Secrets to Writing a Mystery

Unlock the secrets to writing a bestselling mystery novel. This book solves the puzzle of deep structure specific to mysteries and guides you through an actionable, flexible process to outline, write, and edit a mystery novel. Through the process, you'll Learn to identify your mystery type (Cozy, Traditional, Detective). Assemble your essential cast of characters (Sleuth, Victim, Suspects, and Culprit). Anchor your story with the five mystery story arc scenes. Develop your story with genre-specific patterns and scenes. Learn how secondary plots and subplots can be woven into the mystery plot. Deepen your story by giving victims fatal flaws and anchoring culprit motives in personal stakes. Structure the story by choosing the right POV strategy to control tension and effectively drop clues and red herrings. Use this book as a reference, and from now on, you'll write every mystery with confidence. As with all the books in the Write Novels that Sell series, we give you the theory—the why behind our recommendations—and you use the actionable advice to understand the theory and apply it. Are you a writer ready to move beyond the basics and dive into the deep structure that powers commercially successful mystery novels? Then this book is for you. Praise for Secrets to Writing a Mystery: While reading this book, I kept thinking, "I wish I had this book when I wrote my own mystery." Secrets to Writing a Mystery brilliantly demystifies the genre. It's an essential, insight-packed guide for mystery writers. Clear, actionable, and full of those "ah-ha" moments that change the way you write. —Iris Applewood, Author of Fragrance of Forgotten Truths