How to Write a Mystery, Writing Thrillers

In his 13 years as a lawyer, Raffi Yessayan, a Boston native, has worked as a prosecutor for the district attorney and served as chief of the Gang Unit. But no challenge has been quite as exhilarating for this debut author as writing his first thriller, Eight in the Box, about a serial killer dubbed “The Blood Bath Killer” and the legal team who tries to catch him.

by Jordan E. Rosenfeld Read more

Ken McBeath’s "The Fish Ivory Man" took first place in the Mystery/Crime category of the 2008 Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards. To read the grand-prize winning entry and other first-place finishers, click here. Read more

Richard Mazziotti’s "Brother’s Keeper" took first place in the Suspense/Thriller category of the 2008 Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards. To read the grand-prize winning entry and other first-place finishers, click here. Read more

Each year International Thriller Writers lines up some of the biggest names in publishing for four days of learning, networking and pitching in New York City. ThrillerFest 2008 actually consists of three events. At ThrillerFest, avid thriller readers and writers can mingle with their favorite New York Times-bestselling authors, including James Patterson, Sandra Brown, Brad Thor, Kathy Reichs and Eric Van Lustbader. Read more

A short story about a mother”s revenge wins grand prize in the 2003 Writer”s Digest Annual Writing Competition. Read more

Craft vicious villains with this psychiatrist’s guide to writing bad guys with real problems. Read more

Mary Feuer’s short story follows an obsession that’s dark, detailed and devastating—and worthy of this year’s grand prize. Read more

Capture your readers’ interest at the very first paragraph. Read more

Dean Koontz has kept a lot of people turning a lot of pages. How? Most would respond that his plots, characters and storytelling all contribute, and indeed they do. But a fourth element keeps those pages turning, an element all writers can learn from. Koontz explains to interviewer Brad Crawford about the power of language itself. Read more

Award-winning author Orson Scott Card explains in depth the techniques of inventing, developing, and presenting characters and of handling viewpoint in novels and short stories. Here are some general thoughts all writers can benefit from. Read more

Writing a bestselling, Oprah-endorsed novel doesn’t necessarily prepare you for the world of children’s literature, as Jacquelyn Mitchard discovered. Read more

Exclusive interview with four-time Edgar Award nominee, Jeffery Deaver. Read more

“In large measure, you do this work because you need to do it … you’re inventing material that makes your experience somehow both accessible to you and reasonable to you so that you understand where you have been in your life.” Read more

Author of The Writer”s Guide to Character TraitsProfessional psychologist and author, Dr. Linda Edelstein, speaks about the uses of psychology in current fiction and how writers build the characters we read– From criminals to cult members and everyone else in between. Read more

“I really feel that the only way you can sell something is to keep it out there. Every time I sent something out, when it came back rejected, I’d immediately send it again. I think of it like I do war ships—if you keep a war ship in port, you’re not improving it. It needs to be out at sea doing its mission. It’s the same with a good manuscript.” Read more

“I wish I had known back then that a mastery of process would lead to a product.” Read more

In this exclusive interview, Ridley Pearson, The New York Times best-selling author of 13 novels explains that well-conducted research into the kinds of characters you are writing is essential for writers. Read more