About
Reviews
Search
Submit
Home

Mystery Books for Sale

[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]


  

WRITING AND SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL
by Hallie Ephron
Writer's Digest Books, October 2005
248 pages
$16.99
ISBN: 1582973768


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Almost all the 'how-to' books on writing are written in generalities. Hallie Ephron deals in specifics with examples, exercises, and instructions.

There are four sections in WRITING AND SELLING. In the first, and longest, section, Ephron takes the writer from planning the book, from the premise to picking a sleuth, on to the crime and the victim, the villain, the suspects, the cast, setting, plot, and finally, picking the title. Each chapter has exercises, references, examples, and charts to help a writer make choices and see how those choices will affect the entire book and/or series.

The second section covers the actual writing of the book. Ephron shows and tells what makes an opening dramatic. She demonstrates how to introduce the main character, and how that process differs from introducing the other people in the book, both major players and minor.

There are chapters on dramatizing scenes, point of view, dialogue and creating a sense of place. The chapter on clues and red herrings was very instructive, as were the chapters on writing suspense versus action. Ephron stresses the importance of writing reflection -- where the detective has time to sort out what's been going on, and on writing the coda, that last section of the book after the denouement, where the loose ends are tied up, or not.

Part three covers revision. This section alone is worth the price of the book. There are only three chapters. 'Flying high' deals with fixing character and plot. 'Flying low' deals more with scenes and sentences. Chapter 25 gives good advice for finding readers who will meet your needs (and those of your book), and deciding what input to use or to disregard.

The last section of 'how-to' deals with the selling end of the business. There's practical advice here, and lots of resources. The 'appendix of resources' is also good. The section on mystery conventions could have been more inclusive, though. Ephron does give lots of websites, information which should lead anyone truly interested in tracking down more conventions to the appropriate places.

If one is willing to do the work, write the exercises and do the research that Ephron suggests, then there is no reason in the world that one won't wind up with a completed manuscript. How good it is will depend in no small part on the writing ability of the creator. The technical aspects ought to be just fine.

All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone who thinks they want to write a mystery novel. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to write any kind of genre novel -- most of the information would readily transfer to science fiction, romance, or westerns. Actually, most of the basic material would work well for someone trying to write a literary work; character development is character development, sense of place is sense of place -- these, and other, aspects of writing are not genre-specific. Ephron does a bang-up job.

Reviewed by P. J. Coldren, April 2006

[ Top ]


QUICK SEARCH:

 

Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]