The Crime Readers' Association

Interested in writing crime?

NEW SERIES COMING SOON – ADVICE FROM AN AGENT

  • A regular column written by one of the UK’s top literary agents in the crime genre

Revisit soon for this must-read info – it could make all the difference to your chances of publication

Visit the CWA website

Fear not the details… by Paul Gitsham

25th March 2020 by in

One of the scariest things about writing contemporary police procedurals is the attention to detail that is necessary. To write a modern police investigation that feels authentic requires some insight...

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Crime Writing Tips: Authenticity

29th January 2014 by in

In any artistic endeavour it is important to create an illusion. In books, film and television a story transports the reader or the viewer into a different world. In music a wrong note can completely...

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Crime Writing Tips: Plot

27th December 2013 by in

Crime fiction is plot driven. So much so that, for many readers, the main enjoyment of reading crime novels lies in working out the identity of the killer and solving the case. The genre is not known...

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Diary of a Debut Author: Helen Phifer

17th December 2013 by in

A big welcome to my brand new monthly blog post and I have to say I still can’t believe I’m talking about myself. It’s one of those things you fantasise about, getting your book published that is (apa...

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Choosing Characters Names

13th December 2013 by in

What’s in a name? A great deal claims crime author Pauline Rowson Getting the right name for characters in a novel can be a tricky business. Sometimes they come to me completely out of the blue as I a...

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Crime Writing Tips: Location

25th November 2013 by in

Many crime writers are associated with the locations where their narratives are set: Rankin’s Edinburgh, McCall Smith’s Botswana, Donna Leon’s Venice. This aspect of novel writing is...

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Crime Writing Tips: Variety in Writing

12th October 2013 by in

The importance of varying your pace when you are writing cannot be stressed too much. To some extent this will happen naturally through your plot, but you should also use your language to control the...

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Crime Writing Tips: Editing

26th August 2013 by in

A quotation from George Orwell is probably the best place to start when we are thinking about editing:’If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.’ Remember that writing for a...

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Manuscript assessment

Crime reading and writing has never been so popular. We support new writers and our experienced Crime Writers are here to offer the benefit of their experience.
We also have competitions,
the Debut Dagger
and our Manuscript
Assessment Service.

Just don’t forget us when
you hit the big time.

Find out more