Keeping secrets

[John Dean]

I am writing the latest DCI Jack Harris crime novel and, although I plotted it pretty carefully in advance, the characters are doing a lot of the work for me as I write, throwing up questions and hinting at secrets.

It reminded me how important secrets are to a crime writer. It is crucial that your characters are hiding things. They may reveal their secrets to the reader but it can be a very effective storytelling tool if the investigators are in the dark until the story comes to its dramatic conclusion.

I was also reminded of the importance of letting characters and stories develop as they wish and if that means that the well-crafted plot needs to change then so be it.

That is what is happening with this latest novel in which I am developing the idea of a small hillside community whose residents are keeping secrets from the police (and me), much to the frustration of Harris and his colleagues (but not me!).

At the beginning of the writing process, and I am now 21,000 words in, I thought I knew where the plot was going but now I’m not so sure. I guess someone will tell me when they’re ready!