How to Write a Noir Mystery
Noir fiction began in the 1930s as an offshoot of hardboiled detective stories. While these mystery writers followed the tradition of having a professional solve the crime, noir fiction focuses on the destructive psychological impulses in every murderer. There's also a charged atmosphere of sexuality in every noir mystery. Read on to learn how to write a noir mystery.
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Instructions
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Read the noir mystery novels of James M. Cain. "The Postman Always Rings Twice," "Mildred Pierce," "Serenade" and "Double Indemnity" are his best known works because they were also successful films.
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Check out Allan Guthrie's online Noir Zine (see link in Resources.) He offers author interviews, book lists, articles and profiles of new writers.
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Decide on the circumstances of the crime. Though there's more emphasis on characters in noir mysteries than other types, the deed must be evil enough to create the dark, cynical atmosphere that's essential in this type of story.
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Come up with an angle for telling the story. Remember, you can't fall back on the police or a private investigator to tell your story. The narrator must be someone intimately connected to the crime, if not actually the criminal.
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Clarify exactly how the crime was committed down to the last detail. A map of the setting and a blow-by-blow description will help you organize this information. Make a list of clues and build scenes around their gradual discovery.
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Write character sketches of everyone involved, especially the suspects. You need to figure out how to portray the steamy relationship between your femme fatale and the man she lures into the crime.
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Work on the rough draft of your novel daily. You'll likely find pieces of the puzzle falling into place out of nowhere, as you get to know your characters better. All noir mystery stories explore the meaning of good and evil, so be sure to address this theme.
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Set your noir mystery story aside for at least a month. Pick a quiet place and time to read it with fresh eyes. The most important thing is to capture the dark atmosphere. You can work out the details of the crime in subsequent drafts.
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Tips & Warnings
Read Cain's novels before watching the films so you can feel the development of a noir mystery on paper.
Be careful of noir films. Not all of them portray noir mysteries.
