You really want to write crime fiction but how do you go about this? Here are a few tips to get you started.

Start with character as the foundations of the crime novel are built upon strong and memorable characters. Plots in crime novels are often easily forgotten but the detective leading the investigation or the rogue detective and the villain of the piece rarely are ever forgotten.  So you really need to focus upon them and make them well rounded and believable characters. Just think of Hannibal Lecter, Inspector Rebus, Harry Hole, to name a few, all memorable and that is what you should try to create. The reader will be looking to identify with these strong characters in your work so they need to be there. If characters are perceived as weak then readers will most likely stop reading your book after a few chapters.

You need to write well as with any other genre of writing. Your writing should be competent, well presented and well thought out; a well thought out crime novel will sell so take your time in developing the plot and characterisations.

The crime novel needs to be fast paced and littered with relevant facts; you do not need unnecessary facts and words. The crime novel is not a place for flowery language; stick to the facts and you can’t go far wrong.

The best writers of crime fiction are those that read crime fiction. You need to read widely in every crime fiction genre. You need to know what you’re writing about because there is very little doubt that the reader will know the genre extremely well. Read crime novel classics to give you the basics and grounding on where to start and then read the most up to date and ground breaking crime fiction so that you know what you are up against, but also to give you some pointers.

The likes of Ian Rankin are the big names in crime fiction but they are not the most current. This type of writing has been done and is now old, although fantastic. You need to read the new, ground breaking debut crime novels as this is what editors are now looking for; you need to have an edge. You need to create something new to appear different to everyone else. Reading debut and prize winning novels of recent years will help you to achieve this.

Your plot needs to be extremely complex and this can be hard when you are telling the story in your head. What you need to do is create a map of your plot and pin it to the wall so that you can physically see all of the intricate twists and turns. It is a sad fact but the crime novel now needs to use the device of a complicated plot as people no longer want simple.

Lastly, you need to stay gritty and this is in the use of language and description and you cannot shy away from this. It has to be realistic, this is what people want. So make sure that when reading this comes across as plausible.