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Last spring in our Mystery class we read a quirky piece of flash fiction called “Acknowledgements” by Texas writer Karen Harrington.

This very short story (that’s what flash fiction means) was both amusing and disturbing. It got us talking about the qualities of what makes a mystery compelling. 

This out-of-the-box format also made me wonder what kind of brain would come up with this type of a tale!  Hence, I invited Karen Harrington to join our Zoom class last November, and we had an excellent session learning about her work as a writer.  After our Zoom, she sent me one of her favorite stories and asked me to share it with the class. That’s the story we’ll discuss this week, “Boo Radley College Prep.”

This lesson is a revision of last Spring’s write-up with some updates if you scroll to the end.

1. Where were you born?

 I was born and raised in Texas, where I still live with my husband and two daughters.

 2. How long have you been writing?

I’ve been dreaming up stories since I was in middle school. I got very serious about writing when I was in college. I wrote my first novel during that time. 

3. Did anyone inspire you to write?

My sixth-grade English teacher was G. Clifton Wisler, a well-respected published author. I was very influenced by his love for reading and writing. In college, a professor who taught writing encouraged me to keep writing. 

One day, he pulled me aside and said, “Don’t quit.” I'm forever indebted to those particular teachers because one unleashed my motivation to begin writing and the other, my enthusiasm and determination to continue. Put another way, teachers rock!

4. What is your writing day like?

I generally like to write 500-1000 words per day. I find that is a comfortable pace for me. Often, I begin a story writing in a notebook. I like to write journal entries from a character's point of view to learn the sound of his or her voice. I take breaks in my writing day to go for walks. If I’m procrastinating, I sometimes find the need to reorganize my spice cabinet. Sometimes, having a deadline makes a person want to clean out her closets before she can get writing done. Why this is so is a mystery!

5. Will any of your books be made into movies?

There aren’t any plans for that right now. I've written the screenplay for MAYDAY and it has been recognized at the 88th Annual Writers Digest Writing Competition. Onward!

6. How do you come up with story ideas?

I’m constantly inspired by the world around me. Sometimes overhearing a small piece of a conversation or a bit of a news cast news story will ignite a story idea. Sometimes a story idea seems to fall from the sky and I feel as though I’ve been given a gift. Most of the time, I start with a character who seems interesting to me; I want to know everything about her/him and what makes her/him tick.

7. How long does it take for you to write a novel?

It takes me about two years fully develop a story. 

8. Do you have any advice for writers?

Read a lot and write a lot. Learning to write is all about experimentation and practice. You must do a lot of both. Be willing to cut and edit fearlessly. Get feedback on your writing, too. Don’t feel as if you have to do exactly what the critique partner or editor suggests about your work. Think of these recommendations as an opportunity to look at your work from a new point of view. (For this reason, I love the editing process and I’ve been fortunate to have a wonderful, collaborative relationship with my editors.) And remember, clarity of story trumps stylistic flourish every single time. I like what Nathaniel Hawthorne said about this point: “Easy reading is damn hard writing.” 

9. Is it true that you wrote one of your novels during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), 30-day writing challenge?

Yes. I wrote the first draft of SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY during NaNoWriMo several years ago. 

10. Do you recommend the NaNoWriMo program?

Yes. Writing a novel in 30 days is a great way to force yourself into the habit of writing daily. I found the challenge exhilarating. Plus, having to write in such a condensed time frame helps you shut out your inner editor and get the story onto the page. I love this quote about writing from the movie FINDING FORRESTER: “No thinking - that comes later. You must write your first draft with your heart. You rewrite with your head. The first key to writing is... to write, not to think!”

11. Who are your favorite authors?

My list of favorite books and authors gets longer every year. However, two of my all-time favorite books are LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa May Alcott and TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee. When I was in college, I was very much inspired by and influenced by Ernest Hemingway so I read all of his stuff. I’m a huge fan of Stephen King, Gary D. Schmidt, Linda Urban, Louis Sachar, Elizabeth Berg, Kaye Gibbons and Garth Stein.

12. Tell us a couple of interesting things about you that few people know?

I was an extra in the film, "Born On the 4th of July", which was filmed in Dallas. Also, I hate cantaloupe!

13. Do you like to have music in the background when you’re writing?

When I’m first drafting a story, I like complete silence. As the story evolves, I create a custom playlist of songs I think the characters would like or that would match certain scenes. When I start editing, I like to have that playlist going.

For those of you who are new to her work, here are a few links to her flash fiction.

“Acknowledgements” is on the Short Mystery Fiction Society website.

Link to story: https://www.guiltycrimemag.com/flash/acknowledgements-by-karen-harrington

This short story is a good example of how, especially in this modern world, the mystery story can transcend genres.

Other stories you might enjoy:

Who Will Miss You, Martin?

https://mysterytribune.com/who-will-miss-you-martin-noir-flash-fiction-by-karen-harrington/

Two Birds, One Todd

https://shotgunhoney.com/fiction/two-birds-one-todd-by-karen-harrington/

Denied

https://shotgunhoney.com/fiction/denied-by-karen-harrington/

The main children in the book are Scout and her brother Jem. Atticus is the wise father/defense attorney, and Bob Ewell is the really bad guy. The story focuses on the legal defense of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Bob Ewell (who is white)’s daughter.

Here are two interpretations of the Boo Radley character.

From sparknotes.com:

Boo Radley is a neighbor who lives on the same street as the Finch family. Boo’s defining characteristic is his literal and symbolic invisibility. A recluse who only comes out at night, Boo becomes a receptacle for the town’s fears and superstitions. The Finch children make up strange and horrific stories about Boo, informed by the gossip of the adults. The reader understands that Boo has been mistreated by his father, who locked him up for a minor infraction when he was a young man, but Jem and Scout believe wild tales about Boo, such as the rumor that he kills the neighbors’ pets.

As such, within the context of the novel Boo functions more like a ghost than an actual character. He only appears in the final chapters of the book, and even then, only speaks once, but his presence is felt throughout. In fact, Scout begins her narration saying that in order to understand the events of Halloween night it’s not enough for the reader to know the background of Tom Robinson’s trial. The reader must also know the history between Scout, Jem, and Boo Radley.

Symbolically, Boo represents both Scout’s childish understanding of the lives of people around her, and also the genuine risks and dangers that face children as they grow up in the world. As a ghost-like figure, Boo also symbolizes aspects of the town’s past, such as intolerance, inequality, and slavery. The town prefers to keep the less admirable aspects of its past out of sight, like Boo, but, like Boo, ghosts of the town’s past continue to inform the community’s present.

Boo doesn’t change as a character over the course of the novel, but Scout and Jem’s perception of Boo changes from monster to hero as they learn more about Boo and develop a sense of empathy. Boo is genuinely kind and protective of the children. In fact, he protects them when Atticus has underestimated the threat that Bob Ewell poses to Atticus and his family. Scout never makes Boo’s motives explicitly clear, but in a story that does not shy away from having unambiguously good and unambiguously evil characters, Scout clearly intends the reader to count Boo among the good ones. The decision that Heck Tate [the sheriff] and Atticus make at the end of the novel to protect Boo’s privacy marks the culmination of the novel’s lessons about courage, empathy, community, and the law. 

Some references to Boo Radley go beyond this surface-level comparison, though, to describe someone as a Boo Radley who is perceived as reclusive but is, in fact, just haunted by some internal or external source. This use is truer to his full character in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Perhaps it’s also necessary to explain the “college prep” concept. In the U.S. we take pride that many of our colleges are open-enrollment anyone can register. But in fact the majority of universities require minimum test scores (usually the SAT or ACT), which, in the case of extremely competitive (and expensive private) institutions, test to weed out those lesser-prepared students.

And why are they “lesser-prepared”?  Like Tony, students from a lower income background lack a high quality education—which implies knowledge of literature and culture. These are some of the things Tony is learning through Boo Radley’s “college prep” course.  What else do you think he is learning?

Our story bears little resemblance to the traditional mysteries we started with this semester. Sherlock Holmes would roll over in his fictional grave!

But then again, our 21st century literary experience is a blending of impressions. Genres aren’t what they used to be! There’s also a much greater emphasis on character development, and the social and family situations that created our heroes and anti-heroes. You might say that today’s reader pays more attention to the WHY behind the “Whodunnit?” 

Today we hear stories in the first person, flashbacks mix with future tales, and it’s sometimes fuzzy who are the good and bad guys. I think that’s part of what Karen Harrington is playing with in this story.  We don’t even know WHAT “Boo Radley” did.

In To Kill a Mockingbird we experience the story through the first person of the child Scout, and in “Boo Radley College Prep” we experience through troubled teenager Tony. As you read Harrington’s story, here are a few things to note:

Point of View:

It’s all about Tony. Do you find his voice realistic? Do you empathize with him (or not?).

Setting:

What details does Harrington include, and why is this important to understand Tony, his family, and his summer working for “Boo Radley”?

Characters:

Focus on Tony and “Boo Radley”. What do we learn about both these characters? Harrington exaggerates certain features to make her point (what IS her point(s)?).

What role do the police characters play?

Uncle Curtis sure is a bad guy.  What do you think of Harrington’s portrayal? The mom is a bit invisible.

Plot:

There are a couple. Tony’s arrest and its resolution seems like the main event, but there are other factors at play.

What sub-plots can you identify?

Theme(s):

…and how do the different stories and voices come together to resolve this tale?

Finally: What IS Boo Radley College Prep?

Enjoy the reading!