Write what you know

[Ursa major]

Originally Posted by Mouse

What I've done with the discovery of the body, is skim over it. The character is so shook up that she can't remember much of what happened. So I've said that she spoke to police, but not said what she spoke about, and that she's now staying with a friend.

From experience, you dial 999 (in the UK) and ask for an ambulance, just in case the body isn't dead (yet). They, or the paramedics, will get the coroner involved.

(Having said that, some deaths are more obvious than others - an example off the top of my head: a beheading - so you might ask for the police first.)

The operator will probably ask a series of questions mixed in with suggesting some immediate actions you might take (though even with a case of beheading, I doubt they'd say, "Run away as fast as you can!" just in case you turned out to be the one wielding the axe or sword).

[AMB]

Originally Posted by Ursa major

The operator will probably ask a series of questions mixed in with suggesting some immediate actions you might take (though even with a case of beheading, I doubt they'd say, "Run away as fast as you can!" just in case you turned out to be the one wielding the axe or sword).

And I bet the operator isn't even embarrassed when they hear that the police found two bodies when they arrived, one of which appeared to have just got off the phone. All because the person calling 999 'could' have been the bad guy...

[Cam Winstanley]

The Judge (Post 5) rejects simply skipping over research as not working for him but for me, it worked perfectly. I took four months off to write a complete novel so before the money ran out, I HAD to finish it. This meant an arbitrary number of words every day (I chose 2500) and resulted in a completed first draft that was littered with paragraphs saying //THERE NEEDS TO BE A BIT HERE THAT EXPLAINS BLAH BLAH, BLAH//.

It was only after I'd filled in the blanks during a second draft that I'd produced a readable story and it took four more drafts before I considered it finished, then another couple of years before I thought about putting it up on the Kindle store.

I'm on my second one now and still find research to be a distraction to writing. It's set in Phoenix, Arizona, a place I've spent a lot of time in but not one where I live. If I need a location that's an apartment complex near to a mall, I could spend ages looking on Google Streetview or I could simply type //CHANGE NAME OF STREET AS APPROPRIATE// and carry on writing.

This is how I do it. Whatever works for you, I guess.

[Ursa major]

Originally Posted by AMB

And I bet the operator isn't even embarrassed when they hear that the police found two bodies when they arrived, one of which appeared to have just got off the phone. All because the person calling 999 'could' have been the bad guy...

I doubt they'd even be willing to shoulder some of the blame.

(I expect that the operator will think that someone capable of phoning up about a beheading is the kind of person who will be prepared show some neck.)

[AMB]

Strangely, I have found researching as I went gave me more ideas as to how my story should progress.

But really, I think it might be a good idea to pencil in a daily research time. That way you can research the things you need in short order without interrupting your writing time too terribly. If you don't need that time each day, don't use it, but remember you have it for when you want it.

[Mouse]

Luckily, there's no beheadings as of yet! The dead guy had his throat slit in a hotel. The cleaner found him and yelled for the guy on reception who I presume would have then rang the police.

Cam, I didn't think of Google streetview. Good idea, ta! (TJ is a she )

[Mark R]

Originally Posted by Mouse

Luckily, there's no beheadings as of yet! The dead guy had his throat slit in a hotel. The cleaner found him and yelled for the guy on reception who I presume would have then rang the police.

Cam, I didn't think of Google streetview. Good idea, ta! (TJ is a she )

In the UK the procedure is as follows:

The police would be called, the police would attend but a doctor/coroner would have to pronounce life extinct. If a body is obviously dead then the ambulance service will not attend, if there is uncertainty then they will.

If the circumstances are suspicious, as above, then a crime scene will be declared, the emergency on-call coroner will be contacted and will attend, as will scenes of crime officers (SOCOs).

Shorly after that the on-call CID officers would attend the scene.

[The Judge]

Originally Posted by Mouse

(TJ is a she )

I really do have to wear some brighter lipstick, and to hell with the nude look...

Just a (possible) minor correction to Ursa's post. In England and Wales, the coroner is a legal post, not like in some parts of the US where (I think) the coroner is what we would call a foresic officer or a pathologist, which is why in shows like CSI they have to wait for the coroner to arrive and check time of death etc before the paramedics or whoever can remove the body. I've never gone through the process myself, but I imagine the police would do the necessary liaising in the case of an obvious murder, since they would deal with the investigation. There have been a raft of new rules, though, with regard to Coroners' courts and inquests, so if you're thinking of that, Mouse, don't rely on old TV shows!


EDIT: crossed with Mark R's post. I'll always defer to superior knowledge, but would a coroner (ie not merely a coroner's officer) really attend a crime scene in England and Wales? (Not the UK, of course, since Scotland has its own legal system.) And since a coroner need not have any medical knowledge, I'm not sure they could possibly pronounce life extinct at the scene in that way.

[Mark R]

Originally Posted by The Judge

EDIT: crossed with Mark R's post. I'll always defer to superior knowledge, but would a coroner (ie not merely a coroner's officer) really attend a crime scene in England and Wales? (Not the UK, of course, since Scotland has its own legal system.)

Coroner's officers would attend, they are effectively employees of police forces in England and Wales. There are no coroners in Scotland. For realism you will never hear a police officer or member of ambulance personnel refer to a coroner's officer as anything other than "the coroner".

[Boneman]

Originally Posted by Mouse

Another book I'm reading at the mo is about what happens when a body is found on a train. Can't actually remember what ended up happening to the body though!

Well, it reached the end of the line, anyway...

BTW, if you're going to use google maps to be incredibly accurate, beware - it don't show one-way streets very often.

[Mouse]

I'll bear that in mind, Boneman, ta!

Thanks, Mark, TJ. I don't suppose either of you know what the hotel would have done? Would it close or carry on business as usual?

I've got two murders in two hotels. One a big hotel, one a smaller country one.

Originally Posted by The Judge

I really do have to wear some brighter lipstick, and to hell with the nude look...

[Teresa Edgerton]

Originally Posted by The Judge

I really do have to wear some brighter lipstick, and to hell with the nude look...

Don't forget the stiletto heels.

[The Judge]

I'm already wearing the heels! I'm a lot shorter in real life...


Mouse, I don't know if there are any rules about what the hotel must do -- I think it would be down to the proprietors once the police had finished. (Though I've no idea how long that would take.) My nephew used to work in very posh hotels and his partner was a hotel manager. If I remember, next time I see him I'll ask him if they had any kind of special procedure written down for use in emergencies like that.

[Mouse]

Ooh, would you? Thank you very much, TJ!

I've been Googling a bit and found this story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...body-room.html Which seems to show the time between the murder and the story appearing in the news as two days. If I'm working that out right! Which is good, because I've got a very short time from the murder taking place, to it appearing in the news and I was wondering if it was too quick.

I'm trying to write a timeline at the mo, tis complicated!

[springs]

Originally Posted by The Judge

I'm already wearing the heels! I'm a lot shorter in real life...

I think its the avatar, TJ, I was sure you were a bloke for about a month. and don't go for the nude look, it's family friendly round here.

Mouse, on a practical note it's going to depend on the size of the premises and the likelihood of foul play. If it has several entrances and exits then you'll probably find them trading close to normal with a section sealed off. If it's a smaller establishment, it'll be more disruptive.

Also, if the only crimescene is a room that's easier to contain than if it's throughout the hotel.

The bottom line is they'll do their best to trade through it, businesses always do, so I would assume there'll be police,, some cordons etc, but not a closure of the business.