Writing a Mystery Story
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ELEVEN MUST READ MYSTERY STORIES FOR ALL MYSTERY WRITERS AS WELL AS READERS!
(Our Authors’ Top Eleven Picks For Students to Read)
Here’s a list containing ten of the very best mystery novels ever written. These picks were made out of 100s of great mystery novels, by eleven of our best (anewtale.com website) authors who were each asked to suggest a novel that both represented the spirit of the mystery genre and was also a great example for a new mystery writing student to experience and learn from. In order of the year they were published: Mystery Story must read #1 - Wilkie Collins: The Woman In White (1860) Mystery Story must read #2 - Arthur Conan Doyle: The Hound Of The Baskervilles (1902 Mystery Story must read #3 - Dashiell Hammett: The Maltese Falcon (1930) Mystery Story must read #5 - James M. Cain: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) Mystery Story must read #4 - John Dickson Carr: The Hollow Man (1935) Mystery Story must read #6 - Raymond Chandler: The Big Sleep (1939) Mystery Story must read #7 - Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None (1939) Mystery Story must read #8 - Patricia Highsmith: Strangers On A Train (1950) Mystery Story must read #9 - Ian Fleming: From Russia, With Love (1957) Mystery Story must read #10 - John le Carré: The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1963) Mystery Story must read #11 - Jack Higgins: The Eagle Has Landed (1975) FREE QUOTES ON EDITING!
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Adding enjoyment to the reader’s experience is an added dimension unique to the mystery genre where clues are exposed for the reader to analyze along with the sleuth as both race to unmask the murderer. Allowing the reader to interpret clues in their own way, draw conclusions and grow their own suspicions adds to the fun. It also assures that the reader will be paying close attention; one never knows when an all-important detail will unfold. This ability to get the reader involved, to pull the reader into the story, capture and hold his/her attention and stir the reader’s imagination is the magic that makes the mystery genre one of the most popular of all literary genres.
Understanding the basic formula for Writing a Mystery is easy but remember the Mystery Genre has the interesting adaptability to be able to piggyback on board any of the other main literary genres creating combination genres; Mystery Science Fiction, Romantic Mysteries, Historic Mystery and so on. All that’s really required of mysteries is a crime and someone caring enough to be engaged at trying to solve the crime. Thus a creative writer can craft a mystery that is as deep, complicated and diversely structured as any other sophisticated genre.
The easiest way to get started is to first think about creating your detective even before picking a crime or outlining a story sketch. Decide whether your main character/hero will be a professional law enforcement officer or an amateur, lay detective. Do you want your gumshoe to be male or female? What about their age? Consider education level and social status. What trait of your hero or heroine is their most strongest? What is their weakest strength? For tips on fully developing your main character go to our characterization page at http://anewtale.com/characterization.html where you will find plenty of sound advice on creating well rounded, truly believable characters.
Next consider your villain. You will need to create just as complete a profile for the villain, if not more detailed than you did for the sleuth. Remember to make your criminal well-rounded. Many new writers make the mistake of only listing bad, evil qualities for their bad guy/girl. Throwing in a few redeeming qualities will make your killer seem more real, flawed perhaps but still human.
Now, come up with a crime. I always suggest murder for first time students of mystery writing because murder is the most extreme and vile crime known to man. Having a murderer on the loose, quite obviously capable of killing again just, naturally adds to the suspense of any story. Plan the crime based around who your killer is; their physical capabilities, their intelligence level, their sophistication. There's an over used law enforcement saying, "Means, motive and opportunity." Make sure your killer has all three. Try your best to make the crime as undetectable as possible, seemingly seamless, dastardly and cunning. At this point, don’t worry about the solution. The crime must be believable. Your reader will feel cheated if the crime is not something that could really happen. The crime and the ensuing questions is what hooks your reader, present the crime as soon as possible in the story. The crime doesn’t necessarily have to be violent but should be sufficiently heinous.
Make sure the culprit is capable of committing the crime physically. If the killer is a woman, don't plan for her to have to carry a three hundred pound victim down eight flights of steps by herself in order to dispose of the body. Depending on the murder method chosen, your villain must have the knowledge and skill to pull off the killing. Consider why your victim is being murdered. Was your victim picked out of hatred, envy, just convenience and opportunity or for revenge? Most people must be pushed far past their limit to kill someone. Your reader must be made to believe your villain had sufficient enough of a reason.
Start creating, some alternative suspects, other characters who would have a reason to want the victim dead. The more diverse the suspects are the more interesting and entertaining the tale will be. Each suspect will have to be given a viable motive, the means or ability to carry the deed out and the opportunity. Now your plot naturally begins to take shape because; a big part of the middle structure of your plot will be made up of scenes where your hero tracks each suspect down, confronts each, accuses each then questions them then checks out their statements, claims and alibis to decide whether or not to eliminate each as a suspect. Slowly but surely the suspect list will be narrowed down as more and more facts are revealed and verified.
Of course your villain will not remain inactive all this time. Usually the killer will be trying to thwart the investigator's every move; planting, false evidence and directing false suspicions onto others and away from himself. Picking a gullible dupe to frame for the crime is one way of derailing an investigation. Cold blooded murderers are not above killing the dupe then planting evidence on or near the body to make them look guilty. A dead dupe can not deny the charges against him.
Consider, having a minor character stumble upon important evidence marking him or her viable as the killer's next target. Killers have also been known to attempt to rid the world of a pesky detective who is getting too close to unveiling them.The cat and mouse game between the protagonist, investigator and the antagonist, murderer takes up most of the bulk of the story. Clues are found that lead us closer to the answer and clues are found that lead to dead ends or more questions. As we read a mystery there is no rule that says the reader must agree with the detective's conclusions or his theories and suspicions. Occasionally the author may allow the reader to know a few details before the hero finds them out in order to add to the suspense and tension of the tale.
The climax of the story erupts when evidence is uncovered that cannot be explained away. The decisive evidence should be discovered as close to the end of the story as possible. Frequently, only the killer and the investigator are present at the final scene when the investigator/hero of the story breaks the case. This allows the killer one last chance to conceal his crime by getting the drop on the hero usually by pulling out a gun. With the truth out in the open and the tables turned, the killer can enlighten the investigator and the reader to any lose ends, by unburdening his conscience with a full confession. Some unsavory details of the victim’s character are revealed during the killer’s confession, revealing the killers motive for the murder. Of course the villain plans to kill the hero so it doesn’t really matter how much he confesses. This final confrontation generally culminates in a physical and mental, no holds barred brawl during which the hero kills or subdues the murderer moments before the cavalry arrives. RSS FEED
Understanding the basic formula for Writing a Mystery is easy but remember the Mystery Genre has the interesting adaptability to be able to piggyback on board any of the other main literary genres creating combination genres; Mystery Science Fiction, Romantic Mysteries, Historic Mystery and so on. All that’s really required of mysteries is a crime and someone caring enough to be engaged at trying to solve the crime. Thus a creative writer can craft a mystery that is as deep, complicated and diversely structured as any other sophisticated genre.
The easiest way to get started is to first think about creating your detective even before picking a crime or outlining a story sketch. Decide whether your main character/hero will be a professional law enforcement officer or an amateur, lay detective. Do you want your gumshoe to be male or female? What about their age? Consider education level and social status. What trait of your hero or heroine is their most strongest? What is their weakest strength? For tips on fully developing your main character go to our characterization page at http://anewtale.com/characterization.html where you will find plenty of sound advice on creating well rounded, truly believable characters.
Next consider your villain. You will need to create just as complete a profile for the villain, if not more detailed than you did for the sleuth. Remember to make your criminal well-rounded. Many new writers make the mistake of only listing bad, evil qualities for their bad guy/girl. Throwing in a few redeeming qualities will make your killer seem more real, flawed perhaps but still human.
Now, come up with a crime. I always suggest murder for first time students of mystery writing because murder is the most extreme and vile crime known to man. Having a murderer on the loose, quite obviously capable of killing again just, naturally adds to the suspense of any story. Plan the crime based around who your killer is; their physical capabilities, their intelligence level, their sophistication. There's an over used law enforcement saying, "Means, motive and opportunity." Make sure your killer has all three. Try your best to make the crime as undetectable as possible, seemingly seamless, dastardly and cunning. At this point, don’t worry about the solution. The crime must be believable. Your reader will feel cheated if the crime is not something that could really happen. The crime and the ensuing questions is what hooks your reader, present the crime as soon as possible in the story. The crime doesn’t necessarily have to be violent but should be sufficiently heinous.
Make sure the culprit is capable of committing the crime physically. If the killer is a woman, don't plan for her to have to carry a three hundred pound victim down eight flights of steps by herself in order to dispose of the body. Depending on the murder method chosen, your villain must have the knowledge and skill to pull off the killing. Consider why your victim is being murdered. Was your victim picked out of hatred, envy, just convenience and opportunity or for revenge? Most people must be pushed far past their limit to kill someone. Your reader must be made to believe your villain had sufficient enough of a reason.
Start creating, some alternative suspects, other characters who would have a reason to want the victim dead. The more diverse the suspects are the more interesting and entertaining the tale will be. Each suspect will have to be given a viable motive, the means or ability to carry the deed out and the opportunity. Now your plot naturally begins to take shape because; a big part of the middle structure of your plot will be made up of scenes where your hero tracks each suspect down, confronts each, accuses each then questions them then checks out their statements, claims and alibis to decide whether or not to eliminate each as a suspect. Slowly but surely the suspect list will be narrowed down as more and more facts are revealed and verified.
Of course your villain will not remain inactive all this time. Usually the killer will be trying to thwart the investigator's every move; planting, false evidence and directing false suspicions onto others and away from himself. Picking a gullible dupe to frame for the crime is one way of derailing an investigation. Cold blooded murderers are not above killing the dupe then planting evidence on or near the body to make them look guilty. A dead dupe can not deny the charges against him.
Consider, having a minor character stumble upon important evidence marking him or her viable as the killer's next target. Killers have also been known to attempt to rid the world of a pesky detective who is getting too close to unveiling them.The cat and mouse game between the protagonist, investigator and the antagonist, murderer takes up most of the bulk of the story. Clues are found that lead us closer to the answer and clues are found that lead to dead ends or more questions. As we read a mystery there is no rule that says the reader must agree with the detective's conclusions or his theories and suspicions. Occasionally the author may allow the reader to know a few details before the hero finds them out in order to add to the suspense and tension of the tale.
The climax of the story erupts when evidence is uncovered that cannot be explained away. The decisive evidence should be discovered as close to the end of the story as possible. Frequently, only the killer and the investigator are present at the final scene when the investigator/hero of the story breaks the case. This allows the killer one last chance to conceal his crime by getting the drop on the hero usually by pulling out a gun. With the truth out in the open and the tables turned, the killer can enlighten the investigator and the reader to any lose ends, by unburdening his conscience with a full confession. Some unsavory details of the victim’s character are revealed during the killer’s confession, revealing the killers motive for the murder. Of course the villain plans to kill the hero so it doesn’t really matter how much he confesses. This final confrontation generally culminates in a physical and mental, no holds barred brawl during which the hero kills or subdues the murderer moments before the cavalry arrives. RSS FEED