When I began writing police mysteries I said to myself, “Aha! This is fiction,
not a documentary. I have the opportunity to make everything come out
perfectly.”
I thought it would be cool to create a character with a background similar to
mine and fictionalize and chronicle my old cases. I could correct any mistakes
or ask the questions that never came to mind or make the clever comments I only
thought of the day after. It looked like an “if only” moment—a chance for
perfection.
Then it rained on my parade. The precipitation came in the form of a
middle-aged man with lots of experience in publishing and some pretty good
ideas. The retired editor turned book-doctor who I hired to assist me during
the formative stages of A NEW PROSPECT said, “Your protagonist is perfect. He
never makes a mistake. Are you nuts?”
“Huh?” I said.
“Perfect is boring,” he said. “Readers like tension. They like uncertainty. Put
your character in jeopardy. Screw that perfection thing.”
“Hmm,” I replied.
I thought about the concept and remembered reading other mysteries. How many
times had I said, “Jeez, a good cop would never do that?” I’d grit my teeth and
wait for the ax to fall.
One of my favorite fictional cops, James Lee Burke’s Cajun detective, Dave
Robicheaux, ALWAYS did something I knew a guy with his experience would NEVER
do.
I’d tremble and say, “Oh, Dave, you know better.”
