also a MUST CONTINUE to read. The first issue is available now, and it's a crime fiction lover's dream. Essays, articles, reviews, short fiction, you name it--it's in there. Get over there now and start in on the first one. You wouldn't want to get behind...

http://crimefactoryzine.com/

CRIME FACTORY

Monsters: They're not under your bed anymore; they're sharing your pillow!

There's a different breed of monsters out there for you to incorporate into your stories. They're not your typical two-headed, six-eyed variety either. This isn't a new concept, but it is a powerful one, and it delivers a knock-out blow when you're trying to scare your reader. Let me explain.

Over the recent holiday season, pretty much from Halloween through New Year's Day, there were marathons galore. The ones I particularly enjoyed were the old Twilight Zone and Outer Limits episodes. There were a couple that had common secondary 'themes' and those were what gave me the idea for this post. What helped to expand on my idea was a couple of books I also read over the holidays; again, with the same type of undercurrent in them. Gems, every one.

There I was, sitting and enjoying the Twilight Zone marathon, when a particular favorite of mine came on. The title is The Monsters are Due on Maple Street. It's a revealing peek into what happens when you deliberately place very normal people into a very abnormal situation. The fact that aliens are behind it is not really important for purposes of this discussion. What is important is what events were set in motion and what resulted. Okay, I'm giving the basis of the plot away here, but that's alright. If you can find this episode somewhere out in cyberland, I highly recommend watching it anyway. It seems this group of aliens decide to take over the earth, but their plan is to do it one neighborhood at a time by letting us basically destroy ourselves. Sadly enough, it was a sound plan and easily carried out. They didn't even have to lift a finger (or whatever they had at the end of their 'hands'). All they had to do was introduce paralyzing fear, and that was easier than you might think.

They did it in steps. First and foremost, communication with anyone outside the area was cut off. Isolation. Very important. When you're unable to seek comfort and assistance from the outside, you are forced to rely on whoever is closest. That's all well and good, but what if you can't trust whoever is closest? That's where the horror begins.

Next, they began to plant the seeds of mistrust. First they cut the power to homes here and there. Everyone began to unite, to bond, to prepare to ride out whatever storm had descended upon them. Then, the power would come back on here and there in specific homes. Uh oh. Why, the people are asking themselves, is so-and-so's power back on and not mine? Now, the people are beginning to split into groups and becoming 'them' and 'us'. A few more parlor tricks and they begin to fight and destroy each other. Didn't take too long and it wasn't hard to accomplish at all. Those 'nice', 'decent', 'caring' people in Happytown, USA, turned into bloodthirsty killers. Monsters. Every one.

The Outer Limits marathon had a delightful tale to offer by the name of Abduction. A group of high school students are suddenly cut off from the rest of the world--again, isolation. No communication with anyone other than the rest of the group. Everyone in the school had disappeared and their movements were restricted to the hallways and one classroom. A creature (this one really was a creature in the true sense of the word) appeared to them and offered a proposal. He/it explained that they were chosen to participate in an experiment and it was a very simple one. All they had to do was to make a choice. In order to survive, they had to pick someone from the group that should die, and the rest would be allowed to live and resume their lives. Simple. Naturally, time was a factor here. He gave them the hour by which the decision would have to be made and disappeared.

Now, this was an interesting one. They, of course, followed the 'normal' course of human behavior--they united and began to bond to try to figure out what was really happening and what they could possibly do to save themselves. None of them had previously associated with each other in the course of their lives, but all of a sudden, here they were. After much soul-searching and discussions--some angry and violent--they discover that one of them had circled their photos in a school publication and had brought a gun with him to school that day. It was the 'you think you're better than me' type of thing, and frankly, some of them did feel that way. They were all caught up in the uncertainty, peer pressure, and prejudices of their daily lives and it all came spilling through. They began to divide and turn against each other and one couldn't help but wonder if the boy had planned to execute those who's photos he had marked. They learned that's why they were chosen; the alien(s) had selected those the boy had marked, knowing how strongly he felt about each of them.

Nice, young kids placed in a desparate situation and asked to make a terrible choice. Well, the ending here isn't really relevant (although, in this case, things did turn out for the best), but it is the process that's fascinating from a writing standpoint. It was very easy to create a sense of horror and fear just using 'regular' people and preying on their fear of the unknown and watching them basically try to destroy each other without any regret or sense of consequence.

If you want to see perfect examples of the art of creating 'monsters' of this type, I have two books to recommend that I read over the holidays. Oddly enough, they are both by Stephen King. The first is The Mist. I would like to say here though, that, while the book is very good and does clearly illustrate the human condition under duress, the film is much stronger and will have a greater effect, especially the ending. A different ending was written for the movie and I will tell you, it is very upsetting, but unfortunately, very necessary. I have the feeling that's the way real life would turn out.

Anyway, for purposes of creating our 'monsters', King does it well in The Mist. He creates a perfect sense of isolation by cutting off communication and power. Factoring in horrifying creatures who rip people to pieces only adds to the fear. No one knows what the things are or where they came from (although, naturally, there is suspicion they're the result of experiments on the army base outside of town), but again, this is secondary for our purposes. Once you take away security and the 'known', there's always someone who begins to stir things up. In this case, you have a woman who decides it's all caused by the wrath of God and she divides the group into a 'them' and 'us' type situation. She preaches hatred and fear and the result is decent, hard-working people--neighbors--become vengeful, cold-blooded killers and little by little, the group begins to destroy itself from within. Monsters? Oh yes.

My last example is King's latest, Under The Dome. This sets the stage immediately since the dome comes down right away and so begins the isolation. They can see those outside the dome, but cannot touch them, so in a way, the sense of isolation is more cruel. There is someone here who takes total advantage of the situation by turning the townspeople against each other for his own purposes. This person probably wasn't going to be nominated for sainthood before all this happened anyway, but the unexplained 'event' really fed his fire for control. He became a 'monster' in the true sense of the word and it wasn't hard to recruit others to his way of thinking. The town split into factions, the 'them' and 'us' thing again, and well, you get the idea. The end? Well, I'll let you read it--it's worth your time, but this is yet another example of the creation of monsters from among us.

If I had to pick my favorite 'monster' movie of all time, it would be an old black and white film called 'Them'. It's about giant ants, believe it or not, and while it doesn't exactly keep me up at night, I always enjoy watching it. I love monster stories and films about giant spiders and the deadites from Evil Dead, but let me tell you, the one movie that scared me into nightmares was Jaws. I had been in the ocean and never before realized what was out there--really out there. T-Rex's and killer gremlins may be creepy, but sharks are real and so is the danger. Scarier? Much.

But, people? Can people be scary? Scarier than poltergeists and zombies? Just regular, normal, God-fearing people that you nod to in the grocer and share your paper with in the diner? You bet they can. If you want to truly scare your readers, feed them some real possibilities about their own behavior and that of their fellow man. Let them see how easily the familiar and the normal can become the unknown and the terrifying in the blink of an eye. Next time their power cuts off, maybe they'll think twice about who to run to. And, maybe they should do just that...

Blah, Blah, Blah, Yap, Yap, Yap: Put A Cork In It, or Not?

When you think about writing stories or novels in any genre, the subject of dialogue always arises. For purposes of this discussion, dialogue will include not only conversations between characters, but also characters' thoughts, characters' speeches, statements, etc. Now, I'm not going to get into the importance of dialogue itself, because that should be a given. Characters need to communicate with each other, with the writer, and with the reader, and they need to do it appropriately--i.e., 'within character'. No. The question I'm going to raise here is, when is it time for one's character(s) to just shut the *&#$ up and let the story move forward. Is there ever a point when your characters simply talk too much? Unfortunately, there are times when this is the case.

We all know the importance of our readers getting to know each and every one of our characters. Only then can they share in all their experiences. A character must have a past, a present, hopes, fears, and all that good stuff, and the way a reader learns about them is through dialogue. Yes, descriptions are important--kind of third party type statements like 'Jack grew up in a rough area of the city...', or 'Emilie had always feared wide open spaces...'. All that's fine and dandy, but I believe it's through their own words that a reader can truly know what makes them tick. But, like was said when I was a kid: 'Sometimes it's better to be seen than heard', and this does apply here.

Our characters speak through us, true. However, in a way, we speak through our characters as well. It's a flow thing. No, we're not really serial killers or corrupt cops or monsters in the mist or even heroes who save mankind, but the voices do come from within the writer. Sound nutty? Of course it is. We wouldn't be readable writers if we didn't hear the voices of our characters. What I'm getting at is consider how you write a letter or a postcard. Do you do a 40 pager that requires 18 stamps or obscure the caption on the postcard by writing down, across, and along all the sides (you know, the kind of behavior that causes the postal employees to go postal)? Or do you say only what needs to be said. That is not to say you're notes are rude and uninteresting. Brief and to the point does not have mean boring and hateful. It simply means brief and to the point. That's what our characters need to be.

In order to allow our readers to get inside our characters, they need to talk. They need to talk about how they feel about themselves, their childhood maybe, their deeds (whatever those may be), and they most certainly need to do it in more than two word sentences. The point I'm trying to make here is, make sure you know the difference between sharing perspectives and blabbering like an idiot. You know the type. You begin reading a story, the setting is intriguing and there's an event that occurs in the first chapter that hooks you hard. Then, you move forward and one or more of your characters begins talking. And talking. And talking. And... You get my drift.

They witnessed an event and are making a statement to the police, or something really monumental happened in their life and they're sharing it with a friend. They explain what they've seen or heard and include a few tidbits about their own life in relation to it and pretty much should stop there. But, they do not. They begin describing their teen years and the vacation they took when they were four, and my, my, isn't the sky a lovely shade of blue today, and twelve pages later, they're still droning on. Come on, you know what I'm talking about. Those stories where you stop really reading and start skimming, kind of glancing over the page and noticing the quote marks never seem to end, and you start flipping pages so you can get back to the storyline before you forget what you read on page one. Now, you've done it. You've lost the reader, and I'll guarantee, the next time they see your name on something, they'll think lots of talking, but very little story. I'll think I'll pass. Is that what you want?

We've discussed before the fact that some pieces are strongly event-driven while others are strongly character-driven. Both are fine--they're simply different styles of telling a story. In a character-driven tale though, notice there is much more dialogue and less straight descriptive passages. The characters voices give you the feel for the places and events. Let me give you some examples of really well written character-driven stories where the characters 'know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em'--so to speak.

Jon Loomis' books, High Season and Mating Season are two great examples. Strongly character-driven stories with tons of dialogue, but never is it too much to digest. Places are described, people, feelings, memories, characters interact, and at times, there is what may be considered 'small talk' made, but never does it cross the line into 'oh no, that character's making a speech again'. Dave Zeltserman's Bad Thoughts and Bad Karma are another example. Dialogue is exceptionally critical in the telling of these two stories, and again, the line is never crossed. What needs to be said is said and yes, there's 'regular' dialogue in there that's not specifically related to events but let's us get inside the characters' heads and relationships with each other, but that's okay. It's done well and never overdone.

I don't need to give you examples of the ones where the characters are simply too 'talky', you know what they are because you've read some. We all have. We all also have put them aside after a few chapters of that and never gone back to them. You don't want readers doing that with your stuff, do you? Whether we are chatty cathy's in our own lives is our own cross to bear (and the cross of those around us as well), but don't turn your characters into those annoying people we sometimes get cornered by. You know the ones. You are out and about and you see someone you know and you make the fatal mistake of asking how they are. Four and a half hours later...

I'm going to give you a tip that's a sure-fire way to avoid including meaningless rambling by a character in a story. When you feel you're done with it, put it aside. It doesn't have to be for a specific length of time, but do put it aside. Then, pick it up and read it. But, and here's the kicker, don't read it as a 'writer'. Read it as a 'reader'. You will be amazed at how many times you'll think to yourself, 'no one would really say that' and quite a few 'who cares about that', and you'll edit them out or rework them. You'll identify whose mouth needs a cork stuck in it and whose doesn't.

Oh, and by the way. Next time you're out of town, no postcards please. I have a life...