A fully updated and thoroughly revised edition of WD’s classic tome on mystery writing, the first edition of which was a finalist for an Edgar Award, the biggest honour in mystery-writing circles.
In the decade since the first edition was published, the popularity of the mystery, suspense and crime genres has come roaring back with books like ‘Gone Girl’, ‘The Girl on the Train’, ‘The Silent Wife’, and ‘Big Little Lies’. Mystery has even become a hot commodity in young adult fiction, with books such as the Edgar Award-winning ‘Paper Towns’. This new edition will be expanded to touch upon new developments in the mystery genres, as well as adding new material to expand upon the mystery sub-genres of crime and suspense. The original edition already touched on those areas, as well as hardboiled mysteries, cosies, romantic thrillers and medical mysteries–but the real areas of interest among contemporary readers are undoubtedly crime and suspense. New material will cover the following topics:
A new subsection on traditional mysteries versus thrillers versus hybrid
What makes a best seller
Secrets and surprises
Stakes: Welding character to plot
Tips for making it a page turner
Narrative voice: Who to believe?
Multiple viewpoints, multiple timelines
Why editors and agents reject queries: Mistakes to avoid
The many publishing options open to writers in addition to traditional agented submissions to editors
How e-books have transformed the market
The new imprints that publishers have dedicated to genre fiction
Book packaging, particularly for mass market paperback
A completely new list of resources, as well as mystery and writing conferences This new edition will also take the mystery out of the writing process, making it less daunting for beginners and more efficient for experienced writers. You will find the best material from the original edition, including things like comprehensive instructions, exercises and worksheets, as well as a format for a novel blueprint. You’ll learn how to construct effective plots, revise and submit mysteries to publishers in the new publishing environment, as well as guidelines for:
Planning, twisting the plot and constructing a credible surprise ending
Creating a compelling sleuth and a worthy villain
Deceiving and revealing with red herrings and clues
Writing investigation, spine-tingling suspense and dramatic action
Revising, from sharpening characters to optimizing pace
Engaging the reader AUTHOR: New York Times bestselling author Hallie Ephron grew up in a family of writers and a household filled with books. Her parents were Henry and Phoebe Ephron who wrote screenplays for classic movies like Carousel and Daddy Long Legs. Hallie was the last of their four daughters (Nora, Delia, Hallie, Amy) to start writing or, as she calls it, succumb to her genes. Now Hallie writes suspense novels she hopes keep readers up at night. An Edgar Award finalist and a three-time finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, Hallie grew up in Beverly Hills where her new suspense novel, ‘Night Night, Sleep Tight’, is set. The story is inspired by Hallie’s experiences growing up there in a Hollywood family, and by an infamous Hollywood murder. A starred review in Publisher’s Weekly calls ‘Night Night’ a captivating thriller. InStyle magazine ( enthralling ) and Good Housekeeping (as addictive as Gone Girl) pick it as a top page turner for April. Bookreporter: An extremely impressive work. The plotting and character development read as if they could have been transplanted from an unpublished Raymond Chandler novel.
Hallie teaches writing at workshops and conferences across the country. Her ‘Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel: How to Knock 'Em Dead with Style’ was nominated for Edgar and Anthony awards. Hallie is also an award-winning crime fiction book reviewer for the Boston Globe. SELLING POINTS:
The first edition went on to become a finalist for the prestigious Edgar Award, the highest honour in mystery fiction, and an Anthony Award.
Resurgence in mystery, suspense and crime popularity. Even Stephen King has reinvented himself as a mystery/crime novelist, having won an Edgar himself in 2015.
Foreword by New York Times bestselling author and mystery legend Elizabeth George.
