Writing the Cozy Mystery

I was looking for some mystery writing advice and this little book was just perfect. The advice is straight to the point. It assumes you know the basics of writing and sticks to information pertinent to the genre. There are books that go into much greater detail and I may need those at some point but for now I find them overwhelming. This book will get me started on my first cozy mystery and that's perfect for now. I would encourage other writers to give this book a try off they are interested in cozy mysteries.

I found this book helpful for writing any type of mystery and could be used for novels too. She gives us organizational tools for keeping characters straight and tips if you plan on writing a series. The method she gives for the victim and motive are simple and easy to use. the language was very easy to read and apply to my writing.

This book was a huge help to me while writing my first cozy. It covers all the basics that a new writer needs to know about the genre including who, where, what, when and why. Kudos to Ms. Cohen for sharing her talent with others.

This is a concise read that lays the groundwork for writing a cozy mystery. This is not so much a book but rather a "basic how to" novelette that will give a novice a starting point to story structure.

This book is a treasure trove of ideas for writing a cozy mystery. It even comes with a homework!
I've read other books by author Nancy Cohen, liked her books, so I knew this would be helpful. Really recommend it, a must have for writers.

In the market for a new, great How-To book on writing? Well, look no further. I keep my eye out for these because they tend to be a wealth of knowledge and experience, packed with interesting ideas and exercises. And I’ve found one that I recommend highly. It’s a quick, efficient read that’ll definitely get your story-brain working.

I’ve been a fan of mysteries for a very long time, from the classics concocted by Conan Doyle, Chandler, and Christie, to modern doozies from the likes of Lehane. Well into my thirties at this point, one of my favorite novels is still a middle-grade cozy puzzle mystery I read in elementary school, "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin. Even as a middle school literature teacher these days, I read that novel with my 6th graders as part of a larger unit on the mystery genre. And as someone who fancies himself a writer, I’m always on the look out for useful insights from published authors to help guide the way.

So when Nancy J. Cohen published her latest book, Writing the Cozy Mystery, I was all over it. Here’s a little about Nancy from her website, nancyjcohen.com:

"Nancy J. Cohen is an award-winning author who writes romance and mysteries. Her humorous Bad Hair Day mystery series features hairdresser Marla Shore, who solves crimes with wit and style under the sultry Florida sun. Several of these titles have made the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association bestseller list. Coming in April 2014 is Hanging By A Hair, #11 in the series. Nancy is also the author of Writing the Cozy Mystery, a valuable instructional guide for mystery writers."

With Writing the Cozy Mystery, Nancy presents an easy-to-follow and engaging framework to developing your own Cozy mystery, stand-alone or series. Her expertise in the area lends credence to the useful tips throughout the book, and she provides thought-provoking writing exercises to try. Also, her collection of active Writer’s Resources supplies an additional wealth of knowledge beyond just her own well-informed and experienced take.

Nancy defines a Cozy Mystery as “a whodunit featuring an amateur sleuth, a distinctive setting, and a limited number of suspects, most of whom may know each other.” What makes these types of mysteries fun is: "The story presents a puzzle that challenges readers to solve the mystery."

Chapter by chapter, Nancy leads you through the entire process of writing a cozy mystery, providing a useful framework for this specific style of storytelling. Among her chapters, Nancy details an approach to the ever-important world building, including how to establish setting and how to narrow the details using sensory language. I found the Creating the Sleuth chapter and A Web of Suspects to be particularly insightful regarding character development.

Her savvy sections on story structure and suspense truly provide a peek at what it takes to create a successful and sellable mystery. She suggests a three-act approach and preaches patience when crafting The Grand Finale. Throughout, she drops useful tips to help the writing process. "Remember to follow action sequences with reaction and reflection."

Nancy wraps her discussion by offering valuable guidelines on developing Series Continuity and creating Organizational Tools. She acknowledges writing a cozy is a complex task, and one that will take attention to detail and patience. However, now that I’ve read her book, I feel like I have a better grasp on the approach and will try my hand at making one of these wonderful puzzles. Don’t miss the blog (nancyjcohen.wordpress.com) either!

This little volume is a gem. It’s chock-full of straightforward, organized, quick tips for how to pull together a classic whodunit. It’s an excellent planning framework for developing a story – highly useful for first-timers and old hands alike.

This is a very useful little book, an excellent overview for those who are interested in writing cozy mysteries. I got a lot of good information from it. However, I gave it four stars instead of five because I wish there had been a little more detailed information--specifically, I would have like to see more examples of good cozy mysteries illustrating the principles Ms. Cohen wrote about so well. I sincerely hope she'll write an expanded version of this book one day.

This is an exceptionally short book with very short chapters. It's more of an overview than a book. She gives some ideas to think about when drafting a mystery story. It's mostly a list of questions that you might ask yourself while writing. I would not recommend it.

I've been thinking of writing a mystery for a while now. A couple of years ago I bought 2 paperback how to books, but this little Kindle book seems to have everything I need. I found the information easy to read and absorb, I loved the writing exercise and resource links, and the author's instructions on how to choose a victim and possible suspects made it a lot less intimidating in my mind, to actually start plotting and writing.

One of the reasons I bought this book is, I've read all the author's Marla Shore mysteries and enjoyed them, and I'm really glad I bought this book as well!

This book is like 30 pages long and contains only information that you probably already noticed if you are a fan of cozy mysteries at all. ("Have lovable supporting characters. Make sure you space out the timing of the novels in a series so that your characters don't age too fast.") It's really not worth even the small price tag.

I have read dozens of this type of how-to books on writing. The one fundamental flaw I find with them is that they do not really tell you anything. While this book is well written, unfortunately it too suffered from the same fundamental flaw.

I chose a five star rating because this book is an excellent workbook for writing a cozy mystery. There are suggestions and guidelines for everything from choosing and building the world of your book and series to how to create a believable amateur sleuth. Any aspiring writer will appreciate the diagrams and guidelines this book sets out. Ms. Cohen has done a wonderful job of writing a book that will lead a writer from the beginning of the creative process all the way to typing "The End".

I have been writing for years but have never been able to find the intestinal fortitude to submit anything for publishing. All the questions I had problems with are answered in Nancy's book. After reading a number of her cozy mysteries, I believe in her advice and appreciate all the information contained in this book. I think I'm now prepared to try out these steps and finally accomplish what I set out to do years ago.

Nice book. Although it is well written, I have found that for me I have found that I am further along in my writing abilities for this useful book. However, I have given it to a writer friend of mine who is loving it.

Nancy Cohen draws you in with her easy writing style and teaches her how-to book in such a way that I never had to go back over a paragraph or section to grasp the idea. The book moved ahead in such logical progression that I had my next book plotting in my head as I read along. This is on of the best books for a beginner trying to learn how to write a book. I recommend it to new and seasoned writers.

I bought this book to share with a family member who is interested in trying her hand at writing. It is a short volume that provides a good deal of clear, basic information about plotting, continuity, character development, etc. If you don't know where to start at all, this book is a good introduction.

Without getting to deep into the weeds this book lays out some ideas on not just writing a Cozy but looking ahead to a series. How to track characters and their traits across the volumes, how to lay out suspects and clues, and several other important tips. If you are considering writing a Cozy this book will be a good reference.

The author presents a lot of clear, usable ideas for mystery writers. Some are intuitive and come with experience but having them laid out in an easy to follow format will be especially helpful to new writers. Good resource!

I've written romances for years and wrote two cozies before I saw this book. I wish I had read it before I wrote them. I learned more from this book and Ms. Cohen's expertise that my next book should (hopefully) be much better.

Nancy Cohen’s guide is useful no matter if you’ve just considering writing or well on your way. Reading this was like being able to ask a successful author for success tips. I love her organization. Very helpful.

Nothing contained in these pages is unique or particularly insightful. If you are looking for info on how to craft a Cozy Mystery yourself, you'd be better served taking the 20 minutes it took to read this 'book' searching the internet. The only reason I even give this 2 stars is because the author does appear to have a firm grasp on her genre, it's just a shame that she never offers anything helpful to new writers.

I'm writing my second cozy mystery, and this book is right at my side. Nancy Cohen is an excellent author with years of experience writing and selling cozy mysteries. Clear, concise, helpful. Books on writing don't get any better than this.

Book? How about pamphlet, or less? Its only 35 pages of text, large print, and lots of blank pages. So beware. But it is fairly succinct and straightforward. Much as I'm not a fan of kindle, its the only price that's worth it.

Not worth $6.99 for paperback. It's only maybe 43 pages and is an overview not an instruction. Buy on the kindle if you really want to purchase. Chapters are 2 pages or less. Really not worth the purchase. Deceiving product. Was looking for an actual book, not a hard bound pamphlet.

Basic writing details. This short little book is great for review and can keep you on track. It gives some good points to follow, especially if you are changing from a different genre to writing cozies.

A great primer for the beginning writer and a great reminder for those of us in the business. Cohen takes you through the framework of a cozy, defining the genre and the amateur sleuth. She delves into characterization and community, into setting to establish mood, and into the value of a good secret for each suspect, among other aspects.

I found this short book to be easy to read and chock full of useful information.

This is the first review I've written for books on writing. It's a short book, only 49 pages, and while most of the advice is pretty straightforward, there were some gems scattered throughout that made the purchase worthwhile. I would recommend for those trying to hone their craft.

I had the opportunity to take a workshop with the author at a writers conference. I purchased this book after hearing her speak and found this to be a great book to give an introduction and basic understanding of how to write a cozy mystery. There is just enough information to lay the ground work but not so much that you everyone's book will be written by formula. If you have a desire to write a cozy this is a wonderful place to start.

Cozies are my favorite mysteries. And I love series. Nancy J. Cohen's helpful book helps me understand why they are so enjoyable and addicting. I read a lot of cookbooks and never cook. Both Writing the Cozy Mystery and my favorite cookbooks let me know "what's in the mix" and what makes it so delicious. Writing The Cozy Mystery is a recipe for success.

And even for those who are already published. This guide covers each step of the process of plotting a cozy mystery from start to finish, including developing characters, setting, clues, motives, red herrings, etc., in a way that's clear and easy to follow. There are also tips on organizational tools for keeping track of your progress so that no thread is left hanging. Takes the mystery out of writing mysteries!

Wonderful, practical advice from an experienced mystery writer...short enough to give you the information you need to get excited about writing your own cozy mystery, without scaring you off with a lot of jargon. Highly recommended for new writers and experienced writers who are eager to try their hand at writing a cozy mystery. Bravo Nancy!

I write historical novels but this book by Nancy J Cohen was recommended to me by a friend, and I'm glad I read it. It gave suggestions, lists of things and ideas to include in a cozy mystery story, but also what is needed in whatever genre a person is writing in. It's a short read, and good for a person just trying to write their first cozy mystery, or someone needing a reminder course like me.

Nancy has written an exciting, succinct primer on how to write a cozy. You can read this short book of about 40 pages in one sitting and get to work on your own mystery.Thanks, Nancy, for a job well done.
Elva Cobb Martin, President, South Carolina Chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers, Anderson, SC
http://www.elvamartin.com

I've always enjoyed cozy mystery books and shows, i.e., Murder, She Wrote; stories that don't have gratuitous
violence. Although you can expect a murder in a cozy, you also meet an interesting heroine who usually has another occupation rather than solving crimes. Nancy Cohen has a series about a hairdresser and she's in all the books. The series never gets boring because the author brings in a new cast of characters for each book to keep it fresh. So, after reading Writing the Cozy Mystery I think I might attempt to write one of my own. But this book is not only for writers; cozy readers will also enjoy experiencing the formatting and structure of writing one. Ms. Cohen has laid out a step-by-step "manual" for writing these types of mysteries, and doesn't miss a trick for keeping the writing creative and informative.

Don't miss this resource! Short, concise and engaging to read.

I do not know this author, but am impressed with her grasp of the subject, and concise, logical outline of the 'Do Not Miss' elements of character, plot and pacing.

Also handles stretching a cozy mystery into a series.

Shorter than I expected (I didn't look), but we'll worth the price. Writing the Cozy Mystery was concise, solid advice presented in a way that wasn't overwhelming. Good for the writing novice, those new to the genre, or as a good reminder for a novelist dusting off their keyboard. Many tips here would be good for multiple genres. Also appreciated the list of resources at the back. Very helpful!

Good genre-specific information. It really detailed out all the elements that make a book a cozy mystery and gave me prompts that got me thinking about my own story ideas. I can easily see myself referencing this book in the future.

I over complicate everything in my life so it's a gift when I find something that keeps me from splintering into a thousand different directions. I'm reminded of the very old (very useful!) saying, 'Keep it Simple.'

Thanks to Ms. Cohen for being willing to share her writing process.

When I first saw that the book was not that many pages I was disappointed. That changed as soon as I read the material. It has been more useful to me than any other "how to" book about writing. The reference material is also great.

Nancy J. Cohen takes you behind the scenes with her phenomenal organizational skills for putting together not only a cozy mystery, but also any series. All the details one has to track are laid out in step by step detail. On the one hand, she shows all the effort that goes into creating a cozy series, and on the other, shows how to cut the effort needed by following her suggestions.

The book presents a great overview of things to be aware of when writing a cozy mystery. Covers all aspects of putting out a book, from concept to promotion, all done from the perspective of a seasoned writer.