Who Killed Little Johnny Gill? by Kathryn McMaster
Who Killed Little Johnny Gill? by Kathryn McMaster
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Listed below are my top ten strategies for writing crime fiction and thrillers that may please the reader and earn publishers start groping for chequebooks.
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1) Know the market.
Read very widely. Numerous authors as possible, less many books. In case you have read one book by Patricia Cornwell or Linwood Barclay, then proceed. You know their shtick. Find what else is out there. That means also reading the classics, having the history of the genre, and reading a lot of fiction in translation too. It also means reading established track record non-fiction. If you're writing political espionage thrillers, as an example, you need to know the political, military and security bacground If you do not, your readers will - and are caught out.
2) Understand where the leading edge lies.
The most important names (eg: Coben, Rankin, Reichs) are not the most current. They built their reputations in the past. Try to locate the sexiest (biggest selling, most praised, state-of-the-art, prize winning) debut novels. That's what editors are buying today. That is the market you're competing in.
3) Don't just trot out the cliches.
You've got a murderer have you? A terrorist bomb plot? Be tough yourself. These things are tired old cliches. They can work if you handle them in a new or dazzling way, but the old ways are no longer enough.
4) Get complex. Your plot probably needs a brain-aching level of complexity, as well as a surprising number of well-planned, well-executed twists. Because modern crime authors have grown to be really good at developing complex but plausible plots, also, since modern thriller writers are becoming so adept at delivering a never-ending chain of impossible-to-see-it-coming twists, you cannot afford to be below devilishly clever yourself. With rare exceptions, simple will no longer sells.
5) Stick to the darkness.
Your book has to be dark and tough. That's your entry ticket on the genre. What you do there is very varied, but cute, cosy crime is definitely a limited market now. In order to write cosy crime, then expect a smaller readership and meagre sales.
6) Do not forget jeopardy.
Crime novels now can also be thrillers. It's not OK for the detective to fix the mystery and explain it all to a hushed and respectful audience. On the other hand, (s)he's got to stay fear of his/her life. It offers to be white knuckle in addition to intellectually satisfying.
7) Pay attention to character.
Crime and thriller plots can be forgettable, and often feel very samey anyway. Characters, on the other hand, never leave us: Holmes, Marlowe, Elvis Cole, Hannibal Lecter. If you discover a strong character, and you must do everything else reasonably competently, you then quite likely have fiction that'll sell.
8) Write well!
Bad writing will in all probability kill your chances of success. And quite right too. You don't need to be flowery. It's necessary that you be completely competent.
9) Be economical.
Thrillers should be taut. Check your book for needless chapters, your chapters for needless paragraphs, your paragraps for needless sentences, as well as your sentences for needless words. Then do everything over again. Twice.
10) Be perfectionist.
Good isn't good enough. Dazzling may be the target. Being tough yourself is the essential first ingredient. Getting someone else to be tough together with you is quite possibly the second.
I said ten tips, didn't I? What is, here's an eleventh:
11) Don't quit.
Be persistent. You improve by doing. You'll improve. Think of building your skills, engaging with all the industry, or getting editorial advice. All those things will increase your maturity as a writer. Now write that thriller, polish it - then sell it. Best of luck!
