How to Write a Crime Novel

Introduction

Crime has long since been a beloved and widely read genre that has its roots in mystery. However, crime is more suitable to the tastes of those who perhaps like things a little more gruesome. Known by its monikers “crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel,” crime novels center around the events of a criminal act and the investigation by a capable protagonist (usually a detective of some kind). The crime is usually serious in nature, with the most popular being a murder of some kind.

Crime novels can be tied to other genres, such as historical fiction, mystery, or science fiction (please see our other articles on these genres), but the main tenets of a good crime novel are the crime and the detective. Take for example the unfailingly popular Sherlock Holmes books that have earned many TV and movie remakes over the years. Historically, crime fiction can be found in works as ancient as One Thousand and One Nights. In English, some of the best early known works are those by Edgar Allan Poe who inspired Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes.

Since then, crime fiction novels have continued to be popular, with millions being sold in 2020 amid the pandemic, as readers found themselves with extra time on their hands. Because crime novels are extremely easy to become absorbed in, they provide readers with a mode of escape from their everyday lives. Combined with the right setting and plot elements, works of crime fiction can transport readers into other realms. Crime novels capitalize on a reader’s sense of justice and takes them on a journey through the initial discovery of the crime, the process of solving the crime, and eventual satisfying payoff of having come to a resolution.

Popular subgenres of crime fiction include detective fiction, the cozy mystery, the classic whodunit, the historical whodunnit, the locked-room mystery, the American hardboiled school, the police procedural, forensic crime fiction, legal thrillers, spy novels, the caper story, psychological thrillers, or parodies or spoofs. Works of crime fiction are generally understood to be stories that come with the necessary mood and atmosphere of suspense, urging the reader on even as the moon rests high in the sky and they know they have to be up at 7 in the morning to make it to work.

The key defining characteristic of a work of crime fiction is that the story pays great attention to the details of a crime, leaving the reader clues as to how the story will unfold. Good crime novels get readers thinking, making them a participant in the investigation even as they watch it unfold.

Crime fiction books are expected to hold a certain degree of authenticity in that the story must be appropriately framed by facts and evidence reflecting the instruments of crime. For example, if a person is being murdered by being bludgeoned to death, the writer must offer correct details on what types of bruising might manifest 24 hours later, what the immediate effects of the bludgeoning might be, and how any blood might have scattered to different areas. Paying great attention to detail is essential for a crime novel to be successful.

Readers sometimes criticize crime novels for not being factually accurate. Others might argue that some crimes are implausible or unrealistic. Either way, crime novels must adhere to genre expectations to ensure readers are not distracted from the story.

Writing a Crime Novel

Beginning any work of creative writing can feel extremely overwhelming, but here are some tips to help get you started.

The most essential part of a crime novel is the conflict. What is the central conflict? How compelling is the conflict? Are these conflicts moral or ethical in nature, or is it all external? How do you explore vice in your novel? What are the obstacles that come in the way of them solving their problems?

What are the global values at stake? The global values assess the impact of the unfolding of the crime on the protagonist. In crime novels, the four values at stake are tyranny, injustice, unfairness, and justice. This scale can also be used to describe the scale of the crime and to offer an explanation for the protagonist’s motivation to solve the crime.

Try to determine what the controlling idea or theme of the story is. What do you want your reader to learn from the story? What is the moral of the story? What do you want them to associate your story with? For example, do you want them to align with the interests of the protagonist or the antagonist? Do you want them to believe crime pays off, like in Ocean’s 11, or that all crime is evil, like in Harry Potter?

Consider the essential emotions you want to evoke from your readers, and aim to deliver to them intrigue. Furthermore, you should think about cognitively challenging your readers and make them think hard about who did the crime. How is the trajectory of your discovery going to be different? How are you going to take a different path to the resolution? How are you going to make the killer unobvious? Are they involved in the investigation? Is the killer secretly also the detective?

Consider what motivates the killer, specifically, what is the MacGuffin? The MacGuffin is defined as the something that motivates the antagonist toward their goal or the motivating force that drives the protagonist to bring down the antagonist. This could be a lover, money, information, power, or greed. When choosing a MacGuffin, consider one that can be easily understood by many as a plausible motivation. Something too small, like a cheeseburger as motivation for world domination, would make the story seem silly. However, something too grandiose, like losing a million dollars so the criminal steals a Toyota, would also be silly.

Adding on to the point about intrigue above, what are the Red Herrings you will be using? What are the false cluse that lead the your main character away from the central crime? Who plants them? How large is your network of false clues? How large is your network of criminals?

Engage in world building. Although this is something that all fiction writers should be doing, this is very important for a crime novel. Fleshing out all the essential settings, the crime from beginning to end, and the backgrounds of the antagonist and protagonist and their peer group could offer you a better understanding of your characters and their lives to allow you to write a better story. By building a world before beginning the actual writing process, you can create a reference point in which to situate characters, events, and places.

Think about the characters’ environment; how did they grow up? Who were their immediate family members? What were their greatest concerns? How did they navigate any traumas they might have faced? How did these traumas contribute to their criminal proclivities? What turned your antagonist into a criminal, and what turned your protagonist into a detective? What are their backstories?

Think of ways to add depth, like adding character quirks or providing little-known facts. Memorable details can go a long way into adding nuance and depth to a work, and the more specific the detail, the more memorable it is likely to be.

Further, more specific tips

The main points you should consider when writing a crime novel should be the above, but here are some additional tips.

A lot of readers are irritated by the deus ex machina or any unnecessary plot armor. Don’t provide overly unrealistic solutions to your protagonists. Instead, make them work for it. People enjoy seeing people come out of extremely difficult situations, and the anxiety that builds up over the course of your story shouldn’t be dissipated by a single magical sword falling from the sky or an unexpected villain-converted-ally.

Don’t worry about writing a likeable character. While readers certainly like genre conventions, they do look for difference and novelty among books, and protagonists that are interesting are certainly going to be more intriguing than protagonists that are dependable or easily likeable, like your average run-of-the-mill good-guy fireman.

Consider putting in a ticking clock. One easy way to build up suspense and anxiety is to add in an element like a bomb or an antidote to a poison that’s going to waste the character’s love interest within 24 hours.

Another way to add anxiety and suspense is a clear threat to the antagonist’s safety. Creating this kind of dramatic irony could work well to make the characters attached to the protagonist and to make them think more about how to save the protagonist.

Consider deciding whether the protagonist needs to understand the antagonist’s motivations. Sometimes, a friend turned criminal is one of the most interesting plots to read about.

The above tips can be you started and far along in your writing process, but there are many ways in which you can smoothen the process from introduction to conclusion. My most essential piece of advice is finding the right editor.

Many writers work closely with an editor during the writing process. Editors read widely, so they understand the genres they work in extremely well. Furthermore, they can assist authors with anything from the developmental process to the substantial and stylistic editing processes. They can help you find plot holes, discover ways to spice up your story line, and help you find the best angles from which to write. Furthermore, they can make sure your language is smooth, flows well, and clearly delivers the intended emotional impact. Help yourself navigate your crime novel: find the right editor.