From the Publisher:
Writing mystery fiction can be a special kind of puzzle. In this new edition of the Mystery Writers of America classic, Sue Grafton weaves the experience of today's top mystery authors into a comprehensive mystery writing "how-to."
You will learn how to piece a perfect mystery together and create realistic stories that are taut, immediate and fraught with tension.
The book's contributors include a "who's who" of the mystery writing elite:
Part I: Preparation
1. The Rules and How to Bend Them
by Jeremiah Healy
2. Sparks, Triggers, and Flashes
by Marilyn Wallace
3. On Work Schedules
by Dick Lochte
4. Writing with a Partner, or ... What Part of "No" Don't You Understand
by Warren Murphy
5. Expertise and Research
by Faye Kellerman and Jonathan Kellerman
6. Where Do I Find a Jewish Indian? or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Research
by Stuart M. Kaminsky
7. Background, Location, and Setting
by Julie Smith
Part II: The Process
Beginning
8. Characterization
by Michael Connolly
9. Rounding Up Your Characters
by Margaret Maron
10. Writing a Series Character
by Sara Peretsky
11. The Amateur Sleuth
by Nancy Pickard
12. Vivid Villians
by Sandra Scoppettone
13. In Search of a Novel
by George C. Chesbro
14. Building Without Blueprints
by Tony Hillerman
15. Outlining
by Robert Campbell
16. Perspectives on Point of View
by Loren D. Estleman
17. Dress for Success: Developing Your Personal Style
by Carolyn Wheat
The Middle
18. How to Write Convincing Dialogue
by Aaron Elkins
19. Pacing and Suspense
by Phyllis A. Whitney
20. Depiction of Violence
by Bill Granger
21. Clues, Red Herrings, and Other Plot Devices
by P.M. Carlson
22. The Book Stops Here
by Lawrence Block
The End
23. In the Beginning is the End
by John Lutz
24. Revision
by Jan Burke
25. How to Find and Work with an Agent
by John F. Baker
26. Dial M for Market
by Russell Galen
27. The Mystery Novel From an Editor's Point of View
by Ruth Cavin
Part III: Specialties
28. Writing Mysteries for Young Readers
by Joan Lowery Nixon
29. The Joys and Challenges of the Short Story
by Edward D. Hoch
30. The Medical Thriller
by Tess Gerristen
31. Legal Thrillers
by Linda Fairstein
32. Historical Mysteries: The Past is a Foreign Country
by Laurie R. King
33. From the Cradle to the Pen: The Evolution of a True Crime Writer
by Ann Rule
34. E-Media - Crime Fiction E-Volves
by G. Miki Hayden
35. The Best of the Genre and a Reference List of Books on Writing and Technical Information
by Angela Zeman and Barry Zeman
Sue Grafton (ed.): Writing Mysteries. A Handbook by the Mystery Writers of America. Writer's Digest Books, ISBN: 1582971021 (April, 2002), 256 p., $16.99
|