Crime and Thriller Writing

Michelle Spring has published six crime novels including Every Breath You Take (short-listed as Best First Novel for both an Anthony and an Arthur Ellis Award), Nights in White Satin, In the Midnight Hour (winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel) and The Night Lawyer. She mentors novelists, and teaches both creative writing and academic writing. She is currently Royal Literary Fellow at Magdalene College, Cambridge.Laurie R. King has twenty-three novels in print, most of them crime novels, that include the wildly popular Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series (The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Garment of Shadows). Her novels have won the Edgar, Creasey, Wolfe, Lambda, and Macavity awards, and appear regularly on the New York Times bestseller list.

• PrefaceForeword by P. D. JamesPreface by Carole Angier and Sally ClineIntroduction by Michelle Spring and Laurie R. KingNotes on Format and TerminologyPart One: On a Life of CrimeReflections I, Michelle Spring: Thoughts About Crime'I Always Knew I Wanted to Be a Writer'Reasons to Write a Crime NovelThe Shadow of ViolenceJust When You Thought It Was Safe to Come out of the Water...Psychopaths and Everyday KillersThe Grim ReaperReflections II, Laurie R. King: A Life of Crime (Fiction)An Honorable CallingMysteries, Greater and LesserMaking a Crime WriterThe Mystery of the MysteryStill Just Writing Haiku?Writing as an Active VerbWays of WritingMichelle Spring: The Orderly School of WritingLaurie R. King: The Organic WayCodaThe World of CrimeThe Roots of the Matter: a History of Crime Fiction What is Crime?The Spectrum, Gentle to ThrillerGetting ReadyReading Like a WriterIdeasWrite What You Really KnowWhere Do You Get Your Ideas?Harvesting IdeasTesting IdeasGetting Rid of IdeasEarly DecisionsPoint of ViewSettingPeriodSeries or Standalone?'Sub-plots', 'Themes', and 'Author's Voice'Plotting: How (and When) to Do ItThe Organic ApproachThe Orderly ApproachMiddle Ground: The Orderly OrganicsResearchWhat You Need to Know in Order to WriteResearch in StagesA Sense of PlaceLibrary Vs InternetThe ExpertTaking Control of Your ResearchPart Two: Guest AuthorsMark BillinghamS. J. BoltonAlafair BurkeLee ChildN. J. CooperMeg GardinerTess GerritsenSophie HannahJim KellyLaura LippmanGayle LyndsAlex McbrideVal McdermidDreda Say MitchellSara ParetskyJill Paton WalshGeorge PelecanosIan RankinPeter RobinsonS. J. RozanGuy SavilleYrsa SigurdardóttirDana StabenowAndrew TaylorCharles ToddLaura WilsonPart 3: Getting Your Story AcrossThe Tools of WritingPlots, Characters, and Story: Chicken or Egg? Plot Vs. Story LanguageDescriptionSetting-place and TimeAtmosphere, or, in Defence of WeatherDivisions: Sentence, Scene, Chapter, BookPreface and PrologueDialogue and Body LanguageHumourTitlesCharactersCharacters in Crime FictionWhat Do the Characters Want?Narrators and ProtagonistsHeroes and VillainsSidekicks and Supporting ActorsThe VictimDistinctive Elements of Crime FictionCoincidence and Fair PlayThe ClueThe Red HerringConflict and ViolencePace and ProgressionStay True to Your Niche?When the Going Gets ToughWriter's BlockWorking with Others-courses, Writing Groups, and MentorsThe Story's Arc, or ActsThe Curtain Rises: Opening and HookAct One: The BeginningThe SetupAction and SuspenseBackstory and the Series NovelAct Two: The MiddleHeaping on the ChallengesPace-peaks and ValleysAct Three: The EndgameClosing and CodaWhen You're 'finished': The RewriteThe RewriteReading AloudHow Many Drafts?What Next?When You're Really FinishedThe Publishable ManuscriptE-publishingThe AgentContestsWhen to Start the Promotion Wagon Rolling?Author's Web SiteSocial MediaOutreachThe Writer's Public FaceConferences and ClassesTaking CriticismWhat Are You Aiming For?Resources and ReadingA Writer's Reference LibraryResearch Tools: Maps, Guidebooks, Experts, the InternetNovels to StudyBibliography