Hmmm… You have someone to kill. You need a creative way, and the old-fashioned gun, knife, rope, or Pillow Suffocation simply won’t do. Using a medication sounds intriguing. In the alphabet soup of drugs, which one makes the perfect instrument of death?
Demystifying The Writing Process & Overcoming Writer’s Block
Never stop learning, because life never stops teaching
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Writer’s Craft: Cruel Claws: Describing the Killer’s Hands by Rayne Hall
To increase suspense in a scene where a dangerous person is about to do something nasty, slow down the pace and describe their hands. This is perfect for when the evil overlord signs the order to exterminate the children, or when the torturer readies his instruments.
This technique works especially well in thrillers. Show the killer’s (or the suspect’s) hands, especially when the point-of-view character is helpless to do anything. This will send creepy shivers across the reader’s skin.
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Historical Division: Restitution of Artwork Stolen by the Nazis during World War Two by Jennifer Alderson
Before moving to Amsterdam, I knew very little about the restitution of artwork stolen by the Nazis during World War Two, a topic that plays a central role in my novel, The Lover’s Portrait: An Art Mystery. Sure, I’d read about controversial cases in newspapers and wondered why museums didn’t hand over the artwork immediately when legitimate claimants appeared on the scene, but also why it took the relative of the legal owner so long to submit a claim.
Contests & Entertainment
Daily Mystery Thriller Week PRIZE Winners may be found HERE.
International Audio Book Giveaway Enter LIVE NOW. Multiple MTW authors want to give you a chance to listen to a wonderfully narrated audio version of their books. So much so that they have offered to give away copies to fans regardless of where you have an Amazon account! Sign up for your chance to win one of 18 copies of 8 titles by MTW authors and narrator.
Mystery Thriller Week Quiz Answer LIVE NOW. Test your MTW acumen and answer questions about the event to win a prize. Google won’t help you with this one!
Progressive Story Read LIVE NOW. Take part in a one-of-a-kind mystery as written and told by bloggers from around the world. Each quick stop provides you a snip-it of an honest to goodness WHODUNIT. Even the writers don’t know who the killer will end up being. Be sure to cast your vote at the end and claim your immediate prize.
Crossword Puzzles Learn about the authors, bloggers, and specialists of Mystery Thriller Week 2017.
Puzzle #1 – LIVE NOW. Prize awarded by random drawing.
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Scored MTW Trivia Enter LIVE NOW Tax your brain and try your hand at daily mysterious and thrilling trivia questions. Start brushing up now for your chance to earn the most points by the end of MTW. There may just be…[wait for it, wait for it]…a prize.
Who Am I? Enter LIVE NOW Read a daily book excerpt to guess it’s historical author. How literary are you? How well do you know the Mystery and Thriller geniuses that paved the way for us? Submit your answers on a form and win a prize every day.
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Daily winners for MTW Fan of the Day, MTW Facebook Fan of the Day, and MTW Twitter Fan of the Day.
MTW Super Fans of the Day LIVE NOW Check back daily to see if you are the next Mystery Thriller Week SUPER FAN of the day. Each day new MTW Super Fans will be posted and win a prize. We adore our fans and want to show you the love!
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Crime Division: How to Achieve Accuracy by Stephen Bentley
There is nothing so annoying as reading a book or watching a movie and finding inaccuracies in things like police and courtroom procedures. I am not a pedant but I prefer accuracy in my own writing and that of others, whether the result is within the pages or up on the screen.
As a former UK detective and a barrister, trial counsel to Americans but we got to wear those wigs and gowns, I have an advantage in my own writing to portray accuracy.
So how does a crime writer without the same advantage set about achieving accuracy?
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I Have this Great Idea By Catherine Dilts
You introduce yourself as an author. Maybe mention a writing credit or two.
“The third book in my series is being released next week,” you say.
Instead of asking where they can purchase your novel, your new acquaintance hits you with an all-too-familiar line.
“I have this great idea for a book.”
Admit it. You’ve been on the receiving end of this conversation, or perhaps you’ve been the person delivering the germ of an idea destined to become a NYT bestselling novel. Whichever role you played, the end result was Awkward.
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Historical Division: Marie Silk on Historical Fiction Writing: Life in America 100 Years Ago
Someone recently asked me, “What is ‘historical fiction’?” I never realized it was a confusing phrase until I really thought about it and concluded that it sounds like an oxymoron. Here, I will do my best to explain historical fiction and the process that goes into writing it.
Q&A with Lis Wiehl Author of The Candidate
Writer’s Craft: Managing Tension With Peaks and Troughs by Rayne Hall
Tension is good. It makes the reader turn the pages. However, constant high tension soon gets dull. The readers can’t sustain continuous scared excitement, and after a while, instead of roused, they become bored.
It’s like the waves on a stormy sea: the peaks are only high because of the troughs between them. If there were only continuous peaks without any troughs, the sea would be flat.
Your job as writer is to create not just the peaks, but the troughs which make the peaks look high.
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Mystery Thriller Week 