Customer Reviews

How to Write Killer Fiction: The Funhouse of Mystery & the Roller Coaster of Suspense

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sporting perhaps the worst cover foisted off on a name author, "How to Write Killer Fiction" has a lot more going for it on the inside than the outside. Writing about a topic she knows well, Carolyn Wheat gives readers the wealth of her experience in writing mystery and suspense novels.

Broken up into three sections, Wheat examines the differences between mystery (puzzles, myth, clues, intellectual satisfaction) and suspense (nightmare, fairy tale, surprises, emotional satisfaction) in the first two and the correct way to approach penning both. She delves into the writing details of subgenres of mysteries that feature the police procedural, hardboiled detectives, and amateur sleuths, while flipping the coin to highlight the ordinariness of the heroes in suspense fiction.

Highly helpful in these two parts are the in-depth analysis of the nature of story arcs and how they should best be played out in the two genres. Wheat provides insider tips on how to establish a flow that will not jar avid fans of each genre. Also stellar is the idea that at their core these two genres mirror the heroic epics of long ago, myth and fairy tale being the basis for all writing that ultimately resonates with the reader. And fortunately for us, the essence of myth and fairy tale are condensed here for those hoping to make their own works more lasting.

Part three focuses on general writing tips and looks at the styles of the "Blank Pager" and the "Outliner" - respectively those who write not having a complete plan and those who are meticulous in their conceptions - pointing out the strengths and weakness inherent in each approach and how best to learn from the counterpart style. Editing the novel is afforded quite a bit of coverage at the end and much of the advice here runs to the spare style favored by both today's readers and their audience.

To this end, the author has written a "How To" that doesn't mince words and goes straight to the heart of how to write great mystery and suspense novels. The book moves along at a clip and is brimming with helpful advice. I don't even write in those two genres and I found myself getting quite a bit from the book.

Very good and well recommended.

Carolyn Wheat, an accomplished mystery author, has written one of the best books about genre writing that I have ever read. Using compelling examples, she provides a clear and concise overview of the elements of effective mystery and suspense. After giving valuable information about the history of the two related genres, she devotes special attention to each and shows where and how they overlap. In addition to a strong focus upon the structure of the work, she addresses beginnings and middles, the arc of the story, genre formats, and scene and style. She gives special emphasis to effective endings for both suspense novels and mysteries. Wheat covers all the bases and takes it one step further by discussing writing process, the difference between "Outliners" and "Blank Pagers," and what to do when the piece is finished. Her three page summary of "The Writing Process: Tools to Help You Finish" is worth the price of the book. Also provided is a bibliography of useful books to learn theory, for research, or to find good examples to emulate. HOW TO WRITE KILLER FICTION is an excellent reference and how-to book. All writers who wish to infuse mystery, suspense, or simply a tighter, punchier style to their writing should get this book. ~Lori L. Lake, Midwest Book Review

I read this the first night I got it. It answered my number one question -- howcum the mystery I wrote doesn't work? Could you ask more of a book? Well, you could for this one. It is well written, easy to understand, practical in its advice, and best of all, fairly profound on the philosophy behind the mystery writer's (or thriller writer's) craft. The only thing I would do differently, if I had the chance, is to read this BEFORE I wrote a whole book without knowing whether it was a mystery or a thriller.

This book covers writing for the genres of Mystery, Suspense, and Thriller.

Mystery: I'd recommend this section to anyone writing a mystery. The mystery section is excellent and well done. It gives great examples, describes the genre elements necessary to a mystery, goes through various subgenres, and gives examples.

Suspense/Thriller: Then I get to this section. Suspense and thriller are done together, with the focus on suspense. Where I got excellent examples of mysteries, for Thriller, I got "once upon a time" fairy tale stuff. Little was discussed about core elements of a thriller, no real examples given, and only a few subgenres were even mentioned--one of which, even at the time of this book's publication--is no longer selling well (techno). The section made me wonder if the author actually read any Thrillers.

So for Mystery writers, it gets 3 stars; for Thrillers, I wouldn't recommend it.

Pros: A great book on how to craft mystery & suspense.

Cons: If you don't care about suspense, then this book isn't for you. But I'd say you're crazy.

Thoughts: There don't seem to be many writing books dedicated to the specific techniques of genre. The book is split in two parts. The first half is mystery, and the second half is suspense. The author does a good job of explaining how the techniques used can often be very different. The suspense half of the book is just plain old Good Storytelling, and the tricks explained in that section would work for almost any story. Who doesn't want a suspensful story?

Summary: I wish more books on storytelling were like this. Just buy it.

I really thought I knew all there was to writing suspense, but I wanted more insight to mystery. So at the Murder in the Grove conference, I had the honor to meet Carolyn Wheat and buy this book.

On the plane ride home from the conference, I found myself immersed in this book like it was a real life page turning suspense roller coaster.

Carolyn's insight on this genre is amazing and she should have said this was a foundation guide for mystery and suspense writing because anyone who picks up this book will no doubt after reading it, know how to write in this genre.

With easy to understand terminology, lots of examples and references, How to Write Killer Fiction is the bible for how to write mystery and suspense.

I myself will treasure this book for years to come and will highly recommend it to any writers out there. Of course no ones touching my copy because its signed by the author. nah-nah!

Sylvia Hubbard, Author of Stone's Revenge http://sylviahubbard.com

I saw this book on the website of a local bookstore. I've been interested in learning more about the mystery and suspense forms for a while. The summary caught my eye, so I went down to the store and picked it up.

I found the prose direct and to the point. Wheat organized the book in a format that is easy to follow and brings the reader the sought after information rather rapidly. The book does not skimp on details though. She is thorough with providing examples, explanations and reviewing information to reinforce her point.

Wheat addresses the forms of mystery and suspense separately, dividing each into four arcs. Once she is through talking about the two genres, she talks about different writing styles: Outlines and Blank-Pagers. The strengths and weakness of each are discussed in detail. I found this section to be particularly enlightening, as I have tried both forms in my effort to find my own rhythm. Her insight hit home.

This is a great book to add to a writer's library. I would not limit it to mystery or suspense writers, but those who seek to understand these genres for their own enrichment. For me, the book was a good buy.

I read this book twice in a row just so I could fully absorb the lessons put forth by the author. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Granted, it's geared towards mystery and suspense writers, but anyone interested in writing can pick up lessons from this book. It's gotten me to look at my mystery novel in a new light and with renewed energy. If you want to write a mystery or suspense novel, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

I was tabbing this book so much with sticky notes I gave up. Its all good and an excellent tool in writing suspense/mystery/thriller stories. Especially for those who wan tto know the differnce between mystery and suspense! I'm a published author and strongly believe we whould all go back to the basics once in a while, relearn them and hear it from a different perspective.
Recommend Goal, Motivation and Conflict, by Deb Dixon, Complete Guide to Heroes and Heroines, Tami Cowden et al, 20 Master Plots and how to build them, Ron Tobias.

Carolyn Hart, Mystery Maitresse, suggested this book to me. She was right. I was gratified to discover just how many things I am already doing correctly without any understanding of the structure provided by this book. Ms. Carolyn Wheat provides valuable insight into a great many other issues. Yes, this book will provide guidelines for the next several weeks. Thank you.