The Crime Genre
“The crime story concerns our desire for
justice, and by extension the very security of
our social structure. Because it explores a
primal need, feeling secure in the fundamental
notions of right and wrong, it remains and will
always remain at the top of story popularity.”
—Shawn Coyne
https://storygrid.com/crime-genre/
Read The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe
Short Story Elements
Story element
Observations [Analysis)
Title
What situation or themes does the title imply?
Exposition
Introducing
scenario and
plot
What do we know after the first paragraph or
two?
Description
What do you know about place or character
after the first page?
Dialogue
What does the dialogue reveal about the
situation, characters, and other details?
Development
How does the opening scenario change, and
(change/conflict
what role does conflict or tension play?
/tension)
Ending
Short Story Structure
How does the short story’s ending tie it all
together?
The Arch Plot Structure
Rising Action
tension
builds
Begins with
an Exposition
introducing
setting,
scenario &
characters
Climax a crime
is committed
Conflict
inciting
incident
Falling Action
with the cover
up &
investigation
Resolution
perpetrator
identified and
justice restored
Exposition
Hooks the reader into the story
and provides important
background information (e.g.
character backstory or historical
setting). Typically, this moment is
when an event thrusts the
protagonist into the main action of
the story.
Exposition Writing Tips
Conflict
A struggle between two opposing forces, usually a protagonist and
an antagonist. An inciting crime or an incitement to commit a crime.
Internal conflict occurs when
a character experiences two
opposite emotions or desires –
good/evil, love/hate – as in The
Tell-Tale Heart. This disagreement
causes the character to suffer
mental agony, developing a unique
tension in a story, marked by a lack
of action.
Inciting Incident Writing Tips
External conflict occurs when a
character struggles against other
characters in the story, e.g. Harry
Potter’s battle against Lord Voldemort.
External conflicts can also occur with
society or nature e.g. advocating for
religious freedoms, or fighting for
survival against the forces of nature.
Rising Action
Narrative events that grow in suspense and tension
towards the highest point of the story – the climax.
This key element begins with what characters want. The
primary source of tension underlying conflict is your
characters’ motives. What do they desire? What stands
in their way? This is the seed of your story’s conflict.
Rising Action Tips
Climax
The point in a narrative at which the conflict or
tension hits the highest point. A structural part of
a plot, and at times referred to as a “crisis.” A
decisive turning point when the rising action turns
around into a falling action.
Story Climax Examples and Tips
Falling Action
Occurs right after the climax and wraps up
the narrative, resolves its loose ends, and leads
toward the resolution.
Audiences expect a low ebb after every great tide to
provide relief and a rewarding element in a story. It
is like a road from climax to resolution, and if the
road is vacant, the story may end abruptly.
E.g. The interview scene in The Tell-Tale Heart (by Edgar Allan Poe)
Resolution
The final part of a story, unfolding of a complicated issue in
a story. Resolution is also known as a “denouement.” Closing
scenes provide resolution where ambiguous clues are
explained, the puzzle solved and the perpetrator identified
and perhaps, brought to justice. Following a heart-racing
and anxiety-triggering climax, resolution gives audiences the
opportunity to relax. It brings all disturbing conflicts into
order, and helps the central theme of the story to resonate.
Setting
An environment in which a story takes place. It may provide
information about placement and timing, such as
Sydney, Australia, in the year 1788. Setting could be simply
descriptive, like a lonely cottage on a mountain. Social conditions,
historical time, geographical locations, weather, immediate
surroundings, and timing are all aspects of setting.
Both the scene and timeline of events are cleverly constructed through
realistic and factually detailed references.
Story Setting Ideas
Mood
Evokes various emotional responses in readers
through words and descriptions. Word choices can
convey deep feelings, and depict the events, places,
and characters, affecting the way the reader feels
about them.
Creates atmosphere by means of setting, theme and tone,
ensuring the readers emotional attachment to the piece.
Examples of mood: ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ by Edgar Allan Poe
First-Person Narration
The narrator tells a story, recounting events
from their own point of view
Reader and narrator uncover the case together in
present tense creating a sense of immediate action,
unfolding now.
Character
Protagonist
Antagonist
The central character or leading
figure in a narrative. A
protagonist is sometimes a
“hero” to the audience or
readers.
A character, or a group of
characters, which stands in
opposition to the Protagonist,
which is the main character.
https://www.nownovel.com/blog/types-of-antagonists/
Characterisation
Characters represent types of people, ideas and
values, drive the action, determine the plot, and
engage the reader.
Details personalise the crime and increase suspense as the
audience relates to the characters
Characterisation exercises
Tone
An attitude of a writer/character toward a subject or
an audience.
Tone, in a piece of literature, decides how the readers read a
literary piece, and how they should feel while they are
reading it. Moreover, tone bestows voice to characters, and
throws light on the personalities and dispositions of
characters that readers understand better.
Plot
Sequence of events where each affects the next
through the principle of cause-and-effect
Plot is typically linear – starts with the crime, followed
by clues, evidence, solutions and punishment. Other
crimes may occur as subplots.
Plot Exercises
Clue
Evidence that points to the criminals
identity
Clues point the audience in the right direction,
leading to a solved case
To Suspect
To beleive that someone is guilty of
doing something, usually a crime
To think something is likely or possible without actual
or adequate proof
Suspense
A state or feeling of excited or anxious that
something might happen
Guilt and innocence are often confused which delays the
investigative process and helps build suspense & tension
Obfuscate
Make unclear, obscure or confusing
Looking at evidence subjectively (personal or emotional bias)
can obfuscate key evidence and stall investigations
Red herring
Something, especially a clue, that is
meant to be misleading or untrue
Directs the audience away from the right conclusion,
through false trails or dead ends, creating a puzzle to solve
through careful and logical thought
Flashback
A scene that takes place before a story
begins.
Takes the audience back in time, then forwards to the present
time. Past events are a critical in providing context clues.
Alibi
A claim or piece of evidence that
demonstrates that the suspect was not
present at the crime.
Evidence must show that the suspect was somewhere
else, and the crime requires them to be there to commit it.
Dialogue
Spoken conversation between two or
more characters
Dialogue is important as theories are talked through
Inner Dialogue – the characters speak to themselves and reveal their personalities.
Outer Dialogue – a simple conversation between two characters, used in almost all types of
fictional works.
421 Alternatives to 'said'
Writing Tense Dialogue
Motive
A reason for doing something, especially
one that is hidden or not obvious
A clear reason for the criminals actions
Justice
Behavior that is according to what is
morally correct and fair
Provides readers with a resolution that does not always
prevail in true crime
Theme
A main idea or an underlying meaning of a literary
work, which may be stated directly or indirectly.
A major theme is an idea that a writer repeats in his
literary work, making it the most significant idea in the
work. A minor theme, or motif, on the other hand,
refers to an idea that appears in a work briefly, giving
way to another minor theme.
Guided Practice
Fun, practical writing workouts on using tenses correctly:
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