My MC has baulked

[a_morris]

I'm writing soft sci-fi. The two original big ideas behind my WIP are:
What if an abused woman became an intelligence agent?
What if terrorists were trying to take over the government because they want to kill the genetically engineered?

Genetically engineered here means people with bat wings (Flyers), people with dog faces and instincts (Canines), and women with four breasts (Mammarys) and anything else I can come up with.

At the start of the WIP my MC (age 30) is a housewife happily staying at home, caring for her husband and her two kids, aged 12 and 10. First scene is her arguing with one of the minor bad guys about the rights of the genetically engineered which turns into a first fight. Two big events of the beginning are her children being present at a school shooting and her husband raping her then her leaving him. She's now at a point where she has to change in order to look after herself and her children. She needs a job. She's baulking at becoming a government agent like I planned but doesn't have an alternative suggestion. She thinks its too risky, too scary, too hard on the children, and too likely to lead to the children being taken away in the divorce.

Other characters include the experienced government agent who was meant to take the role of professional partner and friend, a lesbian journalist who is the love interest.

Some of the events I was planning include blowing up the shrine to the founder of the planet and an attempt to blow up parliament as a finale.

I like my setting but without the occupation I was planning on, I can't work out how to tie her to the problem of the terrorists.

I can't work out what should happen next or what my MC should become. Suggestions?

[JJ Cooper]

Getting a job as an intelligence agent just doesn't happen like your normal applying for a job process. And, as you've pointed out, probably not the ideal professional for a single Mum with a couple of kids.

On the other hand, getting a job as a linguist for all sorts of agencies happens all the time.

You also need to up the stakes IMO. You need a very strong reason for your MC to get involved with terrorists and it shouldn't just be about getting a job. There must be some high stakes involved.

JJ

[kct webber]

JJ is right. You don't just 'get a job' as an intelligence agent. Not only does your background have to be perfect, including your credit, it can take months to a year to get through the extraordinary background checks and psychological evaluations. That's before you start the training--which can be a couple years on it's own. I've known people who were in the process for well over two years. (To be clear here, I was in the field and still know many people who are in the field deeper than I ever was.)

I realize that what you are doing is fiction, but still, it's gotta be somewhat near the truth. The agencies you're talking about don't just pull people off the street. Even to get a job as a clerk or a linguist, you have to be able to get all the clearances involved in being around that kind of information--which means the same months-to-year-long background checks.

Australia, Britain, and the US have what's called "the special relationship" when it comes to intelligence, which means that we share a remarkable amount of information. We have access to each other's databases--including SIPERnet--the largest intel database in the world. This, in turn, means that we have much the same standards when it comes to requirements for recruiting and vetting agents and sources--because the treaties require it.

That said, your best bet may be to make her an asset. Asset, in intelligence terms, means someone who works for an agency, but is not a member of the agency--they are not agents. Most assets become assets because they have a particular access that the agency needs. So, in that case, you could have her get involved with the terrorists in a different way--by accident perhaps. Perhaps she is dating one and doesn't know it 'til she's approached by the agency, who wants her feed them info, provide them phone taps, wire taps, pass copies/photographs or documents, etc. This is the kind of stuff that assets do--and they can never let it be known who they work for. They are the true spies in intel. Generally, agents don't spy. Agents are handlers for assets who spy.

Assets don't have partners. They have handlers. So your 'partner' as you've imagined it, could still be there and dealing with your MC, but in a handler capacity rather than a partner capacity. The relationship is different, but may still work. They do still have contact, though it is clandestine contact. They can't be seen together. But the handler will have to meet with asset to pass info back and forth, give instructions, etc.

Tradecraft comes into play in a big way--how and where they meet, how they pass info, etc. Oddly, there is a great deal of this that isn't classified and most western nations use much the same methods. You can research all of it fairly easily.

[a_morris]

You also need to up the stakes IMO. You need a very strong reason for your MC to get involved with terrorists and it shouldn't just be about getting a job. There must be some high stakes involved.



Agreed. That's the other thing that has been itching at the back of my mind.

[a_morris]

I don't think I should even keep the terrorists as the antagonists at all. I haven't read much spy based thrillers. I think with most of the set up I might be better off going in a MC against society and MC against her own fears as my conflicts. I also think she might benefit from going into a profession where she's working with kids.

[JJ Cooper]

Don't forget the Canadians in that 'special agreement', Kct.

As mentioned, just to get access to the SIPERnet and other intelligence databases requires a minimum Top Secret Positive vetting with a heap of briefings on what is out there in the real world. It does take a long time. Once you get those briefings though, you would be amazed at our capabilities for collection, and unfortunately, even when we leave the game we are still covered by secrecy agreements and can't mention what is out there. When you are cleared, you are monitored and allocated a case officer. He/She regularly checks bank accounts and interviews friends/family and basically keeps an eye on you.

I mentioned the linguistic side of thing because I note the OP has experience in this role. This would be of considerable help. I know over here the intelligence and policing agencies are desperate for linguists and are fast-tracking clearances for them.

I do like the idea of the 'asset'. We call them contacts before they become sources. When they do move to the source or asset stage they still require some training by the handler. This may involve counter-surveillance and general tradecraft as mentioned above. Kct did a great job of outlining what an asset is all about.

And:

I don't think I should even keep the terrorists as the antagonists at all. I haven't read much spy based thrillers. I think with most of the set up I might be better off going in a MC against society and MC against her own fears as my conflicts. I also think she might benefit from going into a profession where she's working with kids.

I'm biased when it comes to spy-based thrillers and espionage etc, but I do believe you need a very good knowledge of how it works to make it sound credible. That's not meant to sound mean, just that you can tell the authors with the background and those without. I think maybe you need to decide if you want a character-driven novel or plot-driven. If you are going for an internal struggle by the MC then it would probably lend itself to character-driven.

JJ

[ChaosTitan]

What if the MC is accidentally dosed with something/exposed to something, which gives her some strange powers, similar to your other genetically engineered critters? Then the agency peeps have to keep her around.

[a_morris]

Ooh, ChaosTitan I think I can use that and work it into the new scenes that I came up with today.

[stephenf]

People with wings,dog faces and four breasts ,that sounds O K. But a woman get a job as an intelligence agent , no way.

[HeronW]

What were the MC's qualifications to be an agent prior to being a stay at home mom? Did she get a black belt in martial arts? Is she a comp whiz in programming? Is bilingual, etc.

Motives are important--everything happens for a reason.

Why did her hubby rape her? Has he been abusive in the past and she finally changes after the assault? Is she in fear for her children after the home violence and the school violence? MC had her first kid at 18, means she was preggers at 17, not real smart but that happens all the time. Does hubby abuse drugs/alcohol/is manic depressive?

Curious as to the 4 bosomed women considering most births are single and after that twins are the highest ratio of multiple births. I can see them being 'manufactured' for the sex/porn industry but have no practical use for anything else vs the flyers and the canines.

Blowing up Parliment sounds like Vendetta/ Guy Falkes :}

[Phaeal]

People with wings,dog faces and four breasts ,that sounds O K. But a woman get a job as an intelligence agent , no way.

I would think the four-breast modification would be of great interest to you.

[FennelGiraffe]

What were the MC's qualifications to be an agent prior to being a stay at home mom? Did she get a black belt in martial arts? Is she a comp whiz in programming? Is bilingual, etc.

Ah, Heron beat me to the possibility of prior experience. If she had had a security clearance in the past, that would help, too. Maybe her job was even been connected to the intelligence agency in some way, so she already knows someone there.

[stephenf]

I would think the four-breast modification would be of great interest to you.
May be. However, I realy like irony,but unfortunatly some people don't see it.

[Carmy]

I suggest you work on something else and come back to this. Your character will let you know which way to go, and you won't be able to force her in the wrong direction because she'll bring the novel to a standstill.

[a_morris]

Motives are important--everything happens for a reason.

Why did her hubby rape her? Has he been abusive in the past and she finally changes after the assault? Is she in fear for her children after the home violence and the school violence? MC had her first kid at 18, means she was preggers at 17, not real smart but that happens all the time. Does hubby abuse drugs/alcohol/is manic depressive?


He's been emotionally abusive for sometime. She starts to break free of his control despite having no intention of leaving and that's when the rape occurs.

Yes, she is in fear for her children.