How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America

This is an excellent book on the craft of writing mysteries, consisting of essays from a broad range of mystery writers and professionals. While some writing books are clearly for beginners, this is well-suited for writers of all levels. It reminded me of attending panels at a writing convention and absorbing advice that has been heard before, but enjoying it again because it's being presented so well. Notable contributors to this book include Charlaine Harris, Jacqueline Winspear, Lee Child, Craig Johnson--I could go on and on, and the table of contents is a veritable who's-who of the genre. Topics range from various kinds of mystery to writing for children or intellectual properties to writing techniques to what happens after the show more writing. I was especially amused by the contrasting chapters on whether or not to outline. show less

I picked up this book out of curiosity, hoping to gain some insight into the secrets of writing a mystery. What I found was a treasure of excellent advice not only for putting together a mystery story but for basic story development, self-publishing, and marketing in general. I recommend this book to anyone serious about the writing process. I jotted down pages of notes, and hopefully my writing efforts will improve as I put to use the advice offered in this book. Many successful authors contributed their opinions and learning to this book, each one addressing a particular topic. It was interesting that some of the contributing authors gave advice that conflicted with that of other contributing authors. It goes to show you that there is show more not one road to success. Preferences, personalities, and perseverance play a large part in how one approaches the task of writing a book. Again, there is a wealth of helpful information here for anyone serious about professional writing. show less

Four stars for this one, which contains a lot of good advice if you want to become a writer.

This book will not teach you how to write, but it would teach you everything else if you want to become a writer. Full of good advice by top selling authors, this book is an eye opener about writing and how hard it is. It becomes a little dense at some parts, but in general, a very interesting read.

As a reader of mystery/crime and such, this was an interesting journey into the writing processes of many of my favourite authors. It gives me a much deeper appreciation of the books I've read, thank you.

A collection of essays by different mystery authors on the various aspects of writing and mysteries. Good information especially for the beginner.

This is an anthology put together by the Mystery Writers of America (MWA) and is all about writing. Unfortunately it's boring. No thrillers here.

One of many writing books I read over three months. Focuses on a genre I don't normally write in. Some of the advice is better than others, but that's true of most of these.