In a post on CrimeReads, Laura McCluskey suggests ways to believably isolate your mystery character in our increasingly connected world. “Once upon a time, you could isolate characters by virtue of them not being able to communicate easily and instantly,” she writes. But how can you achieve the same result when everyone has a cell phone and search engines at their fingertips?
“Using creative techniques, justifiable complications, and by reimagining the meaning of ‘isolation’, writers can still place their characters in scenarios where they’re forced to survive without a technological safety net,” McCluskey says.
Obviously, you can cut your character off from useful technology, but McCluskey says that’s harder than it sounds. “If we can have Zoom calls with astronauts orbiting Earth aboard the ISS, how are we supposed to convince readers that there’s a place on Earth where someone can’t use their phone?” she asks.
While modern readers often hit dead zones where they lose cell service, most places still have options for contacting the outside world. “To get around this, perhaps you could have the communication device be closely guarded, kept under lock and key, or have all conversations monitored,” McCluskey suggests. “Or perhaps a vis major occurs by way of a storm taking out cell towers, phone or computer batteries dying, or a pesky family of rats takes a bite out of the wi-fi cables.”
You may decide to have your character cut themselves off from technology. “A workaholic heads to a wellness retreat up in the mountains where laptops are forbidden; an influencer wants to reconnect with real life by taking a phoneless hiking trip,” McCluskey notes. “In short, making the character responsible for their own isolation is a particularly cruel (and delicious) way to make sure they can’t access help or information.” Trapping your character in a small space or with a captor – as in Room or Misery – can also isolate them believably.
Putting your character in motion can also work. “They could be locked in a vehicle they can’t escape from, such as submarines, cruise ships, planes, spaceships,” McCluskey writs. “Sure, you may be able to call for help, but it’s not likely that help will arrive in time to make a difference to whatever predicament you’re in.”
McCluskey also suggests psychological and social isolation. “Creating a scenario where your character is riddled with paranoia or trust issues – they’re afraid that speaking up will have dire consequences, believe that the people around them are double agents, or they’re convinced their phone or computer is bugged – is a clever way to justify why your characters don’t want to pick up a phone or send an email,” she says. “The key is making your character believe that they don’t have anybody to call.”
You may find that you need multiple techniques for your plan to work: a huge storm and a dead battery; a locked door and a heavy secret. “Readers will accept the isolating circumstances if you justify them, even if the explanation is as simple as ‘my character doesn’t like phones’,” McCluskey notes.
