Outliers Writing University Podcast Series

GET TO KNOW Author and Screenwriter Paul Guyot

PAUL GUYOT has written and produced more than 200 hours of
television. He served as showrunner on the TNT hit series THE
LIBRARIANS. He was the Co-Executive Producer for NCIS: NEW
ORLEANS -- at the time the 8th most watched series in the world.
Guyot co-wrote the Warner Brothers film GEOSTORM starring Gerard
Butler and Andy Garcia, which grossed more than a quarter billion
dollars worldwide. But don’t hold it against him.
He has adapted books and foreign films for multiple studios, and
most recently is producing a pair of independent feature films.
He is the author of KILL THE DOG: The First Book on Screenwriting
to Tell You the Truth, which was an Amazon bestseller upon its
release in 2023. It’s available in print, ebook and audio
everywhere books are sold.
Guyot attended the University of Arizona. In his non-writing time
he enjoys golf, cycling, mechanical watches, and has been called
the Tony Hawk of making old fashioneds.

GET TO KNOW Author Steve Urszenyi

Steve Urszenyi served for over thirty years as a paramedic in Toronto and as a tactical medic (TRU/SWAT, CBRNE, HUSAR, and public order unit) with the Ontario Provincial Police. He is an expert in chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives (CBRNE/WMD) incident response.
Most recently, Steve was the commander of the Ontario Emergency Medical Assistance Team (EMAT), the province of Ontario’s disaster medical response and all-hazards incident management team.
Steve is the recipient of the Governor General of Canada EMS Exemplary Service Medal and Bar in recognition of his more than thirty years of distinguished service and career accomplishments.
Since he was young, Steve nurtured a love for writing, but he also felt a need to serve the public as a front-line first responder. Throughout his career, his fondness for storytelling never wavered. He cultivates his decades of experience in emergency response and tactical operations to write authentic and gripping stories that thrill readers.
Steve and his wife Lynne love international travel and riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle across North America, especially through the Rocky Mountains and the American Southwest’s always-changing landscapes.
They have two grown children and have had several dogs, including Steve’s former search and rescue dogs, K9 Timber and K9 Radar.
Steve is an avid photographer and outdoorsman who loves hiking, camping, canoeing, and exploring the wilderness. (You can see some of his photos here: https://flickr.com/photos/zaniac/)
Steve is represented by John Talbot of the Talbot Fortune Agency (see Contact page).
Thanks for dropping by! Click on the Contact link to get in touch. And please Sign Up to receive occasional updates. (Very rarely — I promise!)
https://steveurszenyi.com/

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 46: The Critical Opening Scene

Your opening scene carries a heavy load. It must hook the reader, introduce the story question—and often the protagonist/antagonist—-reveal the setting/story world, evoke emotion in the reader, and reveal the voice and tone of the story. That’s a lot of work, and pressure on the writer.
Why is the opening scene so important?
1—It must do all or most of the above
2—It’s all most people will ever read—-unless it’s compelling
3—It’s what grabs the attention of agents and editors
4—It’s you first—and perhaps only—chance to make a good impression
 
Things you must do in the first few pages:
 
Hook the reader
Introduce an interesting character or situation
Ask the story question
Set the tone and voice
Introduce the story world
Hint at what’s to come
Make the reader care, or at least curious

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 45: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

From FORENSICS FOR DUMMIES:
https://www.dplylemd.com/books/forensicscience
 
That Sneaky Carbon Monoxide 
Carbon monoxide is sneaky and deadly. When authorities find a suicide victim in her garage, sitting in a car with the engine running, they can usually chalk up that death to carbon monoxide. 
Carbon monoxide is a tasteless, odorless, colorless gas that is completely undetectable by humans. It results from the incomplete combustion of carbon‐containing fuels like wood, coal, and gas. Faulty stoves, heaters, and fireplaces can fill the air with CO. Carbon monoxide poisoning kills more people trapped in fires than the fire itself does. 
CO is particularly treacherous because it binds to hemoglobin, producing carboxyhemoglobin in your blood. Because carboxyhemoglobin contains no usable oxygen, cells containing this molecule can’t supply oxygen to the tissues of the body. Thus, the body’s cells become starved for oxygen. Carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin 300 times more readily than oxygen does and thus takes oxygen’s place in the body. Your body can get very high blood levels of CO by breathing air that contains only small amounts of it. For example, breathing air that contains a carbon monoxide level as low as 0.2 percent can lead to blood CO saturations greater than 60 percent after only 30 to 45 minutes. 
Most people believe that CO is toxic only in an enclosed area, but that’s just not true. People have died while working on their cars in the open air; typically, someone finds the victim lying near the car’s exhaust. Similarly, swimmers and water skiers who loiter near the dive platform on the back of an idling powerboat also run the risk of CO poisoning. Carbon monoxide’s powerful attraction to hemoglobin explains how people can succumb to CO poisoning in open areas. 
The signs and symptoms of CO toxicity correlate with its concentration in the blood:
1--The normal level of CO in the blood is 1 to 3 percent, but it can be as high as 7 to 10 percent in smokers.
2--At levels of 10 to 20 percent, you experience headaches and a poor ability to concentrate on complex tasks.
3--Between 30 and 40 percent, headaches become severe and throbbing, and nausea, vomiting, faintness, and lethargy appear. Pulse and breathing rate increase noticeably.
4--Between 40 and 60 percent, the victim becomes confused, disoriented, weak, and displays extremely poor coordination.
5--Above 60 percent, coma and death arrive. In the elderly and those individuals with heart or lung disease, levels as low as 20 percent can be lethal. Victims of car exhaust suicide or those who die from fire in an enclosed room may reach CO levels as high as 90 percent.
Autopsy findings in CO poisoning depend, in part, on carboxyhemoglobin’s bright red color. When the ME performs an autopsy on a victim of CO poisoning, the blood and internal organs often appear bright red, and this offers a clue to the possible cause of death. 
Individuals who survive CO intoxication can suffer serious health problems. Carbon monoxide mostly damages the brain because it’s the organ most sensitive to a lack of oxygen. Symptoms and signs of significant brain insult may begin immediately or be delayed for several days or weeks. The most common after‐effects include chronic headaches, memory loss, blindness, confusion, disorientation, poor coordination, and hallucinations. The ME may be asked to evaluate a surviving victim if authorities suspect that the exposure was the result of a criminal act or they want documentation for a civil lawsuit.
 
Newser Story: https://www.newser.com/story/307939/students-drowning-due-in-part-to-carbon-monoxide.html
 
CO Deaths on Lake Erie: https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2021/06/two-men-boy-died-from-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-in-boating-incident-on-lake-erie-cuyahoga-county-medical-examiner-rules.html
 
CO Deaths From car Used as Heat Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/two-dead-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-after-using-car-heat-texas-n1257972
 
PubMed: CO Poisoning Deaths is US, 1999-2012: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26032660/
 
CDC: CP Poisoning: https://www.cdc.gov/dotw/carbonmonoxide/index.html
 
Famous People Who Died of CO Poisoning: https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-people-who-died-of-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/reference

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 44: Setting As Character

Can a story be set just anywhere? Some can, but most rely on the location and time period to underpin and amplify the story. In the best stories, setting becomes an essential character. Can you imagine James Lee Burke’s iconic Dave Robicheaux being anywhere but Louisiana? What about Linda Castillo’s Kate Burkholder or Michael Connolly’s Harry Bosch? Could they exist anywhere other than Amish country or Los Angeles, respectively? Jaws had to be on an island, The Godfather in New York, The Shining in an isolated mountain hotel, and Star Wars the far reaches of space. 
Setting has 2 parts: Where and When
Setting establishes MOOD
Setting is not simply a description of where the scene is taking place. It is more the “feel” of the location. Don’t spew out a bunch of minute details. Pick the two or three “telling details” that reveal the feel and mood of the place. Always leave room for the readers imagination.
Description is visual. That’s a given. Add depth by always including the other senses. What are the sounds, smells, and tactile characteristics of the locale? If your scene takes place at Café du Monde in New Orleans, incorporate the smell of beignets and chicory coffee, the sounds of flatware against plates, the clomping of the horse hooves of the passing carriages. If in a bar, maybe the smell of beer and cigar smoke, the clacking of pool balls, and the stickiness of spilt beer on the bar would work. If at a kennel, the yapping of dogs and the odor of excrement might be appropriate. If in a library, perhaps the muffled whispers of the patrons and the coarseness and musty aroma of the pages in an old book would be important to setting the desired mood.
The Telling Detail: the one or two things that set the scene. Might be visual or some other sense. Something that lets the reader get a feel for the setting and then fill in the details from his own mind. What detail or group of details makes the reader “see” all the other details?
SETTING CONSIDERATIONS:
Is your setting real or fictional? Urban or rural? Small or large?
Could your story be set anywhere else? Would it be a better story if it were?
What is unique about your setting?
What is your Protagonist’s and/or antagonist’s relationship to the setting? Has your character been there before, have a familiarity with the location, or is he a stranger in a strange land?
Is your setting a “story character”?
Description is visual so sight is a given, but which other senses can you bring to your setting? What are the sounds, smells, and tactile characteristics of the locale?
Setting is not simply a description of where the scene is taking place. It is more the “feel” of the location. Don’t spew out a bunch of minute details. Pick the two or three that sets the feel and mood of the place. Always leave room for the readers imagination.
What setting expresses your stories worldview and theme best?
Research setting by whatever means you can. If you live in the area or know it well, then much of the needed info is already in your head. If not, go there if you can but often that isn’t possible. Use the various map programs. Go to webpages that deal with the area and check out the history, geography, populace, businesses, and don’t forget the real estate sites that show homes and buildings in that area.
Try This: Walk into ten places you’ve never been before. Write down the first five things that make an impression on you. Now write a scene that takes place in each of these location.

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 43: Gunshot Wound Analysis

In the criminal investigation or injuries or deaths from gunshot wounds (GWSs), the anatomy of the entry and exit wounds, particularly the former, can reveal the nature of the weapon, the bullet size and characteristics, and of great importance, the distance between the muzzle and the entry wound. This distance can be a game changer when distinguishing between a self-inflicted wound (suicidal or accidental) and one from the hand of another (accidental or homicidal). It can also support or refute suspect and/or witness statements and help with crime scene reconstruction. A wound from a gun several feet away can mean something much different as opposed to one pressed tightly against the victim’s skin. 
 
FROM FORENSICS FOR DUMMIES:
https://www.dplylemd.com/books/forensicscience
 
Studying Entry and Exit Wounds 
 
Even when a bullet enters a body, leaving an entry wound, it does not necessarily come back out, or create an exit wound. More often than not, the bullet remains within the victim. When evaluating GSWs, an ME searches for and examines entry and exit wounds and tracks down any bullets retained within the victim. Although the distinction isn’t always apparent, the ME also attempts to distinguish between entry wounds and exit wounds because doing so can be critical in reconstructing a crime scene. Knowing the paths the bullets followed can implicate or exonerate suspects or help determine which bullet caused lethal injury. 
 
The character of a wound produced by a gunshot depends upon several factors, including:
 
1—The distance between the victim and the muzzle of the gun
2—The caliber and velocity of the bullet3—The angle at which the bullet enters the body (if it does) 
 
4— Whether the bullet remains within the victim or passes completely through, exiting the body (a through‐and‐through gunshot wound)
 
The anatomy of a gunshot entry wound depends upon the distance between the gun muzzle and the point of entry. Wounds may have an abrasion collar (a), tattooing (b), charring (c), or a stellate pattern (d). 
 
The ME can estimate the distance from which a single bullet was fired by looking closely at the entry wound: 
 
If the muzzle was 2 or more feet away from the victim, the entrance wound usually is a small hole, with an abrasion collar (a blue‐black bruising effect in a halo around the point of entry). Some black smudging can also occur where the skin literally wipes the bullet clean off the burned gunpowder, grime, and oil residue it picks up as it passes through the barrel of the gun (a).
If the muzzle was between 6 inches and 2 feet from the point of entry, the skin may appear tattooed or stippled. This effect is the result of tiny particles of gunpowder discharged from the muzzle embedded in the skin, in a speckled pattern around the wound (b).
If the muzzle was less than 6 inches from the victim, the gunshot produces a hole, a more compact area of stippling, a surrounding area of charring (from the hot gases expelled through the muzzle), and a bright red hue to the wounded tissues (c).
If the muzzle is pressed against the victim when the gun is fired, hot gases and particulate matter are driven directly into the skin, producing greater charring and ripping the skin in a star‐shaped or stellate pattern (d).
Exit wounds, on the other hand, typically are larger than entry wounds because the bullet lacerates (cuts or tears) the tissues as it forces its way out through the skin. The shape and size of an exit wound depend upon the size, speed, and shape of the bullet. 
 
For example, soft lead bullets are easily deformed as they enter and pass through the body, particularly if they strike any bony structures along the way. When that happens, the bullet may become severely misshapen, which, in turn, produces more extensive tissue damage that often results in a gaping, irregular exit wound. 
 
Distinguishing entry wounds from exit wounds is not always easy for the ME, particularly when the exit wound is shored, which means clothing or some other material supports the wound. The ragged nature of most exit wounds is caused by the bullet ripping its way through the skin. However, if the victim’s skin is supported by tight clothing or the victim is against a wall or other structure, the skin is less likely to tear. The exit wound therefore will be smaller and less ragged, and it will look more like an entry wound. 
 

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF: 42: Prior Bad Acts, An Author Reading

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 41: Writing Great Thrillers

My dear friend Gayle Lynds recently posted an excellent article on the Rogue Women Writers blog titled “10 Rules For Writing A Best-selling Thriller.” Gayle offers many useful insights every writer should take to heart. In this show I want to expand and offer my views on a few of her points. 
 
10 Rules For Writing A Best-selling Thriller by Gayle Lynds:
https://www.roguewomenwriters.com/2020/09/10-rules-for-writing-best-selling.html
Rogue Writers: https://www.roguewomenwriters.com

GET TO KNOW Best-selling Author Reavis Wortham

Revis Wortham
https://reaviszwortham.com/
 
How long have you been writing?I began with a column in The Paris News back in August, 1988. My first submission came as a result of a bet with a coworker. During a particularly boring meeting, she bet me that she could write a column during the next hour, and get it published within the month. I took her up on it, ignored the meeting’s speaker and wrote a column which I submitted to Mike Condiff at The Paris News. He accepted it the next day and it was published a week later. I still write for that paper and thank them every day for getting me started.
How many columns have you written for newspapers?If my math is right, to date I’ve written nearly 1,200 newspaper columns.
How many columns and articles have been published in magazines?My best estimate is somewhere in the neighborhood of 300.
Where can I find your other published works?As I mentioned above, you can find columns and articles online in The Paris News, Texas Fish and Game Magazine, Vintage Trucks Magazine, Country World Newspaper, Saltwater Texas, The Rockport Pilot. Google Reavis Wortham and there are dozens of links to magazine and newspaper articles.
Can I purchase any of them?You can purchase the publications as they come out. At this writing, I don’t have a central bank of columns or articles for purchase. Urge your newspaper to pick it up and you’ll have it in your hands each week.
Is there any truth to your humor columns?Yes, they all start with a grain of truth, and then I go where the story takes me.
Do you read a lot?Only to excess. I average at least one to two books a week.
Who are your favorite authors?That depends. I credit Robert Ruark, Fred Gipson and William C. Anderson for launching my writing career. I’ve read every book they’ve published, including articles and biographies about them. Sadly, they’re all gone now.As for mysteries, Robert B. Parker and Donald Westlake are my favorite traditional mystery writers. They’ve passed also.Today I read everything by C.J. Box, Bill Bryson, Lee Child, Tim Dorsey, Douglas Jones, Tom Lowe, Larry McMurtry, David Morrell, Ben Rehder, James Rollins, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Randy Wayne White, only to name a very few.
Is The Rock Hole a true story?You’ll have to define true. It is very loosely based on my grandfather who was a Lamar County constable as I was growing up. The characters are fictional as is the incident itself.
The area is real, isn’t it?Very much so. The story is set in Lamar County, in North Texas. I changed the names of several locations, but the Rock Hole exists, as does Sanders Creek, Center Springs and every other physical place in the book.
Do you outline your books before writing?No. I usually just start with an idea and watch the characters appear and mature as the manuscript progresses. I am always surprised at what happens and what the characters do.
Did you always want to be a writer?Yes, from the time I learned to read. When I was eight years old, I remember an aunt asking me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said “an author.” She laughed and said she was sure it would happen. It took a few years, but I finally made it.
I have a story idea, can I send it to you?Sorry, I can’t accept any magazine articles or story ideas due to legal considerations. Please don’t send unpublished stories, articles or manuscripts. Instead, write them, find an agent and get published yourself!

GE TO KNOW Best-selling Author John Gilstrap

JOHN GILSTRAP
A little bit about my background… I’ve always been a closet-writer. As a kid, I lived for the opportunity to write short stories. I was the editor of my high school newspaper for a while (the Valor Dictus, Robinson High School, class of 1975), until I quit (“You can’t fire me! I quit!”) over a lofty First Amendment issue that seemed very important at the time. My goal, in fact, was to become a journalist in the vein of Woodward or Bernstein. Okay, I confess, I wanted to be Woodward; Robert Redford played him in the movie, and chicks really dug Robert Redford.
I graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1979, and armed with a degree in American history, I couldn’t find a job. I ended up settling for a position with a little-noticed trade journal serving the construction industry. They called me the managing editor and they paid me food stamp wages. I hated it. About this time, I joined the Burke Volunteer Fire Department in Fairfax County, Virginia, if only to find relief from the boredom of my job. Running about a thousand calls my first year with the department, I was hooked, and the volunteer fire service became an important part of my life for the next 15 years. In the early eighties, hating my job, I went the way of all frustrated liberal arts undergrads—back to graduate school. Earning a Master of Science degree in safety engineering from the University of Southern California, I started down a whole new road. For the next decade and a half, I became an expert (don’t you hate that word?) on explosives safety and hazardous waste. Meanwhile, I kept writing. I didn’t tell anyone, of course, because, well, you just don’t share artistic dreams with fellow engineers. They look at you funny.
My first novel, Nathan’s Run, was in fact my fourth novel, and when it sold, it sold big. At a time in my life when things were going well—I was president of my own consulting firm—things were suddenly going very well. Warner Bros. bought the movie rights to Nathan’s Run two days after the first book rights were sold, and as of this date, the novel has been translated and published in one form or another in over 20 countries. With Nathan’s Run in the can, as it were, I thought I might finally be on to something, but I didn’t quit my “day job” until after I sold the book and movie rights to my second novel, At All Costs. I figured that while one-in-a-row might be luck, two-in-a-row was a trend. So, I started writing full-time.
More novels followed, and then a few screenplays.  I was living the dream.
But I really didn’t like it much.  I learned pretty quickly that when you’re born a Type-A personality, those extrovert tendencies don’t go away just because you’re practicing a craft you love.  In fact, after just a couple of years of dream fulfillment, I was pretty friggin’ bored with the company of my imaginary friends, so I did something that I’ve never heard a full-time artist do before: I went back to a day job.  At first, it was just a matter of reactivating my consulting business, but then, in 2004, I was handed my ideal Big-Boy Job (that’s what my wife calls it) working as the director of safety for a trade association in Washington, DC.
That Big Boy Job lasted ten and a half years, and after that much time in the trenches of the association world, I was ready to take a step back into full-time writing. Over the decade-plus that I was with the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, I figure that I spent close to 2,000 nights in hotel rooms. I have platinum status out the wazoo, and I met hundreds of very nice people, but my wick burned down to the nub and I retired from there in January 2015. You know, it’s funny. When you ask people who choose to leave a job that they liked how they made the decision to leave, the clichéd answer is, “When the time comes, you’ll know.” That’s exactly how it was for me. I just knew.
I’ll keep my hat in the safety consulting ring for a while, mostly as a speaker or a columnist, but I think it’s safe to say that I have filled out my last leave request form.
And I continue to write.  In 2006, Six Minutes to Freedom was published to considerable acclaim.  My first (and probably last) foray into book-length non-fiction, SixMin tells the story of Kurt Muse, the only civilian of record ever rescued by the super-secret Delta Force.  Thanks to Kurt’s cooperation (he is co-author), I gained access to people and places that lifelong civilians like me should never see.  The heroic warriors I met during that research turned out to be nothing like their movie stereotypes.  These were not only gentlemen, but gentle men, who remained free of the kind of boasting and self-aggrandizement that I was expecting.  They were supreme professionals, and very nice guys.
And through them I got the idea for my series character, Jonathan Grave.  He’s former Delta, released from the Army under circumstances that will be revealed over time, and now he’s a freelance hostage rescue specialist.  He’s the finest friend you could ever have, and the worst enemy.  No Mercy, the first entry in the series, hit the shelves in June of 2009.
https://www.johngilstrap.com/