Don't Murder Your Mystery: 24 Fiction-Writing Techniques to Save Your Manuscript from Turning Up D.O.A.

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (2/07) I've always been a voracious reader of how-to manuals, but all too often I felt really disappointed after finishing them. It seemed that so many of the authors are of the "if I cannot do it myself, I'll teach others how to do it" kind. So after reading one of those books I'd feel like I've wasted both my money and my time. Chris Roerden's "Don't Murder Your Mystery: 24 Fiction-Writing Techniques to Save Your Manuscript from Turning up... D.O.A." definitely does not belong in that category. Ms. Roerden, a writer and an editor herself, is definitely well qualified to teach others the art of writing, and she does it extremely well. Her manual deals with 24 most common "clues" to amateurish writing and provides excellent, thought-provoking means and ways to fix them. The material in the manual is organized in a logical, easy to follow manner, starting with the worst offenses, those that would practically guarantee the elimination of your manuscript the moment it hits the literary agency or a publishing house. Ms. Roerden smoothly guides you through those initial stages of review and suggests easy and doable ways to correct the mistakes. She explains the terminology used in her book and itemizes the elements of a novel. The subsequent chapters deal with the various mistakes and weak points of writing. Each "clue" is explained based on examples showing you how 130 published writers solved those same problems in their writing. Each of the "clue" chapters ends with a Find & Fix Clue section, which should be immensely helpful to both new and seasoned authors. Let me list just a few of those "clues" -- Hobbled Hooks, Perilous Prologues, Bloody Backstory, Fatal Flashbacks, Deceptive Dreams, Dastardly Description, Poisonous Predictability, Disappearing Bodies and quite a few more. The alliterations used for nearly half of the clue names are quite amusing. There are a few extremely useful pieces of information for new authors to be found at the very end of the book. The first of those is the explanation of the standard manuscript format. Although a writer should definitely check out the submission guidelines of the publisher they are submitting the manuscript to, this concise explanation should definitely be very helpful as well. This section is followed by two lists, one of recommended non-fiction reading and another of popular (and useful) internet sites. Both are an invaluable resource for anybody who is contemplating writing a mystery. Even if you do not harbor hopes of writing a mystery one of these days you'll probably agree that "Don't Murder Your Mystery" is good reading just for the sake of it. If you are already an author, you should still read it and I bet you fill find plenty of useful ideas and bits of information on how to become a better writer. And if you do hope to be a published author, by all means get a copy of this manual. As far as I am concerned, my copy will be

From the beginning of this immensely insightful writing manual, Chris Roerden focuses on what it takes to write novels that will survive both an agent's and a publisher's screening process. I spent a couple of years in the early 1990s reading the slush pile at two nearby publishing houses, and I can affirm Roerden's statement that the vast majority of manuscripts submitted to agents and presses are rejected because the writers fail to submit a solid, well-written, and entertaining product. In the dog-eat-dog world of publishing, Roerden tells us publishers pick very few new writers - and only those who look like winners - and they "ignore the rest whose work reveals evidence of average writing, aka `amateur.'" She goes on to tell us: "The publishing industry cannot afford to gamble on writers who are still developing their potential, who show little evidence of having studied the craft of the profession they aspire to, or who fail to reflect the preferences that publishers and agents state in their submission guidelines" (p. 12). The book setup is clever. In ten parts, she delineates 24 specific fiction-writing areas to focus upon in revisions. To start out, in Part I: DEAD ON ARRIVAL, she lays out all the reasons why writers simply must write, revise, edit, and format their novels or else they won't be published. In that section, Roerden tells us about THE JUDGES: Screener-outers - and what they look for; THE PLAINTIFFS: Writers - and what you hope for; THE DEFENDANTS: Agents and publishers - and why they do what they do; and CORRECTIONS FACILITIES: Self-editors - and how to do what you need to. Each of the subsequent nine parts features one of the 24 fiction-writing techniques, which Roerden, tongue in cheek, labels CLUES. For instance, in Part III: FIRST OFFENDERS, she's got: CLUE #1: HOBBLED HOOKS - Replace with high-tensile lines that stretch your holding power; CLUE #2: PERILOUS PROLOGUES - Beware: May lead to low-tension, post-prologue, backstory ache; CLUE #3: BLOODY BACKSTORY - To remove the evidence, slice, dice, and splice. The advice to "slice, dice, and splice" is quite simply wonderful, and with her terrific explanations, it's easy to remember what she means and apply it to work on a manuscript. In concise language steeped in good humor and fabulous examples, Roerden reveals each of the 24 CLUES (including FATAL FLASHBACKS, TOXIC TRANSCRIPTS, DECEPTIVE DREAMS, DASTARDLY DESCRIPTION, DYING DIALOGUE, KILLED BY CLICHÉ, GESTURED TO DEATH, and many more). She systematically provides tips and techniques for avoiding these pitfalls. The 24 "Clues," when properly understood and applied, will make any author's well-told tale a winner. She rounds out this well-written guide with an index and four "Exhibits," including: instructions for standard manuscript formatting; a bibliography of the multitude of books she cited throughout the text; a list of popular Internet crime writing sites; and recommended nonfiction in the areas of genera

I'm a craft guy, scooping up every new tome on fiction tips and techniques that comes along. Eight out of ten times, however, I finish the book and put it back on the shelf never again peeling back the cover. Every year another author publishes a book on writing, when all they really do is re-hash the age-old "show, don't tell" or "write what you know" advice, among other writerly muzak-like instruction. And every year I wonder aloud, "Who among us has new insights?" Don't Murder Your Mystery breaks the stale bread, my friends. Roerden's extensive experience and editor's eye shines through every page, and just so you don't think she's making it up on the fly, she supports her insights with numerous quotations from published fiction. Flashbacks, backstory, the correct use of surprise, body language, character agendas, anchoring a scene, info-dumps--all these and many more are presented with a fresh perspective. The great thing about Don't Murder Your Mystery? It's not solely for the mystery writer. Roerden's advice applies to popular fiction as a whole; there are only a few chapters specifically written for the mystery genre. So whether you write romance, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, crime--it doesn't matter. Don't Murder Your Mystery, along with Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, is the best writing instruction I've read in a long time. So good, in fact, that I have to read it again to make sure I gleaned everything therein. Do your writing a favor and buy it today.

So, you've written a great crime novel? Before you get to appear on Oprah you've got to get your novel past the first reader at a publishing house. Guess what? Ninety percent (or more) of these great novels get tossed after reading the first page or two. Not because of uninteresting plots or weak characters. The reader doesn't even get that far. They get tossed because of "average" or "amateur" writing. Now, packed into one slim, readable paperback, are the tools you need to avoid this sad fate. Author Chris Roerden explores the most common mistakes that scream "amateur" or "average writing" and tells you how to avoid them. It's hard work of course, but the author makes it enjoyable, understandable, and even funny. It's hard to imagine a book for writers being so entertaining, but it is. To use a cliche, I couldn't put it down. (Author Roerden has a great chapter on cliches.) I finished this book in two days, and I know I'll be going back to it, using it for reference. It's not just for mystery writers. Anyone who writes fiction can benefit. Thank you, Chris. I recommend this one highly to all writers. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

Chris Roerdon is an editor with years of experience. She uses wit and real-life examples from published mystery authors, many of whom are extremely well-known. Chris' book contains a number of tips on how to get your mystery past the initial selection editor. I am not a professional reviewer, and my book of choice is fiction. However, I found Chris' book extremely easy to understand and enjoy. Her CLUEs (there are 24) are helpful not only to writers but also to readers. While I found all of the entries interesting, highlighting issues I never would have thought of on my own as a reader, I really enjoyed her entry on clichés. I laughed out loud during this CLUE - and I know that my reviews definitely suffer from killer clichés. Words of advice, though; if you never want to write a mystery because you are afraid of nit-picking the story apart instead of simply enjoying it, don't read this book. The information sticks with you!!!!