writing crime fiction

tips to improve your crime novels

starting with the crime

we've all heard the advice before - start your book with action! this is especially true with crime, and it's a great way to hook your readers and begin to develop the plot.

in crime fiction, as the genre suggests, your whole novel will most likely revolve around a crime - or crimes - committed in the book! a series of events will incur based of this, including an investigation, motives reveal, suspects, and finally, a resolution. this is why it's important to start your crime story with a bang - possibly even a literal one! ensure your reader is engaged not only in your story, but also in the crime case. they should sympathise with the reader, and also want to find out what happened to them - hence why they'll keep reading!

a complex criminal

a good criminal isn't going to commit a crime that's easy to solve - and the reasons behind their act aren't going to be simple, either. it's important to consider that while writing villains, they're (often) real people too. consider their motives, their flaws, and their strengths - how do they shape them as a person? remember, the bad guy tends to think of themselves as the good guy of their situation!

villains also aren't straightforward. in crime fiction - or even real life - the suspect is often not the criminal, and sometimes there are more layers to the story than it seems. perhaps the accused was framed, or works for the actual villain - your reader won't know until they read your book! in other words, don't make your villain predictable. their reason for their crime should be a reasonable motivation, and they shouldn't be an obvious guess.

risky hero

it can be tempting to try and make our hero perfect, with only strengths and little weaknesses - after all, they are the good guy. however, it's important to remember that just as your villain should have strengths, your hero should have weaknesses! just like any real person, who has a mix of both.

as well as this - even though your protagonist most likely isn't the victim - they still shouldn't be completely outside of the risk zone. in fact, by becoming involved with the case, chances are they've put a target on their back! having your protagonist evade attempted attacks from the antagonist - while trying to find out who they are - is sure to engage your readers in your story! besides, i'm sure you've never heard of a safe crime novel.

honour the victim

although in some stories it can make sense to just use a victim as a plot point, this isn't realistic - and you're wasting numerous opportunities to reveal insight about the setting and era of your book!

this is especially the case in murder mysteries. a dead body shouldn't just be a plot point - as it has impacts far beyond just an investigation! use this as an opportunity to explore the justice in your world. what is the impact of violence, the aftermath? how does the effect vary from a small town, to a big town, or from close friends to a passer-by on the street?

explore your world, and let your readers explore it as well! you can tell a lot about a character from their reactions and relationships, as well as information about the setting and time period.