Beyond Character Foils with Karin Slaughter

or, Betty Makes Me Love Will More
 

If you read Karin Slaughter’s crime fiction/thrillers, then you know Will and Betty. If you don't, then pick up Slaughter's newest release, Criminal, and be prepared to stay up all night hiding under the covers and reading by flashlight. Slaughter will take you on an electrifying ride with characters you’ll love and hate, and scenes so scary that for days after you'll be as jumpy as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

  

Slaughter is a talented writer and she’s skilled at nuance. This is especially apparent when writing about Will and Betty. In a Will Trent thriller, Slaughter devotes maybe 500 words to Betty. Yet, when the book is done, I know it is Betty that allowed me the most poignant glimpses into Will’s psyche. Betty's character is a foil for Will's but not in the standard Laurel and Hardy type of contrast. This is deeper and much more subtle. 

Literary-devices.com writes that a ‘foil’ is a literary device where the author creates a character whose primary purpose is to present a contrast to another character. We all know some great examples of foils: Ginger and Mary Ann, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Hercule Poirot and Captain Hasting.

Character foils are useful in fleshing out a character in a show don't tell way. By painting a portrait of the adoring and dense Captain Hastings, Agatha Christie’s detective Poirot appears even more cerebral and urbane. Mary Ann’s pigtails contrast sharply with Ginger’s glamorous bouffant hair-do, and the BBC’s Jeremy Brett’s portrayal of the genius Holmes makes Dr. Watson look like a torpip, imbecile, not to put too fine a point on it. 

That’s not what Betty does for Will. Will’s partner, Faith, is a great foil for Will. She’s short, he’s tall; she’s an insider, he’s an outsider; she’s outspoken, he’s reserved; she smooth, Will is awkward. Faith tells Will that he has all the social graces of a feral monkey. Granted Will’s got some issues (he’s got more baggage than steerage in the Titanic), but to my knowledge he isn’t masturbating in public and flinging feces. 

So, as a foil, how is Betty different and why does it matter?

At her most superficial level, Betty’s feminity is a perfect foil for Will’s masculinity. Why? Because, Betty is a 6 pound chihuahua wearing a pink collar. Will likes to scoop her up and tuck her under his arm like a bug-eyed clutch. It should make him look ridiculous. It doesn’t. Betty only enhances Will’s masculine charms and makes him more endearing.

Slaughter could have stopped there. Betty as an accessory—like the purse-riding chihuahua in Legally Blonde. But, Betty goes deeper. Betty is the outward symbol of Will’s decency and kindness. This is important because considering Will’s troubled childhood of abuse and deprivation, he could be a monster, like the murderers he chases and finds. But he isn’t. Will rescued Betty. He built her a koi pond so she’s wouldn’t be bored while he’s a work. He is (mostly) not ashamed to be seen in public with her. He has mother-hen-like moments of caring for Betty that tell the reader: this is good man. He’s definitely husband and father material—once you clear up the issues with the ex-wife.

This is what Slaughter says about Will: I think women love him because he does the dishes without having to be asked.  …he's a very complicated man with some dark secrets…he doesn't let his past ruin the present.  He doesn't mope around.  He doesn't try to get pity... he's age appropriate, meaning he's responsible, has a good job and doesn't sit around all day playing video games. (Click here to read interview)

Will Trent is an incredibly popular fictional character. So much so, that “his” books are going to be made into a TV series (learn more). Betty has had a hand (uh, paw) in building Will’s popularity by being more than an accessory, by providing a deeper exploration of this complex character and that is why Betty makes me love Will more.

How are you using character foils and pets in your own work? I’d love to hear from you.

Researching What You Don't Know

The great thing about writing fiction is you can make stuff up. You’re not bound to facts and reality as stringently as non-fiction writers. But some fiction genres demand adherence to the reality. Crime fiction for instance, with all its emphasis on police protocols and forensic science. I like to read forensic investigation, writers like Kathy Reichs or Beverly Connor, both of whom are practicing scientists. I know I’m in good hands when I read books by either author. I trust them to not only entertain me, but give me an insider’s view into the fascinating world of forensic anthropology.  

That’s my goal as a writer. To be trustworthy as well as entertaining, so I take what I don’t know very seriously. However, I also know that I have a crack-like addition to research. It can derail me for days. So, for the mystery I’ve been working on, I saved some of the research for last.  

For the current manuscript, what I “don’t know” is police and ER protocol and medical issues. The set-up is an abduction at gunpoint at night on a lonely stretch of waterway, a gun shot wound (GSW), some hypothermia, and full blown search and rescue by the local sheriff’s office.

The Big Read

Using the web and other resources, I did some preliminary research on the GSW and hypothermia. I found great web-articles about both. For police procedure, I usually turn to Lee Lofland’s Police Procedure & Investigation. Sadly, Lee wasn’t much help with the SAR (guess you can’t please everybody all the time), so I Goggled “maritime search and rescue.” I turned up dozens of dramatic videos of rescues at sea with helicopters, guys jumping out of helicopters, twelve foot seas, and lots of testosterone. But you know? The sleepy little town in my story probably doesn’t own a helicopter.

What I really needed was an expert informant, a law enforcement officer who’d spill the beans. Internally, I cringed. I was going to have to cold call the police and they’d probably arrest me for wasting tax payer funds with fictitious nonsense. I bemoaned my state to anyone who would listen.  Fortunately, my hair stylist, Stacy, was listening and she has connections.

Talk Research

Stacy introduced me to Lieutenant JP Wood, Special Operations Commander at a Maryland sheriff’s office who has logged 18 years in law enforcement and participated in a dozen maritime search and rescue efforts.  I emailed Lt. Wood about six questions and volunteered to call him for his response. Gloomy as Eeyore, I assumed he’d be too busy to ever respond, so imagine my delight when I received his email answering all my questions. Thanks Stacy and thanks Lt. Wood.

Lt. Wood saved me from making a big mistake. I’d been looking at this abduction all wrong. This wasn’t a just a SAR. It was a hostage situation –duh, abducted at gun point. And post-rescue, my shero, with her not-life-threatening-GSW was going to have to put off surgery in order to be grilled by the sheriff. Whew! Saved from ignorance that anyone who watches more TV than I do would probably already know.

High on this success, I flipped through my mental rolodex to find someone with medical experience. It just so happens I do know an RN. Not well, but well enough to call.  Now, here’s the thing that made my day. The RN was thrilled to share her knowledge of ER protocol. We talked by phone and she told me everything: the kind of message that would be broadcast over the PA, the fact that shero (poor baby) is going to have a raspy voice post-surgery because she’s had a breathing tube down her throat, and many other colorful tidbits. 

Wow. Sometimes all you have to do is ask and the universe provides. And, I didn’t have to do endless hours of research.

Experiential Research

I only have two other things to research and both of them require experiential learning: driving a jet ski and handling fire arms. I’ll hop on a jet ski at the beach next week and later walk into my local gun store for show and tell.

Do you have some research to do? Can you take it out of the late night internet surfing and talk to someone “in the know?” Who do you know that can help you connect? Or, like me and the gun shop, are you ready to just walk in and say “hey I wanna know…?”