Building a Mystery: Four Writers on Crafting Crime Fiction

[@rudylabsilica2286]

Fast forward to 18:18 to get right to the topic!

[@l.c.3155]

thank you for the hint.

[@azmudd7827]

Thanks

[@jbrown5539]

Thank you, I wish I read this earlier. A lot of these forums evolve awkward and unnecessary backstories.

[@jbrown5539]

Involve

[@Fluxxxx]

Not all heroes wear capes

[@asht2058]

NOTES 07:10 Referrals play a huge role (in publishing). 11:16 Competition doesn't guarantee success. Winning competitions don't mean you are on the path to publishing a book. Also, losing a competition doesn't mean you are not good enough to publish a book. Discipline and consistency matter. 18:44 "If I'm not interested in the character then the readers are not gonna be interested in the character." 21:19 Write what you're obsessed with 23:04 How do you get ideas for standalones? Choosing new imaginary friends over real yet fake friends. 28:27 Are your books inspired by real crime? Lori Rader-Day is a pantser: "What if?" 33:06 How does a comic book not influence your fiction? 33:51 "There are themes that reappear in your novels even though you're not trying to write that theme" What's your common theme? Reed - You can't know somebody. Lori - The road not taken. Alex - Redemption. Julia - Perils of denial. 37:16 Are MFAs useful? 44:40 What's the best writing advice ever received? Read a lot, write a lot. Just do the work and finish it. 45:57 One tip about building suspense in a novel? Reed is also a pantser. "If it excites us... If it's suspenseful to us, it will be suspenseful to you." Lori: Raise questions. Develop a character that your readers are gonna care about. 50:25 Reed to Lori: Do you let the characters take over the story?

[@DawnAllen]

If you have the support and the passion, an MFA is worth it.

[@jollyjoy22]

skip to 18:18

[@Reneekelley68]

Great talk. Thanks Strand!

[@KateKrauss]

Fantastic. Inspiring. Thanks, Strand!

[@lunakid12]

Well, FTR, the Babinski (not "Bubinski") reflex referred to (at ~31:30) was completely (shall we say, gravely) misunderstood. First, it has nothing to with the dead (other than it's just like any other tests the dead don't care to respond to). Second, newborn children do respond to it. Third, what makes infants interesting here at all is that they respond differently from normal healthy persons (older than 1 year). Fourth, an abnormal (or missing) response indicates neurological anomalies -- and that's what this test is for. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_reflex

[@danwd555]

Really enjoyed this!

[@afro_2583]

Great love this type of talks

[@zurckoni]

good one. enjoyed this.

[@teachinganoldcook5665]

This was great.

[@tonybulmer6365]

Theme? Yes that is a good question. What are your themes?

[@justincruz5720]

30:20 Why did they laugh there? This guy’s telling a story about how his friend died from a gunshot wound and they just chuckle. Am I missing something here?

[@kulak8548]

Looks to me like Suzanne who is being pointed at off camera made some sort of reaction that the two on the left saw.

[@a.m.pietroschek1972]

To me: 99% nerds, geeks, and noobs posturing & babbling to get their jollies!

[@KateKrauss]

Fantastic. Inspiring. Thanks, Strand!