I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over 52 weeks. The initial year has sailed on by, and my last post was so long ago I couldn’t find it on my dashboard.
I want to finish the project, though, and only have 6 books left. So I’ve renamed it simply 52 Books, and here is book 47 … well, when I say book … there are actually 5 of them in this series.
BUT … I’m not going to cheat. They’ll all count as just one entry.
And what can I say about Writing the Killer Mystery by Ron D Voigts other than – where have you been all my life?
I LOVE this series.
These books all build on each other. Start with volume one, Great Beginnings, and work your way through to the end.
In the very first book, though, the author does actually give you permission to go and start your book. But they’re all so short and so easy to digest, that I just went on and read through them all in order. And they all discuss exactly what they say they do on the cover.
Volume one shows you how to get started, what you need to think about before you start to write. It includes information on mystery writers, an introduction to the different genres, and how to get started.
Volume two is getting to know your characters better, and learning about your sleuth, victim, killer, suspects, supporting cast, and other minor characters.
Volume three is the details of the actual crime as well as more on the structure for your story.
Volume four includes setting and location advice, and a reminder that setting is another character in your story.
And volume five wraps it all up, with chapters on things like point of view as well as self-publishing, traditional publishing and marketing advice.
This series of books has helped me to give my characters more depth. It has helped me to give more substance to the plot. And it has helped me to arrange my work.
I really cannot recommend these books highly enough.
Prices and availability fluctuate. So if you’re interested in looking at any or all of these books, do check out Ron D Voigts’ website and Amazon page for the latest information.
