Why Historical Mysteries May Require Careful Research
Writing historical fiction presents creative challenges distinct from other types of fiction. Adding genre elements - such as a mystery - can complicate your...
Pace Your Mystery, Sustain Tension
Every story requires the writer to pay attention to pacing, but none more than the mystery novel. Your literary novel might get away with...
Why Do Readers Love a Mystery?
We've said it recently: Every story has an element of mystery. In a recent interview with the Creative Penn podcast, Jonah Lehrer discusses his...
Using Fear as a Weapon and a Hill to Conquer
Fear: a vital element for thriller and horror fiction, but also an emotion commonly found in stories of all types. Mastering the expression of...
Suspects are the Frame to Your Mystery’s Puzzle
A murder mystery needs a victim, a perpetrator, and a sleuth, but your other suspects are the glue that holds your novel together. They...
Does Your Villain Mean Well?
In a post for CrimeReads, Kerry Anne King takes a look at 10 characters who do bad things for good reasons. Whether motivated by...
More Than Invisible Ink: Advice for Writing About Spies
In an article for Writer's Digest, author Stephanie Marie Thornton offers her advice for creating believable spy characters.
Notably, she reminds writers that spycraft isn't...
Paula Hawkins: Mysteries Can Be More Than Black and White
Some of our favorite novels have ambiguous endings, or fail to wrap up events in the tidiest manner. Tana French's debut novel, In the...
Use Micro-Tension to Build Reader Anticipation
Tension is key to narrative drive, the element that keeps readers turning pages. If you're writing a mystery novel, you might think that your...
