Intro: 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!
STORY STRUCTURE (PART 4)
LOOSE THE HOUNDS INTO THE MIDDLE
Writing riveting fiction is pretty simple if you remember one critical tenet: make sure one damn thing happens after another. This adds and increases suspense.
By quickly beginning the investigation, you unleash your characters and shift your plot into motion. The crime raises crucial questions about the main characters’ motivations.
Answering these will lead you into the middle ground of your book:
- Who was killed? What terrible crime was committed?
- Why does the murderer murder or commit serious crime?
- Who was affected by this death / crime?
- Who wants to solve it and why?
If you found this of interest, you may wish to read the previous posts.
…MORE how to write a mystery tips and techniques continued in the next post!
Find out more information or how to purchase this e-book, jam-packed with ways to immediately improve your writing, click Youdunit Whodunit (only $2.99US!).
Tags: crime fiction, detective fiction, genre fiction, mystery, mystery novel, mystery writing, Publishing, writing how to