Customer Reviews

Writing the Modern Mystery (Genre Writing Series)

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Barbara Norville has provided the basic and advanced concepts of writing a mystery. She brings her 20+ years of experience into the book through a detailed analysis of the modern mystery, but still cautions the new writer that the genre is changing as she writes. The successful authors are the ones that come up with something original. This book helps with the technical aspects of writing your mystery. It covers what makes a mystery, motive, plotting, the opening/middle/end, what makes a memorable character, and presenting your manuscript. I found this book very valuable.

After you have read this book, pick up "The Weekend Novelist Writes a Mystery" by Robert J. Ray and Jack Remick and start to become famous.

If you're gonna write, you need this book. Disregard the title. This book speaks across the genre gap. Best plot techniques I've read yet, and I live in North Carolina, so I read a lot. A radial graph appears on page 61, and it's a great tool. THis lady knows what's she's talking about. Her ideas are clear and her lessons are understandable. You won't have to work at understanding, the difficult seems simple.

WRITING THE MODERN MYSTERY has been treading the boards since 1986. Times have changed and the genre has convoluted in the over twenty years, but the basic concepts behind this standard work remain the same as everyone tries to write the "breakout novel," which isn't possible.
Today this is a book to take chapter by chapter over a period of time paying close attention to the techniques described--fine craftmanship never changes.
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