Crime Fiction - Viewpoints, Characters, Motives, Weapons, and Opportunities

Posted on 2008-Jul-22 at 06:46 - Post Comment

     The following information was taken from my book that will be published soon.

     Crime Fiction has several subgenres such as mysteries, suspense, thrillers, cozies, capers, detective fiction, private stories, and others. 

    We are going to look at viewpoints, different types of characters, and motives, weapons, and opportunity in crime fiction.   

Viewpoints   

     Writers use first or third person viewpoint. In crime fiction, stories are usually told from the detective's point of view, but they can be told from the burglar's viewpoint. Writers also use third person point of view, which means someone else besides the protagonist or the burglar is telling the story.

Characters 

     Protagonists, who are usually police officers, detectives, amateur detectives, private investigators, or other investigators; investigate crimes that villains have committed.

     Crime Fiction also has suspects and villains. Suspects may or may not have committed the crime. They had the motive, weapon, or the opportunity to commit the crime, but they didn't have all three. The villain is the person who has committed the crime because they possess all three aspects: motive, weapon, and the opportunity.

Motives, Weapons, and Opportunity

     Villains have the motive and the opportunity to commit the crime. Some suspects may have the motive or the opportunity but not both.

     A motive is the reason the villain committed the crime. Motives might be greed, lust, jealousy, or other types of motives.

     Weapons are what the villain uses to commit his/her crime.  They can be anything they have purchased, brought with them, or have used at the crime scene.  Weapons can be candlestick holders, guns, ropes, knives, or any other type of item they locate to commit their crime.    

     Opportunity means the villain was at the scene at the right time. They were the only person who could have committed the crime. They also had the weapon in their possession, which means in their house or on them. Their fingerprints would also be on the weapon unless they were smart enough to wipe off the weapon.