How to write a mystery : a handbook from Mystery Writers of America / edited by Lee Child with Laurie R. King.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Child, Lee, editor.

King, Laurie R., editor.

Mystery Writers of America, sponsoring body.

Alumni and Friends Memorial Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Detective and mystery stories--Authorship.

Detective and mystery stories.

Detective and mystery stories--Technique.

Genre:

Handbooks and manuals.

Physical Description:

ix, 326 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First Scribner hardcover edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Scribner, 2021.

Summary:

From some of the most successful mystery writers in the business, an invaluable guide to crafting mysteries, from character development and plot to procedurals and thrillers.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: The Rules and Genres

The Rules-and When to Break Them / Neil Nyren

Carved in stone or gentle suggestions: what are the rules in the mystery genre, why do they matter, and when don't they matter? / Carolyn Hart

Keeping It Thrilling / Meg Gardiner

Nine things your thriller needs to be lean, mean, and exhilarating / Beth Amos

Insider, Outsider: The Amateur Sleuth / Naomi Hirahara

The point, and point of view, of your accidental detective / Lindsey Davis

Finding Lou: The Police Procedural / Rachel Howzell Hall

Are you a cop, or do you just play one on the page? / Linwood Barclay

The Mindset of Darkness: Writing Noir / Alex Segura

It's about character: the flawed protagonist and letting your characters fail / Hank Phillippi Ryan

Crossing the Genres / Charlaine Harris

Mixing your mystery with a vampire, a talking cow, or a love interest? / Kate White

The Historical Mystery / Jacqueline Winspear

Time, place, and the past / Suzanne Chazin

The Medical Thriller / Tess Gerritsen

Playing on the reader's real-life fears and hunger for insider knowledge / Gigi Pandian

Researching the Spy Thriller / Gayle Lynds

Or: Why can't I just make it all up? / Stephanie Kane

Other Mysteries

Mysteries for Children: An Introduction / Susan Vaught

The kids' mystery, from picture books to YA-expectations and some hints / C. M. Surrisi

Unleash Your Inner Child / Chris Grabenstein

Middle-grade mysteries: you, too, can become a rock star for ten-year-olds / Elizabeth Sims

The Young Adult Mystery / Kelley Armstrong

Complex, authentic stories for the young adult-emphasis on adult / Pat Gallant Weich

Graphic Novels / Gary Phillips

The mystery within the panels: your conversation with words and pictures / Dagohrlund

The Short Mystery / Art Taylor

What do the characters (and readers) want in your mystery short story? / Charles Salzberg

Ten Stupid Questions about True Crime / Daniel Stashower

Building a vivid page-turner, out of nothing but facts / Carole Bugge

The Writing

On Style / Lyndsay Faye

The writer's voice, or, cooking with cadence, rhythm, and audacity / Steve Hockensmith

Always Outline! / Jeffery Deaver

The why and the how ofplanning it out first / Rob Hart

Hallie Ephron

Never Outline! / Lee Child

The argument for spontaneity / Shelly Frome

The Art of the Rewrite / Laurie R. King

Turning your raw first draft into a clear, compelling story / Rae Franklin James

Leslie Budewitz

Plot and the Bones of a Mystery / Deborah Crombie

Bringing together all the elements of your novel so it stands strong / Tim Maleeny

Robert Lopresti

Diversity in Crime Fiction / Frankie Y. Bailey

Enriching your novel by writing characters, not categories / Elaine Viets

The Protagonist / Allison Brennan

Your hero: the one we relate to, the one who drives the story / Stephanie Kay Bendel

The Villain of the Piece / T. Jefferson Parker

Your hero in reverse: the forces that create a vivid villain / Kris Neri

Supporting Characters / Craig Johnson

The chorus of voices that backs up your protagonist / Gay Toltl Kinman

Writing the Talk / Greg Herren

Dialogue that sounds true, reveals character, and draws in the reader / Bradley Harper

Stephen Ross

Setting / William Kent Krueger

Your most versatile element: backdrop, player, and the all-pervading sense of place / Thomas B. Sawyer

Humor in Crime Fiction / Catriona McPherson

Funny mystery, or mystery with fun: why, how, and when to stop? / James W. Ziskin

Writing in Partnership / Caroline & Charles Todd

Two writers with one voice: how we learned to collaborate / Bradley Harper

Tie-Ins and Continuing a Character / Max Allan Collins

Playing in someone else's sandbox / Hal Bodner

After the Writing

Secrets of a Book Critic / Oline H. Cogdill

Reviews and reviewers: what to learn from them, and what to ignore / Marilyn Stasio

Self-Publishing / Liliana Hart

How to flourish as an independently published writer / Nancy J. Cohen

Authors Online / Maddee James

Building your author identity and reaching out to readers, online / Mysti Berry

Building Your Community / Louise Penny

It's the writer, not the book: finding a home in the virtual village / Bev Vincent

Legal Considerations / Daniel Steven

What every mystery writer needs to know about publishing law.

Notes:

Includes index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Alumni and Friends Memorial Book Fund.

ISBN:

9781982149437

1982149434

OCLC:

1224591022