There's always something fascinating about the dangerous side of the law. 

Whether it's from the perspective of those who break the law or of those who enforce it, the adventures that stem from their exploits have kept many readers glued to their seats. Some of us even get inspired to write our own crime fiction. But how do we, law-abiding citizens, build a crime scene from our imagination? How do we lead our amateur sleuth to secure justice? Moreover, how do we get into the mind of our criminal?

How to Write Crime Fiction is a crash course that covers the basic principles of the genre, particularly how to situate crime within the story, planning out the sleuthing process, and fleshing out both the criminal and detective characters.


Minimum age for this workshop: 15 years old

Our course creator

How to Write Crime Fiction was created by Filipino writer, Dr. Joem Antonio. He has won eight Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for his plays and short stories. As part of his work in obtaining a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from UP Diliman, he did studies on crime fiction by local authors. Dr. Antonio teaches graduate students of the MA Humanities program at the University of Asia and the Pacific.

Take this course through one of our writing coaches.

View each coach's class schedules, course fees, and other information by visiting their course page.

Dr. Joem Antonio is a teacher, published creative writer, and print-and-play game designer. You'll find his works at joemantonio.com.

Coach Joem teaches this course regularly online. On occasion, he also conducts workshops at various venues in the Philippines.

Esther Suson is an editor, writer, and writing coach. Read more about her work at hashtagesther.com.

Coach Esther teaches this course regularly online. If you're interested in face-to-face instruction, you may contact her directly.