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How To Write a Mystery

A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America

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How To Write a Mystery

By: Mystery Writers of America, Lee Child - editor, Laurie R. King - editor
Narrated by: Cary Hite, Caroline McLaughlin, Nigel Patterson, Fred Sanders, Jackie Sanders, Machelle Williams
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About this listen

 From 70 of the most successful mystery writers in the business, an invaluable guide to crafting mysteries—from character development and plot to procedurals and thrillers—“this is a writing guide that readers and writers will turn to again and again” (Booklist, starred review).

Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is known for providing unparalleled resources on the craft, art, and business of storytelling, helping writers of all levels improve their skills for nearly a century. Now, this handbook helps authors navigate the ever-shifting publishing landscape—from pacing, plotting, the business side of publishing, to the current demand for diversity and inclusivity across all genres, and more.

Featuring essays by a new generation of bestselling experts on various elements of the craft and shorter pieces of crowd-sourced wisdom from the MWA membership as a whole, the topics covered can be categorized as follows:
—Before Writing (rules; genres; setting; character; research; etc.)
—While Writing (outlining; the plot; dialogue; mood; etc.)
—After Writing (agents; editors; self-pub; etc.)
—Other than Novels (short stories; true crime; etc.)
—Other Considerations (diverse characters; legal questions; criticism)

Also included is a collection of essays from MWA published authors—including Jeffery Deaver, Tess Gerritsen, and Charlaine Harris—selected by bestselling authors Lee Child and Laurie King and arranged thematically answering, “What piece of writing advice do you wish you’d had at the beginning of your career?”

“Everything you wanted to know about how to plan, draft, write, revise, publish, and market a mystery” (Kirkus Reviews), this inclusive manual provides practical, current, easily digestible advice for new and established authors alike. Fiction Mystery Words, Language & Grammar Writing & Publishing Career
All stars
Most relevant
I love this listen 5 times so far each time pick up something else to help be write crime novel

Inspirational and informative

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Each chapter is read by a top mystery, crime or thriller writer. Some advice is practical, some is inspirational, but it's all gold dust for aspiring authors.

Great advice from brilliant writers

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It’s a series of generic articles. Even goes into social media management, very little is actually about how to write a mystery. Highly un-recommend

Not worth the money

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Mostly day one writing advice with no specific relevance to writing in the mystery genre.
20-25% Half decent and less talked about advice, but again not specific to writing mysteries.
If I was generous I’d say about the same of specific mystery writing advice, but if you don’t know how to write a mystery before you read this book, I don’t think that’ll be any different afterwards.

Also a healthy sprinkling of “advice” like; write a diverse group of characters, back to back with essays about the importance of only write about minorities if you’re from those cultures. That's contradictory at best, and certainly not actionable.

Waste of Time and Money

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