What is crime fiction? This is a question that has been asked by many people over the years. The answer, however, is not always simple. Crime fiction can be broadly defined as any story that revolves around a crime or criminal act. This could include murder mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels, just to name a few.

However, what makes crime fiction unique is the way it uses these elements to explore the darker side of human nature. If you're interested in writing crime fiction, then this blog post is for you! I'll discuss what makes this genre so popular, and provide tips on how to write your own crime fiction novel.

Why do we love crime fiction?

There are many reasons why crime fiction is one of the most popular genres today. For one, it's always exciting. There's nothing quite like reading a suspenseful novel where you have no idea what's going to happen next. And secondly, as mentioned above, it allows us to explore the darker side of human nature without having to experience it ourselves.

When it comes to writing your own crime fiction, there are a few things you should keep in mind. First and foremost, your story should be thrilling and suspenseful. Keep your readers guessing by providing them with clues along the way, but don't give too much away. You want them to be surprised when they reach the end of your novel.

Another key in crime fiction is to make sure the crime is solved by the end of the book. Readers will be satisfied when they know who committed the crime and why they did it. Most crime fiction novels also end with the bad guy being punished in some way such as going to jail or ending up dead (often at the hands of the hero).

How do you write authentic crime fiction?

If you aren't a detective (or a criminal), you might wonder how you can write crime fiction. The key is to do your research. Read as much as you can in the genre, and pay attention to the elements that make these stories so captivating. Once you have a good understanding of what makes a great crime fiction novel, you can start planning out your own story.

As with any type of writing, it's important to create believable characters. In crime fiction, your readers need to be able to sympathize with the victim and root for the hero. They should also be able to understand the criminal's motivation for committing the crime. If you can create these complex characters, then you're well on your way to writing a successful crime fiction novel.

Recommended Courses

In addition to reading lots of crime fiction, something that helped me get started with writing crime fiction was the Writer's Detective School with Adam Richardson. I first took Adam's Crime Fiction Guns course to learn more about what kind of gun my characters might use. Even though I have some knowledge of guns from taking in-person courses where I learned how to shoot a gun, I still found this course really helpful.

Since I enjoyed the guns course so much, I also enrolled in Writer's Detective School where Adam led us through a fictitious case. The course was really in-depth and gave me lots of ideas for characters and scenes in my novel. What I loved most about the course is Adam is an actual detective, so I could trust what he was teaching. He also explains things in great detail and points out common mistakes authors sometimes make in their crime fiction.

There was also plenty of opportunity to ask questions specific to the stories we were working on. I highly recommend these courses if you want to write authentic crime fiction. Click the image below to learn more about both of Adam's courses.