Digital + printable planner for crime writers
The Ultimate Crime Writing Planner
Plot the perfect crime, plant every clue and catch your killer
Choose your format
What you get with the Goodnotes & PDF edition
- 97-page digital planner with clickable tabs, contents and back links
- Two designs: Classic and the colourful Pop design
- Printable US Letter versions of both designs
- Recommended Resources for Authors PDF
A hyperlinked PDF for Goodnotes, Notability, Noteshelf and other PDF note apps on iPad or Android tablets. Tap the tabs and contents to jump between pages.
About this planner
Plan your Crime novel from the first idea to publication day. The Crime Writing Planner is written for Crime writers, so its prompts, examples and story structure fit the book you are writing. Its 11 sections cover idea, crime, investigation, plot, detective, cast, world, write, edit, pitch & blurb and publish.
It comes as Goodnotes & PDF, Notion template and E-ink edition, or as a printed, spiral-bound planner, so you can plan in the app you already use.
Sample pages
Take a look inside
Real pages from the Crime Writing Planner, in both designs. Tap a page to see it bigger.
What's inside
11 sections, 97 pages in the PDF
Idea7 pages
- What if? & premise
- Subgenre & tropes
- Comparable titles
Crime8 pages
- The crime & the victim
- Killer profile & timeline
- Means, motive, opportunity
Investigation10 pages
- Eight-suspect board
- Clues & red herrings
- Two timelines & the reveal
Plot10 pages
- Crime novel structure
- Plot map & tension graph
- Scene lists & scene cards
Detective7 pages
- Detective profile & voice
- The wound & the flaw
- How they investigate
Cast5 pages
- Supporting cast list
- Six cast profiles
- Relationship web
World6 pages
- Setting & locations
- Procedure notes
- Research & expert contacts
Write7 pages
- Plan of action
- Opening lines
- 100-day word tracker
Edit7 pages
- Fair-play checklist
- Clue audit
- Plot holes & scene changes
Pitch & Blurb7 pages
- Logline & elevator pitch
- Hooks & taglines
- Blurb workshop & drafts
Publish7 pages
- Book details & cover brief
- Amazon keywords
- Categories & checklist
Section and page counts are for the Goodnotes & PDF edition; the other formats hold the same planning pages, arranged to suit each app.
Highlights
Made for Crime writers
Plan the perfect crime
- The crime, the victim and the crime scene
- A two-page killer profile: the basics, motive and mind
- The killer's timeline, so you know what really happened
- Means, motive and opportunity, plus an evidence log
An investigation that holds up
- Suspect boards with room for eight suspects
- Clue trackers, red herrings and interview logs
- Two timelines pages and a page to plan the reveal
- Seven detective pages, from voice and wound to series arc
Structure with rising tension
- Crime Novel Structure and three-act structure pages
- Plot map, tension graph, subplots and chapter hooks
- Scene lists and 12 scene cards
- Six cast profiles, procedure notes and expert contacts
Write, edit and publish
- Plan of action and a 100-day word count tracker
- A Fair-Play Checklist and Clue Audit for your edit
- Logline, hooks, taglines and a blurb workshop
- Amazon keywords, categories and a cover brief
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