How scared should your readers be?

How to write a crime novel, episode 20

You might think your job as a crime writer is to make your readers as scared as possible. In fact, you have to think carefully about the amount of fear you inject in your novel. Here’s why you need to question, how scared should your readers be?

How scared should your readers be?

People fear public speaking and clowns. (Check out the polls. It’s true.) They don’t fear being murdered by a psychopath or caught up in a case of mistaken identity which leads to them be pursued by the FBI.

Which is a surprise, if you read some crime fiction.

Crime novels don’t hinge on the fears people confront in everyday life. As a writer, you have to hits on the fears they like to be teased with in literary form.

Watch the video to hear when fear works–and when it’s too much.

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