Rules for writing a crime novelist

Turns out, I was right.

Chandler wrote hard-boiled novels during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Ask a question now. Are there rules for writing a great detective story?

Van Dine thought so. He was the author of the Philo Vance detective novels, which were tremendously popular when published but have since faded into obscurity. Van Dine is actually a pseudonym for Willard Huntington Wright, an art critic who hid his hard-boiled habit behind a pen name.

InVan Dine put forth a set of 20 rules, saying, "for the writing of detective stories there are very definite laws — unwritten, perhaps, but none the less binding; and every respectable and self-respecting concocter of literary mysteries lives up to them.

All clues must be plainly stated and described. No lesser crime than murder will suffice.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would probably beg to differ. Such methods for learning the truth as slate-writing, Ouija boards, mind-reading, spiritualistic seances, crystal-gazing, and the like, are taboo.

To end an odyssey of sleuthing with such an anti-climax is to hoodwink the trusting and kind-hearted reader.

Tell us below or on Twitter thethreadmpr. Sign up to get an exclusive weekly book pick, literary news and event details.Elmore Leonard's rules for writers Next month, the doyen of hardboiled crime writers is publishing a new book, 10 Rules of Writing.

The following is a brief summary of his advice. Below are his ten commandments for writing a detective novel: 1) It must be credibly motivated, both as to the original situation and the dénouement.

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2) It must . BY MICHAEL KARDOS I recently interviewed fellow crime novelist Gregg Hurwitz about his new thriller, Don’t Look Back. It’s an action-packed story set in How to Research Your Crime Novel. By: Adrienne Crezo | February But if you’re writing a crime novel, sooner or later you’re going to have to do research.

And when it comes to. Elmore Leonard is a crime fiction genre writer. View the node about him if you want more information (though admittedly the writeups there aren't very substantial).

He came up with these ten rules he uses for his own crime stories. Elmore Leonard: 10 Rules for Good Writing. George Orwell: 6 Questions/6 Rules. The detective must not himself commit the crime.

The detective must not light on any clues which are not instantly produced for the inspection of the reader. The stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal any thoughts which pass through his mind. Ten rules for writing fiction Get an accountant, abstain from sex and similes, cut, rewrite, then cut and rewrite again – if all else fails, pray.

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