The classic detective story is Sherlock Holmes, Nero Wolfe and Hercule Poirot, slowly unraveling the intrigue. Weapons do not appear often on the pages of the novel, and blood is even less frequent. Well, the modern Russian detective is the child of the American "black" detective. A tough hero, rivers of blood, millions of deals and fatal beauties are a must. Chase, Spillane and Chandler are his parents. Since the Great American Depression, all such works have been written according to the same principle. And you can do it too.
Instructions
Step 1
Come up with a hero. Books are written for people and about people, so you can't do without the main character. As a rule, the author always puts a part of himself into his characters. Maybe the ideal self, which the author would like to become, but never will. Create a past for the hero, and let it be reflected in his character. Failed marriage, military service, unhappy love - choose. Incorporate memories of a harsh past into your narrative, it's trendy.
Step 2
The profession of the protagonist should be close and understandable to you. If you do not distinguish a balance from a bulldo, and EBITDA sounds like a terrible curse to you, do not write economic detectives and do not make the main character an accountant who accidentally discovered multimillion-dollar fraud. The best option is a journalist. By the nature of his activity, he is obliged to poke his nose everywhere and not understand anything.
Step 3
Find the crime. Use the press and the Internet for this. The media is flooded with information about appalling corruption, exposed scams and scams in the upper echelons of power. Choose the most interesting scam from your point of view, adapt it to the book reality and think about how your hero can get into it.
Step 4
Based on the nature of the crime, think over the rest of the characters. Since your hero is poorly versed in the issue and got into history by accident, you need a consultant: a thief in law, a retired police colonel, an underground financial millionaire who has retired. Then kill the consultant. Be sure to bring in a villain who turns out to be good and a best friend who turns out to be a traitor. Don't forget about humor. A funny character who regularly gets screwed up will decorate the pages of your novel and make them come alive.
Step 5
Since most of the reading audience in our country is women, a love line is needed. Mix in one heap the story of Cinderella, Bluebeard, Romeo and Juliet and Snow Maiden, you get a great love story. Add two to three bed scenes and a happy ending.
Step 6
Create a structure for the entire activity. All modern detectives are based on a very simple principle:
- the main character accidentally gets into trouble, - then he starts to deal with trouble and gets into more trouble, - loses his wife (friend, partner, parents, dog), - hiding in the woods (in Paris, in Georgia, in a trash heap among homeless people), - accidentally finds an ally, - gets a weapon in his hands (lethal compromising material, a hostage), - falls in love and suffers, - deals a decisive blow, - loses love (friend, parents, dog) or thinks he is losing, - finds out who is behind his torment (best friend, colleague, ex-wife, evil boss), - finally understands everything, - finds love, - Happy End.
Step 7
The plot is the skeleton of a future detective, now you need "meat". Add conflicts, quarrels, more details and descriptions. Come up with a few events that can turn the action upside down. Local flavor and original speech of the characters is required.
Step 8
Make sure that everything you twist is logically connected, the actions of the characters follow from their characters, and the events smoothly transition into one another. Complete all storylines, any word spoken in the novel must have a conclusion. Unless you plan on writing a sequel, of course. In this case, leave the plot tail, clinging to which, you can unfold a new novel.
Step 9
Think about which of the characters is not needed for a happy ending, and kill him. If you can't kill, send it to the woods (to Paris, to Georgia, to the trash heap of the homeless people). Never kill children. It's not funny, fun, or easy to read. Most readers project the events of the novel onto themselves, and the death of a child can alienate them from further reading.
Step 10
Do not get carried away with long descriptions of fights. Even if you are an expert in martial arts, keep yourself in control. The detective story is a fast-paced action, and the dialogue gives dynamism to the novel. Put your thoughts into the lips of the heroes, but do not let them philosophize for two or three pages.
Step 11
Make the speech of the characters clear and simple, dialectal words and a little swearing are encouraged. Do not overuse scientific terms and complex words. Please note that most readers do not know these words. For the main character, come up with some kind of verbal trick, which he will use to the place and out of place.
Step 12
Do not delay the action. Everything has to happen quickly. The action, stretching over the years, is not a detective story. The most you can afford is to describe the events taking place in a few years, and make them the ending. Two pages - no more.
Step 13
Your reader should "swallow" the book, and only then think about why he actually did it.
