The Weekend Novelist Writes A Mystery

I use this book all the time and I am working on an outline using this method. I'm hooked on this book. I also have The Weekend Novelist by this same author.

'The Weekend Novelist Writes A Mystery' is not just for mystery writers. Ray/Remick instruct with hard fast tools for scene, plot and character development. There's a backstory checklist and advice on sub plots; ideas for setting that utilize place, time, lighting and season to identify character behavior.

If dialog is your demon Ray/Remick break it into manageable portions; the one-two rhythm, linking to setting, echo words and hooking to the past or future. If you have a tendency to explain dialog, this book makes you aware of authorial intrusion.

As a creative writing teacher and proponent of Natalie Goldberg's creative writing technique, I have used 'The Weekend Novelist' in my creative writing classes. I look forward to utilizing this new book to enhance my own novel writing and to help my students develop their personal writing techniques.

While I've never written a mystery, I am a professional writer and I found myself underlining huge chunks in this book that apply to just about every fictional endeavor. Ray and Remick are terrific when it comes to building plot, creating characters, and linking up the two. Not only are they wonderful teachers -- clear, encouraging, and funny -- the demo-model mystery they've created for the book shows they're crackerjack writers as well. I would recommend "The Weekend Novelist Writes a Mystery" to novices as well as veterans whose batteries could use a little recharging.

I stumbled upon "The Weekend Novelist" about six months ago and it transformed my writing life. "The Weekend Novelist Writes a Mystery" is even better, and I'm not working on mystery -- I'm working on a memoir. Prior to learning from Ray and Remick, I was wandering in the wilderness, with no clue about the difference between story and plot; why scenes are the basic building blocks of a book; or how to start with character and what makes a person tick to set the hook for the story. The Ray/Remick approach uses writing practice to help you plumb the depths but it's their emphasis on structure -- they call it "priming the subconscious" when you're in the shower as well as at your writing desk -- that really works. I wasn't a fan of writing practice before doing their exercises but now I see that it helps me go places I don't go on my computer, particularly when I use their structure profiles and do their exercises. I also appreciate the specific examples they use, especially the examples from "Murder on Drake Island," the mystery they wrote for this book. These guys can write a mean sentence -- with or without a smoking gun. Run, do not walk, to the book store if you want to make a tremendous leap in your writing.

This is one of the few how-to books for the pro as well as the newbie. It helps the writer maximize limited writing time by planning ahead and by shaping the story from the beginning. But this book isn't about mechanics alone; Ray sees the detective's search for truth as a mythic quest, and this approach deepens the writer's connection to the genre and the reader's appreciation of the final masterpiece. The quotes and references to published books are contemporary and fresh; this is a must-have for anyone serious about writing a mystery.