How to Write a Mystery
A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America
Ratings1
Average rating4
15
A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America
Ratings1
Average rating4
From 70 of the most successful mystery writers in the business, an invaluable guide to crafting mysteries—from character development and plot to procedurals and thrillers—“this is a writing guide that readers and writers will turn to again and again” (Booklist, starred review).
Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is known for providing unparalleled resources on the craft, art, and business of storytelling, helping writers of all levels improve their skills for nearly a century. Now, this handbook helps authors navigate the ever-shifting publishing landscape—from pacing, plotting, the business side of publishing, to the current demand for diversity and inclusivity across all genres, and more.
Featuring essays by a new generation of bestselling experts on various elements of the craft and shorter pieces of crowd-sourced wisdom from the MWA membership as a whole, the topics covered can be categorized as follows:
—Before Writing (rules; genres; setting; character; research; etc.)
—While Writing (outlining; the plot; dialogue; mood; etc.)
—After Writing (agents; editors; self-pub; etc.)
—Other than Novels (short stories; true crime; etc.)
—Other Considerations (diverse characters; legal questions; criticism)
Also included is a collection of essays from MWA published authors—including Jeffery Deaver, Tess Gerritsen, and Charlaine Harris—selected by bestselling authors Lee Child and Laurie King and arranged thematically answering, “What piece of writing advice do you wish you’d had at the beginning of your career?”
“Everything you wanted to know about how to plan, draft, write, revise, publish, and market a mystery” (Kirkus Reviews), this inclusive manual provides practical, current, easily digestible advice for new and established authors alike.
Reviews with the most likes.
Not your typical “how to write” book. It's a series of essays by crime writers on various aspects of writing. For that, this book is a must-read for writers and readers alike. It gives interesting insights to all parts of the novel-construction process.
This book was an absolute pleasure to read, and I don't say that lightly of an instruction “handbook.” I've read a number of writing how-tos and most end up being a bit dense – not in a bad way, but all the information in them starts to feel heavy. This book doesn't have that problem at all. It's still super informative, but each essay moves right along, and interspersed are succinct, useful quotes from authors regarding writing.
The essays also cover a number of topics, from groundrules of mystery and descriptions of subgenres to outlining and setting to building an online community. I'm particularly interested in cozy, so the medical/thriller stuff wasn't as relevant to me, but that was only a few essays. Overall the book was still well worth it – I must have bookmarked at least half the articles for reference later, and I know I'll be coming back to it in the future!
