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All Pennwriters Courses are conducted in a “live” presentation format utilizing the Zoom platform. If a conflict arises based on the required meeting times, please contact the instructor and Online Courses Coordinator to find a possible solution. ALL sessions will be recorded.

Course Information:

A course geared toward those seeking to delve into the world of crime fiction or those who have already drafted a mystery or suspense story that maybe isn’t as mysterious or suspenseful as you’d hoped.

• Overview: We’ll discuss the expansive range of crime fiction genres: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Cozy, Noir, and everything in between. Can you bridge subgenres? What kind of book are you writing?
• Red herrings: Learn tricks and tips to create a believable group of characters who may or may not have committed the crime, whether you’re a plotter or a pantser or anywhere in between.
• The Villain: If we want to show our crime-fighter to be a hero, we need to have a worthy adversary. Learn how to create a bad guy your reader will love to hate.
• Research: “I’m not a cop but I play one in my books.” How accurately we portray our detectives can make or break a story, depending on the type of book you’re writing. We’ll discuss tropes, touch on what you can and can’t get away with, and resources for finding answers to your law enforcement and forensics questions.

   

  Description:

  As an award-winning author of more than 15 novels of mystery and suspense, Annette Dashofy will share what she’s learned about creating a page-turning whodunit that will keep readers on the edge of their seats, guessing and second-guessing the identity of the killer. She has taught this material in individual segments over the years for various Sisters in Crime chapters both online and in person, at Pennwriters Conferences, and other writing conferences around the country. In this course, she’ll combine the separate classes into one course.

   

  Mastering the Mystery will help aspiring crime fiction writers to determine into which genre and subgenre their story fits, learn how to craft a puzzle that will keep the reader staying up past their bedtime to solve the murder, and learn where to go to get answers to questions like “would a cop really do that?”

   

  Author Benefits/Takeaways—Participants will:

• Receive email handouts and materials sent right to your inbox.
• Identify the type of book you’re writing. This may seem simple or even unimportant, but being able to identify in which genre and sub-genre your book fits will help when querying agents or editors as well as determining categories on Amazon should you decide to indie publish.
• Learn how to flesh out enough potential suspects to misdirect and engage readers.
• Learn how to determine your character’s means, motive, and opportunity to believably pull off a murder.
• Explore the psychology of a killer.
• Create a list of resources who can answer your police, forensics, and legal questions going forward as well as research opportunities to make your stories more accurate and authentic.
• Learn and engage with Annette and other students during the four one hour zoom sessions.
• Have access to private email and phone/zoom support during the four-week course.

Instructor Bio:

Annette Dashofy is the USA Today bestselling author of sixteen mystery novels.  What Comes Around is the 13th in her six-time Agatha Award nominated Zoe Chambers mysteries. Keep Your Family Close is the second in the Detective Honeywell series set along Lake Erie. And her standalone, Death By Equine, won the 2021 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for excellence in Thoroughbred racing literature. She is a board member of Pennwriters and is president of the Pittsburgh Chapter of Sisters in Crime.

E-Mail:                        annettedashofy@gmail.com

Website:          www.annettedashofy.com

Facebook:        https://www.facebook.com/annette.dashofy

Instagram:       https://www.instagram.com/annettedashofy/

Amazon:          https://www.amazon.com/stores/Annette-Dashofy/author/B00IZOIN1G