Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [crime]

This tag should be used for questions that are related to the genre of crime in writing, such as how to research the topic so that you will be able to write about it or how to present something to your reader such that they are not able to completely guess the outcome of your story.

This tag should be used for questions that are related to the genre of crime in writing, such as how to the topic so that you will be able to write about it or how to present something to your such that they are not able to completely guess the outcome of your story.

27 questions
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7 answers

Is it morally wrong to use tragic historical events as character background/development?

I'm writing crime fiction. The current scenario is that I have a main character (late 20's) who is Algerian but the story is set in Chicago. He lives in the United States because, as a baby, he fled Algeria with his Uncle after his parents were…
MikeS
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6 answers

What are the basic elements of a crime investigation story?

I've been delving a lot into the the crime investigation genre, and at first I thought "Simple, just start of with Who, What, Where, When, Why and How and you've got yourself a story!" but I quickly realized it's much more complicated than that. A…
Kenan Rhoton
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8
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9 answers

Good idea to describe the heist place before the heist begins?

I'm working on a heist scene where five thieves are supposed to enter a corporate building and steal a few documents. It's supposed to be a major scene so it won't be short. I need the readers to visualize most of the parts of the building so that…
Amin Mohamed Ajani
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8
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4 answers

Is my serial-killer novel horror or crime?

I'm writing a novel which centers around a serial killer and his victims. I'm having a lot of trouble deciding whether it belongs in the horror genre (it's a disturbing, horrific slasher, and a lot of the book works on horror and dread) or in crime…
Standback
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7
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3 answers

Can a mystery novel have more than one mystery in it? And does it have to be a "who dunnit" concept?

I am writing a novel and it goes something like this: In the first half of the novel, the protagonist knows who is doing the killing, but they are trying to make sense of it as in "how are they doing it?" and "why are they doing it?" In the second…
Kora Middleson
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5
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1 answer

What is the stereotypical structure of a crime narrative?

I have been wanting to start work on a short crime novel, but I am not sure how to structure the story- To elaborate, I have a number of scenes that i want to include but i am not sure how to make the story flow without having the reader loose…
Boolean
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4
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2 answers

Who can advise me on how SWAT teams and commanders work?

I am working on a techno-thriller novel revolving about a hostage situation during a bank robbery. The twist is that the perpetrator is not present at the scene. He has sent a remote controlled robot into the bank with a bomb. I have a pretty good…
Tamás Polgár
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4
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2 answers

Who Makes the Front Page Cover for a Novel?

I'm in the middle of writing a crime/thriller book on Microsoft Word 2010. But after writing it, do I have to make a front page cover? Or does the publisher do it for you?
schubert
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4
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3 answers

Where can one go to find police procedures

I'm writing a novel that involves a crime (in the USA) and need to know the proper police procedure and timeline for the events. Where can I find accurate information to help me? More specifics--A natural disaster occurs in a slightly bigger…
superbAfterSemperPhi
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1 answer

Can I use a small part of a real newspaper/online article in fiction?

Can I use a small part of a real newspaper/online article in fiction? Hi everyone I write crime fiction set in my home town, and in my latest novel, a kidnapped woman is left alone in a disused outbuilding of a former mine works, with two local…
Jonathan Burgess
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3
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5 answers

Opening chapter foreshadowing or not?

In my story, a homicide takes place. I want to describe this homicide at the start of the story, through the eyes of the victim, to foreshadow what's about to come. But victim and suspect are both unknown and unrelated to my protagonist. Should I…
psteeg
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1 answer

True Crime writing research: Where do you even begin?

I am in the beginning stages of writing my first book, and it is a true crime novel about something that happened down the street from my own home. My question is to anyone else who has written a non fiction or true crime story: What are my best…
Cassandra Kievits
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0 answers

Start writing literature without reading experience

I am a person who has neither read many literary works nor speaks English as a native language. For a while now, I have become interested in writing and would like to get better on it. Therefore, I figured there may be no more suitable approach than…
Stephen Johnson
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2 answers

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 know how to model a crime to make it interesting and to make it able to involve…
Vito
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3 answers

Third person multiple pov in a crime mystery

Fellow writers, I am plotting a crime mystery novel. I have the story and gist in place. It should have the "whodunit" element. I want to use Third person multiple pov narrative(more than 6+ povs). I've seen it done (but not in mystery) by having…
Akash
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