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Sep 9, 2021 · How to Write a Detective Story: The 5 Elements of Crime Novels. Written by MasterClass. Last updated: Sep 9, 2021 • 5 min read. Full of cliffhangers and puzzles, crime stories are an exciting genre of fiction writing that can capture readers’ imaginations and keep them turning pages.
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- A strong hook: A great mystery should invite the reader to try to solve the crime, and a great opening is critical to piquing their interest. A mystery should start with just enough information about the crime to build intrigue from the first line.
- An atmospheric setting: Stories in this genre should create an ominous, uneasy mood through setting to support the anxiety of an unknown antagonist lurking in the shadows.
- A crime: A crime is the event that fuels the plot in a mystery novel. Revealed in the first chapter, a crime creates the central conflict that launches the investigation, sending the main character on their quest and spurring the narrative arc.
- A sleuth: At the heart of every mystery is a main character determined to solve the crime. Mystery writer Raymond Chandler created private detective Philip Marlowe to be a crime solver in his novels.
- A Strong Motivation For Your Characters
- Breadcrumb Twists and Reveals
- Crafting Satisfying Twists and Clues in Detective Fiction
- Setting/Atmosphere in Crime Fiction
For me, the core of any great thriller, crime or detective story is putting a character (or several) in a high-stakes situation, and ensuring the reader really cares about what happens to them. If they don’t care, you’ll never capture a reader’s attention. Whilst I don’t necessarily need to like the protagonist in crime novels, I always need to und...
There’s a recent craze for describing crime fiction left right and centre as having ‘a twist you won’t see coming!!!’ (and, yes, I am guilty of this too) – this isn’t to say it can’t be done but pulling off a twist of this kind requires serious creative dexterity. I would argue that nine times out of ten if a reader genuinelycannot see a twist comi...
The best way to do this is to drop subtle clues or ‘breadcrumbs’ throughout that canny readers of detective stories can pick up on. It’s a balancing act, of course. Whilst you don’t want to give too much away and make it obvious what the big twist or reveal is going to be, readers like to feel clever and put themselves in that armchair detective ro...
Particularly in thriller/crime fiction, the sense of tension and suspense is greatly enhanced by the atmosphere provided by the setting. The ‘locked-room mystery’ is a perfect example of this. These are the types of books where you are likely to find reviewers commenting that the setting feels like a character within itself, such as Manderley in Da...
The traditional elements of the detective story are: (1) the seemingly perfect crime; (2) the wrongly accused suspect at whom circumstantial evidence points; (3) the bungling of dim-witted police; (4) the greater powers of observation and superior mind of the detective; and (5) the startling and unexpected denouement, in which the detective ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
For that reason, let’s start by distilling all the separate elements of crime fiction novels before we move on to creating one. 1. What crime fiction encompasses. The list of what a crime fiction novel needs, or what the crime fiction in general encompasses, can be way too long.
Explore the key elements of detective fiction, including the detective code, characters. Teach captivating sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery today!
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, often a murder. [1]
