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    Writing the Cozy Mystery: Expanded Second Edition
    Writing the Cozy Mystery: Expanded Second Edition
    Writing the Cozy Mystery: Expanded Second Edition
    Ebook128 pages2 hours

    Writing the Cozy Mystery: Expanded Second Edition

    By Nancy J. Cohen

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Writing the Cozy Mystery is a concise writing guide that describes step-by-step how to write a winning whodunit.

     

    Do you want to write a cozy mystery but don't have a clue where to start? Or perhaps you're already writing a series, and you need tips on how to keep your material fresh. Writing the Cozy Mystery is a handy reference guide that will help you develop your characters, establish the setting, plot the story, add suspense, plant clues, and solve the crime.

     

    This award-winning second edition contains examples from the author's Bad Hair Day Mysteries along with writing exercises, marketing tips, advice on how to maintain your series, and special considerations for cozy authors. You'll find everything you need to know in an easy-to-read, clear manner to write your own mystery and to refresh a long-running series. Recommended for cozy writers, mystery fans, and creative writing classes.

     

    Gold Award Winner in the FWA Royal Palm Literary Awards
    Gold Medal Winner in the FAPA President's Book Awards
    First Place Winner in TopShelf Magazine Book Awards
    Agatha Awards Finalist

    "If you want to write a cozy mystery—or really, any kind of mystery—this is the book for you! Everything you need to know in one handy volume." Victoria Thompson, Bestselling Author of the Gaslight Mystery Series

     

    "If you are thinking about writing a cozy mystery, read this book first! Nancy lays out all the necessary steps in an interesting and informative way that is easy to follow. Highly recommended." Catherine Bruns, USA Today Bestselling Author of the Cookies & Chance Mysteries

     

    "Nancy J. Cohen offers clear examples, practical writing exercises, and friendly advice designed to help the beginning cozy author start—and finish!—a saleable book. Even seasoned cozy writers can find helpful hints for building better characters and story." Diane A.S. Stuckart, NY Times Bestselling Author of the Tarot Cats Mysteries

     

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOrange Grove Press
    Release dateNov 12, 2018
    ISBN9780998531724
    Writing the Cozy Mystery: Expanded Second Edition
    Author

    Nancy J. Cohen

    Nancy J. Cohen writes the Bad Hair Day Mysteries featuring South Florida hairstylist Marla Vail. Titles in this series have been named Best Cozy Mystery by Suspense Magazine, won the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards and the RONE Award, placed first in the Chanticleer International Book Awards and third in the Arizona Literary Awards. Her nonfiction titles, Writing the Cozy Mystery and A Bad Hair Day Cookbook, have earned gold medals in the FAPA President’s Book Awards and the Royal Palm Literary Awards, First Place in the IAN Book of the Year Awards and the Topshelf Magazine Book Awards. Writing the Cozy Mystery was also an Agatha Award Finalist. Nancy’s imaginative romances have proven popular with fans as well. These books have won the HOLT Medallion and Best Book in Romantic SciFi/Fantasy at The Romance Reviews. A featured speaker at libraries, conferences, and community events, Nancy is listed in Contemporary Authors, Poets & Writers, and Who’s Who in U.S. Writers, Editors, & Poets. She is a past president of Florida Romance Writers and the Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. When not busy writing, Nancy enjoys reading, fine dining, cruising, and visiting Disney World.

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      Easy to understand way of building your cozy mystery. Quite helpful.

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    Book preview

    Writing the Cozy Mystery - Nancy J. Cohen

    WtCM title page.jpg

    WRITING THE COZY MYSTERY: Expanded Second Edition

    Second Edition Copyright © 2018 by Nancy J. Cohen

    First Edition Copyright © 2014 by Nancy J. Cohen

    Published November 2018 by Orange Grove Press

    Printed in the United States of America

    Digital ISBN: 978-0-9985317-2-4

    Print ISBN: 978-0-9985317-3-1

    Cover Design & Graphic Illustrations by Boulevard Photografica

    Interior Design by www.formatting4U.com

    All rights reserved. This book is licensed for your personal use only. No part of this work may be used, reproduced, stored in an information retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written consent by the author. Any usage of the text, except for brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews, without the author’s permission is a violation of copyright.

    OGP FULL PRINT LOGO BLACK 300dpi CMYK.jpg

    Table of Contents

    Introduction

    Chapter One – Defining the Genre

    Chapter Two – World Building

    Chapter Three – Creating the Sleuth

    Chapter Four – A Web of Suspects

    Chapter Five – Heightening Suspense

    Chapter Six – Solving the Puzzle

    Chapter Seven – Muddle in the Middle

    Chapter Eight – Romance and Murder

    Chapter Nine – The Grand Finale

    Chapter Ten – Series Continuity

    Chapter Eleven – Organizational Tools

    Chapter Twelve – Special Considerations

    Chapter Thirteen – Keeping a Series Fresh

    Chapter Fourteen – Writing the Smart Synopsis

    Chapter Fifteen – Mystery Movies

    Chapter Sixteen – Marketing Tips

    Chapter Seventeen – Final Words

    Chapter Eighteen – Resources

    Acknowledgments

    Author’s Note

    About the Author

    Books by Nancy J. Cohen

    Introduction

    One of the best ways to begin writing mysteries is to read them. If you gravitate toward a certain type of story, likely that is the subgenre you’ll pursue as a writer. Are you attracted to bright, cheery covers with funny titles or to more serious works? In your crime fiction, do you read books that delve into the psychology of a criminal, or would you rather choose a lighthearted whodunit?

    Despite market fluctuations, cozy mysteries have always been popular. Readers like cozies because they offer an escape from reality. Unlike the real world where criminals often go free and victims lack justice, in a cozy the crook is always caught and the sleuth emerges unharmed. The focus is more on the puzzle of solving the mystery than the forensics. These stories satisfy our need for justice and a happy ending.

    How do you write a cozy mystery? In this book, you’ll learn to how develop your characters, build your setting, plot the story, add suspense, and sustain your series.

    This Second Edition contains expanded sections; more examples; additional writing exercises; and seven new chapters, including The Muddle in the Middle, Romance and Murder, Special Considerations for Cozy Writers, Keeping a Series Fresh, Writing the Smart Synopsis, Mystery Movies, and Marketing Tips. Also, questions such as these are answered:

    Can I use real places?

    Does the crime have to be a murder?

    How many suspects are a good number?

    When should the dead body show up?

    How can you avoid police involvement?

    What is a Red Herring?

    What types of questions must be resolved by the end of the story?

    How important is originality?

    Can serious issues be included in a cozy?

    Most examples in this book are from my own work simply for the sake of expediency. Be aware there are numerous spoiler alerts in this material.

    Let’s begin by taking a closer look at genre definitions.

    Chapter One – Defining the Genre

    Traditional mysteries are akin to Agatha Christie novels, wherein the puzzle is the thing. Readers expect to solve a crime along with the sleuth. A cozy is a type of traditional mystery.

    A cozy mystery can be defined as a whodunit featuring an amateur sleuth, a distinctive setting, and a limited number of suspects, most of whom know each other and have a motive for murder. These stories contain no explicit sex, violence, or bad language. For the most part, they are clean books that can be read by all ages. As one reader said, I love a good mystery with no obscenities, smut or gory details.

    Humor is often evident in cozies (as witnessed by the punny titles), and so are recipes. Pets, crafts, and culinary skills are welcome, but don’t kill the favored cat or dog. While murder is usually the basis for the story, the focus of a cozy is on interpersonal relationships rather than crime scene details or lab results. Readers who don’t like to be frightened know they will get a lighthearted story with a challenging puzzle, interesting characters, and a view of a world they might not experience otherwise.

    These novels center on the connections among individuals, and not on large, impersonal groups like global terrorists, international drug cartels, or secret government agencies. Those are reserved for thrillers that deal with a broader scope. Psychological studies of the criminal mind or profiles of serial killers don’t play a big role here either. These would more likely be seen in suspense novels. Police procedurals, detective stories, and courtroom dramas are other subgenres of the mystery field.

    In a cozy, the sleuth’s world is just as important as solving the murder. We read these stories to learn about a new occupation or to vicariously explore a different locale. Readers like to follow the sleuth’s personal life, which is the key to bringing fans back for the next installment. Be prepared for the long haul with your characters and setting, because readers as well as editors prefer series.

    The amateur sleuth is your average Joe or Joanne. This person is not professionally engaged in hunting down or prosecuting criminals. The sleuth may run into serious danger but isn’t physically damaged to any great extent.

    Occupations of today’s protagonists range from bakery owners to antique dealers to real estate agents to caterers. Popular subcategories include culinary cozies, animal mysteries (i.e. pets), cozy craft and hobby mysteries. Paranormal mysteries may include ghosts or other supernatural elements, while historical mysteries always attract a following. Don’t be afraid if your story doesn’t fit into one of these subsets. Readers are always looking for something new and fresh, and so are editors.

    An example of a cozy series on television is Murder, She Wrote with Angela Lansbury, who played mystery writer and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher. She lived in the small town of Cabot Cove, Maine, and solved murders on a weekly basis. Then there’s the entertaining Mystery Woman series of Hallmark TV movies starring Kellie Martin as bookstore owner Samantha Kinsey. An avid mystery fan, Samantha gets caught up in solving crimes as much as bookselling. Look at the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Channel for more TV series in this genre: http://www.hallmarkmoviesandmysteries.com/.

    The classic Clue game offers another example of a murder happening in a confined setting with a limited number of suspects. Throw in a few secrets and motives for murder, and you have a classic cozy. An entire conference, Malice Domestic, is devoted to the traditional mystery genre. This shows you how many devoted fans are out there, waiting for your book. For more information on this event, visit http://www.malicedomestic.org.

    The Eight C’s of Cozy Mysteries are depicted in this graphic, although all of these items are neither required nor exclusive. It’s my fun take on the genre. These may include, but not be limited to, crime, clues, characters, canines, cooking, crafts, cats, and chuckles.

    Cozy MysteriesBW.jpg

    Chapter Two – World Building

    How do you establish setting?

    Decide what ambiance you want to impart with your series and select a locale to reflect this lifestyle. Will it be a seaside village, a mountain ski resort, a coastal New England town, or a flashy city? These surroundings will take on characteristics of their own as you map out your territory, add regional flavors, and throw in some local slang.

    Plan to lay the groundwork for your series in book one. Although your heroine’s adventures will be ongoing, each story should stand alone and come to a satisfactory conclusion. It’s the evolving personal relationships among the recurrent characters that will propel readers to your next book. In the meantime, be sure your setting allows for people to come and go, as you’ll need a new set of suspects for each story.

    Also, when some of your

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