Writing the Mystery: A Start to Finish Guide for Both Novice and Professional

""Keep your mouth shut as tight as possible.... Because anything you leak can become less strong for you,"" advises G. Miki Hayden (Pacific Empire) in Writing the Mystery: A Start-to-Finish Guide for Both Novice and Professional. With writing exercises, classic wisdom of the genre (""Hitchcock dubbed a sought-after article the McGuffin.... In the traditional mystery, the McGuffin is... the knowledge of who committed the murder and why. In plotting your story, keep your protagonist's eye directly, at all times, on the McGuffin""), market savvy (""the short story... can be a pathway in your career""), submission protocol (""The cover letter conveys the mystery's `hook' "") and so on, the book will benefit beginning writers as well as writers ready to make the next career move. It concludes with interviews with six mystery authors, including Elmore Leonard (Cuba Libre), Sujata Massey (The Salaryman's Wife) and Laura Lippman (Baltimore Blues). ( Sept.)