Unlike other novels, the mystery’s villain must stay hidden until the final reveal. Here’s how to keep them secret until the end.
Author, Go Public as You Write Your First Book
Give your current manuscript a head start in the book world by working on your author platform as you write.
Keys to Start Your Mystery Novel
Who, what, where, and action are keys to get your reader into the story from the start. Save narrative description and backstory for later. Now is the time to show your reader you tell a good story.
Master Your Plotlines
Deepen your novel, use multiple plotlines. How to develop subplots for your story.
How to Introduce Your Detective to Devoted Mystery Readers
Without an immediate connection with your sleuth, a reader is not motivated to follow them solving the puzzle in the rest of your novel.
First-Time Writer Mistakes to Avoid So Readers Love Your Story
How to create a great protagonist, smooth dialogue, keep readers engaged, and trim info-dump to write a novel readers love.
Before You Write A Scene
As you build your story alternate between action and reaction. Before you write a scene you need to know the basic structure of the type of scene that comes next in your mystery.
Ratchet Up Tension in Your Mystery
Why Tension? Isn’t A Mystery a Puzzle? A mystery is a story. A good story of any genre needs tension. Tension is what keeps readers reading. Without tension your story can feel episodic with no push for the reader to continue.What is tension in a story? It’s the state of being stretched tight. In a story, tension applies to a character’s mental and emotional state. In order for readers to feel tension, they must care about the character. When a reader empathizes with th […]
Avoid A Sagging Middle: The Detective Finds the Killer’s World
Avoid the Sagging Middle in Your Mystery Mystery writers have an advantage over many other genres when it comes to keeping the middle from sagging. Up to the middle the detective has delved into the evidence and suspects in the victim’s worldThe essence of keeping a reader turning pages is heightened tension. Rather than episodic…
The Detective In the Victim’s World
The Detective In The Victim’s World Without A Map As you take your detective and your readers deeper into the story in the first half of Act II, your detective enters a new world, the victim’s world. As he wanders the victim’s world he gathers bits and pieces of information, meets suspects and in their…