Formula for Writing a Mystery or Whodunit? by Mar Preston
Did you know there was a formula to writing a mystery or a
whodunit?
It
may not be apparent, but there are rules that determine how satisfying your
finished story will be to readers. You may have read dozens and dozens, maybe
even hundreds of murder mysteries already. If you are an avid reader of the
mystery genre you already know these rules at some level of consciousness.
Writing
a mystery is hard. Plotting isn’t
easy. People remember strong characters and situations. They often forget
plots. They'll say something about my books, “Oh,
yeah, it’s the one
where Mason and that guy, you know…the
lawyer.” They don’t know the
head-scratching anxiety I went through to come up with that lawyer who play a
critical role in getting my protagonist the next clue
Writing
your first mystery will help you figure out whether you’re an outliner or
seat-of-pantser. The important thing is that you just get going and start
putting lines of words on paper before your idea cools. If it’s all up in your head, it
is not written. You can say that John Sanford (one of my ideal whodunit
masters) works out his plots while playing golf. You and I are not John
Sanford. Get it down on paper.
Don’t tell (bore) everyone
with your idea. Talking about it dissipates the energy you have to actually
write your story. Talking about it, or announcing it on your Facebook page is
not plotting a mystery. Putting lines of words together in some logical linear
fashion is writing a mystery. I am not a proponent of initially
brainstorming a plot with other people. Get it down on paper first and then
brainstorm the weak points in your plot.
Don't
be surprised to hear from your characters when you're outlining your story. A
character may walk into your scene and steal it away from you, pushing you in a
direction you'd never intended. This is called coming up with a better idea.
You
may be nursing an idea right now. Are you? Take a look at my EBook Plotting
Your First Mystery.
Mar Preston
Comments
How did those glitches slip by? Oh dear.
Thonie
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