Real-Life Skills and Abilities?

[Typewriter77]

I like how MacGyver repurposes things. I was thinking about giving my protagonist the same skill. The thing is, who’s to say whether or not someone would use it for something bad in real life?

We’re talking turning using household items to make DIY bombs, or a step by step way to break into someone’s house. How would I be able to portray this skill? Or, should it be portrayed at all?

I guess I’m asking in essence, how do you write a real-life skill without someone trying it in real life?

[Linyang Zhang]

@typewriter77 From the posts I’ve seen about how to pick locks or shoplift at the beginning whoever wrote it always puts a huge disclaimer that these tips are for writing purposes only and not for in real life.

I myself am usually too lazy to go into detail about anything, lest I mess any details up, or, perhaps, accidentally teach someone how to commit murder. Also because…no experience.

Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days

[relia]

@typewriter77

I think it’s totally fine to portray these elements (as long as they aren’t overly gory or whatever), and they are often very fun to read and write about. I’m actually writing a manuscript that does involve lockpicking, explosives, etc., so here’s what I’ve done. 

Ok. To be blunt, 99% readers simply won’t be able to do the things you detail, even with step by step instructions. I have tried lockpicking and many things like that just to see if I could, and I certainly could not. This is where being realistically accurate comes in… can someone actually make a homemade bomb easily? Well, no. It is possible, but hardly. As writers, to serve plot and drama, we often choose to integrate events or talents that would really be nearly impossible to come upon in reality. So even if you provide reeeeally detailed information on how to commit a crime, etc, I would be almost certain that no readers would really be able to follow those instructions.

If these are instructions that people really could follow without messing up, (which is pretty unlikely. If you’re not sure, you could ask a friend if they can follow the steps you’ve written) just gloss over parts. Make a few bits of information that are essential to committing a felony as vague as possible. For example, don’t use specific measurements or chemicals, just say “he poured the chemical mixture into a measuring cup” or whatever. 

In the end, though, if you are finding this information somewhere, your readers could as well. And if they are dead set on breaking the law, they’ll do it with or without your book. (Also, for this to get out to a large audience, you’d most likely have to go through a publishing company and editor, who would give you a heads up if there was something dangerous in your book, since they don’t want to be liable for anything.)

That was a long ramble, but hope it helped!

 

I can't think of anything witty at the moment.

[Typewriter77]

Yes! Thank you! This is all very helpful!

[Author]

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