There are several things that help to give a novel its personality, for lack of a better word. They can be useful tools for the reader, too, depending on how they’re managed in a story. But the thing is, not all tools are right for every book. So, the author (and/or publisher) decides which of those tools will best tell the story. Here are just a few to show you what I mean. I’d be really interested in your thoughts on them.
Maps and Diagrams
Plenty of authors use maps and diagrams in their stories. They can be really helpful if, for instance, the location of one or another room or item is important in a story. There are plenty of examples of this, too; I’ll just offer one. In RV Raman’s A Will to Kill, seasoned investigator Harith Athreya is invited to Greybrooke Manor for a visit with its owner, wealthy Bhaskar Fernandez. It’s not just a social visit, either. Fernandez has created two wills: one to be executed if he dies of natural causes; the other to be executed if he is murdered. Fernandez wants Athreya to investigate in the event he is murdered. And this particular weekend, several of Fernandez’ relatives are present, so it’s not a far reach to suspect he’ll be killed. Athreya spends a little time getting to know the people at the house, but he’s no sooner acquainted with them than there’s a murder. Raman includes a diagram of Greybrooke Manor and the area around it, so that readers can get a sense of who was where at the time of the murder, and he’s not the only one who’s done that.
Casts of Characters
It can be very helpful to have a cast of characters in a novel, especially if there are several of them. Readers of longer historical novels will probably already be familiar with lists of characters or even family trees. But they’re also useful in crime novels. Agatha Christie used them in a few of her novels, including Hickory Dickory Dock. In that novel, Hercule Poirot investigates the murder of Celia Austin, a resident of a student hostel. In the process, he uncovers several secrets that residents are keeping, and it turns out a few of them are involved in not-exactly legal activity. Poirot also gets to know the residents of the hostel as people, and there are several of them, each with a unique personality. Christie helps readers remember the characters by providing a list of them at the beginning of the novel (at least, of my edition of the novel). That list and the descriptions that go with each character are helpful as we get to know the people who live at the hostel.
Glossaries
Glossaries can actually be a proverbial two-edged sword. When the characters use a language or dialect that isn’t familiar, having a glossary can be very helpful. Those words and phrases can help set the atmosphere, so they have an important place in the story. That said, though, some readers find a glossary to be a bit distracting, especially if they are reading paper books, where you can’t just click and find out what a word means. Still, many readers find them useful. Rhys Bowen’s Evanly Bodies, for instance, takes place mostly in the Welsh village of Llanfair, where Constable Evan Evans is the local bobby. In one plot thread of the novel, a man is shot through the window while he’s sitting in his kitchen. His wife is suspected, and even jailed. But then, two other men are shot. Now, Evans may be looking for a serial killer. Many people in the village speak mostly (or only) Welsh, and even those who speak English know at least some Welsh. So there are several Welsh words and expressions in the novel. Bowen provides a glossary at the end of the novel so that readers who aren’t familiar with the language can understand the Welsh used in the book.
Historical and Translation Notes
Not all readers have the same background knowledge, so authors can’t assume what readers do or don’t know. Some authors address this by providing historical notes or notes on a particular translation. Fans of Andrea Camilleri’s Salvo Montalbano series, for instance, know that much of his work has been translated into English by Stephen Sartarelli. In several places in the series, Sartarelli provides end-of-chapter notes about the expressions used in the chapter, where they come from, and what they mean in everyday language. Some of the notes are simply definitions or one-word translations. Others are more detailed discussions of, say, historical incidents. These are especially helpful when a character is speaking metaphorically. And it’s much easier to understand the wit in Camilleri’s writing when you understand where the expressions used have their origin.
Introductions
A post like this wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the introductions that many authors provide. Sometimes, introductions are written by others, who offer perspective and who put the author’s work into context. Other times, introductions are written by authors themselves, who explain how the story came about, or perhaps how their own experience impacted a story. Martin Edwards, for instance, has written many informative and thoughtful introductions to Golden Age and classic mystery stories. Those introductions provide background and interesting biographical information. Some introductions, for example, the introductions Graeme Macrae Burnet writes, are actually part of the story, and are best understood that way. Some readers prefer not to read introductions, but many readers find them as interesting as the story is – even more so in some cases.
Tools like diagrams, introductions, and glossaries can give a story more depth and can help the reader understand a story better. On the other hand, some readers find them distracting. Where do you stand? Do you use those tools?
*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from Ry Cooder’s Simple Tools.
Crime Writer Margot Kinberg 
Hi Margaret, I can never seem to post a comment on your site so thought I would here! My favourite tool in any book is a map. Especially if the writer has been meticulous about making sure the important places in the book are actually on the map ( much rarer than you’d imagine!). Also I wanted to say that I love that you included Donna Morrisey a couple of posts ago. She is a brilliant writer and a very nice human too. The second in the series you mention What They Wanted is one of my favourite books ever. Warmly your Nova Scotian pal, Jan
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Thanks for the visit, Jan, and I am sorry to hear you have trouble posting! I’m glad it worked this time! Maps really useful tools, and you’re right; they’re best if the author is careful about the details. Otherwise they can just get annoying. Thanks, too, for mentioning Donna Morrissey. She is such a talented writer. I get a real sense of Newfoundland from her work, and her characters are so well drawn and real. I think I’ll have to have another visit with the Now family soon!
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I loved that Louise Penny included a pronunciation guide in her book(s) for the French names etc. It would be very helpful for those not familiar and ease the reading along.
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Oh, that’s a good point, June! Not everyone is familiar with French (or another language that the author might use). It can be a good idea to have a pronunciation guide to help them. I’ve seen that sort of thing in some NZ crime fiction that uses Māori words, and a few books set in Wales, where Welsh words are used.
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I found it very interesting, Margot, to read about the various tools writers can use in their novels. I find that it’s particularly helpful to have a family tree or a list of characters to keep track of who’s who when reading a novel with several characters. Especially characters which have unfamiliar names.
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Thanks, Carol. I’m glad you thought the post was interesting. You have a well-taken point, too, about family trees and lists of characters. I think that’s especially true of the relationships among characters (uncle, great-granddaughter, etc..) are crucial to the plot. It’s also helpful, as you say, when the names are unfamilliar, or when two names are quite similar.
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Great post, Margot. I love additions like maps and glossaries. And I appreciated all your comments on them. Maps are my favorite, cast lists are helpful if the cast is not so huge that you spend all your time trying to find that one person you are looking for.
Introductions can be good but I never read one before the book, and then often I forget it is there when I am done. I do like afterwords with historical explanations or information about the author’s process.
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Thanks, Tracy – glad you enjoyed the post. I think maps are helpful, too, especially if the location of someone (or something is essential to the plot. And, yes, cast lists can really be useful if there are a lot of characters.
You make an interesting point about introductions, and you know, I hadn’t thought of afterwards. They, too, really can be interesting, especially if the author discusses the process. Thanks for making me think if them.
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I like these tools too. They’re all useful. Maps/plans are great for visualising the layout of a house etc. Agatha Christie often did these – one example is in Death in the Clouds where there is a plan of the cabin showing who sat where in the plane, as well as giving the passenger list along with details of their belongings.
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Those tools really can be helpful, Margaret. And thanks for mentioning Death in the Clouds. That map and list of belongings turn out to be important, and they helped me imagine the setup of the cabin. You’re right; Christie provided maps, etc. in several of her books.
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Thanks very much, PK World. I appreciate your visit.
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Interesting post Margot, and I’m a particular fan of the kind of maps/plans and casts of characters which turn up in GA crime. I love those, and they really add to the atmosphere for me. Plus I’m sometimes a bit rubbish at visualising, so a room layout a la Cluedo really does help!!
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Thanks, KBR. You bring up a really well-taken point, too. We all think, learn, know, and remember in different ways. For some people, the visual is really important. So it makes sense that maps/plans/diagrams would be helpful. And I like casts of characters, too, especially if there are a lot of them in a novel!
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I don’t always use those tools but I like to have them in case I need them. I find maps particularly useful since I don’t have whatever part of the brain it is that enables the mind to turn a written description into an imagined map. Glossaries are helpful, but I’m unlikely to enjoy a book that makes me need to stop too often to look up a word or phrase. Intros are a mixed blessing – too many of them contain spoilers for the book itself and often for other books. But when they’re spoiler-free they certainly add context, especially for older novels.
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I like the way you put that, FictionFan – they’re handy to have in case you need them. It’s funny about maps; we all think and process differently, and some people really benefit from a visual like a map. Other people don’t at all; they prefer written descriptions. You bring up one of the real issues with some tools like glossaries. If they’re distracting, so that you can’t concentrate on the story, they’re not much good (although, of course, a good editor might tell the author there’s possibly too much use of unfamiliar terms if that glossary gets too long…). As for intros? I know what you mean about spoilers; I don’t like that, either. But I do like the context and background they can provide.
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Oh, huge fan of a map in books… don’t see them so much in crime novels though, more fantasy I find. I love maps in real life, far rather sit in the car reading the map while Hubby drives, not a fan of satnavs at all.
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Satnav is definitely not for everyone, Cath. A lot of people feel more comfortable with visuals like maps. And they can be really useful in a novel, especially when someone or something’s location matters a lot to the story. Maps are, I’ve found, also helpful if the story is about an unfamiliar place. Perhaps that’s why they’re so helpful in fantasy/sci-fi novels, where the author has to build a whole new world?
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Terrific list, Margot. Maps seem to go hand-in-hand with fantasy. If there’s a detailed world, I bet they’re useful to the reader. The one tool you mentioned that I’ve even considered for my books is the cast of characters… with a twist. Because two of my characters use different aliases, depending on who they’re in front of, I thought maybe a character alias list might be helpful. Though an argument could be made if I did my job and ground the reader, they shouldn’t need one. So far, so good, but if the aliases keep piling up it may be a tool worth exploring.
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Thanks, Sue. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. You’re right, I think about fantasy books They really do benefit from a map some other guide. I think that helps the reader, especially the first-time reader, to follow along with the story. And what an interesting point you make about aliases! You remind me of several books I’ve read where a character is named X, but everyone calls that character Y as a nickname, and some people call that character Mr./Ms. Z. It’s hard to keep straight if you aren’t careful!
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I like maps. They work really well when you’re reading a work of fantasy fiction. Introductions are great for readers of historical fiction. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco has a good introduction (not a comprehensive one, but decent). I also like Timelines or chronologies. A book I started recently by Neal Stephenson called Anathem has a long, slightly obscure chronology.
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Thanks for sharing those examples, OP. I think you’re right that maps are especially helpful with fantasy, where readers can’t always assume what’s in a place. The same with historical fiction, where readers might not be familiar with what a place used to look like. And those older maps are beautiful, I think. And yes, timelines can be extremely useful, and I hadn’t mentioned them – thanks for adding that in.
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