The question I’m always asking is: what will elevate this manuscript to the next level whilst keeping it aligned with genre conventions?

Here’s five areas to consider when outlining and revising your crime fiction novel:

• Treat your villain with the same care and attention as your MC. Oftentimes, we can boil crime down to good versus evil, or we are trying to answer the question, will justice prevail?
  
  Back in the day it was okay just to have baddies being baddies, and we might not have given much stock to why they are bad. But I believe that had changed with the advent of the anti-hero, the rise in interest and understanding around psychology, social issues, and now readers want more than flat stock characters.
  
  Your villain sees themselves as the protagonist of their own story, and from this lens, it’s worth knowing them in the same way. Their flaws, wounds, traumas, relatives, and all the good stuff that caused them to act in the way they do.
  
  Bonus points if their goals put them in direct, personal, and high stakes conflict with the protagonist. If it feels like that villain was made for that protagonist, and it had to be them, perfect.
  
  For example, in Morgan Klein’s novel, the stakes are personal because the antagonistic forces against Ali are students in the school, and then teachers and the school itself, and these are all personally invested in Ali’s downfall because they are homophobic and have their own personal stakes due to their family connections. Oftentimes, threading these deeper and building up the layers is the way to go.

• Setting as a character of the story. The dark alleys, the shady clubs, the bathhouses, and after-hours nighttime establishments are often where the good stuff goes down. On the flip side, unusual and novel settings can work equally well because it can be unsettling to experience crime in places we often deem safe, such as schools, hospitals, etc. Giving your setting some agency and using it to create mood, such as the quiet village or the windswept coastlines; and my favourite, the gritty cityscape, are all there for the taking!
  
  
• Control how emotion is revealed to the reader We want tension spread throughout your novel and this is what keeps the reader coming back for more and turning those pages. Every clue and red herring should help the reader to almost, but not quite, figure things out. That’s what I love about crime fiction is the ability to be along for the investigation and the chance to feel like I can be a part of solving something. Subtext, quiet moments, and what passes between colleagues are the quieter moments compared to the car chases, explosions, and other dramatic moments. Both have a place and juxtaposing one with the other will keep the reader engrossed.
  
  
• Emotions and suspense. Sometimes in the plotting stages, writers can get carried away with the finer details of the crime, making sure all the forensics add up, and that the twists and turns keep the reader guessing, and this is all very important and fabulous, but if the reader can’t feel or make the connection to a character, and as a result themselves, then we’ve lost them.
  
  Regardless of genre, I’d bet my left shoe that most readers come away remembering how the characters acted, reacted, moved, or faced whatever the plot threw in their paths. It’s always about the humans (or other!) characters navigating the story world. Show the stakes, and make it personal. That bomb going off, make it one of their family members or loved ones who get hurt and then you’ve ramped up the personal stakes.
  
  
• Meaning and a twist Who doesn’t love a good twist? But they can feel forced, so a key area to consider is have the clues been stacked up so someone could guess what had happened, and the results feel inevitable and again personal enough and designed for those protagonists and that story. To get there, plant subtle setups early, foreshadow cleverly, and make sure the reveal ties back to your story’s themes. When the twist deepens the exploration of justice, morality, or identity and holds a mirror up the personal goals, wounds, or inner world of your main character then it’s a winner!

As with many things in developmental editing and crime fiction, you’ll see it often boils down to people, places, and emotions. The simplest of tools, with endless options—that’s how I see my role. My role is to take your story pieces and apply pressure to either test their weight: will they hold up to scrutiny, or should they be refined and bolstered for a bigger payoff?

Make your reader feel your ideal story as you do and you’re onto a winner!

Image by Alexa from Pixabay