- 304 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
The Arvon Book of Crime and Thriller Writing
About This Book
This is the second book in the Arvon series of books on writing. Written by two distinguished writers in the field, Michelle Spring and Laurie R. King, the book reveals, with riveting honesty, why and how authors are drawn to write about crime. The book also features fascinating insights from twenty-six top crime-writing guests. The Arvon Book of Crime and Thriller Writing is a detailed, practical guide to writing every kind of crime story, from classic whodunits to fast-paced thrillers. The book's objective is to bring together some of the lessons and insights that the authors and contributors have learned over their careers, to help the readers to free their creative minds, while also studying the solid technique behind writing in this genre. The Arvon Book of Crime Writing captures the essence of Arvon teaching into a practical handbook for writers, packed with tips and advice from leading novelists as well reflections on the genre itself and practical instruction on great storytelling. The Arvon Foundation runs professional writing courses by published writers and provides expert tuition and creative support. Contributors from leading crime writers include: Lee Child, P.D James, and Ian Rankin. The Arvon Book of Crime Writing is divided into three sections: Part 1 - Essays on critical issues in the genre, Part 2: Guest Writers - 25 contributors offering advice and tips Part 3: How To Write Crime.
Frequently asked questions
Information
Part 1:
On a life of crime
Reflections I
1. âI always knew I wanted to be a writerâ
2. Reasons to write a crime novel
- To lighten up. While it is not infrequently the case that writers of, say, experimental fiction find an emotional release in their work, for crime novelists (who deal with the dark things that we push aside in order to get on with everyday life) the cathartic attraction of writing can be decisive. This was certainly the case for me.
There was a time in my life when my sleep was punctured by nightmares. When I was constantly scanning for signs of danger. When I couldnât pass a dark doorway without stiffening in fear.
Writing crime changed all that. I transferred my dark thoughts on to the page, and the nightmares receded. As long as Iâm beavering away at a crime novel, I sleep like a lamb. - To satisfy the story-telling urge. Items in the news, memories from the past, things that puzzle or fascinate or frighten you: once you begin to exercise your imaginative muscles, youâll find yourself, as I did, constantly bumping up against stories that demand to be told. They just keep coming, and they wonât be denied.
- For companionship. Itâs an open secret that writers can be difficult people to know: gloomy, competitive and bitchy. Romantic novelists are reputed to be backstabbers to a woman â though it goes without saying that the few whom I know well are sweetness and light. But crime writers are a remarkably convivial and good-hearted lot. They work hard â the pressure to produce a book a year is no joke â but they pass up no opportunity for fun. Crime-writing conventions are just one such opportunity, exhausting, exhilarating and irresistible. (Weâll give details at the end of the book.)
- As an outlet for aggression. It is widely mooted within the crime fraternity that crime writers are easy to hang out with precisely because they channel belligerent impulses into their writing, leaving them, in real life, meek and mild. I wouldnât like to confirm or deny that rumour. But I can tell you that a crime novel is a great place to park your rage. The prospect of giving vent to righteous anger in a safe form can be particularly attractive for women, who are taught, from an early age, that aggression is unfeminine. A sharp-tongued woman is subject to sanctions that rarely apply to a sharp-tongued man, and a woman who meets provocation with an outburst of rage â let alone a well-placed punch â is likely to be deemed a shrew and a slag.
But draft a crime novel and all thatâs set aside. When I first came to write a scene where my private investigator was required to defend herself against a knife-wielding man, I drew on that submerged feeling of rage. Once Iâd made the leap into my imagination, punches and kicks came surprisingly easily. More than that, I found that writing a fight scene was good clean fun. I suspect that Iâm not the only one who derives from writing crime novels the pleasure of letting rip â entirely on the page. - For the thrill of research. As someone whoâs done both, I can confirm that the research you do as a crime writer is every bit as satisfying as scholarly research â and itâs far more diverse.
Research has given me an entrĂ©e into worlds that I wouldnât otherwise know. It has taken me to see children, some as young as eleven, who had been locked up for murder, arson and rape. Itâs taken me to a refuge in Notting Hill to interview Filipina maids whoâve fled abusive British-based employers â TNTs, as the women are called in their own language. Itâs taken me to a formal tea with diplomats at an Arab embassy, while in the background a horse race thundered across the television screen.
In the interests of research, Iâve breached security in Britainâs tallest skyscraper, provoking an outburst from a security guard who was caught napping on the job. Iâve worked with a forensic artist as she reconstructed human features from a fleshless skull and magicked into being up-to-date âphotographsâ of a child whoâd vanished years before. Iâve posted notices in womenâs washrooms inviting prostitutes to interview; one of the conversations that followed was a poignant exchange with a teenager who begged me to find her a job as a call girl. Dilemmas about the ethics of research, you see, are not confined to scholars alone.
The central character in my series novels, Laura Principal, is a cool and likeable private investigator, so I am spared the need to master the intricacies of police work. But even so, I get a lot of help from the police, particularly from a high-ranking officer who once upon a time was my graduate student. The Inspector keeps me on the straight and narrow. She provides information on serious matters â like airport security and the condition of corpses â and on more frivolous matters, too. After sheâd read a draft of one of my novels, I received a fax from police headquarters with a stern reprimand: Female police officers do not, I repeat not, wear regulation underclothes. - To foster humility â and freedom. If you are determined to produce a really outstanding novel, but you want to avoid becoming swell-headed, then crime writing is for you. No matter how sparkling your prose, how penetrating your insights, how prolific your output, how ambitious your writing, you are unlikely to be ushered into the salons of the Literary Elite.
Instead, you will be greeted by phrases like â âWhat do you do? What sort of books? Oh, I see, a crime writer.â
Or â âDâyou know, youâre good enough to write a real book.â
Or by the smug declaration,â I donât read crime.â
Incidentally, when someone says to me, âI donât read crimeâ, I am pierced by a suspicion that the speakerâs knowledge of crime fiction is trapped in the world of Agatha Christie.
3. The shadow of violence
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Contents
- Foreword by P. D. James
- Preface to series by Carole Angier and Sally Cline
- Introduction by Michelle Spring and Laurie R. King
- Notes on format and terminology
- Part 1: On a life of crime
- Part 2: Tips and tales â guest contributors
- Part 3: Write on: Getting your story across
- Acknowledgements
- Resources and reading
- Endorsements
- Novels by Michelle Spring
- Novels by Laurie R. King
- eCopyright