by Marg McAlister | Mystery and Crime, Plotting
If there’s one thing that really annoys readers of mysteries, it’s being able to guess who the villain is by page 30. This happens for a variety of reasons, including: the author being so determined to ‘play fair’ that she makes it too...
by Marg McAlister | Plotting, Mystery and Crime, Writing Fiction
Here’s a quick question for you: what’s easiest to write – a ‘woman in jeopardy’ story or a police procedural? If you are (or have been) a police officer, then ‘police procedural’ might be the answer for you. If you know...
by Marg McAlister | Mystery and Crime, Plotting
Some time ago I happened to critique several scenes in one week for a writer. In two of them, she’d made life much too easy for her characters. In the first scene, complete strangers offered the children shelter and food. In the second, one of them needed to...
by Marg McAlister | Plotting, Mystery and Crime, Writing Fiction
I admit that this might start to sound a bit like the developments in your favorite (or most-hated) soap opera – but remember: readers LOVE to be surprised! Your job is to tread the fine line between giving them a plot twist that they didn’t see coming,...
