A chalk outline. Literary mysteries : a contradiction in terms? / Barbara Shoup -- Which team do I play for? / Dana Kaye -- Scene of the crime. Setting / William Kent Krueger -- . Vics, villains, and white hats. Captivating characters / Jeanne Dams -- Choosing the right point of view / Mary Saums -- Tick, tick, tick ... Building suspense / Libby Fischer Hellmann -- "Just whistle." Dynamic dialogue / Mark Richard Zubro -- Killer instinct. Bloody ends : killer openings, killer endings / Michael Allan Dymmoch -- Intrigue, machinations, and mayhem. Notes on plot / Terence Faherty -- DOA. How to pace your mystery so the reader doesn't check out early / Sharon Short -- I haven't got a clue! Research and credibility / Beverle Graves Myers -- Breaking and entering. Marketing the manuscript / Kit Ehrman -- Patience, practice and persistence / S.M. Harding -- Writing murder : a matter of fits and starts / Phil Dunlap.