fictionwriter

Yes, definitely need help with that. Do you have any suggestions of photos of what that looks like?

Thank you for the diction help—those things can really expose how little you know about a subject if you don't do your research properly. I appreciate it. I'm hoping to not get too technical, if I can help it—but I'm sure it will come up, so I'd best be ready.

This is terrifically detailed. Thank you. I'll be sure to add all these details in the scene.

How would you do it?

Everyone, Thank you so much for all your helpful replies. I appreciate your thoughts. Here's what I'm thinking for backstory. My protagonist began diving in college (he's from a well-off family that tries to buy his affection with lavish gifts) and is about 27 now. It seems he could be experienced enough to pull off a jump on the rooftop. Is the idea of two canopies the prevalent among you guys? Perhaps he could jump off into the street and take a cab rather than the boat idea. It's supposed to be a tall enough building, but given the kind of people it houses, there probably wouldn't be cameras in the hallways for discretion. Once he enters through the rooftop, it's a pretty safe bet he makes it to the apartment. Then he jumps out to avoid security at the ground floor.

You're all right, of course. Well, here's the scene. Questions to follow. My protagonist is a 27-year-old counterintelligence officer on his first field mission abroad. He's no James Bond-type; he just happens to be a skilled skydiver trying to make a name for himself. In fact, he's a sophomore agent who's done mostly desk work thus far. The scene opens on a quickly darkening sky, possibly in Hong Kong, the eastern shore far beneath as our protagonist zooms undetected aboard a small plane. For reasons that will be explained in the story, he needs access to an apartment atop a fancy high-rise but can't get to it from the ground floor (security, cameras, etc.). The main question is about the possibility of him diving from such a plane and land on a balcony far up, enter apartment and base-jump his way to a nearby boat off-shore. This is supposed to be a calming experience for the character (in fact, this is the last time he'll have any peace before all hell breaks loose) so he needs to be experienced enough to not be worried about the jump itself. Here are some questions: 1. How specifically skilled must this character be to accomplish such a stunt? How many years of training? What kind of a financial burden to get to the level? 2. What kind of plane could be used for something like this? How high up must it be flying? How long of a jump would it be from that altitude? 3. What floor must this apartment be so he can base-jump out (remember he can't go downstairs)? Is there a mechanism through which he could carry two parachutes? Could he simply carry one on his back and one on his front? 4. What would his base-jump be like? How long? 5. What time of day would allow for this character to jump down with enough light to see accurately and yet dark enough to conceal his presence? ————— Thank you so much for your thoughts! I can't wait to read some responses.

Good afternoon Skydivers! I'm a fiction writer in NYC doing research for a possible scene that features a dive. I've never done it myself (though I'm hoping to try it in the spring) and wouldn't want to be careless with accuracy. Would any of you mind answering a couple of questions? I'd rather do this via email, so private replies would be appreciated.