The Secret Struggle for the Magic It (How to Write Spy Fiction)

According to Robert McKee’s excellent book on screenwriting, you can’t write in a particular genre until you understand the conventions and elements that it demands. This is one of the reasons that writers who strive to improve their craft benefit from reading the work of others who have mastered a specific genre.

In developing the script for my own novel, I also created my own understanding of the elements of the spy fiction genre. I’d like to share this concept here (along with pertinent examples where I can find them) in the hopes that it will help increase your appreciation of both the spy fiction specifically and the creation of genre fiction in general.

The Elements of Spy Fiction

Based on my exposure to classic and modern spy fiction, there are three fundamental elements that can be described simply as the secret struggle for the magic it. I’ll break down these concepts to make them more understandable:

1. The “Magic It”: There is a person, object or piece of information that drives the story. Whatever this “it” happens to be, it is so important that people are willing to kill and risk their lives for it. For example, in Skyfall the “magic it” starts off as a list of undercover agents (information). In Spy Game, the “magic it” is the spy held in the Chinese prison that is scheduled to be executed (person). In The Hunt for Red October, the “magic it” is a rouge nuclear submarine (very large object).
2. The Opposing Groups: There are at least two people, agencies, or countries struggling to acquire whatever the “magic it” happens to be. For example, in Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy the opposing groups are the British Circus and Moscow Center. In La Femme Nikita the opposing groups are Covert One and Red Cell, while The Bourne Identity pits rival factions within the CIA itself as the opposing groups.
3. The Secret Struggle: For reasons that are inherently logical to the story, the opposing groups need to keep their conflict hidden from the outside world. This is what separates spy fiction from most mysteries, thrillers and legal or police suspense novels. Both the protagonist and the antagonist work from the shadows, employing similar techniques of stealth and deception. In many spy classics, it is often difficult to tell who the “good” and “bad” guys are based purely on what they do. This gray area is one of the elements that make stories like The Gentleman’s Game, Rain Fall and Ronin so compelling. The definitions of right and wrong often boil down to malleable issues of money, ideology, coercion and excitement.

Applying the Elements to My Own Work

The premise of the book I am writing now involves a young spy who is forced to infiltrate an international smuggling ring by seducing the leader of the group. The “Magic It” here is information. The protagonist has to find proof that her lover is tied to arms smuggling. There are two opposing groups; the mercenary spies sent to infiltrate the smugglers and the smugglers themselves. Both groups need to use secrecy and deception, either to illegally ship weapons around the world or get into a position to stop those shipments. By creating a story that satisfies the elements of spy fiction, I can build a stronger narrative that can hopefully appeal to the millions of people who devour this genre every year in books, TV shows and movies.

The Dark Side

While understanding the conventions of any fictional genre can satisfy the expectations of the audience, writers must, at the same time, be very aware of the clichés that are particular to their genre. Avoiding these pitfalls is the difference between creating a classic story and a half-baked mess. Next week, I’ll try to define what the differences are between conventions and clichés and explain how my novel will try to rise above the ordinary.

So what are the elements of your favorite fictional genre? How do your favorite books capture or transcend the conventions of the genre and redefine them? Let me know what you think in the comments...

Have fun.

Gamal

Life, Death and Sock Puppets

A few days ago, a New York Times article revealed a little known practice in the self publishing business. It appears that several authors, some of them very high profile, are paying companies to write great reviews for their books on Amazon and on other sites. Some writers go one step further and pay for people to write very bad reviews of books written by their competitors. These paid writers are referred to as sock puppets and they could have a major effect on the publishing industry.

What’s Wrong With Sock Puppets?

The problem sock puppets create is twofold; first because there are so many books available online, many people make their choice of what to read based on skimming the reviews a book gets. They work under the theory that if a lot of other people liked a book, they might like it too. That theory is fine if you tend to like mainstream work, but it completely falls apart if a book gets 75 great reviews all written by one person who was paid to write them.

The bigger issue might affect Amazon directly. I am under the impression that the algorithms that Amazon uses to recommend books to people take the average customer review into account. If there are three hundred books on salsa dancing available, the first books you’re going to see are going to be the ones with more good reviews. I don’t think most people don’t search every result for every book search they do. I’m sure many of them only skim one or two pages of results. If the sock puppet books fill up those pages, the writers who didn’t pay for good reviews will never be seen and never be purchased.

Loving to Hate Sock Puppets

The more I learned about sock puppets, the more ambivalent I became. I spend a lot of time reading and writing about corporate spies and espionage. I am very familiar with the concepts of deception, persuasion and subterfuge. I can accept the idea that paid messages can come in the form of ads, sponsored blogs, subliminal messaging and other forms of psychological warfare. I don’t think there is anything sacred about customer reviews whether they are for hotels, electronics or books. It feels like the inevitable struggle that occurs whenever someone learns how to manipulate a system for their own purposes.

But as a writer I still have questions and dilemmas created by sock puppets. Why should I spend months trying to get real reviews if someone can spend $500 to get 50 fake ones? How do I even know how many sales the sock puppets are going to get me? Are these authors devaluing their own efforts for 10 extra sales or 10,000? Even if I did decided to pay for sock puppets, what am I saying about my own work? The last question is the most important one for me. Does paying for reviews make me a pragmatic publisher who adapts to the market in ways that will maximize sales or does it make me an insecure writer who isn’t confident enough in his work to let it stand on its own?

The Best Stories You May Never Read

At this point, I think I'm just going to go back to writing and leave the sock puppets to their marketing masters. I am too vain about my craft and too unsure about the real benefits of manipulating the system. My refusal to use sock puppets might mean that I am creating the best stories that no one will ever see. But at the very least, I want to feel good about what I'm doing.

Have fun.

G

What to do When Bullets Start Flying (Responding to an Active Shooter)

By Gamal Hennessy

Most of my writing deals with crime fiction, but I often come across things in my research that can be helpful in real life, especially when you consider recent events.

The news over the past year has emphasized the idea that brutal massacres are not limited to war zones or ghettos. They are happening in summer camps (Norway), movies theaters (Colorado) and now churches (Wisconsin).

While the mainstream media will trot out the usual suspects from the pro and anti gun lobby, it is unlikely that meaningful debate or change will come out of the latest crime. There will be no major change in American gun laws because there is no political will to enact such a law. Even if a more stringent law could be passed, there is no practical way to collect and manage all the firearms in circulation. It would be easier to find and confiscate everyone’s iPhone at this point than take away their gun.

US society is not moving toward a period of fewer guns. If anything, recent events will inspire more amateurs to arm themselves in the naïve belief that a weapon alone will make them safer. This means more people will be armed on a regular basis. The standard response by government authorities and corporations is to implement armed security to respond to future threats. But armed security is only a deterrent to a rational actor. Many of the lone domestic terrorists among us are not rational and will not be deterred by security. They will simply find a new less secure target.

As members of an armed society with potential murderers who could strike at anytime, we are faced with two choices; hide in our homes or adopt principles that can help us avoid danger that might occur. This essay is meant to be an introduction to concepts of escaping an active shooter and increasing your chance of survival.

Defining an Active Shooter

In this essay, an active shooter is any individual firing repeatedly into a crowd. He is not threatening to shoot. He has already started shooting. He is not shooting at someone specific (as far as anyone can tell). He is simply trying to kill as many people as possible. There are other concepts that are applicable with other scenarios, but I’m going to focus on the scenario that has popped up with more and more frequency.

Preparing for an Active Shooter

If a gunman can appear at anytime in any location then it is impossible to be completely safe at all times. But there are preparations you can take to increase your ability to get out of danger.

1. Get your body used to moving: If you never run you can’t expect to instantly become Usain Bolt if bullets start flying. There is a certain amount of energy that comes from fear but the more you learn how to use that energy before hand, the better off you will be. The type of running I’m referring to isn’t the jogging you do in the park to fit into your skinny jeans. This is running as if someone is shooting at you. Periodically sprinting (and not in a straight line) will give your body more exposure to the type of movement it has to do in an active shooter situation.
2. Dressing for a retreat: The lady in the super tight skirt with the six inch heels and two purses isn’t going to be able to move very fast. The guy with the heavy backpack and the gym bag strapped to him on the train is in the same boat. I’m not suggesting that you only leave the house in Under Armor and track shoes, but you have to balance your wardrobe and luggage with the reality that you might have to leave it behind, assuming you actually have a chance to get rid of it. Lighter is faster and faster is better.
3. Decide where you are going: Being able to move isn’t very helpful if you don’t know where you’re going. Trying to find the exits in the chaos of a human stampede trying to escape an active shooter is challenging at best. Whenever possible, it is prudent to locate the exits in your surroundings before you settle into whatever activity is on the agenda. This is also a good time to figure out if there are multiple exits or just one. If trouble occurs you can move yourself and your loved ones to the exits without any discussion or thought.

Reacting to the Active Shooter

The best writing I have found on this subject comes from a site called No Nonsense Self Defense. Violence expert Marc MacYoung has identified three main steps in avoiding an active shooter.

1. Get out of the line of fire: move to a place where the barrel of the gun isn’t pointing
2. Get out of the shooter’s field of vision: move to a place where the shooter can’t see you and will be less likely to aim at you and put you back in the line of fire
3. Get out of the area where the shooter is located: move so far away from the shooter that he cannot continue shooting at you.

Becoming the Rabbit

In their seminal book On Combat, Dave Grossman and Loren Christensen divide the world into three types of people using the analogy of a sheep herd. The civilians who are potential victims are sheep. The criminals who prey on society are wolves. The police, military and first responders who have to deal with the criminals are sheep dogs.

It is difficult to determine where the wolves will strike next. The sheep dogs can’t be expected to be every where we need protection so we need a new script. I’m not suggesting increasing the number of armed civilians and creating a society of wolves. I am advocating a different model all together. Instead of lying down like sheep waiting for the slaughter, we can choose to be come rabbits. We are not involved in committing or stopping crime. We are only interested in getting out. Hopefully it is a set of skills we will never have to use.

Of course, following these steps cannot guarantee your safety if you encounter an active shooter. There are many variables that could hinder your escape including your own paralysis, a lack of exits, a lack of warning or a combination of all these factors. But consciously deciding how you will react and preparing for that reaction increases your chances of living through a horrible incident.

Gamal Hennessy