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Sep 3, 2021 · See why leading organizations rely on MasterClass for learning & development. Driven by drama, intrigue, thrilling action, and problem-solving, crime novels are often page-turners that readers have a hard time putting down. Writing a crime novel can be just as exciting a process, as your imagination sets the stage for mystery and momentum.
- Part One: The Crime
- Part Two: Building The Crime Plot
- Part Three: Building The Crime Puzzle
- How to Create A Crime Puzzle
- Usage of Unreliable Narrators
- Conclusion
The crime is the most important element of a good crime fiction novel. Although, it’s worth noting that the crime, in this case, comes after compelling plot and characters, which are necessary for any kind of novel. The crime in a crime fiction novel, however, needs to provide two things: 1. interest in the readers as to how it was done; 2. interes...
Many different writers define plot in different ways: we all know it when a novel has a tight plot, and when the plot is not right, all readers know it. Here is the thing – plot is what your story depends on. You can think of plotting a novel as putting all elements of one story into a linear grid and knowing which event of the plot happens when in...
The crime puzzle is the puzzle you present the readers with when you present them with the crime that propels the start of the story. In other words, the more unusual the crime, the better are your chances at creating a puzzle. The reason why it’s important to treat the crime as a puzzle is because your readers will automatically do that, and as th...
The best crime puzzle in a novel begins with the crime itself. An unusual crime will present a better puzzle than a usual one. This does not mean that you need to go out of your way to create a crime that is out of the ordinary. For example, you can start your novel with a seemingly random shootout on the street, where the murderer decides to take ...
In a novel, anyone can be an unreliable narrator, if the writer decides so, even the protagonist. However, in a crime novel, an investigation will depend on witnesses. People might have been at the crime scene, or nearby, and they may or may have not heard or seen something. That’s when you get the opportunity to use unreliable witnesses. Their unr...
Writing a crime novel is not an easy process. Compared to other genres, like romance, a crime fiction novel demands that you do your research into crime and the investigation process. If you’re going for a courtroom crime novel, then you need to have really good insider knowledge of what really is happening in a court room. In addition, you need to...
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- Choose Your Crime. Crime novels feature a variety of crimes, which keeps the genre fresh and exciting. You could go with a classic murder mystery or serial-killer story.
- Profile Your Villain. Police and other agencies often have criminal profilers. They create a profile for likely demographics, upbringings, and motivations.
- Know Your Characters Inside and Out. Crime stories must have interesting characters besides the villain, too. In a mystery, the protagonist is the main character in the investigation.
- Research for a Realistic Crime. The details of criminal activity fascinate readers who love crime novels. They expect a crime novel to feel realistic. Researching the type of crime in the story is especially important for mystery writers.
- Begin with the murder. Get into the victim’s head as they die. Make it as real and as awful as you can. This invests the reader with sympathy for the victim no matter how horrible they were in life and lends that much more urgency to your protagonist’s quest to find the murderer.
- Love your creeps. Put the villain on display and do it early in the narrative. Get your reader invested in the character and then betray the hell out of both of them.
- Put your protagonist at risk. Physically, mentally, emotionally, any or all. Liam Campbell jumped out of an airplane (on purpose), was nearly flattened by a herd of walrus, and has been shot at and missed far too many times.
- Make your protagonist a hero, if not in his own eyes then in everyone else’s. A hero is better than you and me; that’s why they are heroes and why they deserve their own novel and you and I don’t.
Jun 14, 2023 · First things first – the crime. As we touched on in the previous section, this isn’t just any event; it’s the catalyst, the spark that ignites the flame of your story. It needs to be compelling, it needs to be intriguing, and above all, it needs to demand answers.
This comprehensive list of 25 crime writing tips will help you craft great crime fiction, using genre best practices as well as specific advice from National Centre for Writing course tutors. Find out more about our Introduction to Crime Writing course here →. 1. Read crime. If you think this is obvious, then you’re probably already doing this.
