Like Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler, Sara Paretsky and Thomas Harris, you, too, can learn the trade secrets of quality detective fiction.
It's true. Just one year from now, you can deliver a completed mystery novel to a publisher--by writing only on weekends. Authors Robert J. Ray and Jack Remick guide you through the entire mystery-writing process, from creating a killer to polishing off the final draft. Each weekend you'll focus on a specific task--learning the basics of novel-writing, the special demands of mystery-writing, and the secrets professionals use to create stories one scene at a time, building to a shivery, satisfying climax. Using Agatha Christie's The Body in the Library as a model for the classical mystery tale and Martin Cruz Smith's Gorky Park for the hard-boiled mystery, this unique step-by-step program gives you all the information you need to reach your ultimate goal: a finished book in just 52 weeks!
Let two successful masters of the genre show you how...
Discover:
Why you must create your killer first
The tricks to writing dialogue that does it all--moves your plot, involves your reader, and makes your style sizzle
How to "bury" information (and corpses) for your reader to find
Why you should NOT build your book around chapters
Special techniques for clearing writer's block
Plus: examples from Sue Grafton, Dashiell Hammett, Patricia Cornwell, Thomas Harris, Raymond Chandler, and more.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Targeted approach:
This is a nice targeted approach to the art of writing. Also look at "How to write Killer fiction."
Helpful book:
This seems to be a very well conceived and helpful book. It has a detailed plan for taking one from a blank page to a finished novel in a year's time. I haven't read through the whole book yet. NOR have I worked through many exercises yet, but found the first several exercises very helpful. Already my characters are coming to life. I expect great things in the weeks ahead.
Nothing new here:
Nothing here you can't find on an internet help site. Obviously, that's much more cost-effective. If you want to have it on hand in one place, then maybe this is for you.
Ok for a start:
This book got me going, but that's where it ended. It's good for someone who needs lots of structure throughout the process. I found it too confining,but that's just my taste. If you need a step-by-step, here it is.
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