Pauline Rowson's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing-a-crime-novel"
With Murder in Mind - Research for crime novels
Us crime writers are a gruesome bunch, we're always looking for new and often subtle ways to kill someone. I'm frequently asked how I research my crime novels for this sort of information. Well, in addition to talking to the experts I also use an excellent and very handy little book called "The Crime Writer's Handbook- 65 ways to kill your victim - in print" written by Douglas Wynn.
And I refer to a very excellent blog called The Writers Forensic Blog. On this blog I came across an interesting and highly informative article that actually coincided with the DI Andy Horton Marine Mystery Police Procedural crime novel I am currently writing, number eight in the Horton series, which is how to kill someone by inducing an extreme allergic reaction.
The blog answers the question - Will Ingestion of Bee Venom Kill Someone Who Is Allergic To It? I'll let you read the answer on the Writers Forensic Blog for yourself. And I'm not going to give away any of the plot in my DI Horton crime novel only to say it does not concern Bee venom. You'll have to wait to read it when it is published. I'm not sure yet when that will be but meanwhile DI Andy Horton number seven in the series called A Killing Coast will be published by Severn House on 26 January 2012.
If you want to know more about Writing A Crime Novel, then I am giving two talks at CSI Portsmouth 2011 event on Saturday 5 November at John Pounds Centre, Portsea. on the subject
Join CSI Portsmouth 2011 for a packed programme of crime at:
John Pounds Community Centre, Portsmouth
23 Queen Street, Portsea, Portsmouth, Hants, PO1 3HN
Telephone Number: 023 9289 2010
http://www.johnpoundscentre.co.uk/how...
Saturday 5th November 2011 10am – 5pm.
CSI Portsmouth tickets on sale from the Box Office + 44 (0)23 9268 8685.
Tickets cost £5 for the morning and £7 for the afternoon with a discounted ticket of £10 for the whole day and includes £3 off the price of a book bought at the event.
More information on my web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
And I refer to a very excellent blog called The Writers Forensic Blog. On this blog I came across an interesting and highly informative article that actually coincided with the DI Andy Horton Marine Mystery Police Procedural crime novel I am currently writing, number eight in the Horton series, which is how to kill someone by inducing an extreme allergic reaction.
The blog answers the question - Will Ingestion of Bee Venom Kill Someone Who Is Allergic To It? I'll let you read the answer on the Writers Forensic Blog for yourself. And I'm not going to give away any of the plot in my DI Horton crime novel only to say it does not concern Bee venom. You'll have to wait to read it when it is published. I'm not sure yet when that will be but meanwhile DI Andy Horton number seven in the series called A Killing Coast will be published by Severn House on 26 January 2012.
If you want to know more about Writing A Crime Novel, then I am giving two talks at CSI Portsmouth 2011 event on Saturday 5 November at John Pounds Centre, Portsea. on the subject
Join CSI Portsmouth 2011 for a packed programme of crime at:
John Pounds Community Centre, Portsmouth
23 Queen Street, Portsea, Portsmouth, Hants, PO1 3HN
Telephone Number: 023 9289 2010
http://www.johnpoundscentre.co.uk/how...
Saturday 5th November 2011 10am – 5pm.
CSI Portsmouth tickets on sale from the Box Office + 44 (0)23 9268 8685.
Tickets cost £5 for the morning and £7 for the afternoon with a discounted ticket of £10 for the whole day and includes £3 off the price of a book bought at the event.
More information on my web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
CSI Portsmouth 2011 was voted a great day's entertainment
CSI Portsmouth 2011 held on Saturday 5 November at the John Pounds Centre, Portsmouth, England was voted a great day's entertainment by the people who attended it. Over a hundred people attended the packed morning programme of talks and a hundred and fifteen the afternoon panel debate.
The morning programme consisted of talks from former Detective Superintendent and crime writer Bob Bridgestock, fingerprint expert Jane Aston from Hampshire Police Fingerprint Bureau, Lucy Wainwright, forensic psychologist from the University of Portsmouth International Centre for Research in Forensic Psychology and crime author Pauline Rowson on Writing A Crime Novel.
Also at CSI Portsmouth for the day, the girls from the Fingerprint Bureau, Emma and Kerrie.
More about the afternoon panel debate on tomorrow's blog.
CSI Portsmouth was launched in 2010 and is part of Portsmouth BookFest, a festival of popular literature. It is organised by Pauline Rowson in conjunction with The Hayling Island Bookshop and Portsmouth City Libraries.
Make a diary note for CSI Portsmouth 2012, which will take place on Saturday 3 November for a great line up of crime authors and crime experts for an even bigger event.
Footsteps on the Shore
The morning programme consisted of talks from former Detective Superintendent and crime writer Bob Bridgestock, fingerprint expert Jane Aston from Hampshire Police Fingerprint Bureau, Lucy Wainwright, forensic psychologist from the University of Portsmouth International Centre for Research in Forensic Psychology and crime author Pauline Rowson on Writing A Crime Novel.
Also at CSI Portsmouth for the day, the girls from the Fingerprint Bureau, Emma and Kerrie.
More about the afternoon panel debate on tomorrow's blog.
CSI Portsmouth was launched in 2010 and is part of Portsmouth BookFest, a festival of popular literature. It is organised by Pauline Rowson in conjunction with The Hayling Island Bookshop and Portsmouth City Libraries.
Make a diary note for CSI Portsmouth 2012, which will take place on Saturday 3 November for a great line up of crime authors and crime experts for an even bigger event.
Footsteps on the Shore
The rollercoaster emotions of writing a crime novel
Each stage of writing a novel for me brings with it a range of different emotions. These range from excitement and frustration, to relief, doubt and fear, plus a whole lot in between.
I'm currently working on the tenth in the DI Andy Horton series and the theme is developing nicely.Eager to begin writing I don't wait until I have a complete outline. I don't even wait until I have conducted all my research and I certainly have no idea at this stage who the killer is and why. All I know for DI Horton number ten is that it is set in the Solent area on the South Coast of England, Andy Horton is still living on his boat and riding his Harley Davidson and he is a step closer to finding out why his mother disappeared over thirty years ago. But another drama is unfolding and one which Horton can't ignore.
So excitement is the first emotion for me when beginning a new novel as I work up an outline and some character sketches. I conduct some research and more ideas begin to flow. I can't wait to get started and do so as soon as I possibly can often within a month of finishing the previous novel, sometimes within a couple of weeks.
Read the full article on my website blog
I'm currently working on the tenth in the DI Andy Horton series and the theme is developing nicely.Eager to begin writing I don't wait until I have a complete outline. I don't even wait until I have conducted all my research and I certainly have no idea at this stage who the killer is and why. All I know for DI Horton number ten is that it is set in the Solent area on the South Coast of England, Andy Horton is still living on his boat and riding his Harley Davidson and he is a step closer to finding out why his mother disappeared over thirty years ago. But another drama is unfolding and one which Horton can't ignore.
So excitement is the first emotion for me when beginning a new novel as I work up an outline and some character sketches. I conduct some research and more ideas begin to flow. I can't wait to get started and do so as soon as I possibly can often within a month of finishing the previous novel, sometimes within a couple of weeks.
Read the full article on my website blog
Looking forward to taking part in CrimeFest 2013
I'll be taking part at CrimeFest 2013 this weekend where I'll be on a panel on Friday 31 May and will also be talking to the audience about The Perfect System for Writing a Crime Novel.
My panel appearance is entitled: Evening All: A Policeman Calls. It takes place between 10:10 - 11:00am on Friday 31 May when I'll be appearing with fellow crime authors Ann Cleeves, Kate Ellis, J.C. Martin and Kerry Wilkinson.
I'll also be conducting an In The Spotlight session between 12.30 and 12.50 talking about The Perfect System for Writing a Crime Novel.
Crimefest is a crime fiction convention which follows the format of US conventions and includes interviews, panels, and a gala dinner and attracts audiences from all over the World. First organised in June 2008, CrimeFest draws top crime novelists, readers, editors, publishers and reviewers from around the world and gives delegates the opportunity to celebrate the genre in an informal atmosphere.
It is being held at the Bristol Royal Marriott Hotel from 30 May to 2 June 2013.
My panel appearance is entitled: Evening All: A Policeman Calls. It takes place between 10:10 - 11:00am on Friday 31 May when I'll be appearing with fellow crime authors Ann Cleeves, Kate Ellis, J.C. Martin and Kerry Wilkinson.
I'll also be conducting an In The Spotlight session between 12.30 and 12.50 talking about The Perfect System for Writing a Crime Novel.
Crimefest is a crime fiction convention which follows the format of US conventions and includes interviews, panels, and a gala dinner and attracts audiences from all over the World. First organised in June 2008, CrimeFest draws top crime novelists, readers, editors, publishers and reviewers from around the world and gives delegates the opportunity to celebrate the genre in an informal atmosphere.
It is being held at the Bristol Royal Marriott Hotel from 30 May to 2 June 2013.
Choosing titles for a crime novel, choosing characters names, and writing routines
Uploaded a new video to my Goodreads Profile,to my website and my You Tube Channel. This video was taken at Sandhurst Library in December 2013 where I gave a talk about crime writing and the DI Andy Horton crime novels. After my talk I took a very lively question and answer session. The video is an extract from that covering questions such as: choosing titles for a crime novel, choosing characters names, and writing routines.
Whose story is it? Pauline Rowson discusses viewpoint
Whose story is it? That is a question every writer needs to ask him or herself before starting to write a novel, or if not then certainly while writing and revising it. From whose viewpoint are you telling the story? Is it single viewpoint or multiple viewpoint? Is it male or female or a mixture of both? Beware the latter though and having too many viewpoints because that will not only muddle the story and slow it down but it will also confuse you, and more importantly the reader.
The purpose of the crime or thriller novel is to excite and intrigue, sometimes also to scare, therefore having too many viewpoints, i.e. switching to different characters every so many pages or chapters can bog down a crime novel.
When I first started writing I wrote from the female character's point of view but as I began to write more I found myself far more attracted to telling the story from the male character's point of view and when I created my hunky detective, DI Andy Horton, in the first of the Horton series, Tide of Death, I knew that I had found my 'voice' as they say in writing parlance.
Once I started writing from the male point of view everything began to fall into place. I also prefer single person point of view which means that you follow the story through the eyes of DI Andy Horton in my marine mystery crime novels, which are written in the third person, and through Adam Greene in my thriller, In Cold Daylight and Alex Albury in In For The Kill which are both written in the first person. Although this has its drawbacks in that you can not explain others inner emotions you can portray them through the lead character and it also makes for tighter writing and therefore a faster read.
When people ask me why I write from the male point of view I often joke that maybe it's because I am a closet man. But I don't really know and I don't think it matters, it's just the way I find comfortable writing.
There are of course some very strong females in my novels such as the pathologist Dr Gaye Clayton in the DI Andy Horton series. There are also female victims and killers and there is, from DI Andy Horton number three onwards ( The Suffocating Sea), Horton's acerbic boss, alpha female DCI Lorraine Bliss.
The two standalone crime novels also incorporate some intriguing and interesting female characters.
Finding your style and your voice takes time and practice but if you enjoy writing then that's not a chore, on the contrary it's always a pleasure to experiment.
The purpose of the crime or thriller novel is to excite and intrigue, sometimes also to scare, therefore having too many viewpoints, i.e. switching to different characters every so many pages or chapters can bog down a crime novel.
When I first started writing I wrote from the female character's point of view but as I began to write more I found myself far more attracted to telling the story from the male character's point of view and when I created my hunky detective, DI Andy Horton, in the first of the Horton series, Tide of Death, I knew that I had found my 'voice' as they say in writing parlance.
Once I started writing from the male point of view everything began to fall into place. I also prefer single person point of view which means that you follow the story through the eyes of DI Andy Horton in my marine mystery crime novels, which are written in the third person, and through Adam Greene in my thriller, In Cold Daylight and Alex Albury in In For The Kill which are both written in the first person. Although this has its drawbacks in that you can not explain others inner emotions you can portray them through the lead character and it also makes for tighter writing and therefore a faster read.
When people ask me why I write from the male point of view I often joke that maybe it's because I am a closet man. But I don't really know and I don't think it matters, it's just the way I find comfortable writing.
There are of course some very strong females in my novels such as the pathologist Dr Gaye Clayton in the DI Andy Horton series. There are also female victims and killers and there is, from DI Andy Horton number three onwards ( The Suffocating Sea), Horton's acerbic boss, alpha female DCI Lorraine Bliss.
The two standalone crime novels also incorporate some intriguing and interesting female characters.
Finding your style and your voice takes time and practice but if you enjoy writing then that's not a chore, on the contrary it's always a pleasure to experiment.
