Let’s get started. Crime is the most popular genre in the literary world, with good reason, but that means it’s also the most crowded. This week we will explore the hallmarks of crime writing and its sub-genres so you can decide, then focus, on what space to write in for maximum success and exposure.

Outcome: By the end of this week you will have a clear understanding of the depth and breadth of the various crime genres, and clarity as to where your talents and interests fit, so your novel has the strongest commercial potential.

We can’t all be experts in every walk of life, profession or community we seek to depict. Instead, we must rely on research, and others, to guide us. Once we know the as-is, we can then decide how far to veer from that. ‘Every word, in every paragraph, in every scene, in every chapter must earn its place on the page,’ underpins the ethos that technical detail is there to shore up the story and characters, not to suffocate them.

Outcome: This week, you’ll explore the principles of research, turning research into riveting drama, how to source and treat experts, and what to expect from them. You will consider sensitivity and cultural advisors and whether you need them, then how to move forward with confidence.

Now we have a story idea, it’s time to get writing. Readers love to be drawn into crime stories by a combination of gripping, intriguing characters, clever but real world plots they can relate to, all peppered with pace, tension and suspense. As writers we must deliver that experience and this week we will work on techniques which force your audience to read ‘just one more chapter.’

Outcome: You’ll find the plotting techniques that work for you, learn how to deliver dynamic, pacy stories which ramp up the tension, and create seemingly impossible battles for your protagonist. You’ll be comfortable with developing deep and fascinating characters, avoiding cliché and archetype.

So, where in the world are we? It is often said that place is a character in itself. Whether you are basing your stories in real worlds or fictional, the places need to be authentic (but not always realistic) and have depth and edges which draw your reader in and amplify the tension. Time is part of setting too, so you’ll learn how to capture the moods, trends and dialogue of when your story is set, adding dimension where mere description can struggle to do.

Outcome: You’ll be familiar with choosing, then depicting, the places and time that suits your story and characters. You will understand the pros and cons of real worlds vs. imagined, and how much and little to set out for the reader – including techniques to spark their imagination.

It’s not what you say, it’s the way you say it. The way characters speak and interact says more about them than any physical description ever can. It denotes power, hierarchy, vulnerability, and intent. It can evoke empathy, suspicion, even hatred. Yet so much dialogue is bland, undifferentiated, and not in the least bit natural. Approaching this essential part of storytelling intelligently does more to fire up plot and character than anything else.

Outcome: This week, you will become comfortable with writing illustrative and authentic dialogue which readers will believe. You will develop ways to evoke character traits, and to seed and drive story. You’ll learn how to write dialect, class and realistic speech that draws a picture for the reader without them realising.

One of the golden rules of crime writing is that you must never deceive the reader. Another is never to leave loose ends or incomplete arcs. That said, twists, surprises, and red herrings are essential elements. The sign of a stunning twist is for all the breadcrumbs to be there in plain sight, but masked by deflection and curve balls. The stunning reveal should come alongside the closure of your main characters’ arcs, which often makes endings as tricky as beginnings.

Outcome: By the end of this week, you will learn how to write twists and red herrings by subterfuge, seeding but not deceiving. You will be comfortable with endings that show, not tell, a stunning denouement, how to avoid the ‘Southfork Breakfast’ and how to draw your characters’ arcs to a close.