From the magazine
The dark end of the short story shelf

The Big Click Mag runs short crime fiction, craft guides for writers, criticism in plain language, and long talks with the authors and small-press editors who work in the dark.
- Craft
- Casefile
- Criticism
- Interviews
Fresh ink
Latest from the mag
Craft guides, stories, criticism and interviews, newest first.
How to Use Silence in a Scene: 7 Writer Techniques (2026)
How to use silence in a scene to build tension, reveal character and sharpen pacing. Seven practical techniques, updated for , with…
How to Write Setting Description Without Purple Prose 2026
Learn how to write setting description without purple prose using sensory detail, active observation and editing techniques for sharper noir fiction in…
How to Write Hardboiled Prose Without Parody: Voice First (2026)
How to write hardboiled prose without parody by building voice from character motive, then editing out borrowed cadence. Seven steps, revised for…
How to Find Your Voice as a Crime Writer: Practical Guide (2026)
Learn how to find your voice as a crime writer through observation, genre boundaries, character work and deliberate line revision, plus a…
How to Use Rain and Night in Crime Fiction: A Guide (2026)
Learn how to use rain and night in crime fiction to hide evidence, shrink what a detective can see, and make the…
How to Write a City as a Character in 2026: Step-by-Step
Learn how to write a city as a character in by shaping its mood, contradictions, rules and movement. Seven practical steps with…
How to Write a Stakeout Scene That Is Not Boring (2026)
How to write a stakeout scene that is not boring: seven practical steps that add suspense, shifting stakes, sensory detail and real…
How to Write a Bar Scene in Noir, Sharp Dialogue (2026)
Learn how to write a bar scene in noir in : a six-step method for character goals, layered setting detail, subtext dialogue…
How to Write a Fight Scene in Crime Fiction: 8 Steps (October 2026)
Learn how to write a fight scene in crime fiction with clear stakes, mapped space, cause-and-effect beats, distinct fighting logic and real…
From the editors
Pull up a chair. We read for the sentence that turns a room cold, and we publish the craft guides, the reviews and the long interviews that show how the trick is done. If you write this stuff yourself, take this as a table you are welcome to argue across.
The Big Click Mag editors

About the mag
A magazine for the noir shelf
The Big Click Mag is about crime, noir and dark short fiction: craft guides for the people writing it, criticism that says plainly what works, and interviews with the writers and editors keeping the form alive.
It is written for readers in the US who like their fiction with the lights low, and for the people who sit down and make it.








