20 Noir and Hardboiled Writing Exercises with Craft Mechanics
20 exercises in moral compromise, institutional rot, economic desperation, and protagonists navigating worlds where nobody wins clean.
Writing Exercises
Practice with a purpose. Twenty exercises per genre, from horror to romance to noir, each one targeting a specific craft mechanic you can use the same day.
Drills That Build Real Skills
Every set here works the same way: twenty exercises aimed at one genre or one skill, each built around a specific craft mechanic rather than a vague prompt. Dialogue that carries subtext. Villains with real logic. Opening chapters that hook. Worldbuilding that holds together under pressure. You are not filling pages, you are training a muscle.
Genres have machinery, and these exercises teach you to operate it: the dread-building of horror, the clue placement of mystery, the tension engineering of thrillers, the timing of comedy. Pick the genre you write, or the one you have been afraid to try, work through a set, and watch the difference show up in your next draft. Browse the collection below and start training.
From Exercises to a Finished Book
The exercises sharpen the craft. When you are ready to write the whole thing, Richard Lowe can help. He has authored 113+ books and ghostwritten 54+ more across fiction, memoir, and nonfiction, and works with writers who want their book done right.