Bringing a knife to a gun fight

People always say write what you know, and as I’ll be honest, despite being a crime and horror writer who uses them in his stories, I have zero experience with guns.

So, I looked around for some info and found this introductory course for authors and screenwriters that, like me, don’t know their cartridge from their round.

The aptly titled ‘Crime Fiction Guns’ course from veteran Police Detective Adam Richardson (that’s right, the guy behind the fantastic Writers Detective Bureau podcast / YouTube channel) is a whistle-stop tour through the basics of how firearms and ammunition work, as well as other considerations when choosing weapons for, and how they may help or hinder, your characters.

I’ve already written about guns. It’s gone OK, so how will this help me?

Me too, well, with a caveat. I’ve managed to write two novels and several short stories that feature gun use and all I’ve done is consume media and read information off random websites. But I recently wrote a short story involving a hitman and well, the saying is true, you don’t know what you don’t know. I’ve come to realise that after working through this course.

Meanwhile, a couple of years back, I had a creature feature novel (Killerpede) published by Severed Press, and most of the editor’s amendments related to my descriptions and use of a shotgun.

While writing the manuscript, I did a small bit of research and winged the rest. It wasn’t important to the book. I just wanted to point and click. But it was important to the editor who knew about guns. That sort of detail could have taken him out of the story and cast doubt on everything else I said.

Now, imagine if that had happened in one of my crime fiction stories? These rely a lot more on reality (and therefore believability). If I lacked credibility there, the whole reader experience would most likely would fall apart. Anyway, back to my point, if you are an expert in guns, this course isn’t for you. It is for people like me who have never held a gun, and therefore can only write from a superficial standpoint. Will you be an expert by the end of the modules? No, but I came away with several ways to improve my action scenes, a host of considerations to round out my characters and a fundamental knowledge of what is and isn’t possible (as well as the key terminology to articulate it).

I’m not based in, or write about, the USA. Will this help?

Yes! As the focus of the course was about giving you a basic level of knowledge, I found there was a lot of applicable knowledge to be gained. Very few of my stories take place in the USA, and even less are told from a cop’s perspective, but knowing how a gun works, how people stand, and how they might be investigated is quite useful. Before this course, I had already learned about indexing, where the trigger finger is placed on the side of the weapon rather than hovering over the trigger, but I had no idea about the names of stances, exactly what is ejected out of which guns, how the gun residue works after firing, and many other things that are still relevant whether my story is set in 1970s Italy or contemporary England. Basically, if there is a gun involved, this will help - either directly or through giving you an idea of what needs additional research.

OK, but what about the course?

After an introductory video to set expectations, Adam guides us through ammunition, revolvers, semi-autos, rifles, shotguns and insights into aiming & shooting, firearm-related evidence and how to choose the right weapon for your character.

Lessons are split up into bite size videos, ranging from a couple of minutes to around twenty-five minutes, and are easily digestible. As you would expect from someone seasoned in presenting the information here is delivered in a clear and succinct manner, and you will find a lot of gold in those minutes. Beyond the actual information Adam delivers, you will think of several ways in which the information could impact your scenes or spark whole new ones.

For example, a Lovejoy series book, ‘The Judas pair’ (by Jonathan Gash) used the familiar trope of an internationally misfiring gun, killing the person with the revolver rather than their target. Adam talks about one situation, relating to the wrong ammunition, and it played perfectly into my incompetent criminal short story series.

Is the ‘Writers Detective School Gun Course’ worth it?

I paid $99 (about £77 at the time of purchase) and, unequivocally, if you know next to nothing about guns, then yes! This course filled in a lot of blanks for me, from terminology and misconceptions to the actual mechanisms of a gun, to best practice. It has opened my eyes to what I don’t know, built my understanding and most likely saved me hours of research. Not only that, as mentioned earlier, it has given me several ideas on how to improve my work, and new situational ideas to include in future work.

My only criticism of the course is that, while I took copious notes, I felt that compiled handouts could have been made available (as opposed to certain modules) and included a transcript, but that is a minor issue, especially when you get lifetime access. Plus, Adam appears to be a friendly and responsive guy (so long as you haven’t actually committed a crime), so if you had any follow-up questions, he is there to help.

In summary, if you are a beginner or even an early-stage crime writer, then check out the ‘Writers Detective Bureau’ podcast a listen, and take the plunge on this course. It’s worth it.