BOOKS ON WRITING THRILLERS, MYSTERIES, AND OTHER CRIME FICTION:
“HOW TO WRITE A THRILLER,” from Amazon, list with links:
How to Write a Damn Good Thriller: A Step-by-Step Guide for Novelists and Screenwriters by James N. Frey
Elements of Fiction Writing - Conflict and Suspense by James Scott Bell
Writing a Killer Thriller (An Editor's Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction) by Jodie RennerWriting the Thriller by Trish Macdonald Skillman
The Arvon Book of Crime and Thriller Writing by Michelle Spring and Laurie R. King
Write a Bestselling Thriller: A Teach Yourself Creative Writing Guide by Matthew Branton
How to Write a Thriller by Scott Mariani
Writing the Thriller Film: The Terror Within (Michael Wiese Productions) by Neill D. Hicks
Writing for Emotional Impact: Advanced Dramatic Techniques to Attract, Engage, and Fascinate the Reader from Beginning to End by Karl Iglesias
Writing a Thriller by André Jute
“HOW TO WRITE A MYSTERY NOVEL,” from Amazon, list with links:
How to Write a Damn Good Mystery: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide from Inspiration to Finished Manuscript by James N. Frey
Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel by Hallie Ephron
Don't Murder Your Mystery [Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction Book] by Chris Roerden (2006)
Writing Mysteries by Sue Grafton (2002)
The Elements of Mystery Fiction: Writing the Modern Whodunit by William G Tapply
How to Write a Mystery by Larry Beinhart
How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries: The Art and Adventure of Sleuthing Through the Past by Kathy Lynn Emerson
Youdunit Whodunit! How to Write Mysteries by Nicola Furlong (2009)
Mystery Writing in a Nutshell by John McAleer, Andrew McAleer and Edward D. Hoch
How to Write Killer Fiction: The Funhouse of Mystery & the Roller Coaster of Suspense by Carolyn Wheat
How to Write a Dick: A Guide for Writing Fictional Sleuths from a Couple of Real-Life Sleuths by Shaun Kaufman and Colleen Collins
Breaking Into The Mystery Short Story Market: It's No Crime! by Brendan DuBois
Write Good or Die by Scott Nicholson, Gayle Lynds, Kevin J. Anderson and M.J. Rose
“WRITING CRIME FICTION,” from Amazon, list with links:
Police Procedure and Investigation: A Guide for Writers (Howdunit) by Lee Lofland Writing Crime Fiction by Naomi Hirahara, Max Allan Collins, Stephen Gallagher and Dave Zeltserman
The Crime Interviews Volume One: Best-selling Authors Talk About Writing Crime Fiction by Len Wanner and Louise Welsh
Crime Writing Tips For Beginners by Kelvin Jones
The Crime Interviews Volume Three: Best-selling Authors Talk About Writing Crime Fiction by Len Wanner and William McIlvanney
Meet a Jerk, Get to Work, How to Write Villains and the Occasional Hero by Jaqueline Girdner and Ronald Hudson
More Forensics and Fiction: Crime Writers Morbidly Curious Questions Expertly Answered (Murder and Mayhem) by Douglas P. Lyle
The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing by Rosemary Herbert, Catherine Aird, John M. Reilly and Susan Oleksiw
Crime Fiction (The New Critical Idiom) by John Scaggs
Writing a Killer Thriller (An Editor's Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction) by Jodie Renner
The Writer's Complete Crime Reference Book by Martin Roth
The Cambridge Companion to American Crime Fiction (Cambridge Companions to Literature) by Catherine Ross Nickerson
The Crime Writer's Reference Guide: 1001 Tips for Writing the Perfect Murder by Martin Roth (2003)
Now Write! Mysteries: Suspense, Crime, Thriller, and Other Mystery Fiction Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers by Sherry Ellis and Laurie Lamson
The Crime Writer by Gregg Hurwitz
Forensics For Dummies by Douglas P. Lyle
Howdunit Forensics by D. P. Lyle
The Arvon Book of Crime and Thriller Writing by Michelle Spring and Laurie R. King
Body Trauma: A Writer's Guide to Wounds and Injuries (Get It Write) by David W. Page
The Criminal Mind by Katherine Ramsland
The Crime Writer's Handbook (Allison & Busby Writers' Guides) by Douglas Wynn (2004)
(5 stars, 1 customer review)
Teach Yourself Writing Crime Fiction by Lesley Adamson
Crime Writers Reference Guide by Martin Roth
The Crime Interviews Volume Two: Best-selling Authors Talk About Writing Crime Fiction by Len Wanner and Ian Rankin
FBI Handbook of Crime Scene Forensics by Federal Bureau of Investigation (2012)
Writing Crime Novels by John Paxton Sheriff
Writing Bestselling True Crime and Suspense: Break into the Exciting and Profitable Field of Book, Screenplay, and Television (Writing Guides) by Tom Byrnes
Writing Crime and Suspense Fiction: And Getting Published (Teach Yourself Series) by Lesley Grant-Adamson
How to Write Crime by Marele Day
How to Write True Crime That Sells by Gera-Lind Kolarik and Delores Kennedy
Writing Crime Fiction (Writing Handbooks) by Henry Reymond Fitzwalter Keating
Scene of the Crime: A Writer's Guide to Crime Scene Investigation (Howdunit Series) by Anne Wingate (1992) (av. 4.5 stars, 14 customer reviews)
Amateur Detectives: A Writer's Guide to How Private Citizens Solve Criminal Cases (Howdunit Writing) by Elaine Raco Chase and Anne Wingate (1996) (av. 3.5 stars, 6 reviews)
Police Procedural: A Writer's Guide to the Police and How They Work (Howdunit) by Russell L. Bintliff (Sep 1993) (av. 3.5 stars, 9 customer reviews)
Armed and Dangerous: A Writer's Guide to Weapons (Howdunit Writing) by Michael Newton (Aug 1990) (av. 3 stars, 9 customer reviews)
Deadly Doses: A Writer's Guide to Poisons (Howdunit Writing) by Serita Deborah Stevens and Anne Klarner
Also:
BBC: Writing Crime Fiction A master-class held by crime fiction authors Minette Walters and Mark Billingham in March 2004.
Raymond Chandler, The Simple Art of Murder
Writers and readers: Do you have any good craft or resource books to add, for crime fiction writers? Or any opinions on any of the titles listed here? Any you've found particularly useful? Please let us know in the comments below. Thanks!
Jodie Jodie Renner, a freelance fiction editor specializing in thrillers and other fast-paced fiction, has published two books (& e-books) to date in her series, An Editor’s Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction: Writing a Killer Thriller and Style that Sizzles & Pacing for Power, both in e-book & print. Upcoming book: Immerse the Readers in Your Story World. For more info, please visit Jodie’s author website or editor website, or find her on Facebook or Twitter, and read her blog posts on The Kill Zone and Resources for Writers. To subscribe to Jodie’s "Resources for Writers" newsletter please click on this link.
What a list! I have at least 8 of the books you mention, and giving it another scan did not see THE FBI HANDBOOK OF CRIME SCENE FORENSICS; THE INVESTIGATION OF CRIME by William T. Forbes; BODY TRAUMA, A WRTIER'S GUDE TO WOUNDS AND INJURIES by David W. Page, MD, FACS; DEADLY DOSES: A WRITER'S GUIDE TO POISONS by Stevens/Klarner; SCENE OF THE CRIME, A WRITER'S GUIDE TO CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATIONS by Anne Wingate, PhD.
ReplyDeleteThanks for another great resource, Jodie!
Wow! Thanks for all your great recommendations, Peg! I'll add them right away!
ReplyDeleteFantastic list, just in time for my Christmas wish list. And Peg's additions are great, too. Only goes to show great minds think alike seeing I have all but one of the eight additional titles on Peg's list. Yeehaw! Thanks for this list.
ReplyDeleteYes, thanks again, Peg. I added your suggestions to the list. Anyone else have any good books to add?
ReplyDeleteA favorite of mine from long ago is Writing the Blockbuster Novel, but Albert Zuckerman, who later became my agent. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, LJ. Does that one give advice on writing thrillers, mysteries or crime fiction? I should start another list on just really good craft books on writing compelling fiction in general! I have about 40 of them!
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely passing this post along to one of the members in my writers group, who is working on a thriller. She's pretty new to the game and will be very interested in some of these books. Thanks for the list!
ReplyDeleteTerry
Thanks, Terry! Glad to be of help! And by the way, my Writing a Killer Thriller is only $2.99 and an excellent resource!
ReplyDeleteExcellent list, Jodie, and lots of books I never knew about. I need to take a closer look at these and get busy snatching some up.
ReplyDeleteSuper list, Jodie. I'm going to post a link to this post on my website's Resources page.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Thanks, Linda!
ReplyDelete