Embarking on a life in crime

Still working on my Vocal Whodunit (attempt number two as it happens) and still finding it hard to get myself going. Partly, I think, because a plod through a predictable plot structure leaves me cold. I say predictable, because crime and detective fiction is probably the most structured of all fictional story frameworks. This is one reason why I don't read very much crime. I have yet to read an Agatha Christie from start to finish. I only know the stories because I have seen one or two on stage or screen. I suspect the others are not much different.

This article follows on from two others I wrote to help tackle the Vocal whodunit challenge, December 2023:

• Piecing together a murder mystery
• Have you dunnit yet?

There is, however, something fascinating about the unsolved crime, the murder mystery, the evidential puzzle awaiting the arrival of the puzzle master who will work diligently to sift all the pieces and put the hidden picture together. Even when we know who the perpetrator is, we still wonder whether they will get away with it (even though we know they never will) or what silly slip-up might bring the perp their deserved comeuppance.

If you read either of my earlier pieces on writing a whodunit, you will know that I included some hints and tips provided by my AI writing buddy. Each of these came with source references. Following these up in a further endevor to enhance my detective work, I found some very useful writing resources I wasn't previously aware of. Below, you will find a selection of some of the best. Please feel free to share your own discoveries by commenting below with any relevant links.

First up is the UK National Centre for Writing, an organisation based in Norwich, in the East of England. Their 25 top tips for writing gripping crime fiction are particularly helpful.

The next most useful resource I found was Bryn Donovan's Why do people kill? It lists 15 top motivations for US murders. Some mundane, like jealous rage, others more unusual, like a revenge killing by a person wronged in their career.

For a more bite-sized exposé of the art of crime fiction, I would suggest How to Write a Mystery or Crime Novel from Krystal N. Craiker at ProWritingAid. This helpful resources boils the process down into just eight tips, the first of which is: choose your crime. Obvious? Maybe, but if you are stuck at the start of the writing process, one way to get unstuck would perhaps be to put all else aside and think of a crime. You could even use a whiteboard or big piece of paper to write down as many different crimes you can think of. Or better still, visits lots of news sites and law enforcement agency and prosecutor press releases. Sometimes true crime can be the best source of ideas for fictional crime. Be careful, though, not to include personal details from the actual crime. Invent your own characters and dramatic developments, merely using the type of crime as inspiration for your story.

For more ideas, inspiration and tips on how to go about it, check out the ProWritingAid how-to:

Whatever approach you decide to take with your own story, some of the best inspiration is bound to come from reading some of the best crime fiction available. Whether these are the classics like Christie and Chandler, or more contemporary authors. It is always vital to understand the territory before embarking on your own exploration.

UK daily newspaper The Guardian is big on literature and often publishes top-ten lists of the bests novels in various genre including crime.

If you have already read all or most of these (the main one missing from my list of have-reads is the Dame of crime herself - Agatha Christie) then you are surely well on your way to understanding the genre.

I hope that these further suggested resources will provide sufficient ideas, inspiration and advice to help you with your Whodunit entry.

If you found this article useful, you might also like take a look at the previous two I wrote to help tackle the Vocal whodunit challenge, December 2023.

• Piecing together a murder mystery
• Have you dunnit yet?

Thanks for reading

Ray