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Crime Novels and Short Stories
with John Paxton Sheriff

REGISTRATION:

COST, LENGTH, PREREQUISITES:

No prerequisites.

Standard course: $180 / 6 weeks. Click here to register

Extended schedule: $224 / 12 weeks. Click here to register
Extended course gives you two weeks to do each lesson but contains NO additional material.

John Paxton Sheriff is at red-herrings@hotmail.co.uk

Crime fiction is by far the most popular genre you will see on library shelves (romance runs it a close second). This course is designed to guide you, the aspiring writer, through all the stages of writing a crime novel. I write private eye novels, currently two series. You may also be interested in the trials and tribulations of the private investigator, or you may like police procedurals, or the classic cozy as epitomized by Miss Marple. It's my firm belief that you will be more at home, more comfortable, writing the kind of novels you enjoy reading, so the first thing you will do is make that decision. Once you know the kind of crime novel you are going to write, we will get down to work. At the end of six weeks, you will be well into your novel. More importantly, you will have the confidence that comes from knowing you are writing well.

Week One: What is crime fiction

• The crime short story
• The crime novel
• Crime fiction divisions or sub-genres
• The traditional, or 'cosy
• Private eyes
• Police procedurals
• The series character
• Partnerships
• How to begin
• Analysing your crime fiction interests
• Assessing your capabilities and qualifications
• Choosing a suitable modus operendi
  • Murder by shooting
  • Death by knifing
  • Poisoning
  • Miscellaneous murder methods

Homework: Send a sample (if you have it) of your fiction writing. Work with your teacher to decide which type of short story or novel you wish to write.

Week Two: Developing a crime novel or short story concept

• Where to get ideas
• Select the sub-genre
• Confirm your choice of crime, victim and criminal
• Test the idea - short story or novel?
• Create brief character studies
  • Victim
  • Investigators/detectives
  • Suspects
  • Other characters
• Plan the crime scene and settings
  • Location
  • Interior/exterior
  • Main town - real/imaginary
• Decide on the general style and tone

Homework: For this and the remainder of the course, work with your teacher on whatever you are writing.

Week Three: Fleshing out villains, victims and investigators

• Create complex villains and victims
• Police personnel
• Morse
• Frost
• Dalziel
• Private investigators
• Supporting characters
• Using stereotypes
• Character strengths and weaknesses
• Dominant traits

Week Four: The main plot

• Work backwards from the crime
• Incorporating a crime sub-plot
• Compelling, but subordinate
• Linking plot and sub-plot
• A sub-plot for light relief
• Using a second but minor crime
• Create vivid, tension-building scenes
• Chapter breaks
• Hooks and cliff-hangers
• Clues and red-herrings
• Motives, opportunities and alibis

Week Five: Modern investigative techniques

• Police organisation
• UK
• USA
• Interpol
• Crime scene procedure
• Determining the cause of death
• Post-mortems
• Estimating the time of death
• Fingerprints and DNA
• Surveillance skills
• Interrogation and interview techniques
• Inquests

Week Six: Creative Revision

• Reviewing the completed first draft
• Double-checking continuity and chronology
• Ensuring plausibility
• Selecting incidents that need foreshadowing
• Polishing your vocabulary
• Strengthening the climax

John Paxton Sheriff was born in England. After Fifteen years in the British army he and hs family moved to Australia where he first started writing and being published.

"In Australia, my short stories took off. Some general stories were published in the top glossy magazines for women, short crime stories were published in Adam, a pulp magazine for men."

Sheriff returned to England and continued writing. By 1986 he had moved from fiction to writing articles for national magazines and two newspaper groups.

"I was writing short feature articles for them, as many as ten, 500-word articles a week. I had to be economical with words, and I'm sure that economy with words helped me when I began writing short Western novels. One thing I do know is that writing short Western novels helped me when I turned to crime writing. And now it's working the other way: creating complicated plots for crime novels means that my Western novels are becoming more complex – and so far, fingers crossed, that's a good thing."

Sheriff's work includes:

Short stories in magazines such as: Australian Women's Weekly, Australian Woman's Day, Adam (Australia) , Woman and Home (UK), Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (New York)

Western Novels: Thirty-three published in the past 15 years, three more due out by early 2011.

Crime Novels: Seven published in the past 5 years. Two series, one featuring PI Jack Scott, the other featuring female PI Penny Lane ( I like writing in the first person!).

Teaching: In addition to the above, for ten years Sheriff has been a tutor, teaching novel writing, short story writing and article writing by correspondence.