 For Authors: November 09, 2016 Issue [#7963] |
  For Authors
This week: Making Espionage Believable Edited by: Vivian  
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When I participated in a conference some years ago, D.S. Kane (http://swiftshadow.com/) had a workshop on how to write about espionage realistically. The information I gained from that workshop will be helpful in some of my upcoming work, and I hope you'll find some of what I share will aid you, too.
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Getting Started with Intelligence Agencies
To begin writing a military or spy thriller, an author needs to have some knowledge of intelligence agencies.
D.S. Kane listed ten intelligence agencies in the United States: CIA, NSA,FBI, DIA, NCIS, ATF, DEA, NRO, ONI, U.S. Marshals. He said he knows of sixteen, even though he didn't list that many during the workshop. One that he didn't know about, and that I do because of my research for my work-in-progress (WIP), is the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), the Air Force equivalent to NCIS.
Of course other nations have their intelligence agencies, too, such as AFI (intelligence branch of the Israeli Air Force), The Mossad (Israel's "secret" service), MI-6 (Great Britain), and the former KGB (former Soviet Union).
The more one knows about the intelligence agencies used in writing fiction, the more believable the writing is. Research is vital. I would suggest to begin with D.S. Kane (http://dskane.com/) before going to some of the following works, just a short list of possibilities:
John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
John LeCarre, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Thomas Gordon, Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad
Peter Wright, Spy Catcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer
Thank you, D.S. Kane, not only for an interesting but short workshop, but also for information to help writers be better writers.
I recommend each author does in-depth research on his/her own. I research often during each story or novel I write. I have files of information I may never use, but each bit helps me better understand my topic and make my writing more believable.
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Words from Our Readers
Thimpin 
Every psychopath or sociopath is not a criminal. True. Like the rest of any population intellect is not evenly distributed. There can be psych/sociopaths of low, average, and high intellectual functioning. Those in positions of social power such as politicians, attorneys, doctors, etc. can be extremely intelligent. They've learned to adapt their behavior to earn money and obtain and use power. All psych/sociopaths do not have the taste for blood and killing. Some are just too lazy and instead live as parasites off other people. I think of the essential difference between socio and psychopaths as this: psychopathy is present at birth and research is honing in on genetic mutation as cause. sociopathy can be adaptation behavior to childhood environment Think of the children of mobsters who grow up in the Mafiosi culture. They can feel remorse, but killing, stealing, and hurting people is what they know.
Yes, as I said, not everyone who is a psychopath or sociopath is a criminal. I said often politicians and successful business people are.
Sasha Renee
This article was very helpful, as I have many characters who now need some of their traits and characteristics modified to make them more rounded. I feel that its sometimes hard to convey the personalities behind my characters, so this will help me to make the distinction whenever trying to make my villain prominent. Thank you for teaching me how to loose the flattened stereotypical bad guy from my art.
I'm glad to be of help.
Quick-Quill 
This NL is definitely a keeper.
Thanks.
papadoc1
Hello Vivian!
Good to know SOMEONE is writing about a segment of any nation's population that has inherent problems throughout their lifetime. Often we find them eventually, for in truth, I think the ONE thing the field of psychiatry can agree on between these two closely-related groups is.....is that....ALL psychopaths are a) sociopaths and ALL psychopaths are b) voyeurs. In other words, a voyeur is someone who stalks and spies out other people's doings, their visits with others, their workplaces, etc etc.
And, better yet, while all psychopaths are sociopaths, it isnt the other way around. What you have written IS true: there is a common element between psychopaths and the mental traits of CEOs and other people in positions of power. Some psychiatrists mentioned that many psychopaths fall in love with uniforms...the more power it projects, the more they adore it. Naturally, one who puts on a military uniform to use as a ruse is especialy dangerous. Can you imagine a sweet lady whom would go to help a "wounded" veteran who later overpowers her, and adds another victim to his list? I think that the going rate of the # of psychopaths in this Nation is something like a ration of 1000 to 1. Put one thousand people in an auditorium and most likely one or more fits this description. Sociopaths on the hand DO feel remorse, DO feel for other people around them. It is not theorized but PROVEN that sociopaths kill human beings, and sometimes when lookng for clues around murder victims, investigators find things like clothing covering victims bodies/faces. It is a possible indicator of remorse on the part of the killer. Subtle things indeed. Thank you for this informative write up. I've added what you've put there to a growing library inside my mind about the aspects of certain criminal behavior and their organic causes. I am amazed at times at just how poorly the system in this country fails children, children raised by horrible parents, parents who indeed need be jailed before harming kids for yet another day. It is within this realm that we find that parents can and are some of the main reasons for why psychopaths are unleashed upon an unsuspecting society. If we could simply take a closer look at the horrors they underwent, sometimes for more than a decade, we can SEE with clearer eyes just why they have come to this point in time.
Interesting.
Apondia 
This was a good article. I've been reading books about sociopaths so I can write a better antagonist. This backs up other information I have read.
chopstixd
I love your observation:
Does that mean that every psychopath and sociopath is a criminal? No, because the same traits can be found in politicians, CEOs, and other people in positions of power.
It shows that these traits can be attributed to more common characters, and then authors can push these characters closer to the edge. I think I can use this in my next novel.
Thanks for the last two comments. Hope your writing goes well.
Thanks for joining me this issue. I hope we're back together again next month.
Hope everyone in the U.S. has a delightful and delicious Happy Thanksgiving.
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