
Yesterday I had to go to jury duty. I knew I wasn’t going to get picked when the defense attorney told a story about trying to bake an apple pie in college. The pie didn’t turn out because he forgot to put shortening in it. Then he said, “DNA is like an apple pie. You can easily contaminate it. And you know, now they have such tiny samples of DNA, a nanogram of DNA. If you knew that not all procedures were not followed, would you not have a problem with it?”
I swear, it was the most convoluted sentence. So I raised my hand and I asked, ‘By procedures, do you mean the scientific procedures or chain of custody?”
And he said, “Procedures.”
And I said, “Please be specific, because if you’re asking me to distrust a proven scientific method, I would need a lot of explanation as to why. Because DNA mapping is not an apple pie.”
So I didn’t get on the jury. I am deliriously happy because it would have been a two week trial.
Dear Ilona Andrews,
Bobby
I’m a huge fan of your writing and can hardly wait for the next installment of the Innkeeper Chronicles. I am looking for a bit of advice when it comes to writing fantasy, and because I think of your writing as an excellent example, I figure you might have good advice. How do you explain the magic of the world with enough detail that the reader understands without ruining the magic of the story? I often feel like the line is very blurred and struggle to explain things fully without over explaining. In a similar line of questioning, How do you explain the magic without making it seem like an info-dump? I struggle with both of these things and figured you might have some helpful advice to impart. Thank you so much for your time and I can’t wait for your upcoming books!
You give the reader a bare minimum of information they need to understand the narrative. Just enough so they don’t get lost. Your worldbuilding is an iceberg and the reader only needs to see the part that’s above water. If you absolutely have to have an info dump, try to attach emotion to it.
Some moments in life you remember forever.
One time, when I was five, my parents told me that we were going on a trip. I looked outside the window, at the grey November sky smothered with clouds, and decided that I wasn’t going. My dad brought me a pair of aviator shades, then he took my right hand and my mom took my left, and together we walked down a long hallway deep into our inn. At the end of the hallway an ordinary door waited. We reached it, it swung open, and summer exhaled heat in my face. I shut my eyes against the bright light, and when I opened them, we stood on a street paved with stone. Tall terraced buildings rose on both side of us, and straight ahead, where the alley ran into a street, a current of creatures in every color and shape possible surged past the merchant stalls while a shattered planet looked at them from a purple sky.
There are times when you have to give the reader a necessary information and you can bleed it in small bits. That’s the best way to do it.
And then there are times, when you have to deliver a large chunk of it. Most often it happens when writing the next book in the series. As hard as it is to believe, there are people who will pick up book 10 in a series without reading any others, so you have to account for them. Also, often there is a year between the books, and some readers will have forgotten your worldbuilding and the events of the previous books.
If you have to drop a large chunk of worldbuilding, first, you allude to the information but not actually show it, so the reader is intrigued. For example, prior to the chunk below, Catalina had reported to Linus Duncan without any explanation. She did it right after being in danger, while still covered in blood and gore. This tells us that Linus is very important, but we don’t know why. You have to convince the readers that they want this explanation, then you sit on it as long as you can, and when you finally deliver it, wrap it in emotion. We’ve now waved this Linus Duncan thing in front of them a couple of times, and the readers probably want to know what the deal is.
My phone chimed, announcing a new email. I clicked my inbox. An email from Linus with a video file attached. An enormous file. Linus didn’t optimize the video. I tapped it to download. This would take a while.
“One day you’ll have to tell me what you do for Linus Duncan,” Leon said.
“But then I’d have to kill you, and, as you often point out, you’re my favorite cousin.”
Leon snorted.
Most of my family had no problem with secrecy. Grandma Frida and Mom both served in the military, Bern naturally kept things to himself, and Nevada was a truthseeker. She could fill her and Rogan’s mansion with other people’s secrets she knew and kept to herself. But Leon and Arabella thrived on gossip. They knew I was doing something confidential for Linus Duncan, but they had no idea what exactly, and it was driving both up the wall.
A century and a half ago, half a dozen countries discovered the Osiris Serum, almost simultaneously. Those who took it could expect one of the three equally likely outcomes: they would die, they would turn into a monster and die after living for a couple of years, or they would gain magic powers. The quality of magic varied: one could have a minor talent, or one could become a Prime, able to unleash devastating power.
At first, the serum was given to anyone brave enough to chance the consequences. Nobody stopped to think that randomly handing people the power to incinerate entire city blocks and spew deadly plagues could be a terrible idea. Then the World War broke out. The eight years that followed it were known as the Time of Horrors.
Lord Acton, a 19th century historian, once wrote that power tended to corrupt. According to him, great men were almost always bad men. Great mages of the Time of Horrors proved him right. They were abominations, who slaughtered human beings like cattle because they felt like it. People died by thousands. Revolts and riots sparked all over the planet. The world caught on fire and when the blaze finally died down, humanity learned three lessons.
First, the use of Osiris Serum had to be banned by an international decree.
Second, the magic powers turned out to be hereditary. Primes beget Primes, leading to formation of Houses, magic families.
Third, the magic community had to find a way to stabilize itself. It was a matter of survival. Even the most capable Prime was vastly outnumbered. If they embarked on a reign of terror, eventually someone would put a bullet in their brain and every lunatic magic user inflamed the general population until they lashed out at anyone with a magic talent. Having achieved power, the Houses now wanted order and safety to reap its benefits.
The Houses came together and instituted state assemblies, where each Prime had voting power. The state assemblies answered to the National Assembly. The National Assembly required someone to investigate breaches of its laws. That’s where the Office of Wardens came in. The Texas Rangers’ official motto was “One riot, one Ranger.” The National Assembly subscribed to that philosophy. There was only one Warden per state, a mage of outstanding power whose identity remained confidential. Each Warden was allowed one apprentice.
Linus Duncan was the Warden of Texas, and I was his deputy. In the past half a year, I had seen things that made me wake up in cold sweat in the middle of the night. And if I shared them with my family, the National Assembly would silence them and me. Permanently.
I became the deputy to keep people I loved safe. No matter how many family dinners Linus attended, how much he doted on us, and how often he invited the entire House Baylor to his ranch and his mansion, if I breached the boundaries he laid out for me, he would eliminate us without hesitation. That’s why when he gave me an order, I dropped everything else and followed.
It starts with “This is dangerous information that can get people killed” and it ends with “This is dangerous information that will get people I love killed.” There is an escalation here and now we let the reader in on super secret info that only Catalina knows. People like secrets. Make them feel special by telling them one.
To reiterate:
- Delay as long as possible
- Bleed it in in small chunks
- If you can’t, attach strong emotion to it
Best of luck.
Great that you got out of jury duty. Now you won’t have to do it for at least a year or two. Last year I had summons for jury duty. I didn’t have to go since the case was settled out of court, which was fine with me.
Good advice on the writing front. Thanks for the snippet of Catalina, too. 😀
Too bad at work I have to do the bottom line up front (BLUF) technique. The explanation comes after it.
Awsome snippet!! And I love “because DNA mapping is not an apple pie.” ????
Actually, no. It’s not great that Ilona wasn’t picked. Because now we’ll have 12 people on the jury who think DNA can be baked like a pie.
Lmao!!!! So true ????????
That’s was a great example. You guys really excel at this stuff ????
Fun fact: I have always found the way you handle exposition and info dumping to be a fantastic skill in writing craft. At one point in my own journey, I sat down with the Kate books and went through them specifically studying how you handle it, and I have tried to apply those very techniques in my own writing. One of my absolute favorite ‘tricks’ that you do involves #3: attach emotion to it. I noticed that often, you will use a piece of exposition as an opportunity for readers to deepen their attachment to a character, AND for that character’s backstory to grow. One of the first times I used this after my study break was in my my first published novel. I used a piece of exposition to tell the story of one of my MC’s escapades with her sister/best friend. This one scene told the bit of world building I needed in an interesting way, it also showed the reader just how close my MC and her bestie are (defying their father, a strict ex-military man, for each other), and it introduced the strong emotion I needed to get across in the same scene between my MC and her love interest. It was like this multi-purpose bonanza that to this day remains one of the scenes readers point out to me that they love, and YET it’s still exposition.
I consider you guys masters of this particular craft skill, and I have tried to incorporate it into my own writing ever since. So, this comment is to say, yes, one hundred percent this, absolutely. Whoever asked this question should study how you do this throughout your books, not just in these two wonderful examples.
Thank you for the snippets – looking forward to seeing Innkeeper resume as well.
The jury duty issues always concern me. Although I am always happy not to have my life disrupted for weeks with serving, the reasons I am dismissed makes you wonder about those who end up left to serve on juries. I have been dismissed for replying to a question that I would prefer to look at the evidence and draw my own conclusions and did not need the lawyer to tell me how to interpret everything. I (and several other jurors) have been dismissed for having basic medical background and being able to read the basics on an x-ray (child abuse case). It seems like the lawyers do their best to find those with the least amount of education and logic reasoning skills; those that can be easily influenced. I am not sure that is fair to those in the justice system, nor is it truly reflective of many of our ‘peers’. Although when I was called to jury duty in NYC, I can’t say there were any in the jury selection box who were peers to the 2 kids who were going on trial for mugging – the potential jurors were all professionals: lawyers, doctors, CEOs, etc. due to the Manhattan jurisdiction.
akk, your concerns about the American system of justice, in the form of a trial by a jury of your peers, is right on. Not only that, but I served last year on a district court grand jury for some months before I realized what a colossal waste of my time it was and I was going home after each session with stuff in my head that I didn’t want there. First, your colleagues are people who are retired or unemployed because it is quite a time commitment. You can draw your own conclusions. Then, the DA presents the evidence and the grand jury votes to indict or not. The DA only presents the evidence he wants you to see or hear which usually doesn’t include any mitigating facts. If a member of the grand jury asks a question to try to see what may be hiding behind the curtain, the DA will usually respond with, “I am instructing the witness to not answer that question.” No explanation. And you’re stuck. So, of course, the verdict is almost always an indictment. What a farce. I also feel that our justice system it is a big machine that can’t be stopped. (Kinda like the federal government.) And I don’t really have any suggestions for how to fix it except to get Linus and Catalina. So I’ll shut up now.
I served on the Baltimore City Grand Jury for 4 months, then got extended every Friday for a few more months to continue hearing about a particular case. My employer appealed, but I got to see the seamy side of life at their expense. The function that I saw of the grand jury is to scare perps into confessing or doing a deal. It is a also trial run for the attorneys & police officers who testify. I pointed out a discrepancy between a charge and the evidence, and I do believe a charge was dropped. They took us for a tour of the jails, a midnight tour (in a yellow school bus!) of important drug dealer infested areas (still don’t understand that one) and on other interesting side trips to inform us. There was a lot of down time, but I loved it and got to know some very interesting and committed fellow jurors. We didn’t have to decide guilt or innocence, just if there was enough evidence to go to trial. My usual lunch at work was 45 min, but the jury often took well over an hour. Also got out of regular jury service for 5 years afterward!
Thanks for this Chris. You reminded me that there were some worthwhile things about grand jury service. We had a class with the police K-9 units and got to meet many law enforcement officers with whom I was favorably impressed. And you were right about the use of the grand jury as a means of getting a plea or getting the case moved forward to trial. I like that your service was scheduled so that you could use your lunch hour to hear a case. Our schedule was for a whole day, every other week. We would often hear 3-5 cases during the day. It was a bit overwhelming. I hope I get excused from trial jury selection for 5 years, too!
I’ve never really understood why you have a grand jury process in America, it’s always seemed like a waste of taxpayers money to have 12 (or more, not to sure of the numbers!) hear the case then do the same thing again for the trial. In Australia we have a process where a committal hearing can be done before a Magistrate in the Local Court ( the lowest jurisdiction) to see if the evidence is enough to hold a trial in the District Court ( next jurisdiction up) but usually all the discussions, negotiations, plea bargaining etc happens between the prosecutor and defence lawyers before a jury is selected… even on the day of the trial! I’ve seen many of our trials change to pleas this way, BTW ( if you couldn’t tell!) I’ll never be called for jury duty in Oz as I work in the Court system!
Once my husband was excused before they even questioned him because we had daughters and the victim was close to our oldest in age.
DON’T TELL ME! In our community we have bajillions of jury trials over just stupid small time. Junk becuz rookie desperate DA thinks it makes her look tough to insist one more person gets stuffed into prison for stuff could be pleaded out. People here do ANYTHING&EVERYTHING TO AVOID JURY DUTY.
I got called a few times years ago, but I was always dismissed when they asked about law enforcement ties because I majored in Administration of Justice, hung out with cops, was a EMT, etc.
I was called up for jury duty and got thru to the voir dire twice. I was rejected both times. In the first case, they asked if I had any experience in the legal field. I replied that I was a paralegal and was rejected without any further questions. I have wondered why they didn’t want anyone who understood law off the case. The second time, it was a criminal case involving multiple acts of sex offense with a minor by an uncle. The alleged abuse started at age 4. I was asked if I would have a problem with a sentence of life without the possibility of parole and responded somewhat cheerfully with no after mentally editing my response of Hell no.
I would have responded along with your non-edited response “does castration go along with his sentence?”
WOW!!! Excellent, outstanding, I am thrilled you write, Thank You so much. Your style, and pacing are excellent, I became completely caught up in your narrative. My heart has joy. Thank you.
Thank you; I’ve always wondered about, and been annoyed at, stories where the explanation just couldn’t be given. Usually to the protagonist, who was baffled at what was happening.
Oooh. Was the first one a Dina snippet?? (I guess it could be any Demille sibling, but I’m getting Dina vibes.) If so, it’s wonderful to see her again. 🙂 I’ve really missed her. Thank you for the snippet!
Catalina
Catalina was the second snippet..first is 5 yr old holding parents hands, they open a hallway door and are on another planet ..BaHa Char.
I worry about this addiction tomtheirmworks, but I console my worry with a switch to a different IA series. Innkeeper to Kate Daniels to HiddenLegacy.
Ring around the audiobooks
I’m fortunate in that the two times that I got to the choosing of jurors in a courtroom, that I wasn’t in the jury or an alternate. The first time, they were selecting, broke for lunch, kid who was fighting the crime realized that things were real, and plead guilty.
Second time, the jury and alternate was chosen before lunch, and they dismissed us after lunch.
“…DNA mapping is not an apple pie.” Laughed myself silly over that little attempt to throw out the DNA mapping in a trial. I always get excused from jury duty, too, because too many attorneys grew up where I’ve lived for 33 years now, and I know them, and because I ran a business all the local law enforcement visited frequently, not to mention dozens of my family members were/are law enforcement in the area where I was born. But they never excuse me until I’ve wasted time sitting there, waiting to be excused. The apple pie theory is a new one to me.
Writing is easy. Writing something other people want to read is extremely difficult. That is a nice explanation on how to do something right.
+1
I really hope my granddaughter takes my advice and uses your blog for writing advice! I’ll never be a writer but sure do enjoy the results!
Thank you for the insight and the snippet. I have tried similar tactics in getting out of jury duty, no such luck. Maybe only in Texas.
I’m hoping others in the room took your question and came to the same conclusion as you!
The snippets were lovely and I was not expecting them! I legitimately thought you were writing about your childhood and my thoughts as I was reading that snippet “Oh wow, a childhood flashback of Ilona!… Wow she must have modeled Innkeeper off of her childhood home!… Wait…. Door? A side door to a sunny world? Is this THE Inn?!… OMG a snippet?!” 😀
Wow! Loved your example.
Jury duty is hard, I am due to be called again. Here in CA it is attached to drivers license. I have served on short trials several times in Oregon when younger. One of my last times called was checked into the waiting room about two weeks before Christmas. I brought my Christmas cards to address, so that I felt I wasn’t losing precious prep time. We got lucky as they settled in the courtroom and we got excused.
“ some readers will have forgotten your worldbuilding and the events of the previous books.”
You must be talking about some other writers world building. Yours are unforgettable.
In our county in Kentucky, jury duty is for a whole month at a time, and can be repeated after 2 years. I have lived in Kentucky for 15 years and just finished my 5th stint of jury duty. I am totally ticked off, because I know LOTS of people who have lived here all their lives and NEVER been called! Next time I am going to have some outrageous answers ready for the questions, because I am sick and tired of this!
Yeah, I feel that the selection of jurors has turned from a group of peers to the most ignorant group of people they can round up… not that all jurors are stupid, but that the lawyers involved WANT all jurors to be stupid. Grump… not that I want to be called, but I don’t think Justice is served by blind ignorance, only by blind bias.
On a different note, I loved the two snippets! I’m still on the fence about Linus… he is intriguing but also is capricious and volatile, to me.
On another note, IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT! I rarely watch television, even my beloved anime has been shelved for a couple of years because I can’t accomplish anything else when glued to a television screen. Now you’ve got me watching Ashes of Love (Heavy Sweetness ) the 2018 Chinese drama… OMG, I love it, but it is like Crack or something, I get up and watch episodes and then watch two more when I get home… gahhhh.
My last jury duty voir dire was kind of like that, plus lots of drama.
We walk in and see a young black man at a table with the TV monitor showing he is being charged with resisting arrest. We see the defendant and his lawyer looks like he is sleeping and at first doesn’t even seem to be paying attention. The jury panel is looking around at each other and we all feel bad. The prosecutor is young and engaged and just really raring to go. She starts out strong and lined out. We feel even worse, because the defense lawyer is still napping. But then she starts asking questions and this sleeping eyes closed lawyer basically just destroys her. She asks questions like, “Could you convict a person of resisting arrest if they were never convicted of the crime they were convicted of” And every time she asks a question or tries to push us to say something or another, sleepy lawyer objects and gets upheld. Where I got stuck is when she asserted Texas state law says that if you voluntarily flinch you can be convicted of resisting arrest. I couldn’t agree to that, by its definition a flinch is an involuntary reaction, so we went round and round on that before they finally let me go.
It is fascinating to see how the genius works behind the curtain. I am not a writer but I do adore your writing and have always known you are a very rare breed of excellence. I devour everything you write for a reason. I just don’ t know enough to pinpoint why your writing is so amazing. Knowing it is brilliant is great, knowing why it is brilliant is amazing. Thank you for sharing tidbits of your craft with us. I really enjoy reading these types of insights. We need more people like you on the planet who are nice and willing to share your insight and knowledge with all. Thanks for always being super awesome and sharing your awesomeness with others. You rock. And, of course, thanks for all the amazing stories you put to page and share with us. May you never run out of words. Super hero capes for you both.
“No capes. Too dangerous,” Edna Mode in The Incredibles. (May be paraphrased, it’s been a while.)
For the snippet and the information, WOW, just WOW!!! It couldn’t have been explained better. I just love it and Thank You.
Fabulous. Thank you for that advice. I’m right at the point where I need it!
That was brilliant. Thank you.
Now I want someone to get jury duty, particularly in HL. Arabella’s too argumentative, Leon’s a loose cannon. Nobody in their right mind would put Nevada on a jury. Rogan wouldn’t have the patience. Grandma Frida might be too old to serve, but she’d turn the trial into My Cousin Vinnie! I doubt Linus would allow Catalina to serve; he’d pull some strings. Cornelius might be interesting, but Nari was an attorney, so he’d probably be dismissed. Also, he’s Matilda’s only parent, so that might get him a pass. Still, it’s fun to consider.
Backstory drives me nuts. This is the best advice on it I’ve ever read. I copied it to squirrel it into my notes, then forwarded it to all my paranormal-writing buddies. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing that great advice. I have a hard time balancing background information and the moment that my characters are in. This post was a huge help.
As for jury duty, first let me say that I’m happy for your narrow escape. Last week, I received a notification that I’m potentially going to be called up for “Federal” jury duty- I never even knew this was a thing. If I get called, I sincerely hope one of the attorney’s mentions apple pie!
I’m just in it for the snippits….lol!!! and a mighty thank you for the sharing!!!
Knowing what the jury is supposed to do where you live I am a bit s armed because they excluded you for….critical thinking? O.o
But I worked out for you so that is ok.
Thanks for the explanation that included two snippets *-* super lucky
If I had heard that “example”, I wouldn’t have been choosen either… and I probably would have had to pay a fine for calling that attorney “a neanderthal piece of disinformation” or sth equally uncreative but heartfelt. How dare he??? I’m glad you spoke out, and that you could get out of jury duty as a well deserved reward for it. Cheers ????
Ha ha ha ha! Confounding attorneys! Have to remember that the next time I get called for jury duty.
Can’t wait for Emerald Blaze!
Thank you so much for sharing how you do worldbuilding in your stories! Have you ever thought about compiling all your blog posts on writing into a book? I think it would help a lot of us aspiring writers.
On the other hand, I am willing to bet something very precious that Linus Duncan is the girls’ Siren Grandfather.
I love the snippet! Thaks a lot!!!
I remember starting Robert Jordan’s Wheel if time with book 5, I spend more time in the Glossary then in the book. But still got absolutely hooked. I found them in a library while working abroad and it took me over a year to find books 1-4 after reading 5-8 ????
For some people in this country, no judgement, science may as well be like apple pie. At an enormous ark built to dimensions in the Bible, in northern Kentucky, some of the animal statues going two by two into the ark are dinosaurs. Arkencounter.com. There are belief systems that are not based in the scientific method, and it may be to these subscribers and science skeptics that the defense attorney was appealing. We went to a national park in South Dakota this summer where the land formations — striped in rose hues — were starkly different than my 80yo parents had seen anywhere before. We all sat in the park visitor center and watched a video with gorgeous photography, and a narrative about white settlers, bison, native tribespeople, challenging weather, and hardships of living in the region at the turn of the century. At no time was there an explanation of how the Badlands formations came to be the remarkable striped sandcastle shape they are, because geologic time (flooding and receding oceans, glacier movement, eons of wind and water erosion, a time before humans walked the earth) is a controversial topic that not enough South Dakotans can agree on. At some point our country will need to come to terms with phrases such as global climate change, and if it needs to be repackaged as God’s Changing Weather Pattern for the Planet in order for the changes to happen to save humanity, I can accept that.
Thank you for two really great snippets and the peek behind the curtain.
When I know how something is done, I will often lose my connection with the story when I notice it. (Aha! I see what you’ve done!) I don’t have that problem with your books. Those little bits of backstory just slide right into place and I never notice it happening.
You two are sooo sneaky. Thanks for being so just plain good at your story telling.
Being retired, I would not mind being on a jury. However, I am hoping that I am through with jury duty. While I have never actually been on a jury, I have wasted many, many hours waiting to even be impaneled.
Houston / Harris County jury duty is an enormous cattle call involving several hundred people every day. All of us have to find parking, navigate an unfamiliar part of town, go through security, and find the correct room before the start of business in the many courts. It is enough to give a person a splitting headache. And the pay is $6 if you are not chosen. Unless you find the one “jury” garage, you will pay more for parking.
Given the choice, I’ll stay home.
Yay, snippets! Double yay, writers tips!! Triple yay, you guys are covered in awesome sauce!!! (Uh.. didn’t mean for that to sound quite so kinky:})
My only jury experience is a bit different. I managed to be on the 2 weeks just after they did a prostitution sweep. Apparently being a medical professional is not a deterrent for that! I was on 5 juries in 2 weeks and on the last day just managed to get out of the first trial on DVD porn (which went on for months) when the judge asked if ”I was curing cancer”. I agreed that we were trying to anyway and he let me out of it. It was an interesting experience though and I think everyone should have to do it at least once
I haven’t been called for jury duty for years and years and years. Just lucky I guess.
Love the snippet and explanation of how to write.
Thank you
This was really timely info. Thanks.
Have been lucky enough to work insurance and Workers’ Compensation all my working life. Lawyers are definitely not in favor of anyone who might have a clue about how the system works, so every time I’ve been called the judge removes me instantly to save us all time. Even volunteered once and got thrown out.
They especially hated that my company had been self-insured and I had a reputation of taking care of my employees when it was a real injury, and making sure my fakers never got far.
Absolutely love your stories and can’t wait for Emerald Blaze.
Also love your blogs.
Thank you so much!!
Decades ago my mom was called up for jury duty. She was a medical assistant in a doctor’s practice. The case was a whiplash case. When questioning my mom, she asked if there were doctor records or imaging, or if it was just a chiropractor (which she felt were worth less than dirt). She was dismissed. As she walked out the next person was all “I’m really interested in what [my mom] had said and felt the same way”. By the time she made it out the door the whole jury was scrapped.
For me, I’d love to do jury duty. I was summoned once, but the week I was to serve was spring break for my kids, and I have a special needs kid which means I can’t get any old babysitter. So was excused for that. My husband has been summoned twice, the first time he was way down at the end of the list, the second time we lived in a tiny community and there were no cases for that week. So my only experience with jury duty is through John Grishom’s books.
“Proven” is a difficult word when talking about science. If you mean “as demonstrated by current evidence,” then yes that can work. But “proven” is also used as a term equivalent in meaning to “truth,” which is where things get tricky. Science, for the most part, is based on probabilistic evidence from inductive reasoning. We can’t test the entire population, so we use samples and infer what happens for the population, with some probability of being correct … which is never 100%. Because of this ambiguity, I caution my students to avoid terms around the word “prove” when talking about science.
Since we are splitting hairs: a vehicle is speeding down the highway at 80 miles an hour. Let’s stand in front of it. After all, getting seriously injured and or dying is only a possibility, not a certainty, so there is a chance that you and I will be completely unharmed.
Or we can set aside applying the principles of Bayesian probability and frequentist interference and agree that STR analysis has been utilized for years, it produces scientifically reproducible results, and is therefore a proven method of comparative DNA analysis.
And it doesn’t involve shortening.
All I’m going to contribute to this post string is ????.
(If anyone wonders why, it’s because in my every day life, I’m a biostatistician who works for a healthcare system in North Texas.)
I am so happy right now. You are right, and you are right, and you’re right, too.
I married a policeman to get out of jury duty lol
I haven’t been called for jury duty for years – it was when my husband was set as Public Defender for our area. He would switch between criminal defense and prosecution every few years to keep his sanity. I was sure I was in the clear.
Every potential juror was asked if they knew anyone in the courtroom. I responded that the defense attorney worked for my husband, my husband used to work with the assistant district attorney and the judge was my cousin. The D.A. laughed and said “well you probably know something on all of us….Please take a seat in the jury box” I was stunned as was my husband… was glad when the case settled before jury deliberations
Masterful as always! Thank you so much for taking the time to share. ????
When I was called to jury duty once the judge immediately addressed the pool of potential jurors, which resulted in many of them leaving but I can’t remember what he said. I do remember I could have left at that point but didn’t. Then as things proceeded, I realized what case they were talking talking about. It was the murder of a small child that had gotten a lot of local news coverage. I panicked inside. I did not want to see the photos of that child and have that stuck in my head for the rest of my life.
The judge then called on those who wanted to be excused for reasons that did not fit the usual requirements. He wanted to hear, one on one, the reason for being excused. I got in line and when I told him I just realized what this case was about and then stammered as I tried to say I just can’t do this, he just nodded and said he was going to do another round anyway after he listened to the people in line. I was forever grateful he was so understanding and it was very obvious to me he wanted no one on that jury who could take what would happen during the trial and who didn’t want to be there.
Hi guys.
I’m doing nanowrimo and what started as a Chinese fantasy (heroines’s journey) seems feasible as an historical fiction as well.
So far, it’s turning into a story about how the lives of three girls diverge after the inciting incident (but tbh is probably going to be 60% rear court/concubine drama since 2/3 end up in the palace, though in vastly different positions). Things I know for sure: there will be romance, and two of them get the guy in the end while the third gets her heart’s desire.
How do I decide?
Also, I made my husband and a friend read what I had so far (32 iOS Books pages) and they both complained that I used too much pinyin (neither understand Mandarin). I have included footnotes but messed up on the formatting and it ended up on the last page as a dictionary of sorts instead, which doesn’t help. Is reading English pronunciations of foreign words off-putting? I wanted it to be as authentic as possible but it bored them and took them out of the story.
Halp! Halp! Halp!
Amy, the point of Nanowrimo is that you don’t edit. Don’t edit! Don’t ask for feedback. Just write as much as you can as fast as you can. Give yourself permission to write crap. Full speed ahead. You can rewrite later.
Yes, ma’am!
Awesome explanation. I always forward your writing tips to son who wants to be a writer. He’s always asking my advice because I read so much but I’ve never written anything outside of school assignments.
I can’t thank you enough for your writing skills (art!) and willingness to keep it real when you blog about your lives and the world around us. And then, there are your stories…so I’m completely enthralled and always excited about unexpected snippets.
When it comes to dropping large chunks of world building information in most fantasy/ sci fi novels I get lost and zone out. I may go back and reread or just push through hoping I picked up enough to make sense of the rest of the story. Your world building is very different. It’s use of humour and scenarios or behaviours we can relate to seem to act like a knotted rope, helping the reader to move through the less recognisable parts of the world building information. This is why I love your style xxx
When it comes to dropping large chunks of world building information in most fantasy/ sci fi novels I get lost and zone out. I may go back and reread or just push through hoping I picked up enough to make sense of the rest of the story. Your world building is very different. It’s use of humour and scenarios or behaviours we can relate to seem to act like a knotted rope, helping the reader to move through the less recognisable parts of the world building information. This is why I love your style xxx
The secret to being thrown out of the jury pool at voir dire is to have an opinion. It’s my legal superpower, too.
I was once in the jury pool for a drunk driving case – California “third time you lose your license. From the defense attorney’s questions they were going for the idea that breathalyzers aren’t really accurate. I wasn’t selected, but a friend was. Turns out the trial was over quickly. His blood alcohol was three times the limit.
Also, he was driving on the sidewalk.
I’ll never write like House Andrews – and even if I could, I don’t have stories in my head crying out to be released – but if I could write like you, Joanne, I would be satisfied.
i had jury duty years ago .and knew every person that was on trail for the 7 court cases i had to set pool for. it made me reflect on they type of people i associated with . btw i personally have never been arrested lol.
Glad you said what you said – regardless of being picked or not, the rest of the jury candidates heard it. And maybe will apply a bit of thought and logic.
The Austin Police Department’s DNA Lab was closed in 2016 due to multiple irregularities dating back to 2004. A state commission found “lab staffers hadn’t been following the proper methodology in analyzing DNA, and they had continued to defend their own method when they were asked about it. ” (https://www.statesman.com/news/20170110/memo-reveals-freezer-malfunction-at-austin-polices-troubled-dna-lab)
A lab supervisor (Diana Morales) was found to be incompetent and unable to explain basic analysis methods and conclusions by prosecutors.
Moldy samples were found in a refrigerator which had failed for 6 days.
I believe all of this is a reasonable explanation as to why you might doubt that the proven scientific method was actually followed.
And had the defense attorney said that, it would have gone a lot farther to his own credibility. Instead, he shorthanded, oversimplified, used a comparison that insulted the intelligence of his audience, and got called on it. I’m pretty sure if he were to have thanked Ilona and gone into more detail, it would have been mentioned – instead, it appears he was looking for someone who would easily go where led without question.
There’s a lot of science and technique in voir dire (jury selection), and this defense attorney either botched it and bounced the person who pointed them out, or spotted what he determined to be a potential trouble maker (read: an independent thinker) and bounced them.
I should also mention that in the last county I lived in, I got called every 3 years-and-a-bit (we had a three year ‘no call’ rule in my state) and I always viewed it as a waste of all our time. One, I’m intelligent, and two, I’m opinionated. Add in the fact that I’m only up for criminal cases (another rule in my state is that if you have a family member who has EVER had a civil case, you’re exempt from civil, for some odd reason), and one side or the other is always going to strike me.
It’s horrible what happened in Austin but the defense attorney wasn’t casting aspersions on that one department but the process as a whole from what was related.
+1 to Rose´s comment
My jury experience has been that I get called every couple of years. I live in a small rural area. I used to hang out with the judge, the prosecutor was the lawyer for my sister, I’m friends with the public defender’s dad and I know most of the cops or their parents. A couple of times, when the assistant prosecutor tries a case, I get as far as being questioned… usually the AP giggles when she says my name. I should never had told her that my youngest sister thought it was a sentence the first time I said it. Mary Beth Cruickshank Peed.
The AP giggles? I can’t stop thinking about this and laughing. I’m sorry. I know it’s your name, but really, that’s hysterically funny to me.
I have a last name more often used as a given name, and when I meet people, I give them my given name and wait it out until they ask my last name, because my last name is a common name, my given name is uncommon and approximately 95% of people forget my first name and latch onto my last name immediately. To be polite, I answer to it, but it irks me beyond beyond.
See? That’s true love. You and I both married last names that changed how we have to deal with meeting people. We CHOSE to use those names. Good on you!
I chose to not take my husband’s last name when I married him. I’m still hoping he’ll take mine at some point, though he has a valid reason for not.
He’s got one of the most common combination of first and last names in the US, like 3 in 1000 males- Michael Miller. In the time I’ve known him, he’s been mistakenly identified 3 times for being a dead beat dad in a different states, once as a different ethnicity to a shorter skinnier man who’s birthday was the same but only 3 digits of their SSN were the same, but not the same place holder and my Mike’s middle initial is P, not R…. Supposedly Michael P Miller was an alias for Micheal R Miller (also Micheal R Miller has caused my husband to also call the state of Alabama to make sure his records weren’t being mixed up over pot charges too). We ended up counter-suing the state board in charge of the child support decision before they acknowledged the mix up.
He travel with his extra level of government background clearances to speed up the process in customs. Once he got asked if he had been to Virginia recently and if he had any tattoos (this was after white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, VA with all the tiki torches). That guy hadn’t even been on our radar yet. Usually customs holds him over to “Make sure you’re not _that_ Mike Miller”
Basically if my husband took my last name, it’d be another “alias” … taking his last name with the first name of Elizabeth wouldn’t be any better for me.
And I thought I had trouble! My name is the same as an Olympic Gold Medalist in the downhill, and also, a woman who had outstanding warrants in at least two states (fortunately, THAT chick is a different color!)
Believe me, the skier and I are grateful for small favors!
As soon as I turned 18, I informed them that most of my family are convicted felons, so I could never knowingly convict and send someone to prison, unless it was a pedophile. I told the lady that any accusation of pedophilia would get a guilty from me. She frosting told me I was permanently removed from the system. I couldn’t care less that she judged me; I got out of jury duty for life. ????
I try to behave in a way that if everyone else behaved the same way society as a whole would funtion as it should. With that kind of behavior no one would ever be held responsible for a crime-except we’d have the equivalent of the Salem witch trials for acused pedophiles. I don’t think that’s something to be pleased about.
Re: jury selection, OMG, I’m crying. You are my hero and I wish I’d been there to see it!
This was exactly what I needed to read today. Time to get back to writing!
I’ve only been called about 4 times & each time I was nursing a kid so I was excused. No one wants to see the boob fly out in a courtroom (adoption court excluded of course).
The excerpt with Leon… Which book series was that? It has piqued my interest. Thanks!
It’s from the Hidden Legacy series.
Ooohhh, the bits of No. 4! Thank you. Looking forward to more Catalina and Linus. So much power.
Actually that will be book 5. I can’t wait for it to come out.
Btw, i love this illustration- something about it is so mysterious and beautiful! Why did you pick this image?
It is indeed a lovely image! I’m wondering if it was commissioned for the Innkeeper series.
I wrote a very long cathartic reply to your jury duty experience. Deleted it. Feel better now. 🙂 I am a science professor, dad was military, grandpa was a LEO that was crippled for life by DUI ran over him when mom young, husband crim prof. son crim justice, daughter biomed eng. car accidents with serious injuries from backending from 2 suspended drivers. I am considering writing a country song about it and why I will never be picked to serve on a jury. Over 35 years, dozens of jury summons. Oy. Would love to serve, always excused at some point in the process. Arggggg! Thank you for sharing your pain, laughter is the best medicine as always! 🙂
Thank you for such wonderful advice (and two excellent examples) of how to catch and retain people’s interest with one’s writing.
No wonder you were excused from jury duty – you showed all concerned, in a polite and precise manner, that the defense attorney was a dunderhead
In the Catalina snippet, you say that each Prime gets a vote in the Assembly. If I remember correctly, Primes and Significants can attend Assembly sessions, but each House gets a vote.
Nope. Just looked it up. In the Lower Chamber, every Prime and Significant of a qualified House can vote. In the Upper Chamber, only the Head of Houses can vote. That’s how Cornelius explained it to Nevada. Assuming Linus is Caesar, Cornelius will totally lose it when he finds out.
Sigh the attacks on science are so nuts. I love your response. I loathe jury duty and pray I never need a jury of my “peers” to save me from prosecution. Last time the other jurors wanted to acquit a guy of domestic assault because he was “young” and they didn’t want to “ruin” his life.
Most disturbing slice of life I’d been exposed to.
Love the snippet !!!!
Yes, I know what you mean. And those of us with illegally minded neighbors wonder under what rock a jury of”peers” was found as each arrest is more illegal than prior one. Good luck jenn.
Yeah.
They forgot the person he assaulted will now have a life sentence of those memories.
Thank you, Brandi. I laughed. The first time I got called for jury duty I was away at college and it fell on day I had two final exams. So I asked to be rescheduled to following week.
The most recent came while I was hospitalized from a blood clot induced cerebral accident per doctors in ER aka commonly known as a stroke. My sibling with POA handling my stuff asked that I be excused as doctors had no idea what cognitive impairment I would have.
I enjoyed your response to both of the questions. Looking forward to the continuing saga of The Baylors. The pup and I are off for our mid day walk. Dog walk is good therapy for me.
If anything like that ever comes up when I’m called in for jury duty, I’ll remember this. 🙂
I loved that you served a slice of Catarina pie.. however it came about.. yum yum.. ????
???? ???????????????? ????
“Great chefs please keep feeding your devouring hoard:)”
This is great!
Thanks!
This was a better workshop on plot construction and building dramatic tension than any I’ve ever attended. “We are not Worthy” Please imagine Garth and Wayne bowing down! Thank you for your generosity.
When asked, prior to being seated on a jury, if I could set aside evidence or statements that had been ruled inadmissible, I said “no.” When pressed, I insisted it was impossible because you can’t unring a bell.
Needless to say, that was the end of my stint as a prospective juror.
One year I was pulled in for city, district, and federal duty. I think city I was pulled multiple times because I was never chosen and a few times for federal as most never went to trial and was cancelled before jury selection. I was super poor and my job didn’t cover jury duty.
As for the last-name thread, my last name is a popular first name :Tyler. I had one or two in school as I grew up but i think a few classes behind me the name exploded. Now, everywhere I go when they are calling people up (restaurants, hospital visits, etc.) I do an awkward stand with a first-name Tyler where we look at each other, at the speaker and back at each other and I have to ask “Did you mean Tyler first-name or last-name?” Also, I have an odd first-name so I often just give people my last name so I don’t have to do the usual dance of them ogling what is on the paper, trying out a few stuttered mispronunciations before I step up and say no its not uh-lee, or Alley. its “Aye-lee. A as in Eight” Then I get asked, can you give me a diffent name? Tyler is very common. Maybe I should just give out my middle name or make up a completely new alias?
You might try a word appropriate to the occasion … Instead of “Tyler Anniversary” (big mouthful) try ‘Solid Gold’. Or ‘Team Rocks’ if you’re celebrating a little league victory.
for my mother’s 80th birthday, I used “80today”. When they called us, and we stood up, my momma got a round of applause!