John Dean – Crime Writer

Here’s another Handy Hint for emerging writers. You need to keep something from the reader if you are writing a crime novel, preferably something big which when revealed has them understanding the clues you dropped earlier in the story and amazed that they did not pick up on them.

Like what, I hear you ask? Well, I have used everything from crimes we did not know had happened to red herrings which hide a family secret (Agatha Christie was particularly adept at this).  I have also used secrets involving revenge, theft (money, money, money!) involvement in organised crime, protection of friends and family, eradicating those who would seek to reveal the truth about a character, and, of course, that reliable standby, love.

Revealing your story gives your story huge momentum and every story benefits from that.

The key thing for the author when they begin to reveal their secrets is to ensure that they strike the reader as credible, that they are something which could plausibly lead a person to commit a serious crime. Done right, it gives your writing power which will have writing turning those pages.