#75: Crime Genre Conventions

Fiction Writing Made Easy

In today's episode, I’m covering the conventions of the crime genre. This includes the character roles, settings, and events that need to be present in a crime story in order for it to work and satisfy fans of the genre. Here’s a preview of what’s included:

[01:30] Crime stories are all about the quest to either solve or commit a crime. So, these stories start with a crime, build with an investigation (or a completion of the crime), and end with identifying and bringing the criminal to justice (or not).

[05:15] 1. There’s a crime with at least one victim that launches the investigation.

[06:15] 2. The protagonist is intelligent and determined to solve the crime.

[08:15] 3. There’s an equally smart or crafty antagonist who seems to be a step ahead of the protagonist the whole time.

[09:15] 4. There is a closed circle of suspects, each with a credible motive and a reasonable opportunity to commit the crime.

[10:30] 5. There’s a MacGuffin (or a very specific thing the antagonist wants).

[11:30] 6. A sidekick character who acts as a sounding board for the protagonist.

[12:25] 7. There are clues and red herrings that help (or hurt) the investigation.

[13:40] 8. There’s a ticking clock by which the protagonist must solve the crime.

[14:37] 9. There’s a speech in praise of the antagonist that shows their brilliance.

[15:48] 10. There’s at least one shapeshifter character.

[16:42] Key points and episode recap

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Links mentioned in this episode:

• Episode Freebie: Crime Genre Cheat Sheet
• The 6 Key Scenes Every Crime Story Needs (article)
• What are Obligatory Scenes and Conventions? (article)
• Understanding Genre: How to Write Better Stories (article)

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