This last semester, I took a Detective Fiction class in which we did not read Sherlock Holmes, but read and discussed Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, and Chester Himes, all of whom present detectives and criminals in varying ways and in varying lights.

Before I took this class, I was familiar with police procedural shows like Rizzoli & Isles, Castle, Numb3rs, and more, but for some reason, crime fiction never seemed to stick with me. As it turns out, all I needed was a required list of the right authors.

In our discussions, we often talked about the power of observation, especially when it came to the detectives. In some  novels we read, it was quite difficult to ascertain who was the observer. Was it the detective or the criminal? Neither? And did observing sometimes make someone insane and/or a criminal?

One of my creative writing professors in college constantly urged us to observe everything. People watch. Nature watch. Watch everything.

In some ways, I already do that. I am constantly people watching, trying to get into their heads and imagining their lives. But at the same time, I think that I could improve my observation skills. I think I could become a detective (not a real one with a badge or a PI license; rest assured, I am not changing my career path), someone who detects all aspects of humanity in every person and someone who can detect hope and goodness in all things.