A criminally good competition

HERE we present the best entries from our recent short story competition, Criminally Good Writing.

The 19 aspriring crime writers who made the shortlist were treated to a masterclass by Inspector Rebus creator Ian Rankin at the National Library of Scotland.

The gripping stories these budding Rankins penned are available to browse here, but perhaps you also harbour dreams of a literary career and would like some valuable advice?

Read on...

Crime writing masterclass

AN IDEA for a bestselling novel can begin with a simple newspaper headline. This was just one of the pieces of advice Ian Rankin had for the participants in our exclusive masterclass on 5 April at the National Library of Scotland.

Passing a copy of the paper around the table produced ideas inspired by stories ranging from a piece of vandalised Chinese street art to a lost parrot. Writers, Rankin advised, should always be alert to the potential in what is unfolding in the world around them.

The 19 budding crime writers at the masterclass were shortlisted in The Scotsman & National Library of Scotland short story competition, Criminally Good Writing. In a frank and frequently funny event, Rankin talked freely about his writing practice and the ups and downs of his career.

Covering topics such as managing multiple plot strands and developing characters (useful shorthand techniques include describing his or her record collection), he also advised writing a speedy first draft. "If it writes fast, it will read fast," he said.

There were plenty of insights into the writing habits of others too. James Ellroy writes a 300-page plot summary before he begins a book, while PD James writes none at all, penning episodes in an apparently random order before assembling them into poised, elegant mysteries.

One not to emulate is the American thriller writer who did more than 80 re-writes of his first chapter. Sometimes, Rankin said, like a band recording an album, the first take is the best. He also counselled writers to consider leaving background research until after the first draft. He did none for his first Rebus novel, Knots & Crosses, though he did later visit an Edinburgh police station – and promptly found himself a suspect in an on-going case.

While crime is traditionally viewed as a plot-driven, character-thin genre, the best writers do much more than this, using their books as a lens through which to examine society and a forum in which to wrestle with ideas. If Rankin is travelling to a new country, he takes the temperature of the place by reading a local crime novel.

Participants described the day as "a fantastic experience" and "interesting and stimulating". The winning story in the Criminally Good Writing competition, "Lachlan Stoddart's Mother", by 38-year-old Lesley Kelly from Edinburgh, is the second-ranked story on the Criminally Good Writing page. The runner-up, "A Cup O'Kindness Yet", by Fran Watt from Forfar, is third-ranked.

RESEARCH IS CHILD'S PLAY

WHO says you need to spend a long time on research? In the Criminally Good Writing masterclass (see previous page), Ian Rankin recalled writing one of his Jack Harvey thrillers about nefarious doings in deepest space.

"I went to the library to find out more about space shuttles and satellites," he said, "but the books they gave me were just full of complicated mathematics and I couldn't understand them.

"I asked if they'd got anything a bit simpler, and the librarian came back with a book from the children's section showing a cutaway of a space shuttle. That was just the job.

"Thing is, when the reviews appeared, I was praised for my 'mastery of technical detail'!"

FROM FAR AND NEAR

The Borders Book Festival at Harmony House, Melrose (surely Scotland's most mellifluous address?) is only in its fifth year but already has a firm grip on local hearts – as indeed it should, since it pumps an extra £1 million into the local economy. At the launch of this year's programme (Alastair Campbell, Rory Bremner, James Wood, Ali Smith and many more), festival manager Eleanor Grieve pointed out that some 400 of Melrose's 900 households had already paid to register as Festival Friends, thereby guaranteeing priority booking, an advance peek at the programme and various other goodies. Indeed, because of this, they had already sold a sixth of the whole of the previous year's tickets in two days before tickets went on sale to everyone else.

But festival director Alistair Moffat could also point to plenty of examples of people who regularly travel huge distances to the Melrose bookfest – like the members of the Fort Lauderdale book group, who have come over from Florida for the last four years. "They come from all over," he says. "Last year we even got six from Peebles."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EDWIN

On Sunday, everyone who has ever read and loved one of his poems – which, let's face it is most of the nation – will be wishing a happy 88th birthday to Edwin Morgan. To celebrate, the Scottish Poetry Library will be launching a search for the nation's favourite Morgan poem on its website, spl.org.uk. It's also going to display some of its recently acquired archive of Morgan's published work, which will be the centrepiece for further celebrations of the Scottish laureate's poetry.