If you a fan of true crime stories, you should look for the right sources to get these stories. You can find true crime stories on many reputable websites so you have many excellent choices for this genre. Below are some of the features of successful crime stories.
Suspense
An authentic crime story must have a credible element of suspense. This is because a crime story should leave you wondering what will happen next in the book. Suspense makes your book powerful, interesting and authentic.
Characterization
Every crime book should have excellent characters. True crime books should have central characters, minor characters and other characters in between. To make your crime story authentic, you need a round character, a foil and even flat characters. Once you have these characters, you can tell an authentic crime story.
Plot
In literature, the plot of any novel or story is simply the outline of events in that book. For crime stories, the right plot is one that has you turning each page of the book to savor the events in the book as they unfold. The right plot should have a bit of synergy and inter-connectivity. This way, the events in the book flow from one incident to another until the end of the book.
The Whodunit
The whodunit is an essential feature of every crime story. This feature simply outlines the crime that has been committed and then seeks to reveal who committed the crime. For best literary effect, the culprit is not revealed until the very end of the book. The gradual progression from crime to investigation and indictment makes the book worth reading.
Order of Narration
The best way to tell your crime story is to use the right order of narration. For best results, a crime story should employ sequential order of narration. This means you should employ the “beginning, middle and end” narrative technique. You can even use the flashback technique intermittently to add spice to your story.
Literary Principles
You cannot tell your crime story successfully if you do not apply the right literary principles. For a start, your crime story is a work of prose so you should tell the story in prose and not verse. In arranging the story, you should begin with “rising action” and build up to the “climax” of the work. The climax is the point of highest excitement or suspense in the work. After the climax, the action goes on a downward trend until the “catharsis” and the “denouement”.
Final Word
Crime stories should be interesting, authentic and convincing. Use the tips above for your crime stories and you will not go wrong.
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