Adapting Crime Writing Skills for African Stories: Merging Western Techniques with Local Realities

 Where Western Techniques Meet Local Realities

Welcome to Part 2 of our crime writing series. In our last post, we explored the best online courses for crime writers. Today, we’re diving into something rarely looked into or discussed: how to adapt those Western-focused techniques for African crime fiction.

 

The Challenge: Understanding Western Crime Writing Rules 

Imagine this; you just finished James Patterson’s MasterClass and are buzzing with ideas. But wait, your detective doesn’t live in New York or lives in London and walks into a high-tech lab- she/he is investigating a case in Namibia, Harare or Lagos. What do you do? Where do you turn to? This is where African writers hit a wall. Crime fiction written globally and written in Africa is a separate genre. Writers should use this genre to showcase the authenticity of the continent. It offers a rich playground in its glory.

 

The Western world follows a well-established formula that all crime writers follow, and that is a given. They have proven to be effective and efficient. Think of them as guidelines or foundations to build upon in story-telling.

 

The courses we discussed in Part 1 teach these fundamental principles:

Key Western Crime Writing Elements:

1. Three-Act Structure

- Act 1: Introduction of crime, victim, and initial suspects

- Act 2: Investigation, false leads, complications

- Act 3: Resolution, revelation, and justice

This structure works because it mirrors our psychological need for order - chaos introduced, chaos investigated, chaos resolved. For African writers, this structure remains valuable but can be adapted to incorporate community-based resolution or traditional justice elements.

2. Red Herrings and Misdirection

Western crime fiction thrives on misleading the reader. Those Creative Writing courses teach you to plant false suspects and misleading clues. This technique works universally because it taps into the human enjoyment of solving puzzles and misleads readers. It’s effective in crime writing as it adds tension and controls the pacing of the story.

3. Character archetypes 

²The troubled detectives 

²The unreliable witness

²The helpful sidekick

 

These are the archetypes and they remain a familiar entry point in any crime writing story outline. In the African writing context, these archetypes can be maintained whilst adding cultural and traditional background dimensions. In a sense, perhaps your detective navigates the traditional worlds or your villain exploits cultural beliefs. Or your detective encounters a villain stricken with severe mental health issues never explored or heard of in the African context, that shakes the cultural and traditional norms. Mental health is a complex topic in the African diaspora but highlighting this area in an African context sets your story up for an eye-opener.

 

Why These Rules Work

The archetype elements are effective as they fulfil psychological needs: pattern recognition, narrative closure, and moral resolution. Fortunately, these human needs transcend cultural boundaries, making these techniques suitable for African contexts.

 

 

Before We dive into the African Context, lets dive into the differences between Western vs African Crime Fiction in terms of investigative methods, justice systems and storyline approaches.

 

Aspect	Western Crime Fiction	African Crime Fiction
Forensic Investigation	High-tech CSI lab, DNA analysis, facial recognition, and fingerprint database	Limited forensic labs, reliance on traditional healers, herbalist or local knowledge
Detective Approach	Individualistic detective, often a lone wolf with a troubled past	Community-driven investigations, often requiring elders, herbalists, family, or spiritual leaders
Crime Scene Handling	Cordoned off with strict forensic procedures, crime scene techs collect evidence	Open access; community involvement, and possible tampering due to cultural beliefs
Justice System	Strictly legal, law enforcement, courts, and prisons decide justice.	Mix of legal justice and community justice (e.g elders deciding punishment, reparations over imprisonment)
Red Herrings & Misdirection	High reliance on misdirection via corrupt cops, hidden affairs, or unreliable witnesses.	False leads often involve supernatural elements, folklore, or spiritual deception.
Setting	Urban environments like New York or London, with clear police hierarchies	A mix of urban chaos (Lagos, Nairobi) and rural isolation (villages with no police presence)
Technology in Crime Section	Surveillance cameras, phone tracking, AI-driven investigation	A mix of modern and traditional methods: forensics advancement in developed regions, reliance on eyewitness testimony, bribery
Themes	Justice vs corruption, serial killer, psychological crime thrillers	Land disputes, colonial legacies, political assassination, and crimes rooted in culture.
Witness Reliability	Reluctance due to fear of legal consequences or personal involvement	Reluctance due to cultural taboos, spiritual fears, or distrust in formal law enforcement
Villain Motivation	Driven by personal gain, revenge or psychological disorders	Often driven by economic desperation, generational, conflicts, or colonial/post-colonial trauma

 

 

 

African Settings as Characters

African settings offer unique atmospheres that can become characters themselves. As a Namibian writer, I want to explore these topics through a Namibian setting and storyline.

Urban Settings:

Both Windhoek's mix of German colonial architecture and modern African city life create a unique backdrop for crime. Unlike Western detective novels set in homogenous urban environments, a Namibian urban crime story might explore:

ü Class divisions visible in city geography

ü Language shifting between neighbourhoods

ü The contrast between traditional elements and modernization

 Example: Your detective might interview witnesses in Katutura, speaking Oshiwambo, then switch to an investigation at a corporate office downtown, navigating not just the crime but these cultural boundaries.

 

 

 

Rural Settings

Rural African settings offer storytelling opportunities rarely seen in Western crime fiction:

- Limited communication infrastructure creating natural suspense

- Community interconnections affecting the investigation

- Traditional authorities alongside formal police structures

- Landscape elements that influence crime and investigation

Example: A murder in a small village where everyone knows everyone creates different investigative challenges than the anonymous Western city setting. Your detective might need to navigate complex family connections and historical community tensions. 

This offers a rich ground for diversity and African writers can include rural cultural life, languages and slang only known to them. Readers find it comforting to read something related to them, as they can familiarize and relate to that particular setting. Though not set in a rural setting, The Heist included elements of local languages- Afrikaans and English and slang only known to Namibians. 

  

Historical Settings:

African historical contexts provide rich backdrops for crime fiction:

² Colonial-era investigations revealing systemic injustices

² Immediately post-independence settings exploring changing power dynamic

² Apartheid-era mysteries highlighting racial tensions

 Example: A cold case from Namibia's pre-independence era might require your detective to unravel decades-old secrets while navigating the silences that political trauma created.

  

Cultural Nuances in Crime and Justice 

African cultural contexts add layers that Western crime fiction rarely explores:

Belief Systems:

Traditional beliefs can influence both criminal behaviour and investigation:

Ø A criminal might exploit spiritual beliefs to create fear

Ø Witnesses might interpret events through traditional frameworks

Ø Community members might seek traditional justice alongside formal systems 

These elements create rich storytelling opportunities when:

ü Your detective must determine if a crime has supernatural elements or if these beliefs are being exploited

ü Traditional healers might provide insights or become consultants in investigations

ü Spiritual protection becomes part of investigation procedures.

Community Justice:

Many African societies still practice forms of community justice:

Ø Your story might explore tensions between formal and informal justice

Ø A victim's family might pursue traditional compensation alongside a police investigation

Ø Village elders might conduct parallel inquiries

Historical Trauma:

Crime fiction can explore how historical trauma shapes present-day crime:

ØLand disputes rooted in colonial displacements

ØCriminal networks exploiting colonial-era borders

ØInter-generational trauma manifesting in criminal behaviour

 

 

Creating Authentic African Characters

Developing authentic African characters requires moving beyond stereotypes. It requires understanding who these characters are, where they come from and their motives for their actions.

üComplex Motivations:

Like Mma Ramotswe in Alexander McCall

Smith's "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency," create detectives motivated by community healing, not just solving puzzles.

l Develop villains whose motivations connect to specific social pressures

l Create victims whose stories reflect local realities

ü Language and Communication:

1) Show code-switching between languages as the investigation moves between contexts

2) Use untranslated phrases sparingly but effectively to establish authenticity

3) Demonstrate how language barriers might complicate or aid investigations

As mentioned before, The Heist had a strong depth of Namibian culture, language and setting. I used and showcased code-switching between languages, notably Afrikaans and English. It was action-driven too, with some fight scenes, police shootouts etc.

 

Let's look at some examples from African Literature for reference on this topic.

n Mukoma wa Ngugi's "Nairobi Heat" features a detective navigating both American and Kenyan cultures

n Angela Makholwa's "Red Ink" presents a protagonist dealing with South African social dynamics

n Leye Adenle's "Easy Motion Tourist" shows Lagos through multiple perspective characters

These authors create characters who feel authentically African without becoming tokenistic representations.

 

 Blending Western Rules with African Storytelling

To effectively merge techniques:

1. Identify Universal Elements: Keep the tension-building techniques and plot structures from Western methods. Take those classes and learn the basics to build on

2. Layer Cultural Context: Add specific cultural elements that influence character behaviour and investigation methods. Use your own culture as a reference to add layers to these

3. Incorporate Oral Tradition: Use African storytelling techniques like non-linear time, community narratives, and proverbs

4. Balance Technical Detail: Adapt procedural elements to reflect local realities while maintaining authenticity

5. Center African Worldviews: Allow your characters' perspectives to genuinely reflect local understandings of justice, community, and resolution

 

Brief Case Study: 

A murder investigation in a Namibian town might follow the Western three-act structure but incorporate elements like:

- A detective who consults both forensic evidence and traditional knowledge

- Community meetings that reveal information formal interrogations cannot

- Resolution that satisfies both legal requirements and traditional justice expectations

- A narrative voice that incorporates elements of oral storytelling traditions

When these elements are balanced skillfully, the result is crime fiction that feels both universal in its appeal and authentically African in its execution.

 

 Final Thoughts:

African crime doesn't have to mimic Western crime thrillers- it can stand on it's own whilst still telling its own stories with it' s own techniques. By blending Western crime structures with African cultural depth, we create gripping, authentic and fresh that resonate with both local and international audiences.

 Like and Comment! Let's start a conversation on African Crime Fiction and African Stories.

P.S. I am busy crafting a Workbook for crime fiction writers! I am excited about this book as it appeals to both my global audience and African writers- best of both worlds, right. Stay tuned for more updates!