Accretion is a process where tension, plot, mood and mystery are gradually added or increased within a story or novel. According to Lawrence Treat, author of "Mystery Writer's Handbook," accretion is central to the structure of a detective or mystery novel. As the story continues, authors will want to gradually increase the level of information given to readers, the tension between characters and even increase the pace of the story to the climax.
Foreshadowing is when an author will give hints or clues to an event that will occur at a later stage in the story or novel. According to John Paxton Sheriff, author of "Writing Crime Novels," foreshadowing is very hard to do when you are unsure of the outcome of the story or novel. For this reason, most foreshadowing is done by the author during the editing and revision stage, after the first rough draft has been completed. When you can see the story in its entirety, it is much easier to find places where it's appropriate to foreshadow future events to create a sense of mystery and curiosity for readers.
Authors can control the feel of a story through consciously choosing specific selections of words, as well as imagery, pace, voice and point of view. The mood and tone of a story comes from the author's personality as well as early decisions on what is needed for the story. Authors create tones that vary from thoughtful to dark, funny, romantic, quirky, strange, scary or mysterious. Decide what mood is required for your specific story and keep faithful to it throughout.
When hunting foxes, hunters would leave a trail of red herrings as bait to lure foxes in a specific direction. In literary terms, when authors lead readers down a false trail of information or clues, only to be surprised later, this is also called a red herring. This writing technique is very useful for keeping readers guessing throughout the story and helping them to stay interested.
Readers are more educated today than ever before about crime, law enforcement, forensic science and criminal psychology, thanks to well-researched novels, television shows and movies now on the market. Research every aspect of your novel or story before writing it, and it will give validity and credence to the rest of your work. Visit libraries and take out books on criminal psychology, criminal sociology and histories of murders and crimes. Research law and law enforcement for the setting of your story, as different states and countries have very different laws.