Softboiled, hardboiled, and “Just the facts, ma’am.” A sleuth is born. Which comes first? The plot or the egghead? “The grandest game in the world.” Its rules. Whodunit tricks and traps. A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, wrapped in an enigma. The three basics of suspense. “I can’t put it down!” Why? Flatfoot and gumshoe. Elements of the police procedural. Sax and violins. How much sex and violence? Blood runs cold: fear, shock, and horror. Research. How to live your plot. Verisimilitude and suspending disbelief. The mystery of history. Skeletons in the closet. Setting is more than just a place. He said, she said. How to write dialogue. Screaming pitch. The eye of the storm. Building a story arc. Genre bending. Fight the good fight. Write the good fight.

Bring your imagination and your questions, and you’ll leave with all the basics you need to write.