English 4006 Writing the (Mystery) Novel
Semester: Fall, 2001
Time: Monday nights, 6:00-9:00 p.m.
Place: LSU Campus, exact location TBA
Teacher: Malcolm K. Shuman
When I first taught this course in 1992, there was no such thing as e-publishing and the internet was in its infancy. The syllabus below incorporates these developments and several other refinements based on my experience over the years as a writer, teacher, national awards prize judge and writing coach.
Those who are seeking a course in the theory of mystery novel writing will be disappointed. This is not a course in literary criticism, which I will leave to the specialists in English literature. Rather, this is a course in the practical, or nuts and bolts, aspect of how to write a mystery novel and market it. I can’t promise the student will go on to become a best-selling mystery writer—that takes time, perseverance and not a little luck. But I can promise that the student who applies himself or herself will have made a start.
I’ve learned that in this kind of course standard examinations are meaningless. What is more valuable is for the students to proceed through a series of exercises and how well they do the exercises determines the grade. The exercises focus on writing the first part of a mystery novel (I say “the first part” because there isn’t enough time in the course to write a whole novel) and include outlining recent mysteries to get a sense of structure and pacing; developing an effective first chapter; writing dialogue; seeing things from the antagonist’s point of view; choosing the right names for characters; outlining the book you plan to write; writing query letters; and various other exercises. Classroom format includes lecture, discussion, written exercises, videos, and usually a guess lecturer or two on the subject of crime and/or the law. A final word: To get an A in this class requires work and to fail the course requires that you seldom or never attend or hand in any work.
The only requirements for this course are that you be (a) motivated enough to attend and do the assignments and (b) literate enough to be able to write correct English. You needn’t be able to write Nobel-quality prose, but you have to be able to distinguish “lay” from “lie” and know a sentence from a sentence fragment.
There is no text, but I have appended a list of references that will be helpful to any mystery writer, published or unpublished.
I. Introduction:
What is a mystery?
What will be covered in the course?
What will be expected?
What should you expect by the end of the course?
19th century origins of the mystery: Poe, Collins, Dickins and others
Late Victorian/Edwardian: Doyle
Early 20the Century: Chesterton, Wallace and others
English Golden Age: Christie, Carr*, Allingham, Phillip MacDonald, Sayers
American PI: Hammett, Chandler, Ross MacDonald, Parker
Rule: The most successful mystery is one where the book is not a mystery per se but has a mystery in it!
Whodunits vs. whydunits vs. howdunits
Fornulas
Mystery vs. horror vs. terror vs. spy/intrigue vs. thriller
The crime
The solution.
The protagonist.
The criminal.
The rules of fair play. Roger Ackroyd, etc.
IV.
Analysis of
specific mystery novels:
Examples of some mainstream works with mystery elements
(TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, ALL THE KING’S MEN)
Mystery novels using Edgar nominees as examples:
(THE BOTTOMS, A PLACE OF EXECUTION, A DANGEROUS ROAD, RED LIGHT, THE WHOLE TRUTH)
Outlining to get a sense of pace and construction.
P.I. (Robert Parker, John D. MacDonald, Robert Crais)
Police Procedural (Ed McBain)
Caper (various)
Serial Killer (Harris, Crais)
Thematic (Francis)
Anthropological (Hillerman)
Historical (Ellis Peters, Saylor, Elizabeth Peters))
Forensic (Elkins, Cornwell)
Legal (Grisham, Turow)
Cozy (Christie)
Political Mystery (Elliott. Roosevelt, Margaret Truman).
American Mainstream Mystery (Leonard)
American Nihilist (Vachss)
VI.
Writing the
Mystery:
Getting the concept and developing it
Outlining/sketching.
Theme: Keeping true to the idea
Viewpoint (POV)
Omniscient: Multiple POV with frequently shifting excursions into the consciousness of different characters.
Multiple POV: easiest to move along action
Third person, single character: Allows development of one character and allows descriptions to flow more easily
First person: “Purist’s” choice, but limiting
First person as the protagonist
First person as observer of a great person (larger-than-life protagonist)
Multiple POVs: Seldom, except as part of journals and letters, a 19th
Century technique (DRACULA)
Second person: Rare
Mixed first/third person POV: The lazy writer’s expedient, but more popular these days.
Character
Dossiers on your characters
Choosing the right names
The semantic differential: What do names connote?
The protagonist
KGB officer in Kaminski and Cruz. Would he work
if a Gestapo officer?
Human flaws
How weak is too weak? Character development
The end of the alienated hero?
The villain/antagonist
How bad and how human?
Villains we love (to hate)…the Hannibal syndrome
The love interest
How far to go…
Pacing the development of affection
Relationships
Secondary characters
The most dangerous people (They tend to run away with things!)
Plot: An exercise in problem solving by interesting characters
The man who jumped out of the pit
Setting:
Write what you know.
Researching what you don’t know.
Conveying to the reader what is familiar to you.
Tense
Past versus present
Present: Turow’s PRESUMED INNOCENT
Present going into past as recollection (Lansdale’s THE BOTTOMS)
Standard Past: Most popular
The imperfect past…
Beginning:
The Hook
“Don’t begin at the beginning” (Block)
How to jump-start a novel that takes time to develop (Elmore Leonard’s GLITZ)
The function of the prologue
Suspense
Employing change of POV to hold suspense
Use and misuse of “the man with a gun”
Suspense development should not be unbroken! (Ups and downs)
Research
Sources
Writer’s Digest books on crime
Friendly experts
Internet sources
Clues
How to “salt” the novel
The clue placed before the “red herring”
The clue placed before the distraction (e.g., the interrupting phone call).
Dialogue:
Key: Dialogue should only sound real, not be real
Dialect
Exercise with dialogue
Description and descriptive passages:
Use and overuse. Rule: Beginners write purple prose!
Paring the sentence: Cutting adjectives and adverbs.
Rule: Show, don’t tell
Pacing:
Keep it even!
Transitions
Key: The reader doesn’t want to know every step, so cut to the chase!
The middle of the book
The problem of bogging down.
The end
Wrapping things up.
The surprise ending
Tom Savage’s VALENTINE as an example.
Length
Chapters
The whole manuscript
The price of words is rising!
Crossing genres: funny mysteries, sci-fi mysteries, etc.
Danger and opportunity
VII.
Marketing:
The secret of success (persistence)
General comments on today’s market
Economics of publishing
Commercial versus Self- versus Vanity- versus e-publishing
Small versus large press
Agents versus direct submissions
Kinds of agents
Rule: The agent should pay you not vice versa.
Marketing tools:
Writers Market
Literary marketplace
Writers Guide to Book Publishers, Editors and Literary Agents
Literary Agents of North America
Query letters and outlines
Manuscript preparation
Computers
Format
Materials
Contract terms
Advances
Royalties
Royalty statements
Foreign sales
Hardback versus Mass Market Paperback versus Trade Paperback (versus print-on-demand?)
Production
Title (You should be so lucky as to have yours used!)
Copy editing
Cover
Galleys
What you can do to market
Etiquette with editors and agents
Critics: The people nobody builds statues to.
Advertising
Writing the mystery series
Writers’ organizations
What happens if all fails?
This is by no means a complete list of books for the mystery writer but I think it does contain some of the better works available on the subject.
Aristotle
1954 Rhetoric and Poetics. Modern Library, New York.
It all starts with this guy.
Balkin, Richard
1977 A Writer’s Guide to Book Publishing. Hawthorn, New York.
A lot’s changed since this book was published but there are still many things in the book that are still relevant.
Bickham, Jack M.
1996 Writing and Selling Your Novel. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
Good fairly recent source on writing and marketing.
Block, Lawrence
1978 Writing the Novel from Plot to Print. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
This may be dated in some respects but it’s by one of the masters and is worth the price for just one piece of advice he gives.
Card, Orson Scott
1999 Characters and Viewpoint. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
Two important subjects by a well-known writer.
Cleaver, Diane
1984 The Literary Agent and the Writer. The Writer, Boston.
The late Diane Cleaver was an agent, and though some of the trends she mentions (i.e., horror) have run their courses, much of what she says is still very useful.
Delton, Judy
1982 The 29 Most Common Writing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
Good little book with a check list of mistakes to avoid.
Frey, James N.
1994 How to Write a Damn Good Novel II. St. Martins Press, New York.
A very good book for the advanced writer.
Goldin, Stephen and Kathleen Sky
1983 The Business of Being a Writer. Harper & Row, New York.
Dated, but many of the points are still valid.
Haycraft, Margaret
1984 Murder for Pleasure: The Life and Times of the Detective Story. Carroll & Graf, New York.
A good history of the mystery genre, including the rules of fair play.
Hall, Oakley
1989 The Art and Craft of Novel Writing. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
A great writer and teacher explains how to write novels.
Larsen, Michael
1985 How to Write a Book Proposal. Writer’s Digest Books, Cincinnati.
Good info on how to approach editors and agents, by an agent. Deals with nonfiction but all fiction writers should at least be aware of how to submit nonfiction projects.
Lerner, Betsy
2000 The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers. Riverhead Books, New York.
Wonderful is the only word to describe this jewel from an ex-editor, now an agent.
MacCampbell, Donald
1978 The Writing Business. Crown, New York.
Though dated, what this agent says still rings true and is an excellent view of how an agent sees things.
McKee, Robert
1997 Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. HarperCollins, New York.
Though this is about screenwriting, it has much of value for the novelist.
Marshall, Evan
1998 The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
An agent gives a formula for writing a mystery. It’s limited (and limiting) but it does work.
Meredith, Scott
1987 Writing to Sell (3rd Edition). Harper & Row, New York.
Many felt the late Scott Meredith was as much huckster as literary agent but what he says in this book is of great value to all writers.
Nicholas, Ted
1993 How to Publish a Book and Sell a Million Copies. Enterprise, Indian Shores, FL.
Okay, so you won’t sell a million copies, but he has some good techniques for promotion.
Noble, William
1994 Conflict, Action and Suspense. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
How to move your story along.
Norville, Barbara
1986 Writing the Modern Mystery. Writers Digest, Cincinnati.
Good primer on how to write mysteries.
O’Cork, Shannon
1988 How to Write Mysteries. Writers Digest, Cincinnati.
Another good “how to” book.
Perkins, Lori
1999 The Insider’s Guide to Getting an Agent. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
Probably the best recent book on agenting.
Ross, Marilyn and Tom Ross
1999 Jump Start Your Book Sales: A Money-Making Guide for Authors, Independent Publishers and Small Presses. Creative Communication, Buena Vista, CA.
Though mainly for self-publishers they have many good ideas for promotion.
Rubie, Peter
1995 The Elements of Storytelling: How to Write Compelling Fiction. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Simply one of the best books on fiction writing yet, by a New York agent and writer.
2000 The Everything Get Published Book. Adams Media, New York.
Has a lot of good information for beginners.
Rubie, Peter and Gary Provost
1998 How to Tell a Story: The Secrets of Writing Captivating Tales. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
An excellent text by a successful agent (Rubie) and the late Gary Provost
Swain, Dwight V.
1990 Creating Characters: How to Build Story People. Writers Digest, Cincinnati.
A great help when fleshing out your characters.
Vogler, Christopher
2000 The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (2nd Ed.). Michael Weise Productions, Studio City, CA.
A “must read” book that looks at writing from the standpoint of myth and explains how all good novels follow a mythic quest pattern.
:
Wood, John
1996 How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query and Cover Letters. Writers Digest, Cincinnati.
Good little book on how to make initial contact with agents and editors.
Zuckerman, Albert
1993 Writing the Blockbuster Novel. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
A truly excellent book on what it takes to write bestselling novels, with step-by-step examples.
.
Technical and Forensics
Baden, Michael
1989 Unnatural Death: Confessions of a Medical Examiner. Ivy Books, New York.
Fascinating account of some of Baden’s greatest cases. Those who believe in the JFK conspiracy should read what Baden has to say.
Douglas, John
1997 Journey Into Death. Pocket Books, New York.
Interesting if depressing book about and by FBI profiler John Douglas.
Manhein, Mary
1998 The Bone Lady. LSU Press, Baton Rouge.
Our own forensic anthropologist gives the low down on local cases she’s investigated.
Simpson, Keith
1987 Forty Years of Murder. Dorset, New York.
The biography of one of England’s most famous pathologists.
Smith, Sir Sydney
1988 Mostly Murder. Dorset Books, New York.
England’s other famous pathologist tells us.
Ubelaker, Douglas and Henry Scammell
1991 Bones: A Forensic Detective’s Casebook. Edward Burlingame Books/HarperCollins, New York.
Some of the greatest cases of one of the Smithsonian’s two famous forensic anthropologists.
This is a generally very helpful series of technical books, each of which puts a lot of information in one place.
Bintliff, Russell
1993 Police Procedural: A Writer’s Guide to Police and How They Work. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
Blythe, Hal, Charlie Sweet and John Landreth
1993 Private Eyes: A Writer’s Guide to Private Investigators. Writer’s Digest , Cincinnati.
Chase, Elaine R. and Anne Wingate
1996 Amateur Detectives: A Writer’s Guide to How Private Citizens Solve Criminal Cases. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
Corvasce, Mauro and Joseph R. Paglino
1997 Murder One: A Writer’s Guide to Homicide. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
Fallis, Greg
1998 Just the Facts, Ma’am: A Writer’s Guide to Investigators and Investigation Techniques. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
Favron, Fay
1999 Missing Persons: A Writer’s Guide to Finding the Lost, the Abducted and the Escaped. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
Newton, Michael
1990 Armed and Dangerous: A Writer’s Guide to Weapons. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
Stevens, Serita D. and Anne Klarner
1990 Deadly Doses: A Writer’s Guide to Poisons. Writer’s Digest Books, Cincinnati.
Wilson, Keith D., M.D.
1992 Cause of Death: A Writer’s Guide to Death, Murder and Forensic Medicine
Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
Wingate, Anne
1992 Scene of the Crime: A Writer’s Guide to Crime Scene Investigations. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
Miscellaneous
Anonymous
1983 How to Create a New Identity. Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ.
All mystery writers should know how crooks change identities.
Cohen, Daniel
1990 The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes. Dorset Books, New York.
Many classic crimes are included though it’s outdated.
Gaute, J.H.H. and Robin Odell
1993 The New Murderers’ Who’s Who. Dorset Books, New York.
Lots of classic cases, though a lot’s happened to a lot of people since 1991.
Jeffers, H. Paul
1995 Bloody Business: Scotland Yard’s Most Famous and Shocking Cases. Berkeley Books, New York.
Good education in the Yard’s detectives and criminals.
King, Dennis
1994 Get the Facts on Anyone: How You Can Use Public Sources to Check the Background of Any Person or Organization. Prentice-Hall, New York.
Good introduction to basic public sources, though pre-internet.
Lane, Brian and Wilfred Gregg
1995 The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. Diamond Books, New York.
Again, many other names have joined these ranks since 1994 but there are some infamous folks listed between these covers.
Nash, Jay Robert
1983 Open Files: A Narrative Encyclopedia of the World’s Greatest Unsolved Crimes. McGraw-Hill, New York.
One of the best of the “unsolved crimes” genre; Nash’s comments on the Jack the Ripper murders are especially interesting.
Anonymous
2001 The Literary Marketplace. Bowker Publications.
This is THE reference for all writers, but it costs an arm and a leg and is best found in libraries.
2001 The Writer’s Market. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
Useful but not nearly so good a value as the Herman book.
2000 The Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market. Writer’s Digest, Cincinnati.
Not bad, but, again, Herman’s book is better.
Derie, Kate
2001 The Deadly Directory. Deadly Press, Ca.
Invaluable sourcebook for mystery writers.
Herman, Jeff
2001 Writer’s Guide to Book Editors, Publishers and Literary Agents. Prima Press, Roseville, CA.
Far superior to the Writer’s Digest annuals.
Magazines
The Writer. Boston. The best in a field of two. The oldest magazine for writers, under new management.
Writer’s Digest. Cincinnati. Sometimes I think they’re as interested as getting money out of writers as they are in helping writers. They have some good articles but are full of hype—just like the writing game itself!