: Re: how to elaborate a crime case I would try to write something as Crime-Detective Story. I'm a beginner of this genre and the first obstacle I find is the "idea" of a crime. I mean, I don't

@Caterina108

Vote Up Vote Down

In my experience of writing crime stories, I've found what works best for me is to have the crime solution the work backwards to the crime. This allows me to make sure all the necessary clues are in place throughout the book to let the reader solve the crime along with the person investigating.

This is also rule one in S.S. Van Dine's 20 rules for writing detective stories, published 1928 gaslight.mtroyal.ca/vandine.htm
Personally, I struggle to do it the other way (by starting with the crime) because then it feels to me like I'm forcing the clues to be placed and trying to avoid the dreaded en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina for the detective to solve it.

(0)

Login to post a comment!