I’ve been teaching a writers’ workshop at our local Camosun college on how to write a mystery novel.
My students are eating it up, telling me that they’re learning lots of practical and usable tips and techniques, so I thought I’d offer bits and pieces of the workshop in my new Friday Mystery Writing blog posts.
The information is gleaned from my little non-fiction e-book primer called Youdunit Whodunit: How to Write Mysteries.
Cover for mystery writing primer, Youdunit Whodunit!
So, let’s get the investigation going, shall we?
STRUCTURE AIN’T NO MYSTERY
At the onset, you may feel overwhelmed with your undertaking but don’t sweat. It’s not paint-by-numbers but it’s also not rocket science. Basically, every good mystery contains key elements and follows a basic structure. Nail these and you’ll have dunnit!
Each author’s approach or process is unique; there’s no common template or step-by-step method. For example, P. D. James usually starts with a body and a specific location whereas I start with exploring a theme.
It doesn’t matter whether your jump off point is the detective, the crime or the solution; whatever works for you…works!
First things first: spend some time pondering these half-dozen KEY elements as they are the building blocks to your blockbuster:
1) One or more serious crimes that generally include odd details
2) An amateur or a professional Protagonist (Protag) to detect and pursue the criminal
3) A villain with a hidden motive who perpetrated the main felony
4) A known number of suspects with several possible motivations for committing the crime
5) A tight, believable plot; always moving the story and the reader forward, and
6) The Rule of Fair Play: the reader must receive the same clues and information as the “detective”.
Find out more information or how to purchase this e-book, jam-packed with ways to immediately improve your writing, go to Youdunit Whodunit (and it’s only $2.99US!).
Please touch base and let me know your best genre writing tips and techniques. I never stop learning.
Tags: crime fiction, detective fiction, ebook, fiction, genre fiction, how to write mysteries, mystery, mystery novel, mystery writing, non-fiction, writing how to