For today's #TuesdayTip, I have chosen to review a TV documentary series that I highly recommend for those seeking an authentic insight into UK policing.
If true crime is what you are after for your TV viewing, there is no shortage of programmes to choose from. There are whole channels that are devoted to it. But the quality varies enormously, from the down-right sensationalist to the truly insightful. Unfortunately, you can't always be certain what you are tuning into. Some of the US series in particular are quite bad.
Furthermore, police procedure varies enormously between the US and the UK, so if you are looking to write a UK police procedural they are of limited use. That's not to say they should be dismissed out of hand; I've certainly found inspiration for plot ideas over the years.
However, if you want an authentic UK-based series (specifically England and Wales - Scotland and Northern Ireland have slightly different justice systems), I heartily recommend 24 Hours In Police Custody. Aired on Channel 4 in the UK, many (but strangely not all) programmes are archived on the free All 4 streaming service.

The name of the show is something of a misnomer, and is why I was rather late to the party, only finding it during lockdown. It conjures up images of fly-on-wall scenes from cameras above the custody desk as an endless parade of drunken idiots are booked into the cells for the night - think Big Brother, but everyone is wearing a grey tracksuit. However it is far from that.
Based primarily in Luton, it follows detectives from Bedfordshire police as they solve serious crimes. Camera crews follow them from the initial 999 call right through the investigative process, including interviews with witnesses and suspects, candid discussions with the detectives and specialists involved, and occasionally victims' loved-ones. Forensic specialists are shown going about their business and if necessary, the science explained. Sometimes body-worn camera footage is also shown. My wife and I sometimes joke that you can guess who is guilty, as they are the only person who hasn't had their face pixelated for legal reasons!
An individual episode might span several years, with the programme only aired once all the legal proceedings are completed (and the outcomes are given before the end credits). There are a couple of special episodes that pick-up detectives revisiting a cold case many years after the original crime was committed.

As a writer of police procedurals, I have found it invaluable. The interview scenes are especially useful. Conducted by trained interview specialists, the days of banging the table and trying to intimidate the suspect into a confession are long gone. In fact, most interviews are 'no comment'. However, there is a real science to effective interviewing, plus a raft of legislation that has to be adhered to.
Equally insightful is the CID office and the team briefings. This is where you get a real sense of the scale of a major murder investigation. As writers, we tend to keep our cast of characters limited, so that readers don't get confused with too many names, and all characters get a chance to shine. In reality there are dozens of police officers and civilian specialists, each of whom plays their part. You should aim to reflect this in your books, without swamping the story with detail and too many featured characters.
It also captures the sheer banality of most murders. Generally speaking, the victims knew each other, and it's less about working out who the suspects are than figuring out what role they played in what transpired. Yet it is still a fascinating watch. Occasionally the investigations are more of a whodunnit, especially some of the special episodes that might have several parts.

If you want your writing to be realistic, you would do well to watch a few episodes of this excellent show.
Do you have any recommendations for useful documentaries? Feel free to comment here or on social media.
Are you a writer with a tip to share? Don't be shy, I'm always looking for guest bloggers or ideas for future posts.

I am going on a brief hiatus for the holiday period. I'll be back in the new year. Until then, happy holidays!
Paul 

Editing - you either love it, loathe it or just see it as part of the process.
I've looked before at the issues surrounding editing before (eg #Tips48 for an outline of the basic process; #Tips72 for help chopping the wordcount), but for these posts, I want to share a few of the tips and tricks I've picked up over the years.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a couple of posts about how to use descriptive section titles to help you navigate your document, either in Word (or similar) (#Tips124) or Scrivener (#Tips125). Today I thought I'd share some of the information I include in my descriptive titles.

The purpose of a descriptive section title is to help you quickly navigate to a specific part of your manuscript so that you can edit it, without having to search. Whether you work in Word, and your manuscript is a single document, or in Scrivener, and your project is made of dozens of smaller documents, it can be a real chore finding the bit of your project that you want to add to, delete from or modify.
I therefore add a brief description (just a couple of lines) that tells me what happens in that section. By using styles I can use the navigation pane in Word to jump directly to that section. When the book is finished, it's easy to delete all these section titles. Or, I can simply redact them so they don't spoil the upcoming scene for my beta readers. (See Tips 124 and 125 for how to do this).

My descriptive titles contain a number of pieces of key information.
First, I give each section a unique identifier; typically something like S1001, S1002 etc. These numbers aren't sequential in my document (as I write out of sequence), but you may choose to assign one that is more reflective of the section's position in the story, or perhaps group related scenes together. If I want to add another document that sits between S1001 and S1002, I usually append a letter eg S1001a.
The purpose is to give a very quick way to jump to a section. Eg, when editing a paper draft, I might make a note to 'change the name of the garage in S2003b'. All I have to do is search for 'S2003b'.
I then write a line or two that says what is going to happen in that scene. Eg S1001: Warren called to crime scene, or S3002: Warren discovers name of killer (no reveal yet). This will appear at the beginning of the scene, and since I have applied a heading style, can be clicked in the navigation pane. In Scrivener, I also make sure to use this in the document title, so that it appears in the Binder.

But there is more information that you can add. I find it useful to include the date that the action is taking place. This means that I keep track of timings more easily, and is really helpful if I move scenes around in a story. If I move a scene two days earlier, for example, I can easily spot unchanged dates within the text when editing - eg a phone call now takes place on a Monday, rather than a Wednesday, so I need to change the line "The victim's brother phoned six days after the murder" to "The victim's brother phoned four days after the murder".

In Scrivener, you can include a custom metadata tag. All my documents have the custom metadata fields 'Story_date' and 'Day_Number'. By including (<$custom:Story_Date>) Day (<$custom:Day_Number>) in the descriptive section title, when I compile the output document it will include the date and the day number. Custom metadata is easily changed within the Outliner if you move things around.
Thus a typical section title might look like.
S1003: Warren visits murder scene (Tu 05/11/22) Day (3).
In Scrivener it would look like S1003: Warren visits murder scene (<$custom:Story_Date>) Day (<$custom:Day_Number>), changing to the above when compiled.

One last suggestion. If you switch between Word and Scrivener - for example, you write your document originally in Scrivener, compile and export it to Word, then do edits in Word before importing it back into Scrivener for major changes - your individual documents will be merged into one long document.
You can avoid this by adding an abnormal character in front of the title. Eg ~¬S1003: Warren Visits Murder Scene. When you import your Word document back into Scrivener, choose Import and Split and tell it to split the document using the abnormal character (I add a couple of abnormal characters, so I can do this repeatedly). Hey presto, you get all your subdocuments back!

Do you use descriptive section titles? Do you include additional information to help you navigate your document easily?
Feel free to comment below or on social media.
Until next time.
Paul

Buy From Amazon.

Today's Tuesday Tip is a book review - Crime Writing: How To Write The Science by Brian Price.
Brian Price is the author of the DC Mel Cotton series. He is also a retired environmental chemist and biologist. In this gem of a book, he sets out to provide a manual to help non-scientists write science in a compelling and accurate manner.
I picked up a copy of this book some time ago, and have been dipping in and out of it since I bought it. It is a fantastic resource, and one that's well-worth the investment.
The breadth of topics covered is exceptionally broad. As one would expect, there is a lot of forensic science, but the book goes well beyond that. For example, the first two chapters cover poisons. This is an area in which Agatha Christie was famous for her in-depth knowledge, however Price goes beyond slipping someone a mickey or poisoning their cream tea. He covers a wide-range of toxic substances, including some common industrial and environmental poisons. A third chapter deals with ways of inducing unconsciousness.


I hang around on a number of writers' forums and how to render a victim insensate is a frequent source of both discussion and frustration. You'd be amazed how many people still think that a bash to the back of the head will produce temporary unconsciousness, from which the hero will awaken, sometime later, with a sore head and 'a mild concussion'. He discusses a number of different substances or methods to stun someone, and dispels the many myths perpetrated in crime fiction.
Later chapters deal with explosives and firearms, methods for killing a person and the all-important disposal of the body and (hopefully) getting away with it.


The reason I recommend this book so highly is its accessibility. Price makes no assumptions about the reader's prior scientific knowledge. Sections are short and snappy, and he includes copious mini case-studies, from both fact and fiction. He also includes practical and legal issues - for example, it's all very well coming up with a fiendish and scientifically plausible way to murder your character, but have you considered how likely it is the killer will actually get their hands on a controlled substance that only medical professionals have access to?
The book is designed as a study guide, and so there is an extensive bibliography at the back pointing towards original sources and further reading, and it is fully indexed.
This isn't a book designed to be read cover-to-cover, rather it is for dipping in and out of, and picking up as a quick primer on a topic; if nothing else it will give you the necessary keywords to search the internet in more detail. It's primary purpose is to introduce the basics and dispel some myths, hopefully helping writers avoid mistakes or perpetuating misconceptions. As a teacher, I would heartily recommend this book to students for its clarity, and as an author, would recommend it to any crime writers, fledgling or experienced.


One last thing. As a science teacher and experienced writer, much of what was in the book wasn't entirely new to me. Yet I still found it a source of inspiration. Flicking through the contents pages, I found myself drawn to random topics or fascinating case studies. And you know what, I wouldn't be surprised if my next books have some plot points inspired by what I've read!


You can learn more about writing science accurately and contact Brian Price at www.crimewriterscience.co.uk. You can read more about Brian's writing by visiting his website https://www.brianpriceauthor.co.uk/.