{"product_id":"9780312304461","title":"How to Write a Damn Good Mystery : A Practical Step-by-Step Guide from Inspiration to Finished Manuscript","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eHow to Write a Damn Good Mystery\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): James N. Frey\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eEdgar award nominee James N. Frey, author of the internationally best-selling books on the craft of writing, \u003ci\u003eHow to Write a Damn Good Novel\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHow to Write a Damn Good Novel II: Advanced Techniques\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Key: How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth\u003c\/i\u003e, has now written what is certain to become the standard \"how to\" book for mystery writing, \u003ci\u003eHow to Write a Damn Good Mystery\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrey urges writers to aim high-not to try to write a good-enough-to-get-published mystery, but a damn good mystery.  A damn good mystery is first a dramatic novel, Frey insists-a dramatic novel with living, breathing characters-and he shows his readers how to create a living, breathing, believable character who will be clever and resourceful, willful and resolute, and will be what Frey calls \"the author of the plot behind the plot.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrey then shows, in his well-known, entertaining, and accessible (and often humorous) style , how the characters-the entire ensemble, including the murderer, the detective, the authorities, the victims, the suspects, the witnesses and the bystanders-create a complete and coherent world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExploring both the on-stage action and the behind-the-scenes intrigue, Frey shows prospective writers how to build a fleshed-out, believable, and logical world.  He shows them exactly which parts of that world show up in the pages of a damn good mystery-and which parts are held back just long enough to keep the reader guessing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is an indispensable step-by-step guide for anyone who's ever dreamed of writing a damn good mystery.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Confidently guides the novice through the crime-writing basics.” —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Eminently practical and rich in details. A must for budding crime-fiction authors.” —\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Frey ... delivers a witty and entertaining writer's-conference-in-a-book.” —\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9780312304461\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"St. Martin's Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":40593710874830,"sku":"9780312304461","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_b680cfbf-ef7c-42be-be17-b7ceadfa53af.jpg?v=1637791701","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9780312304461","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}