Edgar award nominee James N. Frey, author of the internationally best-
selling books on the craft of writing, How to Write a Damn Good Novel,
How to Write a Damn Good Novel II: Advanced Techniques, and The Key:
How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth, has now written
what is certain to become the standard "how to" book for mystery writing,
How to Write a Damn Good Mystery.

Frey urges writers to aim high-not to try to write a good-enough-to-get-
published mystery, but a damn good mystery. A damn good mystery is first
a dramatic novel, Frey insists-a dramatic novel with living, breathing
characters-and he shows his readers how to create a living, breathing,
believable character who will be clever and resourceful, willful and
resolute, and will be what Frey calls "the author of the plot behind
the plot."

Frey then shows, in his well-known, entertaining, and accessible (and
often humorous) style , how the characters-the entire ensemble, including
the murderer, the detective, the authorities, the victims, the suspects,
the witnesses and the bystanders-create a complete and coherent world.

Exploring both the on-stage action and the behind-the-scenes intrigue,
Frey shows prospective writers how to build a fleshed-out, believable,
and logical world. He shows them exactly which parts of that world show
up in the pages of a damn good mystery-and which parts are held back just
long enough to keep the reader guessing.

This is an indispensable step-by-step guide for anyone who's ever dreamed
of writing a damn good mystery.

Download File Size:4.03 MB

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