Recommended for beginners

Sue Grafton has edited the Mystery entry in the “Handbooks by the Writers of America” series of writing books. As the subtitle indicates, some of America’s prominent mystery writers have contributed their advice on writing in this genre, in the format of an essay on a specific topic on the craft of mystery writing. The names include Sara Paretsky, Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, Michael Connelly, and Linda Fairstein.

This guidebook is set out in a logical approach that echoes the writing process: inspiration, research, setting, characterisation, outlining, selecting point of view, dialogue, pacing, and revision. Also included are essays on working with agents and editors, and understanding the market. Finally, a specialty section includes mysteries for young readers, short stories, and the medical, legal, historical, and technological mystery sub-genres.

I enjoyed the short essay approach, which breaks the subjects into easily readable chunks, and also means that no single opinion dominates, or that no writer has excess word count quota to fill with waffle and repetition. The essays are tightly focused and the varying approaches are interesting to read. There are some deliberate overlaps to give the writer a broader picture of the flexibility and individuality of the writing process.

The latter part of the book does provide more substantial advice on developing a writing style, creating suspense, and writing violence, which are ideal for new comers to the mystery genre whether or not they are beginner writers.

The enthusiasm and passion all these writers have for the mystery genre is clearly apparent, and if you are a fan of several of the contributors you will benefit from studying their work alongside their comments.

This book is best suited to beginner writers and those who want to move into the mystery genre but find it a difficult genre to write in. Established writers may find this book a bit dry, with early essays covering old ground. This is a book you would read more for the calibre of the writers giving the advice, specifically for their unique perspective and the inspiration and motivation they convey, rather than for the actual topic.

As Sue Grafton says in her introduction, “…mystery writers are the magicians of fiction. We’re the illusionists, working with sleight of hand in the performance of our art. With this book, we’ll be taking you behind the scenes so you can see how the riddles are created and the illusions sustained.”¹ The mystery genre is a rewarding genre to work in.


¹Page 3, Writing Mysteries : A Handbook by the Mystery Writers of America, Writer’s Digest, 2002

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Writing Mysteries : A Handbook by the Mystery Writers of America is available from Amazon.com