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Secrets to Writing a Mystery
Paperback
Series: Write Novels That Sell, Book 6
General ReferenceWriting Instruction
ISBN13: 9781738022175
Publisher: Fictionary Press
Published: Jan 28 2026
Pages: 458
Weight: 1.16
Height: 1.02 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
Unlock the secrets to writing a bestselling mystery novel.
This book solves the puzzle of deep structure specific to mysteries and guides you through an actionable, flexible process to outline, write, and edit a mystery novel.
Through the process, you'll
- Learn to identify your mystery type (Cozy, Traditional, Detective)
- Assemble your essential cast of characters (Sleuth, Victim, Suspects, and Culprit)
- Anchor your story with the five mystery story arc scenes.
- Develop your story with genre-specific patterns and scenes.
- Learn how secondary plots and subplots can be woven into the mystery plot.
- Deepen your story by giving victims fatal flaws and anchoring culprit motives in personal stakes.
- Structure the story by choosing the right POV strategy to control tension and effectively drop clues and red herrings.
Use this book as a reference, and from now on, you'll write every mystery with confidence.
As with all the books in the Write Novels that Sell series, we give you the theory-the why behind our recommendations-and you use the actionable advice to understand the theory and apply it.
Are you a writer ready to move beyond the basics and dive into the deep structure that powers commercially successful mystery novels? Then this book is for you.
Parise for Secrets to Writing a Mystery:
While reading this book, I kept thinking, I wish I had this book when I wrote my own mystery. Secrets to Writing a Mystery brilliantly demystifies the genre. It's an essential, insight-packed guide for mystery writers. Clear, actionable, and full of those ah-ha moments that change the way you write. -Iris Applewood, Author of Fragrance of Forgotten Truths
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