Zara Altair's Blog, page 7

What Readers Love

The Best Sleuths Have Character Beginning mystery writers work hard to get their clues lined up, create suspicious characters, and overall construct a puzzle for the sleuth and readers to solve. It’s easy to forget that readers fall in love with characters.

The most important character in your mystery is your sleuth. You want your readers to empathize and sympathize with the dilemmas your sleuth faces. And some of these are of her own making or through no fault of his own. Just because you create a situation does not mean your reader loves your character.

If you have your story elements balanced, your one shining star in your story is your sleuth. So, how do you get your readers to love your sleuth?

​ Set Up Your Sleuth to be Loved
Your sleuth doesn’t need to be nice to be loved by readers. In fact, a sleuth without flaws is...well...boring. Your reader doesn’t have a way to identify with a perfect hero. Perfection isn’t human.

And, your sleuth needs to interact with the environment and other characters. The flaw (s) you give your sleuth can get him into trouble or predispose another character to react.

Frailty is human. Give your character ways for your reader to sympathize.

Author Chris Fox reviewed these elements that get your readers to love your character.

Disadvantage
Readers root for an underdog. Give your sleuth a political, economic, or social weak spot. Do poor suspects shun your wealthy sleuth? Is she from the wrong side of the tracks? Does the local power group exclude him keeping him from learning important information? Your sleuth can’t change where he was born, his current economic circumstances, or his anti-corruption stance.

Don’t confuse the disadvantage with a flaw. Unlike a flaw like an addiction or a short temper, your sleuth’s disadvantage is a given. She can’t overcome the disadvantage. He can’t hide his disadvantage. Other characters will respond according to their personal prejudices.

Because the disadvantage is a given, your sleuth will suffer the consequences. Get the reader to cheer on your sleuth. The more your sleuth suffers from the disadvantage the greater the reader empathy.

Context
Your reader makes a value judgment about your sleuth by how he compares to other characters in the story. If your sleuth is smart, pit her against someone smarter. If he is strong, another character is stronger. Give him a moment of hesitation when a quick-tongued suspect outmaneuvers him. Your reader will adjust their perception and root for your sleuth.

The more you challenge your sleuth’s abilities with other characters, your reader will sympathize and want your character to prevail.

Vulnerability
Show your sleuth’s weakness in a believable way. Let your tough guy cry when a plastic toy reminds him of his child who died. Or her best friend’s bout with cancer. The surest way to get a reader to love your sleuth is to show her frailty. You only need one instance in your story, but make your sleuth vulnerable. Show your reader that he’s not on top of it all the time.

 Dig Deep into Your Character The best place to create the disadvantage, vulnerability, and strengths that show up in context is the background work you do in character development. Make your sleuth as human as possible. Yes, she has strengths that make her a good detective, but make sure you create those human characteristics that make her vulnerable.

When the elements of strength, disadvantage, and vulnerability are integral to your character, your reader knows your character and sympathizes. If you try to tack on a vulnerability, your reader will notice, not sympathize, and stop reading. Avoid those reader
Aw, come on moments by creating a rich character background.

You’ll have a believable character that your reader will love.

Zara Altair


Photo by Nik MacMillan on Unsplash


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The Magic of Story

Don’t Forget to Tell A Story Mystery readers love a good story. So when you are constructing your mystery, hiding clues, planting red herrings, or making a suspect look suspicious don’t forget the story comes first. The strongest stories have well-developed themes, engaging plots, suitable structure, memorable characters, well-chosen settings, and attractive style. For best results, build strength in all areas.

Have you ever read a mystery where all the elements seemed to be there but the story fell flat? You felt dissatisfied at the end and couldn’t put your finger on the reason? The writer may be clever at constructing the mystery but didn’t tell a good story.

When you are writing on your notebook or typing in your word processor, it’s easy to forget the reader who wants a good story first. You can keep your storytelling alive as you write by imagining you are telling the story to one person. I tell my stories to my daughter who likes mysteries and Roman history.

​ Story Elements Your story comes alive through multiple avenues. Use all the elements to round out your story and keep readers engaged until they arrive at a satisfying conclusion.

Style and Tone
​The style and tone are the voice of your story. This is where imagining telling your story to that one reader helps. Think of yourself sitting by the campfire, or in the kitchen, or in the car on a long road trip - any place where the two of you are together with time to tell the story.

Match your style and tone to your mystery subgenre. Is it fast paced action? A police procedural? A cozy? Tell your police procedural in a more clipped and straightforward style than a cozy where it is OK to be relaxed and comfy.

Your style and tone sets the mood for your story. Readers know from the first page how the story will feel. Keep it consistent with your story from beginning to end. Changing style and tone in your story confuses the reader. The beginning sets expectations. If you don’t meet those expectations, they may stop reading.

Plot
The plot centers on the obstacles and conflicts your sleuth encounters as he struggles to find the solution. These are the reversals, twists, and threats that surprise readers and keep them engaged.

Twist - a change that takes the reader in an unexpected direction.

Reversal - a reversal takes the story in the opposite direction to what the reader expects.

Threat - a moment of heightened danger either physical or emotional.

Speed up the pace with more conflict, slow it down with fewer conflicts. Use these obstacles in both your main story and in any subplots.

Story Structure
Structure your story with a beginning, middle, and end. Get your reader involved in the story as quickly as possible. The first page is the best place to bring in your reader. Introduce your sleuth and the murder then set the sleuth on her discovery path. The first half of your middle is all about discovering suspects and clues. The second half of the middle is about eliminating the false clues and suspects one by one. In the conclusion, your sleuth pinpoints the killer and confronts them. Then tie up any loose ends.

Characters
Know your characters, especially your sleuth. Balancing character strengths and weaknesses are key to the difficulties of the conflicts your create. Give each suspect something they want to hide to heighten suspicion. When you have a solid foundational understanding of each character, they respond to each story situation according to their personality.

You’ll find the more you know about a character the easier you’ll be able to create those twists, reversals, and threats.

Setting
Ground every scene in a specific place. Don’t expect your readers to know. Make your characters interact with the surroundings even if it is something as simple as getting out of the rain or suffering from heat. Know your setting as well as you know your characters. The setting will function as another “character” in your mystery.

​ Story Elements Keep Your Reader Reading The rich details of your story build the sense of place and the feeling that the reader knows the characters. As a storyteller, your job is to engage the reader and lead them on to the next scene. Do this scene by scene so the story builds on what happened before. Use all the story elements to lead your reader into each scene while leading them to want to know what happens next. Story is the magic that keeps readers turning pages.

Zara Altar
Photo by Mike Erskine on Unsplash

Discovery Dialogue in Your Mystery

Discovery and Your Sleuth Once a crime is discovered and your sleuth takes on finding the killer, his next step is to unearth possible suspects. As he visits close friends, work colleagues, the coffee shop owner where the victim went each morning, your sleuth begins to 
create a picture of the victim’s world.

The picture your sleuth develops is like the blind men and the elephant. Each person he interviews has their own version of who the victim was and how the victim operated in the world. As a writer, you lead your reader through a maze of conflicting perceptions about the victim.

In a mystery novel, the discovery process occurs in the first half of the middle up to the midpoint. Your sleuth collects evidence and attempts to sort out the victim’s life through interviews with the people attached to the victim, the suspects.

The main way your sleuth interacts with those suspects is through dialogue. This is your opportunity to play.

​ Dialogue in Discovery Your sleuth learns about the suspects through their demeanor, dress, and actions. But, dialogue is the most direct way you can set up your mystery. Every suspect has their personal secrets. As your sleuth asks questions, the suspect works to keep the secret a secret. The secret may or may not bear on the victim’s death.

Your sleuth, and your readers, must interpret what each suspect says to discover the truth. Your job as a writer is to make each suspect as suspicious as possible. What they say and how they act toward the sleuth creates the suspicion.

You have several avenues to use in dialogue to heighten the suspicion.


Subtext - the unspoken thoughts and motives of characters — what they really think and believe. Subtext is a powerful method to convey a suspect’s prevarication. Subtext leaves what is said
 open to interpretation. It’s up to your sleuth to decide. What he decides in the discovery process can change later when he reviews what he learned from each suspect. Lie - A deliberate lie gives your sleuth the wrong impression. Until he discovers that the suspect told an untruth, your sleuth bases his actions on false information. Plant the lie now to expose it later in the story.Cooperation - The suspect openly answers every question posed by the sleuth without hesitation. It’s up to you to decide if one of those answers is a lie. If you’ve set up your characters in your character bible, each suspect has a secret and a lie they tell to hide the secret.
Enhance your suspect’s dialogue by giving each suspect a unique voice. Social position, craft or occupation, family heritage, and personality influence how they speak. Color the dialogue with the suspect’s unique attributes. Doing so, you will minimize your need to add dialogue tags. The reader will know who is speaking.

​ A Middle Without A Sag The discovery process in a mystery sets out the puzzle pieces. In this section of your mystery novel, the sleuth is gathering information, collecting the pieces. He is nowhere near solving the mystery, and neither is your reader.

Each scene with a new suspect is a chance to plant doubt in your reader’s mind. Dialogue with each suspect reveals more of the victim’s world as your sleuth tries to understand the victim and why they were killed
. As you raise questions in the reader’s mind, you build conflict for the sleuth and keep readers turning pages.


Need more help with your mystery? Coaching can help you get to The End. http://bit.ly/MysteryWritingCoach

​Zara Altair ​

What’s Your Mystery Subgenre?

Do You Know Your Subgenre?
If you don’t know your subgenre, you won’t reach the right audience. The mystery genre contains a variety of subgenres. When you are clear about subgenre, you’re prepared to write a story that appeals to the right readers. Someone who loves a cozy mystery may have no interest in your cop thriller or noir detective.

A subgenre is a subcategory within a genre. Within the mystery and crime genre a variety of subgenres. 

How you label your story will help you reach the right editor and categorize your book to self-publish on digital platforms like Amazon. Author Tammi Lebreque says readers are subgenre loyal, so take that as a cue. Know your subgenre.

First, understand the fiction  mystery genre where a detective, or other professional or non-professional, solves a crime. The backbone of the story is solving the crime.

​
The mystery genre is filled with a variety of diverse subgenres.  Let’s look at basic categories to help you identify yours.


​Traditional Mystery A legacy from the 19th Century when Edgar Allan Poe started, the traditional mystery sets the sleuth on the trail of the killer. Brains and are the sleuths primary tools for unraveling the threads that lead to discovery.

​ Cozy Set in a comfortable social setting, - a small town, an academic institution - a private citizen becomes an amateur detective to discover the killer. This subgenre has mild language, no violence, and ensures the safety of children and animals.

​ Hard-Boiled/Noir The hard-boiled detective is at odds with himself and society. He deals with corruption from his own moral code, usually at odds with society. Violence and strong language are not only acceptable but expected. Noir is darker than hard-boiled. Stories are gritty, dark, and the brutality is far from cozy.  

​ Police Procedural A detective or department is the protagonist. The story emphasizes investigative procedure in solving the crime. Know your law enforcement details. Today’s law enforcement includes use of science and computers.

​ Amateur Sleuth It’s personal. The protagonist takes on investigating the death, usually of a friend, and often because he or she feels the police have either ignored or bungled the solution.

​ Private Detective/Professional The private detective is not a law enforcement officer, but works as a paid professional to solve crime. In real life, private detective’s rarely are involved in murder cases, but readers love this genre.

​ Historical/Future Historical mysteries are set in a time other than the present. These stories require extensive background research. The setting is like another character in the story, enriching the details. And, in the realm of world building, mysteries occur in future worlds as well.

​ Legal/Medical This genre focuses on an amateur detective who is a professional It’s a popular genre but you need extensive background knowledge. These stories are frequently written
by someone who is a professional.

​ What About Thrillers and Suspense? Writers often confuse thrillers and suspense with the mystery genre, but these are separate genres. Amazon clumps mystery, thriller, and suspense into one broad category, but the essence of the three are different.

Thrillers
Thrillers are action novels. The protagonist is often chasing or being chased by the antagonist. And, the clock is ticking. The protagonist must save the world or the President’s daughter before the antagonist can complete their evil plot. Think chase.

Suspense
​Suspense stories reverse the story so the antagonist chases or imprisons the protagonist. The protagonist must escape the villain through their wits. The clock ticks in these stories too. The hero or heroine must escape before they lose their life. Think trap.



Your Subgenre is A Reader Magnet Readers know what they like. When you focus on your subgenre within the mystery category readers know what to expect. A clear definition of your subgenre attracts readers who like it. Also, readers who don’t enjoy your subgenre won’t read expecting something else and then leave poor reviews.

When you market your book, stating your subgenre tells readers they have found a book they will like. Don’t forget to mention it in your book blurb. For example: If you like cozy mysteries you’ll love Your Title.

Zara Altair

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Create Clues from Your Mystery Setting

The Hidden Treasures in Your Setting
When I first wrote mysteries, I was in awe of writers who could create clues out of the setting. I read Pompeii by Robert Harris and was astonished
 at
 how the clues in the story were directly related

to volcanic action, mystifying the young aqueduct engineer.  

The best way to discover clues in your setting is to go into the story. See what your protagonist sees. It’s easy to focus on dialogue and action and miss the ways setting can enhance your mystery. The details of the setting add breadth to your story and are the best place to plant clues.

Key places to add clues from setting.

At the murder sceneIn a suspect interviewWhen the sleuth reviews details
While you are painting the big picture of your story, zoom in on details. The create a realism in your story and are a rich source of clues.

Focus on sensory details. What does your sleuth see, taste, hear, touch, or smell.








​ Go On A Treasure Hunt for Your Clues Once you paint the broad strokes of your setting, the details bring the setting alive and are the perfect source for clues. Whether your story is set long ago and far away or in your hometown, spend time looking for details.

Identify specific locations - Take a cue from filmmakers and go on a location hunt. Find the perfect apartment, street, hillside, or corporate office for your story.
Use the web to search for images and videos especially from individuals walking around your location
Use Wikimedia Commons to search for images related to your setting.
Search Google Images for objects. This resource is good for historical details as well as modern.
Notice the flora and fauna. Pick one and use it in your story.
Redfin is a rich source to find homes, condos, and other real estate in your story’s location. The listings include images of property interiors and exteriors as well as demographics about the location.
Walk around your setting. Take photos.

As you go through all the images, focus on details. Because 80 per cent of research is background, know that not everything you see will end up in your story. Be on the lookout for unusual details. Those are the details your sleuth notices.

Take it further. Does your perpetrator use a special scent? Get a sample so you can describe the scent in your own words.

​ Unique Clues Enrich Your Story At the beginning, your search may seem overwhelming. But, as you practice looking - Yes, this! No, doesn’t work - you will get better at finding intriguing details to serve as clues in your mystery.

​Zara Altair

The Grain Merchant on Kickstarter

Author Crowdfunding
​ I’m one week in on my first Kickstarter project for my next novel The Grain Merchant. I’m excited and filled with doubt. I had two backers the moment the project went live. I was ecstatic.

The first day I went way out of my comfort zone and did a livestream Launch Party on YouTube. I read excerpts, revealed more of the story, provided historical background, created some character background, and answered questions. It was long and fun. Kickstarter told me I got three new pledges from the video.

The thing about crowdfunding is you need a crowd. I’ve been sharing on social media like twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Google+.  

I sent out notices to my reader list and a special list I created of friends and family. I don’t like overloading my readers with multiple emails but I wish I could notify them every day.  Restraint is hard.

​ What I’ve Learned So Far You need to know about yourself to even think about putting together a funding project.
You need to believe in the project in order 
to put in the hours it takes to create the project and maintain contact with backers.
I’m brave.
I love telling people about the project.
I’m enthusiastic about the editor Marcus Trower.
I love how Ryan J. Rhoades of Reformation Designs creates graphics for each novel. I especially love the new cover.
I get backers who are people I don’t know.
Doing a fundraising project is a lot of work.
I’m proud of my book.

​ Be Part of the Crowd You don’t have to like historical mysteries to back the project. The rewards are all books created by me, but if you like the concept
you can still support the project by pledging a donation. If you like historical mysteries, then go all in and back the project! Choose your reward level and become a backer. See the project here: https://kck.st/2Fc3lJq

Zara Altair

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Suspects: The Spice of Life in Your Mystery

Photo by SHUJA ZED on Unsplash
Create Awesome Suspects to Delight Your Readers
Mystery readers love to be tantalized. The clues, red herrings, and evidence you plant in your story lead them to guessing while your sleuth tries to reason out the possibilities. Your suspects weave the rich tapestry that keeps readers guessing.

I recently read A Murder of Crows by Ian Skewis. The psychology behind each character is deep and every character, including the detective, is flawed. Skewis reveals characters by peeling back those proverbial onion skins. Readers get deeper and deeper into what makes a character tick.

You may not be writing a mystery that tends toward psychological thriller, but revealing your characters’ personality draws readers into the story.

​
Why Readers Love Suspects ​
Your suspects are the meat of your mystery. Eventually your sleuth has to unearth which of the suspects is guilty. Give your sleuth, and your reader, possibilities.

Clues and evidence are hooks to get readers attention. Well-created characters keep readers turning pages. Those suspects have secrets and tell lies. They also have personal antagonisms, likes and dislikes. You build suspense when the detective must puzzle out those lies, get beyond the antagonisms, and discern which likes and dislikes are pertinent to solving the mystery.

The reason readers love suspects is because they present possibilities.

​
5 Ways to Make Your Suspects Intriguing

Know the understructure of your characters. Add details, backstory, and motivations in your Character Bible and weave them into your mystery. Write dialogue snippets. Describe their body language. The more layers you create, the more your reader wants to know more.

To know about your character, dig into the under layers and past experiences.

A foible that reveals a deep flaw
A traumatizing childhood experience that lies behind motivation
A stated motivation in conflict with deep-seated internal goals
An inner turbulence that causes them to make statements that can be interpreted several ways, or misinterpreted
Create a reversal that changes how they act in the story

When you give each suspect foibles, something to hide, and defense mechanisms to throw at your sleuth, you’ll keep your reader wondering.

​
A Practice Exercise
Use the image above as a starting point for three characters. Each one looks a bit shady. Now differentiate those characters.

Choose which one is your perp
Add the background details for each character
Choose the one clue for the perp that will alert your sleuth
Hide that one detail in the confusion of presenting the other characters

If you can work through the character differentiation for these three, you can do it for the suspects in your mystery.

​
Details Rule
When you know the understructure of your suspects, you’ll find casting suspicion on each one easier as they misbehave, tell small and big lies, and confound your sleuth and your readers. The character work you do for each suspect rewards you with details to use in your mystery.

​Zara Altair 

Get To The End of Your Mystery

Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash

The End That Satisfies
A mystery novel is all about a puzzle. As the story unfolds you put more and more pieces in place that lead your sleuth toward discovering the killer. Once the sleuth reveals the killer, the puzzle is complete.

As far as your reader is concerned, you have solved the puzzle. Your ending needs to come soon after that last puzzle piece is complete. Your reader has the final piece. Any delay in getting to the end of your story can leave your reader dissatisfied. Wrap up everything as neatly as possible. An unsatisfied reader will not want to read more of your books and leave less positive reviews.

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3 Tips for Getting to The End in a Mystery
Mystery writers face a challenge of getting to the end of a story as quickly as possible after the killer is revealed. To give your reader the best satisfaction with your mystery help them get to the conclusion.

Tie up loose ends before the reveal.  In many novel formats the conclusion can tie up many subplots and emotional challenges for the main character. Mystery readers want the reveal and then they are done. Tie up subplots and love interests before the reveal. Wrapping up those loose ends before the reveal creates tension and keeps the reader reading.
Dastardly deeds before the reveal. If your sleuth and the reader know who the killer is, don’t prolong the ending by creating a new sequence where the killer threatens the love interest or otherwise creates an entire new episode in your mystery. Even though it may appear you ratchet up the tension, you don’t. The tension for the reader in a mystery is solving the puzzle. Once the killer is revealed, end the story.
Make the reveal the high point. Making the reveal the high point of your mystery will keep you from inserting more action sequences afterwards. Get the killer to their just rewards like imprisonment as quickly after his confrontation with your sleuth.

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Reward Your Reader
Your reader follows your detective through the suspects, clues, red herrings, and evidence to discover the perpetrator. You can reward your reader by giving them a quick path to the end of your novel after the sleuth reveals the killer. You’ve solved the puzzle.

​Zara Altair 

How to Work With Your Audiobook Narrator

The Audiobook Opportunity for AuthorsAuthors and readers love audiobooks. Many authors are considering publishing audio editions of their book to add to their backlist.

Creating an audiobook has many benefits for independent authors.

The audiobook industry is huge. It’s a billion dollar industry and growing. Be part of the action.
Book lovers consume audiobooks. Book consumers who read 50+ books a year also use audiobooks. They can’t stop just because they are driving, working out, or cooking. Audiobooks give them a way to consume more books.
Audiobooks boost paper and eBook sales. People who love an audiobook go back to buy a copy to have in their library. Plus Amazon’s Whispersync encourages eBook sales.
Reach non-readers. Many people who don’t like reading love stories. They will listen to an audiobook. You’ll reach millions of “non-readers.”
Your book is easy to find. Although the audiobook market is growing, it is much smaller than the book market. Your book can stand out in a relatively smaller crowd.

With all the great reasons to create an audiobook, you’ll want to know how to work with your narrator.
Interview with Audiobook Narrator Jonathan WatersPerformance artist Jonathan Waters shares tips for authors about keeping your narrator happy. Plus you have an inside pick at a narrator’s recording studio and how he works to produce a finished hour.

​Video Time stamp
0:54 What a narrator looks for in an author
2:06 Good communication
5:17 Character comes alive in narration
6:17 Provide a “casting call”
9:20 The Author in the director’s seat
9:45 How to give notes back to the narrator
14:39 The narration recording studio
19:47 What is a finished hour of production?
23:36 Editing author suggestions
24:35 The editing process
28:33 Narrator tip for authors

If you think Jon is right for your book contact him on Facebook at Jonathan.waters.524.

​Two Places to Find and Audition NarratorsFor years, ACX has been the go-to place to find narrators for your book. With thousands of voices to choose from, you can refine your search with many options for the voice and tone you want for your book. You can pay for the production or find a narrator who agrees to split the royalties. You book will be distributed through Amazon, Audible, iTunes with choices on distribution and royalty rates.

A new option for audiobook creation is Findaway Voices. The process is different. You tell Findaway Voices what you are looking for and they send you selections. You can always ask for more recommendations. Once you choose your narrator, you pay upfront.  Your audiobook will be distributed to many outlets giving your book a much broader reach than ACX. And your royalty is higher.

​Practice ProfessionalismOnce you have selected the right narrator for your book or series, act as a professional in your interactions. You want to let your personality shine through, but treat your narrator with respect. He or she is a professional artist with other clients. Make it easy for your narrator to work with you.

Steps you can take.

Create a character background for all the characters in your novel. A brief description with name pronunciation, age and any personality strengths you want to emphasize. Then give your artist the freedom to interpret the book.
Be precise with any changes you want in the reading samples you receive. If you want a sentence changed or a line of dialogue interpreted with another emphasis, state the change clearly and time stamp the place where it occurs in the audio recording.
Don’t annoy your narrator. As excited as you are, refrain from asking when the next chapter will be finished. Request editorial changes in a factual, polite, and even light-hearted manner.

You and the narrator are partners in the audiobook creation. You selected this performance artist as the right person to tell your story. Think of them as a member of your team. Give them encouragement and praise the work when deserved.

With the right attitude, you and your narrator will be on your way to creating a finished audiobook listeners will love.

Zara Altair



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Mystery, Clues, Action

Photo by Arthur Edelman on Unsplash

How to Bring Action to Your Mystery
Mystery tropes like - the corpse, evidence hunt, sweating the perp, summation - comprise elements of the mystery novel readers expect. Action scenes will help build tension and, a well-written action scene pulls your reader into the story.

Don’t overlook action scenes to add dimension and empathy to your story. Action scenes have a place in the various mystery sub-genres. Just because you’re not writing a police procedural don’t overlook adding action to your mystery. An action scene is not necessarily a fight scene. Enhance even the coziest cozy with your heroine eavesdropping behind the commemorative statue in the town square.

 ​Action Scene Basics
You may be used to thinking of action scenes as car chases, fight scenes, escaping the villain in the London Tube and the like, but action scenes are any time your sleuth has a physical moment. Just like the cozy heroine hiding behind the statue.

Action scenes can be written in a variety of styles. Read authors who write great action scenes to get a feel for how they are written and in differing styles.  The Write Life  suggests a few:

Mario Puzo, Lee Child, Karin Slaughter, John Connolly, Deon Meyer, Patricia Cornwell, Elmore Leonard, Louis L’Amour, Larry McMurtry and Robert B. Parker have all written novels chock full of bad characters doing very bad things.

Action Scene Basic 1 - Tone​

Write in the style of your story. Avoid changing the tone because you’ve read Elmore Leonard and want to imitate his style. The scene should feel like an integral part of your story. If you write action in another style, it will jar your reader out of the story instead of being pulled into the tense moment.

Action Scene Basic 2 - Pace

Slow down and speed up. Slow down the pace to guide your reader through the action. Don’t just describe the blows, tell the reader how your protagonist sleuth responds. A straight blow by blow of punches and counter blocks isn’t enough. Describe your sleuth’s physical reactions. Describing the fight in this way makes it immediate to your reader and gives the feeling of speeding the action.

Action Scene Basic 3 - Minimize Feelings

If you’ve ever been in a fight or attacked, you know feelings don’t play a part in action. They come later. At the time of the action, the sleuth’s priority is winning the fight, catching the bad guy, getting to the next bend in the road without trashing the vehicle, etc. She’s not thinking about how her friend Norman is doing right now.

Action Scene Basic 4 - Move the Story Forward

Like any scene in your novel, the action scene must move the story forward. Your sleuth either gets closer to the perp or loses the round. The action scene must fit into the story leading your reader to wonder what comes next. An action scene just to have action bogs down your story. You reader will wonder why it is happening. Any time a reader stops being in the story to wonder or think you’ve lost them. The action scene must advance the story.

Action Scene Basic 5 - Be Realistic
​
A heroine who has no training will not win a fight with three trained assassins. Do your research. If your hero is in a car chase, watch simulations or play video games to get a feel of how quickly you must react in a fast-moving car. Things can spin out of control very quickly. Learn some basic fighting movements like the difference between a thrust and an undercut. Learn how a sidekick differs from a knee to the groin. Do the moves. It’s research. The more you understand the movements, the better you can make them come alive for your reader.


Enliven Your Mystery
Creating clues and suspects is part of the puzzle of writing a mystery. You can enliven your story with well-placed action scenes. Keep the basics in mind. You may find action scenes are fun to write. And, best of all, they keep your reader turning pages.

​Zara Altair