How to write a detective story with an exciting story?

Despite its relative youth as an independent literary trend, today the detective is one of the most popular genres. The secret of such success is simple - the mystery carries away. The reader does not passively monitor what is happening, but takes an active part in it. Anticipates events and builds their own versions. Grigory Chkhartishvili (Boris Akunin), the author of the famous series of novels about detective Erast Fandorin, in his interview once told how to write a detective. According to the writer, the main factor for creating an exciting story is a game with the reader, which must be filled with unexpected moves and traps.

To inspire an example

Many authors of popular detectives do not hide the fact that they received inspiration, reading works of outstanding masters of this genre. For example, the American writer Elizabeth George has always admired the work of Agatha Christie. He did not resist the charades of the great author of detective prose and Boris Akunin. The writer generally admitted that he adores detective stories in the English style and often uses the techniques characteristic of them in his works. About what contribution to the detective genre made Arthur Conan Doyle with his famous character, probably, it is not worth much to say. As a hero, like Sherlock Holmes, is the dream of any writer.

Become a criminal

To write a real detective, you need to come up with a crime, because the mystery associated with it always stands at the heart of the story. So, the author will have to try on the role of the attacker. To begin with, it is necessary to determine what will be the nature of this crime. Most of the known detective stories are built on the investigation of murders, thefts, robberies, kidnappings and blackmail. However, there are also many examples where the author captivates the reader with an innocent incident that leads to a clue to a great mystery.

Turn back the clock

After choosing a crime, the author will have to carefully think over it, since the real detective conceals all the details that lead to the denouement. Masters of the genre are advised to take advantage of the reverse timing. To begin with, it is necessary to decide who committed the crime, how he did it and why. Then you need to imagine how the attacker will try to hide the deed. Do not forget about accomplices, left evidence and witnesses. These clues build an exciting storyline that gives the reader the opportunity to conduct his own investigation. For example, the famous British writer Pee Di James says that before she starts creating an exciting story, she always comes up with a clue to the mystery. Therefore, when she is asked about how to write a good detective, she responds that one should think like a criminal. The novel should not look like a boring interrogation. Intrigue and tension - that's what's important.

Building a story

Detective genre, like any other literary direction, has its subgenres. Therefore, answering the question about how to write a detective, professionals advise to begin to decide on the choice of a method for plotting the storyline.

• A classic detective story is given in a linear form. The reader conducts an investigation of the committed crime together with the main character. He uses the keys to the riddles left by the author.
• In an inverted detective story, the reader at the outset witnesses a crime. And the whole subsequent plot revolves around the process and methods of investigation.
• Often, writers of detectives use a combined storyline. When the reader is asked to look at the same crime from different sides. This approach is based on the effect of surprise. After all, the established and slender version breaks down at one point.

Interested reader

Introducing the reader into the course of the matter and intriguing by presenting a crime is one of the main stages of creating a detective. It does not matter how the facts become known. The reader can himself witness a crime, learn about it from the story of the character or find himself at the place of its commission. The main thing is to have hooks and versions for the investigation. The description should have a sufficient number of plausible details - this is one of the factors that should be taken into account when examining the question of how to write a detective story.

To keep intrigue

The next important task of the beginning author will be to keep the reader's interest. History should not be too simple, when it is clear at first that the "scuba diver" killed everyone. The far-fetched plot will also quickly get bored and disappoint, since the fairy tale and the detective are different genres. But even if it is supposed to create a dashingly twisted plot, it is necessary to hide some clues to the clues in a heap of unimportant, at first glance, details. This is one of the techniques of the classic English detective. A vivid confirmation of the above can serve as a statement by the popular American writer Mickey Spillane. When asked about how to write a book (detective), he replied: "Nobody will read a mysterious story to get to the middle. Everyone is going to finish reading it. If it turns out to be a disappointment, you will lose the reader. The first page sells this book, and the last one - everything that will be written in the future. "

Traps

Since the detective's work relies on reason and deduction, the plot will be more exciting and believable if the information presented in it will force the reader to come to wrong conclusions. Even the best detectives can be mistaken and follow a false line of reasoning. This method is often used by authors who create detectives about serial killers. This allows you to confuse the reader and create an intriguing turn of events. When everything seems to be clear and there is nothing to be afraid of, it is at such a moment that the main character becomes the most vulnerable to the oncoming series of dangers. An unexpected turn always makes history more interesting.

Motivation

Heroes of detectives should have interesting motives. The advice of writer Kurt Vonnegut that in a good story every character needs something to want, refers to the detective genre more than to others. Since the subsequent actions of the hero directly depend on motivation. So, they affect the storyline. It is necessary to trace, and then write down all the causes and consequences, in order to firmly hold the reader in the created situation. The more characters with their hidden interests, the more confusing, and, consequently, the story becomes more enthralling. Detectives about spies in the majority abound with similar heroes. A good example is the detective thriller "Mission Impossible" under the scenario of David Kepp and Stephen Zayillian.

Create the identity of the perpetrator

Since the author knows from the very beginning who knows how, how and why the crime was committed, it is up to small people to decide whether this character will be one of the main ones.

If you use a common method, when an attacker is constantly in the field of view of the reader, it is necessary to work out in detail his personality and appearance. As a rule, the author makes such a hero very attractive, in order to arouse the reader's confidence and to dispel suspicions. And in the end - to dumbfound an unexpected denouement. A vivid and clear example is the character Vitaly Yegorovich Krechetov from the detective series "Liquidation".

In the case when the decision is made to make the perpetrator the least noticeable character, more detailed drawing of personal motives will be needed more than appearance, in order to bring him to the main stage as a result. It's these characters that are created by authors who write detective stories about serial killers. An example is the sheriff from the detective series "Mentalist".

Create the identity of the hero investigating the crime

A character opposing evil can be anything. And absolutely not necessarily a professional investigator or private investigator. Attentive old Miss Marple from Agatha Christie and Professor Lengdon at Dan Brown are no less able to cope with their duties. The main task of the lead character is to interest the reader and cause him empathy. Therefore, his personality must be alive. And also the authors of the detective genre give advice on the description of the appearance and behavior of the protagonist. Unordinary will help him to make some kind of feature, like gray temples and stammering Fandorin. But professionals warn novice authors of excessive enthusiasm in describing the inner world of the protagonist, as well as from creating a too beautiful appearance with figurative comparisons, since such techniques are more characteristic of romance novels.

Detective skills

Perhaps a rich fantasy, a natural flair and logic will help the novice author in creating an interesting detective story, and will enthrall the reader by drawing up a general picture of the case from small pieces of the proposed information. However, the story must be believable. Therefore, the coryphaees of the genre, explaining how to write a detective, focus on studying the subtleties of the work of professional detectives. After all, not everyone has the skills of criminal investigators. So, for the reliability of the plot, it is necessary to understand the peculiarities of the profession.

Some use expert advice. Others spend long hours and days analyzing the materials of old court cases. And to create a high-quality detective, you need not only the knowledge of criminalists. It will be necessary at least a general idea of the psychology of the behavior of criminals. And for authors who decided to twist the plot around the murder, they will also need knowledge in the field of forensic anthropology. Do not also forget about the details specific to the time and place of action, since they will require additional knowledge. If the plot of the investigation of the crime occurs in the XIX century, the surrounding situation, historical events, technologies and behavior of the characters should correspond to it. At times, the task becomes more complicated when the detective on a part-time job is professional in some other field. For example, a strange mathematician, psychologist or biologist. Accordingly, the author will have to understand both the sciences that make his character special.

Completion

The most important task of the author is also the creation of an interesting and logical finale. Since no matter how twisted the story may turn out, all the riddles presented in it must be solved. All the questions that have accumulated during the course of the action should be answered. Moreover, by means of detailed conclusions, which will be understandable to the reader, since the understatement in the detective genre is not welcomed. Reflections and the construction of various versions of the completion of history are characteristic of novels with a philosophical component. A detective genre is commercial. In addition, the reader will be very interested in knowing what he was right and where he was wrong.

Professionals pay attention to the danger that lies in the mixing of genres. Working in a similar style, it is very important to remember that if the story has a detective origin, its completion should be written in the same genre. You can not leave the reader disappointed, explaining the crime by mystical forces or accident. Even if the former take place, in the novel their presence must fit into the plot and the course of the investigation. And in itself an accident is not the subject of a detective story. Therefore, if it happened, someone involved in this. In short, a detective can have an unexpected end, but can not cause bewilderment and disappointment. It is better if the completion is calculated on the reader's deductive abilities, and he will solve the riddle a little before the main character.