How to Plot a Thrilling Crime Novel

Want to learn how to plot a thrilling crime novel, but don't know where to start? Never fear, Kat Clay has you covered. Watch as she takes you through the steps she uses to plot her crime novels, including how to think about character, raise the stakes, and use existing structures to make sure your book compels readers to keep reading!
Kat Clay is a Scarlet Stiletto winning crime author, and you can find her online:
Facebook / katclaywriter
Twitter / kat_clay
Instagram / katclaywriter
Website katclay.com/

[@britishcrimewriter-LeeWood]

You cover some really good points. I always make maps and timelines to ensure it all fits together.

[@rebecca5388]

That is an amazing video and the advice is all so clear and helpful! I am taking notes and enjoying carrying out the suggestions in reading to look at how thrillers are put together.

[@KatClay]

Thanks so much Rebecca! Really glad it could help :)

[@buira9482]

Took so many notes from this video, including the Phryne Fisher books which I had never heard of.
Awesome information!

[@KatClay]

The Phryne Fisher TV show is also a lot of fun!

[@LBAutry]

Wonderful and practical advice for writers. Thank you for sharing!

[@KatClay]

Thanks LB! Good luck with your writing. 🙂

[@evelynwilhelmson9284]

Thank you for your insight.Succinct and practical advice!

[@KatClay]

Thanks Evelyn! Good luck with your crime writing.

[@davidstewart8796]

short, but I found it very useful, thanks

[@joer1402]

Wonderful! Informative and to the point.

[@KatClay]

Thanks heaps Joe

[@chanudihiranya6230]

Keep up this work.

[@AltafShaikh-xc9kx]

Good and useful tips for any bigners
Thank you very much mam. Love from india🇮🇳

[@KatClay]

Thanks Altaf! Good luck with the writing.

[@Tawnyaise0]

I love Sherlock Holmes' books especially. So I bought one on my 13th birthday. I read a few pages and left for a while. Then I wanted to read it after a few days, but now I had to read from the beginning. This went on and on. At last I found the audiobook on RUclips and also saw the movie. But I won't find audio books for every book. This way I'm missing so many good books. Please give some solution so I can also read. Maybe I get too impatient and read the ending before even completing half the book, and then I loose intrest for a few months. Help me out.

[@KatClay]

Not sure how to help, but part of the joy of reading for me is seeing where things go without knowing the ending. If I'm not enjoying something I'll put it down. I too really enjoy Sherlock Holmes - maybe short stories are better for you?

[@Godsham2]

Great video! Thank you.

[@KatClay]

Thanks a bunch!

[@williamshuman1492]

Great video, I need all the help I can get.

[@KatClay]

Thanks William! You can do it!

[@ashonteestroman778]

How do you research the various ways to commit a crime? Honestly, my search history is really bleak, and I’d rather not end up on a “watch list” somewhere. Any sources other than the internet?

[@KatClay]

Lol I completely understand! I wish there was a button on your search engine that you could press to say 'crime writer'. I actually research by reading a LOT of books. I have a big collection on crime, especially Victorian era crime. These can sometimes be more helpful than the net, as they're more curated (and sometimes the tidbits included by authors are brilliant). I often get these books second hand online. Also crime specific encyclopaedias can be helpful.

[@ashonteestroman778]

@@KatClay This really helped me out, thank you!

[@StevenWilliams2560]

There are tons of books for crime and mystery writers that outline law enforcement procedures, weapons, medical, legal, etc.Writers Digest has an entire Howdunnit series I find helpful. D.P. Lyle, M.D. has several books that answer medical questions writers have had. I bought most of them online through Thriftbooks.

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

Aren't all writers on a watchlist somewhere?

[@craigcopland6941]

Very useful. Thank you.

[@KatClay]

Thanks Craig, glad it was useful!

[@maxstravagar]

Writing Crime novels may work best when you lived it or grew up around it...at least it's a advantage edge.

[@douglaswilliams1979]

hi kat im trying to work out a plot for a murder mystery book i want to have a British Detective Inspector be solving crimes abroad but not sure why he sould be abroad solving crimes any ideas

[@KatClay]

Plenty! Depends on when your story is set but the detective could be on holidays. Or they could be a detective with cross border jurisdiction as in shows like Baptiste. Or could be a private consultant that is world renowned and gets called in internationally. Hope that helps.

[@Isaac_newton3.0]

Hello , i m planning to write a detective novel , I'm planning a fiction book in my own imagination and thoughts for that can i include a country's name where this murder doesn't happened ,but when we're including a murder case there is a question where it happened. So i can i include a countries name ?

[@futurestoryteller]

Seems like this was more about Detective Novels specifically.

[@a.m.pietroschek1972]

``At least I finished a sequel to my first #Haiku!´´ ;-)

[@janball3356]

Hi Kat....what name do you write your novels under? Thank you. I've just started to follow your channel, it's very interesting......

[@KatClay]

Hi Jan, Kat Clay is the name I write under. You can see a list of my publications here: www.katclay.com/publications/

[@marienbad2]

Great video and great advice, but what was that accent at the beginning lol?

[@KatClay]

Umm Australian?

[@cosmic-fortytwo]

Is it possible to combine a romance-crime novel? The PI falls in love with his bartender or the cop falls in love with the lady in the Evidence room at the station. Like, they can solve it together and find they are compatible?

[@KatClay]

Absolutely! There are whole genres of crime romance novels. You should look into the romance crime subgenre to see what key beats you should meet in the plot so readers know what to expect.