Five top tips for writing historical crime fiction - National Centre for Writing

You can never predict when an idea for a new book will arrive or what will spark it - a snatch of overheard conversation or a lonely stretch of landscape, perhaps just a quirk of history that not many people know about; the moment that it happens is thrilling and it's tempting to jump straight in - but of every dozen ideas for a novel, the chances are that only one of them will be rich enough to sustain a multi-layered plot and a memorable cast of characters. There's nothing worse - believe me - than getting 20,000 words in and wishing you'd never started, so make sure you choose wisely. My novels always explore something I'm fascinated by, something that troubles me or makes me angry, something I'm bewildered by and want to understand.