Table of Contents

Preface Foreword by P. D. James Preface by Carole Angier and Sally Cline Introduction by Michelle Spring and Laurie R. King Notes on Format and Terminology Part One: On a Life of Crime Reflections I, Michelle Spring: Thoughts About Crime 'I Always Knew I Wanted to Be a Writer' Reasons to Write a Crime Novel The Shadow of Violence Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Come out of the Water... Psychopaths and Everyday Killers The Grim Reaper Reflections II, Laurie R. King: A Life of Crime (Fiction) An Honorable Calling Mysteries, Greater and Lesser Making a Crime Writer The Mystery of the Mystery Still Just Writing Haiku? Writing as an Active Verb Ways of Writing Michelle Spring: The Orderly School of Writing Laurie R. King: The Organic Way Coda The World of Crime The Roots of the Matter: a History of Crime Fiction What is Crime? The Spectrum, Gentle to Thriller Getting Ready Reading Like a Writer Ideas Write What You Really Know Where Do You Get Your Ideas? Harvesting Ideas Testing Ideas Getting Rid of Ideas Early Decisions Point of View Setting Period Series or Standalone? 'Sub-plots', 'Themes', and 'Author's Voice' Plotting: How (and When) to Do It The Organic Approach The Orderly Approach Middle Ground: The Orderly Organics Research What You Need to Know in Order to Write Research in Stages A Sense of Place Library Vs Internet The Expert Taking Control of Your Research Part Two: Guest Authors Mark Billingham S. J. Bolton Alafair Burke Lee Child N. J. Cooper Meg Gardiner Tess Gerritsen Sophie Hannah Jim Kelly Laura Lippman Gayle Lynds Alex Mcbride Val Mcdermid Dreda Say Mitchell Sara Paretsky Jill Paton Walsh George Pelecanos Ian Rankin Peter Robinson S. J. Rozan Guy Saville Yrsa Sigurdardóttir Dana Stabenow Andrew Taylor Charles Todd Laura Wilson Part 3: Getting Your Story Across The Tools of Writing Plots, Characters, and Story: Chicken or Egg? Plot Vs. Story Language Description Setting-place and Time Atmosphere, or, in Defence of Weather Divisions: Sentence, Scene, Chapter, Book Preface and Prologue Dialogue and Body Language Humour Titles Characters Characters in Crime Fiction What Do the Characters Want? Narrators and Protagonists Heroes and Villains Sidekicks and Supporting Actors The Victim Distinctive Elements of Crime Fiction Coincidence and Fair Play The Clue The Red Herring Conflict and Violence Pace and Progression Stay True to Your Niche? When the Going Gets Tough Writer's Block Working with Others-courses, Writing Groups, and Mentors The Story's Arc, or Acts The Curtain Rises: Opening and Hook Act One: The Beginning The Setup Action and Suspense Backstory and the Series Novel Act Two: The Middle Heaping on the Challenges Pace-peaks and Valleys Act Three: The Endgame Closing and Coda When You're 'finished': The Rewrite The Rewrite Reading Aloud How Many Drafts? What Next? When You're Really Finished The Publishable Manuscript E-publishing The Agent Contests When to Start the Promotion Wagon Rolling? Author's Web Site Social Media Outreach The Writer's Public Face Conferences and Classes Taking Criticism What Are You Aiming For? Resources and Reading A Writer's Reference Library Research Tools: Maps, Guidebooks, Experts, the Internet Novels to Study Bibliography

Promotional Information

Including advice from bestselling writers, this is a complete guide to writing crime novels, from research and planning to getting published.

About the Author

Michelle Spring has published six crime novels including Every Breath You Take (short-listed as Best First Novel for both an Anthony and an Arthur Ellis Award), Nights in White Satin, In the Midnight Hour (winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel) and The Night Lawyer. She mentors novelists, and teaches both creative writing and academic writing. She is currently Royal Literary Fellow at Magdalene College, Cambridge. Laurie R. King has twenty-three novels in print, most of them crime novels, that include the wildly popular Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series (The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Garment of Shadows). Her novels have won the Edgar, Creasey, Wolfe, Lambda, and Macavity awards, and appear regularly on the New York Times bestseller list.