Building a Mystery: Four Writers on Crafting Crime Fiction

Рет қаралды 58,906

7 жыл бұрын

To celebrate the 2017 Edgar Awards for mystery writing, four crime novelists talk about what it takes to write stories that kill. Explore the dark alleyways of the publishing industry with this panel featuring (from left to right) Alex Segura, Lori Rader-Day, Julia Dahl, and Reed Farrel Coleman.
Reed Farrel Coleman has been called a “hard-boiled poet” by NPR’s Maureen Corrigan and the “noir poet laureate” in the Huffington Post. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Robert B. Parker’s “Jesse Stone” series.
Julia Dahl is a journalist specializing in crime and justice. Her first novel, “Invisible City,” was a finalist for the Edgar Award and was named one of the Boston Globe's Best Books of 2014.
Lori Rader-Day, author of “The Day I Died,” “The Black Hour,” and “Little Pretty Things,” is the recipient of the 2016 Mary Higgins Clark Award and the 2015 Anthony Award for Best First Novel. She lives in Chicago, where she is the president of the Mystery Writers of America Midwest Chapter.
Alex Segura is a novelist and comic book writer. He is the author of the Miami crime novels featuring Pete Fernandez, "Silent City," "Down the Darkest Street" and "Dangerous Ends," all via Polis Books.
Recorded April 26th, 2017

Пікірлер: 31

@rudylabsilica2286 6 жыл бұрын

Fast forward to 18:18 to get right to the topic!

@l.c.3155 6 жыл бұрын

thank you for the hint.

@azmudd7827 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks

@jbrown5539 6 жыл бұрын

Thank you, I wish I read this earlier. A lot of these forums evolve awkward and unnecessary backstories.

@jbrown5539 6 жыл бұрын

Involve

@Fluxxxx 5 жыл бұрын

Not all heroes wear capes

@asht2058 Жыл бұрын

NOTES 07:10 Referrals play a huge role (in publishing). 11:16 Competition doesn't guarantee success. Winning competitions don't mean you are on the path to publishing a book. Also, losing a competition doesn't mean you are not good enough to publish a book. Discipline and consistency matter. 18:44 "If I'm not interested in the character then the readers are not gonna be interested in the character." 21:19 Write what you're obsessed with 23:04 How do you get ideas for standalones? Choosing new imaginary friends over real yet fake friends. 28:27 Are your books inspired by real crime? Lori Rader-Day is a pantser: "What if?" 33:06 How does a comic book not influence your fiction? 33:51 "There are themes that reappear in your novels even though you're not trying to write that theme" What's your common theme? Reed - You can't know somebody. Lori - The road not taken. Alex - Redemption. Julia - Perils of denial. 37:16 Are MFAs useful? 44:40 What's the best writing advice ever received? Read a lot, write a lot. Just do the work and finish it. 45:57 One tip about building suspense in a novel? Reed is also a pantser. "If it excites us... If it's suspenseful to us, it will be suspenseful to you." Lori: Raise questions. Develop a character that your readers are gonna care about. 50:25 Reed to Lori: Do you let the characters take over the story?

@jollyjoy22 6 жыл бұрын

skip to 18:18

@DawnAllen 2 ай бұрын

If you have the support and the passion, an MFA is worth it.

@Reneekelley68 7 жыл бұрын

Great talk. Thanks Strand!

@KateKrauss 4 жыл бұрын

Fantastic. Inspiring. Thanks, Strand!

@danwd555 7 жыл бұрын

Really enjoyed this!

@lunakid12 6 жыл бұрын

Well, FTR, the Babinski (not "Bubinski") reflex referred to (at ~31:30) was completely (shall we say, gravely) misunderstood. First, it has nothing to with the dead (other than it's just like any other tests the dead don't care to respond to). Second, newborn children do respond to it. Third, what makes infants interesting here at all is that they respond differently from normal healthy persons (older than 1 year). Fourth, an abnormal (or missing) response indicates neurological anomalies -- and that's what this test is for. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_reflex

@zurckoni 6 жыл бұрын

good one. enjoyed this.

@afro_2583 5 жыл бұрын

Great love this type of talks

@teachinganoldcook5665 6 жыл бұрын

This was great.

@tonybulmer6365 5 жыл бұрын

Theme? Yes that is a good question. What are your themes?

@justincruz5720 4 жыл бұрын

30:20 Why did they laugh there? This guy’s telling a story about how his friend died from a gunshot wound and they just chuckle. Am I missing something here?

@kulak8548 4 жыл бұрын

Looks to me like Suzanne who is being pointed at off camera made some sort of reaction that the two on the left saw.