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Now Write!
Now Write! Mysteries: Suspense, Crime, Thriller, and Other Mystery Fiction Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers
The essential handbook for writers of whodunits, techno- thrillers, cozies, and everything in between-featuring never-before- published personal writing exercises from some of today's bestselling and award-winning mystery writers.
Now Write! Mysteries, the fourth volume in the acclaimed Now Write! writing guide series, brings together numerous bestselling authors-including winners of and nominees for the Edgar, Hugo, and Shamus awards,-for the definitive guide to writing mysteries, thrillers, and suspense stories. Now Write! Mysteries teaches you everything you've ever wanted to know about crafting a page-turning mystery-from creating a believable detective hero (or terrifying villain), to using real-life cutting-edge investigative techniques to bring your story to life-with practical exercises taken directly from the pros:
Discover the best techniques for seamlessly integrating action into your story with John Lutz, New York Times-bestselling author of Urge to Kill, Night Kills, and Serial.
Learn how to fine-tune your sense of place and setting with Louise Penny, New York Times-bestselling author of the Armand Gamache mysteries.
Take advice from Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of Sleepers and writer/producer for Law & Order, on how to compose a scene that lives up to your character's backstory.
Let Marcia Talley, Agatha- and Anthony-winning author of the Hannah Ives mysteries, show you how to build a memorable, engaging detective. (Hint: It's not about making him flawless.)
No other mystery-writing guide offers the road tested wisdom of so many award-winners and bestselling authors in one place.
Now Write! Mysteries, the fourth volume in the acclaimed Now Write! writing guide series, brings together numerous bestselling authors-including winners of and nominees for the Edgar, Hugo, and Shamus awards,-for the definitive guide to writing mysteries, thrillers, and suspense stories. Now Write! Mysteries teaches you everything you've ever wanted to know about crafting a page-turning mystery-from creating a believable detective hero (or terrifying villain), to using real-life cutting-edge investigative techniques to bring your story to life-with practical exercises taken directly from the pros:
Discover the best techniques for seamlessly integrating action into your story with John Lutz, New York Times-bestselling author of Urge to Kill, Night Kills, and Serial.
Learn how to fine-tune your sense of place and setting with Louise Penny, New York Times-bestselling author of the Armand Gamache mysteries.
Take advice from Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of Sleepers and writer/producer for Law & Order, on how to compose a scene that lives up to your character's backstory.
Let Marcia Talley, Agatha- and Anthony-winning author of the Hannah Ives mysteries, show you how to build a memorable, engaging detective. (Hint: It's not about making him flawless.)
No other mystery-writing guide offers the road tested wisdom of so many award-winners and bestselling authors in one place.
384 pages, Paperback
First published December 29, 2011
44 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
About the author
Sherry Ellis
6 books14 followersSherry Ellis was a writer, social worker, writing coach, and the originator of the Now Write! series of writing exercise books. She edited Now Write!, Now Write! Nonfiction, and coedited Now Write! Screenwriting with her niece, Laurie Lamson. Her author interviews were published in literary magazines and are anthologized in Illuminating Fiction. She passed away during the process of putting together the fourth book in the series: Now Write! Mysteries. She is greatly missed by authors everywhere.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
November 18, 2021
Each chapter is written by a different established author. The chapters are short, but pack quite a punch, and each one has a useful exercise that the reader can try out to apply the lesson learned while reading the chapter. This book is comprehensive and covers all aspects of writing a mystery–not just plotting and suspense, but creating authentic protagonists, villains, using setting, and writing dialogue.
5 stars!
5 stars!
October 15, 2013
At first I wasn't sure if I would like the format. Each "chapter" is written by a different author and is usually a couple pages of advice on a particular subject followed by an exercise. I thought maybe the book would be nothing but writing exercises with little in the way of guidance, but that's really not the case. It's about half & half, which works out pretty well. The fact that the advice is coming from published authors is extremely helpful. Plus you're getting advice from many people instead of one individual. The advice ranges from excellent to subpar, but combined you get a big picture view on writing a compelling novel.
Just like the advice, the quality of the exercises varies. The good news is that there are a ton of exercises. You could hate half of them and still have more than enough to help you. Personally, I liked to read through this whenever I felt writer's block creeping up. It really helped me clear my head and start writing.
Sometimes it felt more like advertising or narcissism than advice. Some of the authors talk up their own novels as a shining example of whatever their topic is. Plenty of the writers take the opportunity to include excerpts from all their novels with little else. It's annoying when you read one chapter where the author dissects a classic and explains what they did right, or really takes the time to break down a concept for the readers, then the next chapter is basically "You need to writer something evocative and transcendent. Just look at this excerpt from my latest book!." I understand that promoting their name was probably why all these authors agreed to participate, but it's disappointing to see half-hearted attempts.
Also, some of the advice is impractical. I remember one author talking about how she visited NYC to get to know the city before writing her novel. It's true - visiting a place will certainly help you write about it, but it's still bad advice. 1.) It's obvious. It would be like telling me that I should buy a computer if I want to edit a word document. 2.) It's impractical. Not everyone can just hop on a plane and take a vacation in the name of research.
Despite the nitpicks, I liked the book overall. Some chapters are completely useless, but there are enough fantastic entries and exercises to justify buying the book.
Just like the advice, the quality of the exercises varies. The good news is that there are a ton of exercises. You could hate half of them and still have more than enough to help you. Personally, I liked to read through this whenever I felt writer's block creeping up. It really helped me clear my head and start writing.
Sometimes it felt more like advertising or narcissism than advice. Some of the authors talk up their own novels as a shining example of whatever their topic is. Plenty of the writers take the opportunity to include excerpts from all their novels with little else. It's annoying when you read one chapter where the author dissects a classic and explains what they did right, or really takes the time to break down a concept for the readers, then the next chapter is basically "You need to writer something evocative and transcendent. Just look at this excerpt from my latest book!." I understand that promoting their name was probably why all these authors agreed to participate, but it's disappointing to see half-hearted attempts.
Also, some of the advice is impractical. I remember one author talking about how she visited NYC to get to know the city before writing her novel. It's true - visiting a place will certainly help you write about it, but it's still bad advice. 1.) It's obvious. It would be like telling me that I should buy a computer if I want to edit a word document. 2.) It's impractical. Not everyone can just hop on a plane and take a vacation in the name of research.
Despite the nitpicks, I liked the book overall. Some chapters are completely useless, but there are enough fantastic entries and exercises to justify buying the book.
January 6, 2012
This was an awesome book both for a seasoned as well as a beginning mystery author. I especially enjoyed the exercises at the end of each chapter. Getting writing advice from some of the most successful mystery authors in the business was eye-opening, even to me, a published mystery author.
April 26, 2018
There are some brilliant essays and writing exercises in this book. I don't write...mysteries, crime or thrillers but I do want to write page turning books and this book contains different views on how to achieve this...it's a good book to dip in and out of...
August 2, 2012
I like that the "chapters" are so short-- I am picking out a few of them to show to my students when we write fiction in the fall. Varying difficulty level, but I appreciated the concise and practical ones.
August 4, 2012
Now Write! Mysteries provides a whopping ~350 pages of exercises on writing mysterious, thrillers and crime fiction, that are bound to improve your writing, spark creativity and move your manuscript further towards brilliance.
Unfortunately the contributors were also allowed a page or two of explanation before each exercise, which tended to err towards autobiography (not why I read the book) and discussion of the authors own work (only slightly helpful.) Eventually these parts simply blurred into one, and were skim-read, which detracted from the good bits, which could have concisely presented in a 150 page book.
Unfortunately the contributors were also allowed a page or two of explanation before each exercise, which tended to err towards autobiography (not why I read the book) and discussion of the authors own work (only slightly helpful.) Eventually these parts simply blurred into one, and were skim-read, which detracted from the good bits, which could have concisely presented in a 150 page book.
July 28, 2015
Great book for all writers, not just mystery writers. Lots of good essays on writing in general, and even those that focus on mystery/thriller/suspense have takeaways that can apply to most genres. The essays are short and there is an exercise with each.
December 27, 2012
Great advice and exercises on writing. Applicable to all kinds of fiction.
May 18, 2014
Very informative, more interested in the latest in the series on science fiction and fantasy.
October 20, 2014
Excellent installment in the "Now Write!" series with even more exercises to help develop writing skills.
February 10, 2018
Great info. Resulted in twenty pages of handwritten notes. Looking forward to the Screenwriting and Fiction books in this series.
March 2, 2018
This is a very good text with a bunch of essays and exercises from notable authors and teachers. I felt it was a little dry to read for long periods of time, though.
March 29, 2019
These are great exercises and prompts. It's one of those books that I intend to revisit once my other projects are finished.
March 5, 2019
An educational read. Well worth the time spent reading this book.
July 3, 2022
Although my library only just purchased this book, it was originally published in 2011. At first, I thought, "That's not that long ago," but it was, man. It was. I didn't know a lot of the names of authors in this book, since their careers peaked long ago, the advice about writing about other cultures was outdated, and the references about competing against movies and DVDs for your readers' attention were quaint.
Because this book is so dated, I would recommend How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America to someone who is looking for current mystery-writing advice and insight into contemporary publishing trends, but this older book is valuable for people who are seeking mystery-writing exercises to implement.
The short essays in this book vary in quality. Sometimes, they are incredibly insightful, practical, and fresh, and other times, a writer takes up their three pages with excerpts of their latest novel to prove whatever obvious point they're trying to make. However, regardless what specific essays someone finds helpful, many of the suggested exercises are unique, concrete, and beneficial. They're not just vague writing prompts, but are finely tuned exercises for experimenting with different techniques.
The essays and exercises involve every element of mystery writing, and authors from all sub-genres are represented. This book is extremely comprehensive, and the exercises provide a guided way for readers to experiment with new concepts and put things into practice that they might never use in a novel, but that will build a variety of different essential skills.
Because this book is so dated, I would recommend How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America to someone who is looking for current mystery-writing advice and insight into contemporary publishing trends, but this older book is valuable for people who are seeking mystery-writing exercises to implement.
The short essays in this book vary in quality. Sometimes, they are incredibly insightful, practical, and fresh, and other times, a writer takes up their three pages with excerpts of their latest novel to prove whatever obvious point they're trying to make. However, regardless what specific essays someone finds helpful, many of the suggested exercises are unique, concrete, and beneficial. They're not just vague writing prompts, but are finely tuned exercises for experimenting with different techniques.
The essays and exercises involve every element of mystery writing, and authors from all sub-genres are represented. This book is extremely comprehensive, and the exercises provide a guided way for readers to experiment with new concepts and put things into practice that they might never use in a novel, but that will build a variety of different essential skills.
May 22, 2021
Como veo que va a ser una constante de la serie de libros de Now Write, te llevas muchos consejos que aplican sin importar el género literario que elijas. Tiene varios ejercicios que no me gustaron pero no lo hacen un mal libro. La sección de investigación está ridícula y claramente escrita por vatos de países donde hacerte amigo de un policía y pedirle que te lleve a una de sus rondas no significa desaparecer de la faz de la tierra, pero la sección sobre revisión, en contraste, es suuuuper útil.
February 16, 2021
Some books are bad, others should be published at all. This is the second kind of book.
Each chapter of the book is written by different author. Because authors have only a few pages they give the most generic advice ever in advice giving history. You can get better advices about writing on Instagram.
Don't buy this book.
Each chapter of the book is written by different author. Because authors have only a few pages they give the most generic advice ever in advice giving history. You can get better advices about writing on Instagram.
Don't buy this book.
February 28, 2024
It was great, but the advice got kind of samey over time, I had to flip back and forth to see if I had already read the writing advice on a previous page.
But it was still pretty great and I would recommend it to any new writers
But it was still pretty great and I would recommend it to any new writers
November 14, 2021
One of many writing books I read over three months. Writing exercises for the mystery set. Interesting, some useful, others less so.
August 31, 2022
Some interesting exercises!
October 1, 2023
Will be rereading for life so many good ideas and exercises to do. Inspiring and helpful. Wish I had found it before my first book.
May 15, 2015
Some of the exercises were actually quite useful. I haven't even done any yet and I already have some more ideas for my current novel and a more solid frame work for it. However, a lot of the essays, if not the exercises themselves, were quite similar and repetitive, particularly regarding the importance of setting and "show, don't tell." While I highly agree that both of these are important, considering the number of authors contributing to this work, I was hoping for a more diverse range of topics discussed. I was surprised to find any topic mentioned more than once; yes there is a formula of sorts for mystery writing, but there are so many successful authors that have to do it differently from each other--certainly they could find something else equally as important to write on?
December 24, 2013
This is the first Rick Mofina thriller that I have read, and I enjoyed it so much that I wrote him a note to tell him so. I love mysteries and thrillers and his pacing was great in the book. He has crafted a fast tale with interesting characters, that you can keep up with, and unlike other mysteries you don't jump too far ahead of the narrators to solve the problem. He did throw a few curves in the ending and I really enjoyed that. David Morrell also endorsed him and I enjoy his writing as well, so I've picked up some more books and look forward to reading them.
December 22, 2014
I picked up Now Write! Mysteries while browsing the stacks in my local public library. The collection of advice from different mystery and thriller authors is varied and chock full of useful advice. I like to start my writing day with a bit of reading, and this book was perfect for that purpose. Each of the chapters takes only a few minutes to read and has useful exercises to illustrate the authors point. If you are looking for concise, actionable advice on how to improve your mystery writing, this is a good choice.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews