Product Description
Improve your writing today with YOUDUNIT WHODUNIT!, a short and practical how-to guide to CRAFTING mystery stories.
Created by multi-published mystery author, Nicola Furlong, this e-book offers simple tricks and techniques, supported by concrete examples, which you can apply immediately to novels, short stories, screenplays, radio dramas or television scripts.
REVIEWS
“Nicola Furlong has written a fun, engaging 'how to' book about writing mysteries. She is witty, thorough and she certainly knows what she's talking about.”
(Maureen Jennings – author of the DETECTIVE MURDOCH series. MURDOCH MYSTERIES have been adapted for television and is now in its third season.)
“… a snappy guide that effectively covers the bases for the beginning mystery writer. You'll pick up useful insights into plot, character, point of view, suspense and so much more. The many tips should also help you find your unique style. If anything will kick start your first foray into crime writing, this great little resource will. I sure wish it had been around when I waded blindly into writing.”
(Mary Jane Maffini - author of the Camilla MacPhee, Fiona Silk and Charlotte Adams mysteries www.maryjanemaffini.com)
YOUDUNIT WHODUNIT! HOW TO WRITE MYSTERIES covers specific writing essentials, including:
STRUCTURE:
• Key Elements of a Three-Act Tragedy
• Beginnings with a Bang
• Into the Belly of the Middle Ground
• Nailing Endings
CHARACTER:
• Picking Points of View
• Concocting Major, Secondary and Minor Characters
• Dialogue Ditties
STORY:
• To Plot or Not to Plot
• @#% Ideas
• Twists and Turns
• Gotta Have Pace
• Kicking up Suspense
• Clues and Red Herrings
• Flashbacks and Transitions
• Types and Styles of Mysteries
EXCERPTS:
STRUCTURE: Chapter 2: Hit ‘Em Early, Hit ‘Em Hard
Hook and shock your audience by rocketing straight to the main crime or another crime so something important is happening, has just happened or will just happen. Set up the central plot problem (e.g., kidnapping or murder) or a major plot problem (like a stolen artefact or a missing person). This forces your villain forward; there's no turning back.
CLUES: Chapter 18: Is That A Clue Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?
Clues are the traces of guilt left behind by culprit. A good clue will eventually point in the right direction but initially seems to point in the wrong direction, or it means something different than expected, or it points nowhere.
Earl Stanley Gardner described clues as sequences; in other words, he suggested that a clue is a succession or series of related events. The succession of related events may occur close together or many pages or chapters apart.
For example, we know that a cold beer creates beads of moisture on its glass container. Now, if our suspect states that he finished his lager a couple of hours ago and our dazzling detective spots beads on the glass, guess what? The detective knows the suspect is lying.
It's dead easy…so read on dear Watson. The game's afoot!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicola Furlong survives the travails of writing by playing hockey, gardening and eating chocolate.
She is a shameless self-promoter, creates book trailers and is the co-creator of a new multimedia storytelling platform called the Quillr™. Her first Quillr™, a controversial suspense thriller, may be experienced at www.unnaturalstates.com.
Nicola is the author of two stand-alone mysteries (Teed Off! and A Hemorrhaging of Souls), and six inspirational cozies from the Church Choir Mystery series, including The Nervous Nephew, The Angel’s Secret, The Unsuitable Suitor and The Sad Clown Affair.
She has also written The Go-To Gardening Cards, and has adapted two of her novels to screenplays; both were optioned for television.
Nicola lives in small town on southern Vancouver Island. For more info, visit www.nicolafurlong.com and www.epubbing.com
Created by multi-published mystery author, Nicola Furlong, this e-book offers simple tricks and techniques, supported by concrete examples, which you can apply immediately to novels, short stories, screenplays, radio dramas or television scripts.
REVIEWS
“Nicola Furlong has written a fun, engaging 'how to' book about writing mysteries. She is witty, thorough and she certainly knows what she's talking about.”
(Maureen Jennings – author of the DETECTIVE MURDOCH series. MURDOCH MYSTERIES have been adapted for television and is now in its third season.)
“… a snappy guide that effectively covers the bases for the beginning mystery writer. You'll pick up useful insights into plot, character, point of view, suspense and so much more. The many tips should also help you find your unique style. If anything will kick start your first foray into crime writing, this great little resource will. I sure wish it had been around when I waded blindly into writing.”
(Mary Jane Maffini - author of the Camilla MacPhee, Fiona Silk and Charlotte Adams mysteries www.maryjanemaffini.com)
YOUDUNIT WHODUNIT! HOW TO WRITE MYSTERIES covers specific writing essentials, including:
STRUCTURE:
• Key Elements of a Three-Act Tragedy
• Beginnings with a Bang
• Into the Belly of the Middle Ground
• Nailing Endings
CHARACTER:
• Picking Points of View
• Concocting Major, Secondary and Minor Characters
• Dialogue Ditties
STORY:
• To Plot or Not to Plot
• @#% Ideas
• Twists and Turns
• Gotta Have Pace
• Kicking up Suspense
• Clues and Red Herrings
• Flashbacks and Transitions
• Types and Styles of Mysteries
EXCERPTS:
STRUCTURE: Chapter 2: Hit ‘Em Early, Hit ‘Em Hard
Hook and shock your audience by rocketing straight to the main crime or another crime so something important is happening, has just happened or will just happen. Set up the central plot problem (e.g., kidnapping or murder) or a major plot problem (like a stolen artefact or a missing person). This forces your villain forward; there's no turning back.
CLUES: Chapter 18: Is That A Clue Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?
Clues are the traces of guilt left behind by culprit. A good clue will eventually point in the right direction but initially seems to point in the wrong direction, or it means something different than expected, or it points nowhere.
Earl Stanley Gardner described clues as sequences; in other words, he suggested that a clue is a succession or series of related events. The succession of related events may occur close together or many pages or chapters apart.
For example, we know that a cold beer creates beads of moisture on its glass container. Now, if our suspect states that he finished his lager a couple of hours ago and our dazzling detective spots beads on the glass, guess what? The detective knows the suspect is lying.
It's dead easy…so read on dear Watson. The game's afoot!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicola Furlong survives the travails of writing by playing hockey, gardening and eating chocolate.
She is a shameless self-promoter, creates book trailers and is the co-creator of a new multimedia storytelling platform called the Quillr™. Her first Quillr™, a controversial suspense thriller, may be experienced at www.unnaturalstates.com.
Nicola is the author of two stand-alone mysteries (Teed Off! and A Hemorrhaging of Souls), and six inspirational cozies from the Church Choir Mystery series, including The Nervous Nephew, The Angel’s Secret, The Unsuitable Suitor and The Sad Clown Affair.
She has also written The Go-To Gardening Cards, and has adapted two of her novels to screenplays; both were optioned for television.
Nicola lives in small town on southern Vancouver Island. For more info, visit www.nicolafurlong.com and www.epubbing.com
