Writing a mystery for the first time! Suggestions?

This is my first year for a mystery/thriller, though I've skirted the edges of the genre before. The biggest thing that I'm investing in is A LOT of pre-planning, including setting aside almost this entire month as outlining for the next.

Amber
www.gipsysmusings.com/nano/

Amber
www.gipsysmusings.com/nano

Look around you. What do you see in your environment that might inspire you to write a mystery? Or, was there something in your past that you said to yourself, "What if he or she did this? What if I saw it? What would I do? And as Dean Koontz reminded many just recently, "Give your characters free will." When you do this, anything can and will happen...

Happy writing!

Toni

From Mystery Writing is Murder class by Ellen Hart:

What is a mystery novel? A structured story that has three main elements: Crime, detection, and solution.

Unwritten Rules:
~ The crime is usually something large, like murder, but can be anything that people will care about. Stealing a towel from the neighbor's clothesline is probably not strong enough.

~ There has to be someone officially investigating the crime. It doesn't have to be a professional, though. It can be a family member or other interested party.

~ The solution has to be discovered by the person investigating. They can receive outside help to solve the caper, but in the end, they have to be the one who wraps everything up.

~ Include enough suspects to make it interesting but not enough to become difficult to follow (two or three for a short story, between three and five for a novel is good).

~ Suspects have two stories, the apparent one and the real one. The apparent one is the way the person appears until the criminal is revealed. This is what keeps your reader guessing about whodunnit. The real one is the actual truth about each suspect. For example, you might have two suspects who have an aversion to guns. One of them hates them and will never use them. The other only pretends to hate them, and will make subtle slipups when confronted. Perhaps they have a donation card for the NRA in their wallet. Or maybe they have saved the target from when they hit three bullseyes at the range twenty years ago.

~ Release information steadily, something new each chapter. With a steady supply of information and frequent surprises, you will grip your reader and keep him or her wanting more.

Good luck! :-)

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You can take a look at the famous "Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories" by S.S. Van Dine:

http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/vandine.htm

I'm already breaking half of these rules! Not that they really have much basis anymore...

The only real piece of advice (that no one else has listed yet) I can give is to make the story and characters as interesting as possible. Contrary to popular belief, a good story with terrible characters or the most amazing characters in a boring story do not equal out to an enjoyable read.

Since your story is character driven (like mine) try to work that into the plot of your story itself so it doesn't seem like they were simply thrown in together.

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One book I'd recommend is "How to Write Killer Fiction: The Funhouse of Mystery & the Roller Coaster of Suspense" by Carolyn Wheat. It is very good and also very short.

Robert B. Parker, one of the best living writers of mysteries says they are an "adventure in search of the truth." Have a mystery, sure -- but don't forget the basics: Truth, strong characters, adventure.

Don't be so quick to give up Chic lit. There are a lot of really fun mysteries that combine crime and chic lit. One writer who comes to mind is Laura Levine. Mystery and chic lit make a nice combo, in the cozy vein.

Hi, this is my first novel and since I am a big fan of mysteries particularly cozy. I am going to attempt an office mystery. Where the most hated person in the office is found dead by her assistant and there are a cast of characters of who done it.
Any suggestions on getting started. Plots who what when where how....

Life is like a book, keep on reading the adventure will go on forever.

Diane

Purplecow: The most fundamental "rule" in mystery is "fair play". The clues that the detective ultimately uses to solve the mystery must be presented to the reader. They can be buried in red herrings, misinterpreted, or dismissed and ignored by the viewpoint character, but the MUST BE THERE. Also the villian must appear close to the beginning of the book and throughout. When the perp is unmasked,it needs to be someone the reader knows, so they can think back over his/her actions through the book and go, "oooh, so that's what he really was doing." I've heard that Agatha Christie was criticized for one of her books for making the viewpoint character actually the murderer - I'm not sure which one, it's one of the few of her books I haven't read. Other people didn't mind. So it's a value judgement in a lot of cases, but something to keep in mind.

DS2008 - Yay! for cozies. To get started - victimology. The victim was hated, so you create several people who had reason to hate her/him. One is the murderer, others are the red herrings. It can be an even better twist if the apparant motive (unpleasant person whom people hate) is not the real one. Does someone have a grudge from years ago? Does someone benefit financially? Did the victim know about embezzlement or corporate espionage and threaten to tell? There is also the possibility of a Murder on the Orient Express plot (where they ALL done it, as a conspiracy, each for different reasons) but I don't know if one could get away with that device again...

Next you decide who did the murder and how, and what the clues are to that particular narrative. Then you outline three or more red herrings - suspects with motive, detailing clues that point to them and one specific clue that exonerates them.

Then you outline a narrative where the amateur detective gets involved, plant real clues along with red herring clues, and one by one exonerate the red herring suspects until only two are left, the real killer and the last red herring. They appear to be equally likely. In your climax the detective discovers the final clue, or realizes the significance of an earlier one or both, just in time for the showdown with the real killer who does his/her level best to stop the amateur before he/she goes to the police with what he/she has figured out. Or something like that. I'm sure there are other ways, but this is the way I develop my plots. it seems a little formulaic, but when you're getting started, as I am, formula helps get you off the ground and you can innovate from there...

Of course, interwoven with all this is characterization and subplots...

It helps to take a book you like, and outline the plot from chapter to chapter (what conflicts and characters are introduced, clues, red herrings, subplots, etc.) to see how it's put together. It helps give you an overview of how a mystery writer weaves in the different threads of plot and subplot.

It was The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, which is really quite a good book. I didn't know the twist when I read it, and I must admit that I did feel a little cheated at the end, but overall very happy to have been taken in.

I agree wholeheartedly with everything you've said, enough to stress it all again! To my mind the best thing about writing mysteries is that you are constantly engaged in an intellectual competition with your reader. You're trying not to show them too obviously who the murderer is, but at the same time you *have* to play fair. That's the wonderful fun of it; disguising your clues properly so that they're hidden on first reading, but obvious when the reader hits the end.

I've heard this described as "possibility vs plausibility" by mystery writers. The idea is that whilst there any many possible explanations throughout the story, when it comes to the revelation scene there can only be one plausible one. That, or you have to trick the reader into thinking that, given the evidence, your outcome is the only plausible one!

Sherlock Holmes is really bad at this, fantastic as the books are, as Holmes has an encyclopedic knowledge of things that the reader cannot be expected to know. It's much harder to write a novel where you play fair, but so much more rewarding for writer and reader in the long-run!

Hi - this will be my first attempt at a crime/mystery/thriller too. I've enjoyed reading all the comments - thanks, they are really helpful - but they have raised a different question for me.

I think it likely that my killer will be unmasked relatively early in the story (halfway through, at the latest), at which point it will become more of a thriller, but with some mystery still attached ... is this a really bad idea?

Thanks, Val

Val
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2007: Brought to Light - won
2006: Riverside - won

This is my first year too! So the only advice I can offer is the one I'm taking: Unless it really bothers you, take a plot from a famous mystery and tweak from there. That's what I'm doing, and it's turning out to be a modern-day urban fantasy version of the classic Sherlock Holmes novella "The Hound of the Baskervilles" with a distinct supernatural flavor. I absolutely love it.

So maybe, if you're stuck on plot or something, you could just borrow a common or famous plot and then build it up with twists, turns, and different types of characters. I like your idea about the alternate personality protag. I think that twists any common mystery right off the bat!

Hey, hello!
This is my first time too. And I'm scared becouse I was planning to write something about aliens. I don't want to make a disaster!!
Well, you have my support :)

"-Russel, let me introduce you Miss Penny Lane.
- ...
-Mmm... Penny Lane, like the song? "

I really enjoy the Pepper Martin series (Don of the Dead, Chick and the Dead, Tombs of Endearment) by Casey Daniels. They're quirky, interesting...and there are lots of ghosts.

My advice? Kill your victim and figure out why your murderer killed the victim so that you can get the clues straight for the sleuth to follow.

Be fair to your readers. The clues don't have to be obvious. But they do have to be there if the reader goes back and looks for them...

I plan on writing a mystery for this year's novel as well. I've never written a mystery. Don't be afraid to write an exceptionally violent or passionate first couple of pages. You have to pull those readers in right away.

"Your solution is both fair and democratic ... and I want no part of it."

I'm attempting a mystery for the first time this year as well. The best advice I've gotten so far:

1. Do your research, and do it thoroughly and properly. I'm not in any way going with a highly technical approach to my private eye book, but I still find myself wandering back to the books/internet constantly to find out info about, first and foremost, how private investigators work, but also about gunshot wounds, chloroform, molotov cocktails (via the NaNo boards :D ), animal behavior (for my MC's pet), and the heart condition my victim suffers from. Talking to people has been a big help; I got lots of invaluable laymen's info from Dr. Lyle (www.dplylemd.com) and my mother, a 12-year nursing veteran.

2. Work backwards. I started with the initial crime and decided how I wanted it to go down, then, based on that, went forward and based all my clues and the actions of my PI on that. I've had to go back into the past several months and years at times to give possible motives for my red herrings.

Good luck!

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. ~E.L. Doctorow

Hey I'm new to writing in general, not just Mystery/Crime novels!
I've just started today well, about half an hour ago, without planning anything at all, just woke up and started to write [It's 11am Nov 1st here already]
I don't have any idea who killed my victim, let alone why, can I develop that as I go along, or would it be best to have a good idea now of whodunnit?
Also, another question: I haven't given a name to my characters yet, do you think I can go the entire story without naming my main character? I intend on having him as an introvert, not talking much...

But seriously, I know that there have been professional novels that have managed to do so--usually so skillfully that you're describing it to someone else or reading a review/reference to it that mentions "the unnamed lead character", and you suddenly blink and realize that, yeah, this person you felt you know so well never technically was given a name.

I imagine it works more easily in first person than third, but that's just a guess. I say: go for it. If you decide to come back and edit/rewrite in the future, then you can determine whether it worked or came off awkwardly. For now, make it a mini-challenge to yourself just to see if you can do it. :)

~~~
Participant since 2001 ~ Winner since 2002!

I'm not writing a mystery for NaNo, but right after NaNo I want to try my hand at writing a cheesy, old school, 1920s murder mystery.... Now, I don't even READ mystery books, since they frustrate me, so I don't know the first thing about writing them.

2005: Shattered Mirror (21k/50k)
2006: Dream Diary (38k/50k)
2007: A Wish for Dawn (23k/50k)
2008: December Parasite (pending title) (30k/50k so far)

This is my first NaNo, and my first mystery novel. Usually i work on my Christian teen series or legal thriller or something somewhere inbetween. It's not a whodunit but rather a didhedoit? All or most of my chars are exposed already and a novel within the novel is the key. All the clues are laid out in this novel so i found i am writing two novels at once. With a reference to a third that is the drive for the MC. I'm kinda going nuts for 2 reasons. 1: this is a challenge for me to be writing a genre i never have before 2: writing it to this extent (three novels in one) and 3: my novel, novel, and novel, are being played out too quickly. i know i'm behind by 'bout three days in my word count and I'm not worried bout catching up. I'm worried my novel will be done before i hit 50K.

Riona: i am there with you. i have an old manual typewriter i got when my dad passed away and every time i look at it it inspires me to write an old time old fashioned murder mystery/PI novel.

This is my first mystery, though I do read plenty of them.

Outlines are your friend. You may hate to do so (like me) but you have to knuckle under and do it. So much is plot-driven in a murder mystery. That's why my usual method of outlining as I go along just would not work. My working outline contains major events, subplot and clues. It consists of one or two sentences, nothing fancy. I feel a lot easier knowing where I'm going.

It sounds like you have your sleuth. Figure out why he/she gets involved in the crime, how the crime occurred and why. You don't necessarily need your murderer just now. You will need a method. Jot down clues, suspects and red herrings. These will often help you identify the murderer as well as the motive.

I give all my suspects something to hide. Why else would you suspect them? Figure out what clues point to them and why they could not have committed the crime. The murderer in a cosy generally is introduced within the first chapter or two. He or she needs to be someone you've seen since the beginning. Remember, anything your sleuth uses to solve the crime has to be given to your readers. You can be sneaky and not make a big deal about the clues, but they have to be there. Readers get really mad when you don't play fair.

Someone asked about naming the protagonist. It's not necessary (especially if you're using first person).I think it would be difficult to write an entire novel without a name, but it can be done. One famous novel that never reveals the protagonist's first name is Rebecca.

Thanks guys, all these comments are really really helpful. I have only the vaguest idea where I'm going, so will knuckle under and do the outline as you suggest! grrrr

Hazel Woodward
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