Crime Novel Intensive

Details

Workshops (In Person): Saturdays 3 February, 2 March, 18 May, 10am – 4pm

Seminars (Online): Thursdays 8 February, 4 April, 6.30–8pm 

3 full-day workshops:

Whodunnit – Characters in Crime: Unreliable narrators and amateur detectives. Sleuths and sidekicks. What makes a compelling character in the world of crime fiction? Learn to write nuanced, complex characters that your readers will invest in.

Wheredunnit – Setting in Crime: Small towns with big secrets. Police headquarters. Crime scenes. Successful settings in crime fiction are characters unto themselves. In this course you will learn how to create a sense of place that will captivate and entrance. 

Howdunnit – Plotting and Structure in Crime: Double crossings. Hidden motives. Third act twists. When writing crime stories, you engage both your left and right brains. Using both practical and creative methods you will learn the building blocks to structure a killer plot that will keep your reader glued to the page. 

Two 90-minute seminars:

Red Herrings, Plot Twists, and How to Keep Your Reader Guessing: A great mystery must skirt the line of being too obtuse, nor too obvious. In this seminar you will delve into how create a satisfying mystery and pay-off for the reader. 

Fridging, Sexy Lamps, and Other Crime Clichés to Avoid: When does a trope become a cliché? When does a crime narrative become problematic? This seminar is all about looking deep into the sticky, tricky and sometimes uncomfortable side of writing crime fiction.

You Will Learn:

• The landscape and history of the crime fiction genre
• What readers expect and how to both satisfy and surprise them
• How to keep readers glued to the page
• My tool to creating genuine and fascinating characters
• The fundamentals of building suspense

About the Tutor:

Anna Snoekstra is an award-winning author and screenwriter. She is the author of Only Daughter, Little Secrets and The Spite Game. Her novels have been published in over twenty countries and sixteen languages. She has written for Meanjin, KYD, Lindsay, SMH, LitHub, The Griffith Review and is a profile writer for The Saturday Paper. Her most recent novel is Out of Breath (2022) and in 2023 she released her first audio drama This Isn’t Happening.

Covid-19 Restrictions:

You can find details of how Covid-19 restrictions will affect the workshop here: https://writersvictoria.org.au/about-us/covid-19-information/. You are encouraged to wear a mask in the workshop space. The Wheeler Centre’s policy is that close contacts should not attend the building. If you are a close contact of somebody with Covid-19, or have Covid-19 symptoms yourself, please do not attend; please contact [email protected] to arrange a refund in this situation.

Not a Member?

Members of Writers Victoria receive up to 37% off the full price of our workshops, seminars and courses. In addition, members have access to a range of other discounts and opportunities and receive a subscription to 'The Victorian Writer' magazine. Memberships start from just $50. Find out more about becoming a member here.

Book early to access our early bird prices! These expire 9 days before the course begins. Please keep in mind that our workshops require a minimum number of participants to run, so booking early also helps ensure that a workshop will go ahead. 

Cancellation Policy