How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America

✍ Scribed by Mystery Writers of America

• Publisher: Scribner
• Year: 2021
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 336
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

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.

✦ Table of Contents

Neil Nyren—The Rules—and When to Break Them

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

Meg Gardiner—Keeping It Thrilling

Nine things your thriller needs to be lean, mean, and exhilarating.

Naomi Hirahara—Insider, Outsider: The Amateur Sleuth

The point, and point of view, of your accidental detective.

Rachel Howzell Hall—Finding Lou: The Police Procedural

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

Alex Segura—The Mindset of Darkness: Writing Noir

It’s about character: the flawed protagonist and letting your characters fail.

Charlaine Harris—Crossing the Genres

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

Jacqueline Winspear—The Historical Mystery

Time, place, and the past.

Tess Gerritsen—The Medical Thriller

Playing on the reader’s real-life fears and hunger for insider knowledge.

Gayle Lynds—Researching the Spy Thriller

Or: Why can’t I just make it all up?