Crime Reads » Craft

Zoje Stage: My Quest for Realism in Genre Fiction

Zoje Stage: My Quest for Realism in Genre Fiction

From film to novels, a journey in search of character-driven story.

By Zoje Stage | August 13, 2024

Sam Tschida: Write Like a Mother

Sam Tschida: Write Like a Mother

On finding the time and inspiration to spend "several hours a day with people you made up."

By Sam Tschida | August 8, 2024

All These Houses Are Haunted: How (and Why) Horror is the Perfect Hybrid Genre

All These Houses Are Haunted: How (and Why) Horror is the Perfect Hybrid Genre

"When taken from the right perspective, every story is a horror story"

By Matthew Lyons | August 7, 2024

Why the Epistolary Format Works So Well in Crime Fiction

Why the Epistolary Format Works So Well in Crime Fiction

"Letters are a great way to manipulate your vict—I mean, audience."

By Joshua Chaplinsky | August 7, 2024

Your Hero Could Beat Up My Hero

Your Hero Could Beat Up My Hero

Or, five characters that could easily beat up my protagonist, who is very bad at fighting

By Gregg Podolski | July 31, 2024

Writing Better Neurodivergent Characters in Fiction

Writing Better Neurodivergent Characters in Fiction

Scott Lyerly on living with Tourette syndrome and bringing that reality to fiction.

By Scott Lyerly | July 31, 2024

Best Reviewed
Books of the Week

Speculating Our Way Back to Ourselves

By Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi | July 30, 2024

Crafting the Real and Surreal in Eco-Horror

By Nick Belardes | July 29, 2024

How Researching Her New Historical Novel Made Juliet Grames Into a Detective of the Immigrant Experience

By John B. Valeri | July 26, 2024

6 Crime and Horror Books Featuring Unusual Narrators

6 Crime and Horror Books Featuring Unusual Narrators

Heather Chavez looks at stories told from the perspectives of wildfires, security cameras, animals, and more

By Heather Chavez | July 24, 2024

Meta-Morphoses: Crafting a Book-Within-the-Book in a Thriller

Meta-Morphoses: Crafting a Book-Within-the-Book in a Thriller

"[M]etafiction is a great tool for encouraging readers to question everything."

By Lisa Kusel | July 24, 2024

Peng Shepherd On Writing A Choose-You-Own-Adventure Speculative Mystery

Peng Shepherd On Writing A Choose-You-Own-Adventure Speculative Mystery

"[W]hat if you actually could go back and fix your past mistakes? How would that change your life?"

By Peng Shepherd | July 23, 2024

Out of the Ashes: Meg Gardiner on Deadlines, Drama and Deviant Psychology

Out of the Ashes: Meg Gardiner on Deadlines, Drama and Deviant Psychology

After collaborating with Michael Mann on 'Heat 2', the author is back with a new installment in her UNSUB series.

By John B. Valeri | July 22, 2024

Is History Only For Historical Novels?

Is History Only For Historical Novels?

Five ways to use the past in contemporary crime fiction.

By Connie Berry | July 22, 2024

Memory, Subjectivity, and the Rashomon Effect

Memory, Subjectivity, and the Rashomon Effect

"Memory and perception are slippery things, and become all the more so when filtered back through the limitations of language."

By Sarah Easter Collins | July 19, 2024

Sarah Pearse On Crafting Atmospheric Suspense

Sarah Pearse On Crafting Atmospheric Suspense

"To effectively evoke an intense sense of atmosphere, I need to have spent a lot of time in the setting myself"

By Sarah Pearse | July 18, 2024

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