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Don't Murder Your Mystery: 24 Fiction-Writing Techniques to Save Your Manuscript from Turning Up D.O.A. [Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction Book]

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This is the only book for writers that: 1)Motivates readers to change their writing habits by telling the truth about how submissions are screened. 2)Analyzes 150 extracts to show how published authors handle the same problems facing all writers of fiction. 3)Reinforces readers' learning by presenting more solutions in greater depth than other books do and exposing issues not mentioned in any other book. 4)Highlights the techniques of 140 published mystery authors, many of whom have never before been reviewed in book form. 5)Helps readers identify with authors at the beginning of their writing careers by using examples from many first novels. 6)Stimulates readers' imaginations by demonstrating the infinite variety of alternatives for presenting content. 7)Offers 24 Find & Fix summaries for revising, plus resources and little-known tips and tip-offs. 8)Boosts the odds that a manuscript will pass the first screening so its characters and plot can be read in full and evaluated on merit.

304 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2006

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About the author

Chris Roerden

11 books2 followers
Insider information from Agatha Award-winning author and book editor Chris Roerden (44 years in publishing) about getting your manuscript past the important gatekeepers. Chris is also a former university instructor of writing (U of So. Maine, U of Wisc-Milwaukee), past president of a trade association of 250 commercial and university presses, and editor for authors published by St. Martin's Press, Berkley Prime Crime, Intrigue, Midnight Ink, Viking, Walker & Co., Rodale, and many other houses. DON'T SABOTAGE YOUR SUBMISSION is Chris's 2008 edition of DON'T MURDER YOUR MYSTERY, now expanded for all genres."

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5 stars
81 (48%)
4 stars
62 (36%)
3 stars
18 (10%)
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6 (3%)
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1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
Profile Image for Richard Derus.
3,153 reviews2,080 followers
December 24, 2016
Rating: 4* of five

How incredibly useful this is! Simple, relatable, useful, informative, and valuable. Such a great find, I want anyone who wants to write mysteries to buy it.
Profile Image for Raluca.
166 reviews88 followers
November 26, 2019
Edit November 2019: this is my third time reading this book and it's still the best editing book I've stumbled upon. It focuses on line editing and has invaluable information about how to avoid mistakes that get your manuscript rejected. Now onto my eight (!) draft of the novel, I'm confident that by applying the tips here, my book will have a much higher chance of finding an agent.

Old review (spring 2018): I first read this book more than a year ago, when I was onto the second draft of my novel. Back then, it seemed more like a collection of common sense tips. Now I'm onto my fifth draft and upon a re-read, I realize just how useful this book is to me. Not only does it have excellent advice, but also excellent examples. I recommend it not only to mystery writers, but to all writers willing to self-edit, as the tips apply to all genres.
Profile Image for Taryn Souders.
Author 5 books53 followers
February 21, 2020
An EXCELLENT guide for those interested in writing mysteries. Filled with helpful examples and light humor. I 100% recommend this book to anyone who wants to write--his information applies to all types of fiction writing so it will help you no matter what!
33 reviews3 followers
January 13, 2018
An excellent guide for murder mystery authors (or anybody else). This is essentially the same content as Don't Murder Your Submission, so you don't need both. Humorous writing makes it fun as well as informative. I first checked this out at my local library. I liked it so much I bought a copy.
262 reviews26 followers
June 10, 2012
This is a great book for would-be writers of any genre, though Roerden focuses on mysteries in particular. Roerden has been an editor for some three decades (or something like that) and it shows. The tone is light and lively, and the examples of good and bad writing are excellent. It's a great reference, and highlights a lot of cringeworthy writing habits.

Something to note: this may not be the best book for someone with an unfinished draft. The advice is meant for those who are in the middle of their second or third draft and trying to polish a finished work. Trying to apply Roerden's internal editor to a first draft may end up giving you writer's block.
Profile Image for Gale Borger.
14 reviews6 followers
November 8, 2011
Nice job, Chris! Anyone who says you can't learn new tricks, or be reminded about what's really important about writing had better get new reading glasses because they missed the point of this book.

Though geared toward the mystery genre, good writing is good writing, and Roerden speaks to everyone in this book.
Profile Image for Jan Cruysse.
Author 6 books42 followers
July 30, 2021
What a truly excellent book. I Only started to look for some theoretical support on writing when my first book was almost finished, but it helped me a great deal to improve what I had.
We all have our own writing style but it never hurts to learn from others. And this is the best book on writing books I have seen yet.
Profile Image for Kathryn.
Author 5 books52 followers
October 5, 2008
This is quickly becoming a bible of do's and don'ts for the mystery writer. The dreaded "information dump"--egad!--of which I am often guilty of writing. I'm reading this book and going back through my manuscript and stomping out all of (well, most of) the offending sections!
Profile Image for Jordan McCollum.
Author 21 books94 followers
February 1, 2010
Obviously some of these issues are a little basic, and none of them are handled extensively, great treatment of 24 classic problems even experienced writers can have--and some unique solutions that really work.
Profile Image for Catherine.
Author 15 books46 followers
May 18, 2012
I checked this out from the library twice before deciding I will need a copy on my bookshelf. The short chapters give you rapid-fire advice with plenty of examples. This is the sort of how-to-write book you can go back to again and again.
Profile Image for Nina.
39 reviews7 followers
May 27, 2012
Some really good writing advice from a seasoned editor. Don't let the "mystery" part scare you off if you're writing in a different genre, most of the techniques apply to any kind of fiction writing.

Most helpful if you've finished your manuscript and start self-editing.

Profile Image for Felicia.
463 reviews12 followers
August 25, 2013
This is a very well put together guide for writing mysteries. It has a lot of good information that would be applicable to any fiction writing. I found the quotes and literary references from other mystery writers to be very helpful - plus it gave me a bunch of new authors to explore.
568 reviews6 followers
July 28, 2009
This "how-to" book is designed for mystery writers and wannabes, but contains useful information for any writer of fiction.
Profile Image for Marva.
Author 24 books70 followers
March 27, 2010
Good guide to any fiction writing with a couple of things more useful to the mystery writer.
Profile Image for Cindy Wynn.
56 reviews1 follower
June 26, 2017
This book is a must-read for anyone trying to get published. Although it is geared toward writing mystery novels, the lessons can apply to any genre. All aspiring writers need Stephen King's book On Writing for writing inspiration and Chris Roerden's Don't Murder Your Mystery for revision inspiration.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews

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