Tips For The New Crime Writer

1. Create a frightening antagonist. Make him or her three-dimensional. A valid way to do this is giving them a personal association to the protagonist other than by the crime.
2. Put your protagonist in an unfortunate position – how did the narrator get there in that situation?
3. Make sure your protagonist risks something significant to them, for example, an investigator could risk their career, or jeopardise a relationship to catch the antagonist.
4. Give your protagonist a particular motive, for instance, spite,, revenge, justice, survival, and isolate them from their comfort zones.
5. Nothing – no matter how exciting it seems to you – should be left in, every word should do a part in progressing the story. If a word or sentence does not serve the plot, delete it. The story must involve the reader. The precise way to do this is to generate problems that have significant consequences.