25 essential tips for writing gripping crime fiction from the experts

Read crime

If you think this is obvious, then you're probably already doing this. However, it's not rare to find someone who wants to write a particular genre, but isn't reading it. And in case it's not obvious, you need to immerse yourself in the genre - you need to understand the style, the language, the tropes, the themes, the plot devices, the characters and how the genre has changed over time so that you can not only write great crime fiction, but work on what you can bring to the genre to make it your own.

Read like a writer: what do you like, and why? What works and why? What doesn't? And why? Importantly ask yourself, how would I do this differently?

Read crime's many sub-genres: from the hard-boiled thrillers of Raymond Chandler to cosy mystery and the suburban crime stories of Harlan Coban.