What The Hardy Boys Can Teach You About Writing

Lesson from Franklin W. Dixon

I didn’t grow up reading The Hardy Boys, but I was always fascinating by seeing the covers on shelves.

The books are attributed to Franklin W. Dixon, a pseudonym used by the ghostwriting team at the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Each book follows the adventures of Frank and Joe Hardy, two teenage detectives.

Recently my interest got the best of me and I read the fifty-fifth installment: The Hardy Boys: The Witchmaster’s Key.

The story was incredibly fun, but I was surprised to discover some elements and techniques that could be useful for other novels.

Here are 4 lessons that The Hardy Boys can teach you about writing:

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1. The importance of the cover

This isn’t really writing, but you want to end up with a book right?

You need a good cover.

The classic covers for The Hardy Boys typically show the brothers in a perilous situation, igniting the imaginations of potential readers.

The cover for The Witchmaster’s Key always stuck out to me as a kid. It’s the reason I chose to read this installment over any others.

If you go the traditional publishing route, decisions on the cover are often out of your control.

But if you go the independent route, you have full control. Make sure you create a suitable cover or hire someone who can.

2. Starting in the middle

The way you start a story can have a tremendous impact on whether readers decide to keep reading.

Don’t start things off too slow, try to jump into the middle of the action.

This technique is known as “In Medias Res”— it’s Latin for “ into the middle of things.”

How To Captivate Readers From The Beginning ("In Medias Res")

The Hardy Boys get the action started quickly. The Watchmaster’s Key begins with the brothers are already on a case:

As the giant jet hissed toward London, Joe Hardy looked out the window at the flaming sunrise.

"Frank," he said to his brother, "have you made head or tail of this mission?"

"Negative. I couldn't get a solid clue out of Dad. His phone call from California was so hurried. Could it be he's putting us on?"

Your story may need more buildup, but try to keep the reader experience in mind.

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Did you grow up reading The Hardy Boys books? Any favorites?

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3. How to end chapters

When discussing the qualities of a bestsller, James Bond author Ian Fleming stressed the importance of one element:

“You have to get the reader to turn over the page.”

The team behind The Hardy Boys adhered to this idea, constantly creating conflict for the two detectives.

Sometimes the level of conflict becomes comical — like the random encounter with a crazed horse in The Witchmaster’s Key — but things are always kept interesting.

The way chapters end enhances the reading experience the most. There is always a new turn in the story presented or a cliffhanger for the characters.

You can apply this strategy to your own writing.

Make sure each chapters ends in a way that makes readers want to turn the page.

4. How to build excitement for your next story

I was surprised to reach the end of The Witchmaster’s Key and find a direct reference to the next installment of The Hardy Boys series:

The boys and the professor, meanwhile returned to his home. Frank felt the usual letdown that came over him henever they solved a case. Would there be a new adventure? He would have cheered up if he had known that soon they would be traveling to Zurich and Mexico in The Jungle Pyramid.

I’m not sure if the original books did this (The Hardy Boys have been rewritten and edited over the years), but I found the technique to be extremely effective.

I immediately went to Amazon to look at the details of the next adventure.

This technique of inserting information about the sequel directly into the text obviously only works for a specific kind of fiction, but you can apply the principle to whatever you’re working on.

You could announce your next project at the end of your book. This would put the story on the reader’s radar and build excitement for your future plans.

If you’re publishing independently, you could even provide a link to your email newsletter that lets readers opt in to receive news about this next project.

I’m publishing my upcoming dystopian novel directly through this newsletter. New chapters will be available weekly starting this summer. After the conclusion of the story, I plan to announce the title of my next project.

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Want to go deeper? There are 2 ways I can help you:

1. Summaries of the essential books on writing

2. Analyses of best-selling novels

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