If you want to write a detective story, you’ll have to begin with a little
investigation of your own. There are several different sub genres in this
category of mysteries; from hard boiled detectives to amateur
sleuths. You detective could be anyone, a little old lady, a
cynical ex marine, a teen girl with a knack for mischief, a chef, even a couple
of cats.
The first detectives of popular fiction were amateurs who solved murders
like a parlor game outwitting the incompetent police. Dashiell Hammett, a
former Pinkerton detective, took a more realistic approach to crime solving,
with classic detective novels like “The Maltese Falcon” and “The Thin
Man.” Raymond Chandler once said “He (Hammett) put these people down on
paper as they were, and he made them talk and think in the language they
customarily used for these purposes. He wrote scenes that seemed never to have
been written before.”
Chandler’s Philip Marlowe epitomizes the hard boiled private investigator, a
incorruptible, hard drinking, tough guy. Chandler created a feeling of
believability with his characters and stories.
Amateur sleuths are usually not held to the same standards. It can be tricky
justifying the presence of your protagonist especially if you intend to
serialize the character. Remember the Angela Lansbury from Murder She
Wrote? Every where she went a murder was committed. I would serious
reconsider a friendship with this type of sleuth. Your detective has to
have a legitimate reason to be involved and something personal at stake.
They may have been accused of a crime or the victim of a crime, they may be
protecting someone else or they may have a professional interest in the truth,
such as: journalists, lawyers or writers.
Once you’ve decided the type of detective story you wish to write, focus on
the crime and facts of the case. More than any other type of story,
I believe the detective story will benefit from a detailed outline before you
start writing. There are certain rules you must follow to meet your
readers’ expectations
1. Introduce the crime early on, preferably within the first three
chapters. It is the crime and subsequent clues that hook your reader. The
crime should be significant enough that your reader feels invested in the
outcome. Most detective stories involve a murder or kidnapping.
2. Introduce the detective and culprit early on. You’re not playing
fair if you don’t included the antagonist in the line up of suspects.
3. Provide clues along the way so it is possible, though highly
unlikely, that your reader could solve the case themselves.
4. Don’t provide enough clues along the way so your reader solves the
case before your detective. A detective story is a race between your
protagonist and your reader. If the reader wins, the victory will be
bitter sweet. Your readers want to be challenged, but in the end, they
want to be outsmarted.
5. Wrap up all the loose ends. Readers will remember every red
herring you threw in their direction. If a clue wasn’t relevant, make
sure you provide a reason why it was included. Each plot
point must be plausible, and the action even paced, without getting
bogged down in back stories or subplots.
6. Your detective must solve the case using logic or scientific
means. CK Chesterton wrote the following oath for all writers of
detective stories: “Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly
detect the crimes presented to them using those wits which it may please you to
bestow on them and not placing reliance on nor making use of Divine Revelation,
Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, Coincidence, or Act of God?”
Of course, the best way to learn how to
write a detective story is to read detective stories. Pay attention
to how clues are revealed, when key characters are introduced and when
revelations are made. Detective stories are fun to read and fun to write,
but if you don’t play by the rules, you won’t stay in the game.
