Crime Fiction Writing Guides
Craft guides on plotting, suspense, dialogue, and character — from Phillip Strang, author of 150+ crime novels. Practical techniques from the writing desk.
The travelling investigation presents one of crime fiction’s most challenging technical demands. When your protagonist must follow leads across cities, countries, or continents, every transition carries the weight of maintaining authenticity while avoiding the narrative drag that kills momentum.
Across...
Crime fiction thrives on pressure, and nothing creates pressure quite like trapping your characters in a confined space with a killer. The closed environment—whether it’s a cruise ship, remote island, or isolated resort—strips away the safety nets that modern life provides and forces both characters...
The geography of crime isn’t random—it follows the invisible lines that divide neighbourhoods, income brackets, and social hierarchies. Your thriller’s credibility depends on understanding how these urban territories actually function, not just as backdrop, but as active forces that shape...
The small town investigation presents one of crime fiction’s most deceptive challenges. On the surface, it appears simpler than urban procedurals—fewer suspects, contained geography, limited forensic resources. In practice, writing authentic small town crime requires navigating webs of interconnected...
Weather isn’t window dressing in crime fiction—it’s ammunition. The storm that isolates your suspects, the heat wave that frays tempers before murder, the fog that conceals the killer’s escape: these aren’t atmospheric flourishes but structural elements that can make or break...
The desert doesn’t simply provide backdrop for crime fiction—it becomes an active participant in the psychological warfare between hunter and hunted. Unlike urban settings where buildings and crowds offer hiding places and witnesses, the desert strips characters down to their essential survival...
Coastal crime fiction demands more than dropping a murder onto a beach and calling it atmospheric. The sea isn’t mere backdrop—it’s a living character that shapes every aspect of your story, from the psychology of your characters to the practical mechanics of how crimes unfold and evidence...
Rural crime fiction presents unique narrative challenges that urban settings simply cannot replicate. The isolation inherent in small towns and remote locations creates both opportunity and constraint for the crime writer, demanding careful balance between the claustrophobic intimacy of tight-knit communities...
Urban crime fiction demands more than placing a detective in a city and letting them solve cases. The metropolis itself must breathe, corrupt, and complicate every investigation, becoming as vital to your story as any human character.
Across eighteen series and more than 150 novels, I have found that...
The elderly character in crime fiction presents unique challenges that extend far beyond adding grey hair and a walking stick. These characters demand careful navigation of the tension between accumulated wisdom and physical vulnerability, between sharp insight and the reality of aging memory.
Across...
Writing children in crime fiction presents one of the most challenging ethical and craft dilemmas any author faces. The vulnerability of child characters demands careful handling, yet their presence often drives the most compelling emotional stakes in our narratives.
Across eighteen series and more than...
The detective’s family life isn’t window dressing—it’s the pressure valve that either enhances or destroys your crime fiction. Too much domestic drama and you’re writing soap opera with corpses. Too little and your protagonist becomes a cardboard cut-out who exists only to solve...