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Violence 101: A Primer for Writers
- 1. Martin Roy Hill Partners in Crime Mysterious Galaxy San Diego, CA July 8, 2017 Writing About CrimeWith Authenticity and Responsibility
- 2. First, my Bona Fides Medic in three military branches Wilderness SAR/tactical medic w/ San Diego Sheriff EMT w/ federal Disaster Medical AssistanceTeam U.S. Navy analyst - combat casualty care (the job that pays the rent)
- 3. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Genesis of this talk: Questions about wounds on writers’ forum Reading thrillers and watching movies where characters endure violence without any physical impacts I call this The Mission Impossible Syndrome, after movies in whichTom Cruise repeatedly gets blown up without repercussion
- 4. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Mission: Impossible I
- 5. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Mission: Impossible 2
- 6. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Mission: Impossible 3
- 7. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Why does it matter to writers? Readers, more than viewers, want authenticity Ian Fleming’s James Bond Novelists “conditioned by what they see on the screen…” - David Morrell Aids in character development Violence without repercussions glorifies violence. Never underestimate the number of people eligible for the Darwin Award
- 8. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers My rules for writing about violence in my novels: Rule 1: Injuries have permanent consequences. Rule 2:You have to understand ballistic injuries. Rule 3:You have to understand blast injuries. Rule 4:You have to understand anatomy. Rule 5: A blow to the head is no simple matter. Rule 6:Violence is not easily forgotten.
- 9. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Rule 1: Injuries have permanent consequences. Even those injuries that are not immediately obvious to the onlooker are life changing. The impact of injuries linger for a lifetime. They can be physically or mentally crippling. In real life, they become part of the individual In your novel(s), they should be part of your character development
- 10. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Rule 2: Understand ballistic injuries. Two types of penetrating ballistic wounds. Low velocity (slow moving) Most handguns, older rifles Low-level explosives (i.e., gunpowder) High velocity (near super-sonic) Modern military rifles (M-16, AK-47) High-level explosives (i.e., C-4) .
- 11. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Rule 2: Understand ballistic injuries.
- 12. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Rule 2: Understand ballistic injuries. Emergency War Surgery 2004
- 13. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Rule 2: Understand ballistic injuries.
- 14. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Rule 3: Understand blast injuries. .
- 15. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Rule 3: Understand blast injuries. Primary Blast Injuries Signature of modern high-yield explosives (plastics) The effect of over-pressure wave (aka blast wave) on the body Close up, disintegrates body (brisance) Can rupture hollow organs, tear solid organs from foundations w/o external injury
- 16. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Rule 3: Understand blast injuries. Wikimedia BlastWave
- 17. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Rule 3: Understand blast injuries. Secondary Blast Injuries Result from all explosives Can be low- or high-velocity wounds Penetrating injuries from shrapnel hurled outward by the explosion Fragments of casing or contents of bombs
- 18. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Rule 3: Understand blast injuries. Tertiary Blast Injuries Injuries result from: Victims thrown by the force of blast Struck or crushed by objects tossed by blast Quaternary Blast Injuries Surface burns and inhalation burns Inhalation of toxic blast by-products
- 19. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Rule 4:You have to understand anatomy.
- 20. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Rule 4:You have to understand anatomy. (And death is not necessarily instantaneous.)
- 21. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Rule 5: A blow to the head is no simple matter.
- 22. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Rule 5: A blow to the head is no simple matter. Can be life threatening Skull fractures Internal contrecoup injuries (bruising/swelling) Inter-cranial bleeding Pressure from bleeding, swelling can cause brain herniation
- 23. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Rule 5: A blow to the head is no simple matter. “Simple concussion” not so simple Also know as mildTraumatic Brain Damage Signature injury of IraqWar First injury makes victim susceptible to further injuries Term “punch drunk” = permanent mTBI Long seen in boxers, now in football players
- 24. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Rule 6:Violence is not easily forgotten. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Related to any trauma, not just war Survivors of disasters, shootings, terrorism Law enforcement also affected New military phrase: “combat & operational stress” Victims need not be injured or directly experience trauma TV show: China Beach Play: A Piece of My Heart
- 25. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Make your characters real, believable people If you have a character who survives a horrifying experience in one novel, but is unaffected by it in the next, you have failed in your character development. Understanding the lasting effects of violence on the human body, and how it affects the mind and soul of your character, can make that character more realistic and sympathetic to your readers.
- 26. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers “She was puffy, discolored. She breathed heavily through her open mouth.There was an odor of sickness in the room. I looked at her and thought of the movie heroines.They go through terror and capture and violence, yet four minutes after rescue they melt, with glossy hair and limpid eyes and gown by Dior, into the arms of Lancaster, or Gable, or Brando.This was reality.The pain and ugliness and sickness of reality.” John D. MacDonald A Bullet for Cinderella
- 27. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Questions?
- 28. Violence 101: A Primer for Writers Need help? Contact me: Martin Roy Hill www.martinroyhill.com author@martinroyhill.com
Notas do Editor
- Crime Scene Writer’s Yahoo group Thumb sucker novels (ie, Dan Brown) Ridiculous movies that emphasize violence
- Movies goers tend to want action more than authenticity (James Bond novels vs movies) Readers want a plot that “feels real” Too many novice writers tainted by movies/TV Cheat on character development – 2 dimensional character (Wily Coyote) Don’t glorify violence. People imitate what they see or read Vancouver man tried to bungee onto passing cruise ship from bridge Saw it in a Bond movie Movie Titanic Bow scene w/ lovers led to several deaths Tim McVeigh & OK City Got idea from Turner Diaries
- Rule 1: Injuries have permanent consequences. Rule 2: You have to understand ballistic injuries. Rule 3: You have to understand blast injuries. Rule 4: You have to understand anatomy. Rule 5: A blow to the head is no simple matter. Rule 6: Violence is not easily forgotten.
- Seems obvious, but often neglected by authors Can be used develop your characters Dr. House A lost limb = obvious impact Allan Russell – The Burning Man Empty Places, protagonist Peter Brandt Head injury from war wound, suffers crushing headaches Hitler Is Coming, Paul Klee, Shot in the stomach. Eating is something he no longer enjoys because of digestive difficulties.
- Low velocity projectiles from older rifles and explosives (black powder), and most modern hand guns Doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous The black powder rifles and the minié ball—that caused horrific injuries. Minie ball smashed flesh and shattered bones High velocity projectiles from modern military rifles and modern high-level explosives
- Bullet wound differ Caliber (size/weight) 5.56 mm bullet vs .22 bullet Velocity Note how wounds differ according to bullet speed Type of weapon Shotgun vs rifle vs handgun
- High velocity projectile creates two cavities. One is the track it takes through the body. The other is a created by the projectile’s shock wave. This one is larger, but temporary. Because of this shock wave effect, high velocity projectile exits the body it leaves a massive hole with a great loss of tissue. This is the wound that causes most of the bleeding, not the little entry hole
- A good view of the cavity created by passive of a bullet Note the amount of material hurled out of the exit wound High velocity bullets more often than not are through-and-through Blood spatter often believed to come from entrance wound Primarily comes from exit wound This is where major hemorrhage results in death Real life example: Female CAARNG soldier who died because exit wound ignored Importance to writers: Knowing how different ammo makes different wounds can be used in your crime story. Police know the difference How badly a character in injured and how they are treated. Exit wounds often ignored in books or movies
- Four types of blast injuries. Primary Secondary Tertiary Quartenary
- Primary blast injuries are caused by pressure wave (aka blast wave) of a high yield blast Modern military explosives such as C-4 or PETN First observed in WWII Can tear body apart by the pressure wave before any shrapnel can reach it. Blast/pressure wave can rupture hollow organs like the stomach or bladder, or tear solid organs from their foundations Can cause embolism from pressure change Blast wave worse in enclosed areas Bounces back and forth against walls Israeli bus windows always open because of this Blast are worse in water Inquiry from Liam Saville Depth charges and submarines Usually ignored in books and movies James Rollins’ book with diver
- Good photo showing pressure wave Blast probably a fuel-air explosive Remember MI photos? Anyone think Tom Cruise’s character could really survive such blast without permanent injury or death?
- Secondary blast injury These can be both low- and high-velocity projectiles, depending on explosive. Boston Marathon bombing = low-yield explosives (Fireworks) OK City bombing = high yield explosives (ANFO) Penetrating injuries from shrapnel hurled by the explosion. Shrapnel can be fragments from the casing of the explosive charge, or items embedded inside the bomb such as ball bearings or nails. Also caused by items in the surrounding environment hurled about by the force of the blast. With suicide bombers, can be pieces of bone Again, exit wounds!!!
- Tertiary blast injuries: Victims thrown by the force of the explosion into solid objects (Mission: Impossible pics) Or struck by an object thrown by the blast force, Or from the collapse of a structure caused by a blast. These are usually blunt force or crush injuries, or fractures. Quaternary blast injuries: Burns from the blast or fires set by the blast Inhalation burns, lung rupture Inhalation of toxic products created by the explosion or resulting fires. Burning of man-made objects create toxins like cyanide gas Importance to writers: Quaternary Blast injuries are usually ignored by authors Flash burns from blasts Suffocation from smoke or cyanide? Escape smoke but still suffer from cyanide poisoning
- Frequent question: Where’s a safe place to be shot? Answer: Nowhere. All the red lines are arteries/blue are veins Can you see a safe area to shoot? Cop shootings? Why don’t they shoot suspect in leg or arm? Aim center mass; too hard to hit limbs Wound in limb can still be fatal National Guard soldier died from thigh wound (Reprise) Pro-ball player in FL died from wound in thigh Both bled from femoral artery GOP baseball shooting Rep Scalise shot through pelvic area News reports wondered why a hip wound so dangerous Look at a pelvic region on chart Lateral through and through High velocity round (AK47) – remember wound characteristics Bullet and bone fragments Region highly vascular Peritonitis from feces/urine contamination Knife wounds Portray wrong in books/movies = slow death, internal bleeding unless Aorta or other major artery cut Throat is slashed Bleed out fast
- Dying is a process Unless blown up (brisance) or brain is blown out of skull, it takes time to die. Salvageable vs unsalvageable injuries Unsalvageable Brain destruction Decapitation Dismemberment Incineration All other wounded can be saved if receive surgical quick enough Dying is a process Death from penetrating wound comes from hemorrhage, results in no perfusion to organs/brain Triangle of Death (Hemorrhage, Hypothermia, Acidosis) Death from hemopneumothorx, cuts off vena cava, compresses heart Takes longer than usually portrayed in movies/novels Even a shot in the heart may not cause instant death Why is this important to writers? Realism: A wounded person still dangerous Cops handcuff all shot suspects, even those who appear dead. Plot Device: Dying character can still cause mischief
- Hardboiled detective - repeatedly knocked out with a blow to the head, usually from a pistol butt. Gets up, rubs his head, and carries on like nothing happened. Reality: Hero would wake up Puke his guts out Experience disorientation Probably end up in the hospital.
- Such a blow, in fact, could be life threatening. A blow to the head can result in: a skull fracture contrecoup injury (bruising and swelling) Intracranial bleeding Bleeding and swelling = intracranial pressure increases Can cause the brain to herniate Pushed into foramen magnum Results in death Depending on which vessels involved, death can come in minutes or hours
- A simple concussion is nothing to whistle at either. A concussion is also called a mild traumatic brain injury or mTBI. Signature wound of the Iraq war. Get one, you become more vulnerable to future mTBIs. Can result in long lasting cognitive problems or PTSD-like symptoms Term "a punch-drunk boxer" = permanent brain damage from repeated mTBIs Long known in boxers, now seen in football players Mohammed Ali – Parkinson’s syndrome Junior Seau – Suicide Study of both brains showed brain damage from repeated blows Importance to writers: Don’t want readers to underestimate lethality of head injuries. Plot Device: Blow to head can result in charges of attempted murder or murder Plot Device: mTBI can be a character trait Gary Trudeau - Doonesbury
- Suffered by people who endure and survive horrifying events Wartime events Terrorism Disasters Affects Service members Law enforcement Firefighters/EMTs Reporters Writers’ usages: Empty Places Peter suffers PTSD from Latin wars Relates to PS by murders he’s witness Last Refuge Peter deals with old and new “ghosts” Keeps “nightmare stash of cigarettes” in nightstand New phrase “Combat and Operational Stress” Doesn’t need be a physically traumatic event Emotional stress from operational environment Usages in fiction: TV show China Beach Impact on doctors and nurses in Vietnam Play A Piece of My Heart Impact on women (nurses, Red Cross) in Vietnam Doesn’t have to involve war Plot device: Darby in Something Far Away
- If you have a character who survived a horrifying experience in one novel, but in the next book is perfectly unaffected by it, you have failed in your character development. Understanding the lasting effects of violence on the human body and how it affects the mind and soul of your character can make that character more realistic and sympathetic to your readers.
- Note: John MacDonald was OSS officer in WWII