I was lucky enough to win a ticket to the Saturday of the Killer Weekend, an event that I would not otherwise have been able to attend (thanks Killer Women and Mslexia). It only seemed right to spread the good fortune by sharing some snippets. So here are a few points I took away from the workshops and master classes I attended.

Intro to Crime Writing with Kate Rhodes

• Frinton-on-Sea is a genius location for crime (but someone is already doing it).
• Even really good, successful writers had to write more than one novel before they got a deal and still have unpublished novels under the bed.
• It starts with character.
• I want to read Kate’s new book – Hell Bay – and it comes out in January 2018.

Creating Characters with Henry Sutton

• Character and plot are one.
• Menace comes from character.
• You need to know what your character wants more than anything – and this might be something outside of the line of duty/work.
• Setting enhances character – it doesn’t exist independently because it is seen through character.
• Know your characters’ relationships.

Book recommendations:

• James Woods – How Fiction Works
• David Lodge – Consciousness and the Novel
• David Lodge – The Art of Fiction
• Patricia Highsmith – Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction

Changing Crimescape (Katherine Quarmby, Matthew Blakstad, Imran Mahmood, Vaseem Khan)

• Be aware of what is ‘in the air’ – #metoo, technology, diversity, global locations.
• Listening to writers talk about their books can distract you from learning from their experience (opps – sorry).

Creating Suspense with NJ Cooper

• Suspense is about withholding.
• Make readers wait for payoff, in the novel, in the chapter, in the paragraph, in the sentence.

Plotting with Julia Crouch

• Pantsing lets you go with passion and intuition, but plotting is more efficient.
• Find a way to plot whilst keeping the passion and intuition.
• Conflict is the source of all plot.
• Plot is what happens and why.
• Plot demands the intelligence and memory of the reader to make connections.
• Use the tools out there to help – structures from books, types of plot, software, and corkboards and post-its.

Book recommendations:

• Anne Lamott – Bird by Bird
• James Scott Bell – Plot and Structure
• Alexandra Sokoloff – Stealing Hollywood

Pitch to the Panel (Mark Billingham, Joel Richardson, Felicity Blunt, Karen Sullivan)

• If you put your name in a draw to pitch, bear in mind that you might get a slot and you might have to go first (so maybe write a pitch in advance).
• Mark Billingham is the crime writing world’s Dermot O’Leary and very soothing on the nerves.
• Highlight what makes you and your novel interesting and different.
• Some subjects are so dark that they will put people off – if you must write them, think about how you present them, in the novel an the pitch.
• If you are writing something that has done before, think about what makes your story different.
• There are characters/subjects that agents are looking for.

In conclusion:

• Character, character, character.
• Think motivation and conflict.
• Get it written and then get it re-written.
• Crime writers are lovely.
• Getting out in the writing community is re-energising – do it when you can.