How to Write a Mystery
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Mailchimp, 272
MailerLite, 272
Making Comics (McCloud), 103
Maleeny, Tim, 172, 301
Malone, Michael, 118
Maltese Falcon, The (Hammett), 222
Mantel, Hillary, 137
marketing, 261–62, 275 online, 267–74
see also promotion
Marsh, Ngaio, 7, 8
Martin, George R. R., 145
Marvel, 105
Maslow, Abraham, 180
Massey, Sujata, 29
Matthau, Walter, 177–78
Maugham, W. Somerset, 5, 72
Maverick (novelization), 240
Maxwell, Edith, 30
media downloads, 272
medical thrillers, 9, 59–65
Menken, Alan, 139
mentors, 204
Mesmerized (Lynds), 69
Meyer, Nicholas, 239
Meyers, Maan (pseudonym), 233
Mickey Haller (char.), 186
middle-grade mysteries, 81, 84–90
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (Berendt), 216
Mike Hammer (char.), 43, 105, 243–44
military thrillers, 8, 10, 233
Mills, C. Wright, 179
minor characters, 176–78 see also supporting characters
“Moscow Never Sleeps” (Smith), 72
Moscow Stories (Graham), 71–72
Mosley, Walter, 7, 35, 36, 151, 214, 218
motivations, 23, 46, 120, 151, 173, 191, 193, 194, 195, 245 settings as contributing to, 217
of writers, 231
Mummy films, 240
Murakami, Haruki, 1
Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore, 251
Murder on the Orient Express (Christie), 9
Murder She Wrote (TV show), 222
musicality, 138–39
My Dark Places (Ellroy), 123
My Lovely Wife (Downing), 8
My Sister, the Serial Killer (Braithwaite), 225
mystery stories: blending of genres in, 10–11, 48–50
definition of, 1
openings of, 116–17, 172
rules of, 5–11
in short fiction, 114–20
subgenres of, 7–9, 10; see also specific subgenres
thrillers vs., 6
traditional, 6, 8, 10, 12, 114, 161, 167–68, 222
writing process in, see writing process
for younger audiences, 79–100
see also crime fiction; specific story elements
Mystery Writers of America (MWA), 1, 2, 36, 88, 238
names, of characters, 25
narratives, 24, 44, 56, 104, 129, 170, 202 see also plot
National Geographic, 72, 73
Nava, Michael, 29
Neely, Barbara, 30
Neri, Kris, 198, 302
Nero Wolfe (char.), 10, 27, 242–43
New England Crime Bake, 151
newsletters, 262, 263, 268, 272, 273–74, 277
newspapers, 37, 60, 93, 180, 249, 250, 251–52, 254
New York Times, 5, 251
New York Times Book Review, 257
noir fiction, 7, 10, 26, 40–45, 176
No Mark Upon Her (Crombie), 169–70
Norwood, Warren, 169
novelizations, 238, 239, 240–41, 244
novellas, 120, 259, 266
Nyren, Neil, 5–11, 302
Oates, Joyce Carol, 143
observation, 135
O’Grady, Paul, 226
Olson, Karen E., 29
online community, building of, 272–74, 275, 276–83, 284
On Writing (King), 24
On Writing and Teaching Fiction (Stegner), 202
openings of stories, 116–17, 172
Orr, Jill, 29
Osterman Weekend, The (Ludlum), 68
outlines, 1, 46, 110, 142, 143–49, 150, 154, 157, 158–59, 164, 168–71, 173, 199, 233 see also plotting, plotters
Outsiders, The (Hinton), 99
Ovid, 154
“Own Voice” stories, 88, 94–95
Pacific Beat (Parker), 195–96
pacing, 16–17, 22, 57, 144, 150, 160, 161, 218
Page, Katherine Hall, 8
paid reviews, 250
Pandian, Gigi, 32, 66, 302–3
“pantser” approach, 143, 152–55, 156, 157, 164, 168–69, 173, 179, 195
paperback originals, 253–54
paranormal fiction, 10, 49
Paretsky, Sara, 7, 216
Paris, B. A., 8
Parker, Robert B., 7, 238, 243
Parker, T. Jefferson, 192–97, 303
pastiche, 135–38, 244
Patterson, James, 84, 87, 232
Pelecanos, George, 43
Penny, Louise, 276–83, 303
People, 251
Perry, Anne, 9
personal biographies, 271
Peters, Elizabeth, 32, 123
Peters, Ellis, 9
Philip Marlowe (char.), 42, 238
Phillips, Adam Walker, 31
Phillips, Gary, 36, 104–10, 111, 303
Pickard, Nancy, 216
picture books, 80
Pink Panther, The (novelization), 240
plot, 10, 39, 43, 44, 45, 46, 56, 120, 129, 143–44, 153–55, 159, 160, 161, 166–71, 172, 175, 233, 235, 256 characters in driving of, 184, 186, 199
dialogue in advancing of, 118, 206
five stages of, 167
story vs., 151, 166, 167
see also narratives; structures; subplots
plotting, “plotters,” 116, 120, 143–49, 150, 157, 158–59, 164, 168–71, 173, 191, 199, 233, 235 research and, 179–81
see also outlines
Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction (Highsmith), 116
plot twists, 18–20, 42, 119, 140, 153, 256
Poe, Edgar Allan, 115, 117, 119, 193
police procedurals, 7, 10, 34–38, 42, 43, 161, 176
political thrillers, 8, 10
Postman Always Rings Twice, The (Cain), 44
Preminger, Otto, 44
Preston, Douglas, 9
primary research, 53
privacy claims, 285, 289
Private Eye Writers of America, 238
private villains, 193, 195
profanity, 8, 84, 240, 252 in YA novels, 95, 96–97
professional bios, 271, 272
professional writing organizations, 264–65
promotion, 74, 261–62, 267, 273, 279 see also marketing
protagonists, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13–14, 15, 20, 44, 81, 153, 161, 167–68, 171, 177, 178, 184–90, 193, 200, 204, 240, 252 in amateur sleuth stories, 23–32
as antiheroes, 186, 188
in children’s and YA stories, 81, 83, 84, 85, 88
creating compelling, 184–86
diversity of, 94–95
in hard-boiled PI novels, 40–41
in noir fiction, 41, 42–44
as villains, 187, 188
see also characters
psychological suspense, 5, 9–10, 17
psychological thrillers, 7–8
publicists, 251, 252, 253, 254, 272, 279
publicity, 74 right of, 289–90
see also marketing; promotion
public villains, 193, 194, 195
Publishers Weekly, 12
publishing, publishers, 9, 51, 66, 95, 157–58, 236, 251, 254, 255, 258, 261, 266, 276, 286 self-, 252–53, 254, 266, 267
publishing law, 285–90
punctuation, creative use of, 207–8
Putin, Vladimir, 72
Queen, Ellery, 8
Queenpin (Abbott), 44
questions, research, 36, 62
readers, 1, 15, 16, 17, 19, 60, 64, 85, 87, 154, 173, 185, 187, 206, 209, 210, 212, 220, 250, 251, 252, 253, 255, 256, 259, 260 beta and sensitivity, 88, 94, 162, 182
building online community of, 272–74, 275, 276–83, 284
children and young adult, 80, 81, 85, 86, 87, 89, 91, 92–93, 100, 241
target audi
ence and, 80, 81, 89, 93, 100, 161, 241, 268, 269, 272
reading, 11, 36, 49, 60, 89, 99, 114, 140–41, 142 one’s own material out loud, 57, 160, 163, 211
realism, 231
Rebecca (du Maurier), 217
“Red Clay” (Malone), 118
red herrings, 19, 85, 151, 168, 209
Red Notice (Browder), 72
reference materials, 64–65
regionalisms, 137, 206, 208–9
Reich, Christopher, 9
Reichs, Kathy, 9
Rendell, Ruth, 7, 10, 118, 120
research, 36, 52–57, 62, 64–65, 75, 94, 111, 137, 142, 147–48, 162, 174, 231, 233, 240 plotting and, 179–81
“primary” vs. “secondary,” 53
for spy thrillers, 67–74
for true crime stories, 124, 125–26
resolution, 44, 167, 168 see also endings
reviews, reviewers, 68, 249–56, 257
rewrites, 39, 91, 111, 144, 157–63, 196
Rilke, Rainer Maria, 156
Rising Island method, 173
Road to Perdition (film; graphic novel), 239
Robb, J. D., 186
Roberts, Nora, 9
romance, romance genre, 10, 48, 49, 50, 176 in children’s and YA stories, 88, 92
Romancing the Stone (film), 185, 258
romantic suspense novels, 9, 264
Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare), 202–3
Room of White Fire, The (Parker), 196
Ross, Stephen, 213, 303
Roughead, William, 124
Rowland, Laura Joh, 9
Rowling, J. K., 135
Roxburgh, Angus, 72
Rule, Ann, 123
rules, of mystery writing, 5–11
Ryan, Hank Phillippi, 29, 46–47, 303–4
Sachar, Louis, 89
Salzberg, Charles, 121, 304
Sawyer, Thomas B., 222, 304
Sayers, Dorothy L., 8, 31
Saylor, Steven, 9
“Scent of Lilacs, The” (Allyn), 114
Science, 60
science fiction, 10, 48, 49–50, 176, 239, 240
Scientific American, 60
Scottoline, Lisa, 29
screenplays, 239, 240, 241
scripts, 241, 242 of graphic novels, 104, 105, 106, 110–12
search engine optimization, 270
secondary research, 53
Secret Garden, The (Burnett), 166
Segura, Alex, 40–45, 304
self-publishing, 252–53, 254, 258–65, 266, 267
Send Bygraves (Grimes), 10
sensitivity readers, 88, 94, 162, 182
serial killer novels, 10
series, 42, 260, 266, 271
settings, 75, 129, 162, 166, 168, 175, 178, 179, 180, 192–93, 214–21
7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, The (Turton), 10
sexual content, 8, 40, 225, 226, 231, 252 in YA books, 92, 95, 96, 97–98
Shakespeare, William, 202–3
Shamus Award, 238
Sherlock Holmes (char.), 25, 56, 85, 136–37, 238–39
Shining Girls, The (Beukes), 10
Shirley, Anne, 278
short stories, 114–20, 143, 145, 266 openings of, 116–17
Silent Joe (Parker), 193
Silva, Daniel, 8
Simon, David, 36
Sims, Elizabeth, 91, 304
Siodmak, Robert, 44
Sisters in Crime, 36
Slater, Oscar, 124
Smiley, Patricia, 31
Smith, Dodie, 223
Smith, Martin Cruz, 72
social media, 194, 253, 255, 256, 262, 263, 267, 268, 271–73, 274, 275, 277, 278, 279, 281, 282, 284
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), 88
song lyrics, 288
Sookie Stackhouse series (Harris), 10
sounds, 237
speech tags, 163, 209–10, 211, 226, 228
Spencer-Fleming, Julia, 32
Spillane, Mickey, 40, 43, 105, 243–44
spin-off books, 266
“Spring Break” (Crowley), 114–15
spy thrillers, 8 researching for, 67–74
Stabenow, Dana, 31
stakes, 15, 20–21, 46, 171
Starr, Douglas, 124
Star Trek franchise, 242
Star Wars (film), 188, 242
Star Wars: Episode 1—The Phantom Menace (film), 89
Stashower, Daniel, 122–28, 305
Stasio, Marilyn, 257
Stegner, Wallace, 202
Steinbeck, John, 201
stereotypes, 37, 82, 175, 177, 189–90
Steven, Daniel, 285–90, 305
Stone, Lane, 229–30
story: defining of, 184, 284
plot vs., 151, 166, 167
storyboarding, 104, 234
“story lines” method, 169–71
Stout, Rex, 10, 27, 31, 243
Stranger Beside Me, The (Rule), 123
Strangers on a Train (Highsmith), 7
Streep, Meryl, 205
Strongman, The (Roxburgh), 72
structure, 123, 129, 143–44, 156, 159, 160, 167, 170 see also plot
style, 133–41 see also authorial voice
stylometry, 134
Suarez, Daniel, 9
subgenres, 7–9, 10, 50, 161 characters and, 176–78
see also specific subgenres
subplots, 115, 116, 145, 146, 147, 158, 159
subtext, 213
Sunset Boulevard (film), 205
supernatural fiction, 10, 48
Super Puzzletastic Mysteries collection, 88
supporting characters, 161–62, 170, 199–203, 204 see also minor characters
Surgeon, The (Gerritsen), 59–60
Surrisi, C. M., 83, 305
suspense, 15–16, 18, 22, 70, 91, 172, 221
suspense genre, 1, 5, 6
Swanson, Gloria, 205
Taking of Pelham One Two Three (film), 177–78
target audience, 161, 241, 268, 269, 272 for children’s and YA books, 80, 81, 89, 93, 100
Taylor, Art, 114–20, 305
technothrillers, 8, 9, 10
teen reading level, 92–93
“Ten Commandments for Detective Fiction” (Knox), 5
“Ten Rules for Suspense Fiction” (Garfield), 5
tension, 16, 18, 171
Terban, Marvin, 88
“Terrapin, The” (Highsmith), 116
Tey, Josephine, 8
themes, 81, 126, 268, 269, 274
Thompson, Jim, 7, 41–42, 45
Thor, Brad, 8
thrillers, 1, 7–10, 22, 84, 161, 168, 176, 251 mysteries vs., 6
nine things needed in, 13–21
see also specific thriller subgenres
“tie-in” writing, 238–44
Tierney, Gene, 44
Tilt-a-Whirl (Grabenstein), 84
Timothy (Herren), 207–8
Todd, Caroline, 232–36, 305–6
Todd, Charles, 9, 30, 232–36, 305–6
tone, 42, 44, 117, 120, 126, 226
traditional mysteries, 6, 8, 10, 12, 114, 161, 167–68, 222
travel, in research, 73, 125, 240
trends, avoiding, 50, 86–87, 261
Tribune Syndicate, 240
true crime, 122–28, 232–33
Turow, Scott, 9
Turton, Stuart, 10
Twain, Mark, 210
“Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories” (Van Dine), 5
twists, 18–20, 42, 119, 140, 153, 256
Twitter, 37, 89, 277, 279, 284
Tyler, Anne, 58
Understanding Comics (McCloud), 103
“unity of effect,” 115
unreliable narrator, 7, 19, 42, 187
Urrea, Luis Alberto, 118
U.S. Marshals (novelization), 240–41
Van Dine, S. S., 5, 9, 48
Vaught, Susan, 79–82, 306
Viets, Elaine, 30, 183, 306
villains, 43, 192–97
, 198, 199–200 protagonists as, 187, 188
see also antagonists; antiheroes
“Villain’s Journey, The” workshop, 187
Vincent, Bev, 284, 306–7
violence, 8, 17, 40, 80, 81, 84, 196, 226 in YA books, 95, 96, 97
Vogler, Christopher, 187
voice: authorial, 133–41, 152, 153–54, 155, 162, 234, 235, 281
of characters, 98–99, 117–18, 134–35, 136–38, 153, 163, 194, 199, 200
of place, 216
teen, 98–99
see also dialogue
Waldman, Ayelet, 29
Wambaugh, Joseph, 7
Warner, Gertrude Chandler, 81
websites, 273, 277 building of, 268–72
Weich, Pat Gallant, 101–2, 307
Weir, Andy, 9, 10
Westlake, Donald, 7
“What Do You Do?” (Flynn), 114, 117
What the Dead Know (Lippman), 134
Where Are the Children? (Clark), 134, 135
White, Kate, 51, 307
White, Randy Wayne, 216
White Butterfly (Mosley), 218
Whitehead, Michael, 276, 282
Winslow, Don, 7
Winspear, Jacqueline, 9, 52–57, 307
Winters, Ben H., 10
Witch Elm, The (French), 141
Wodehouse, P. G., 230
Wood, Audrey, 80
Woods, Paula L., 35, 36
WordPress, 269
Wrinkle in Time, A (L’Engle), 99
writer’s block, 39, 164, 165, 171, 183, 191, 223
writers’ conferences, 11, 36, 88, 256, 274, 276, 277
Writer’s Journey, The (Vogler), 187
Writers’ Police Academy, 36
writing partnerships, 232–36 see also collaborations
writing process, 11, 58, 66, 113, 151, 173, 198, 228, 229, 231, 259–60, 261, 267, 268, 275 “blocks” and mental obstacles in, 39, 164, 165, 171, 183, 191, 223
dos and don’ts of, 142
editing and rewrites in, 39, 46–47, 91, 111, 144, 150, 157–63, 173, 196
finding authorial voice in, 133–41, 234, 235, 281
outlines and plotting in, 1, 46, 116, 120, 142, 143–49, 150, 157, 158–59, 164, 168–71, 173, 179–81, 199, 233, 235