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. .
Don’t forget to slip in the Sly Bits:
- As mentioned earlier, a good mystery must follow the Rule of Fair Play. This means the audience should receive the same information as the Protagonist, thus giving the reader a chance to solve the crime by the end of the story
- Your job also involves developing these all-important sly bits — clues to the solution and red herrings to cause reader confusion — and then scattering them throughout the story
- Clues and red herring may be tangible (like a bloody glove) or intangible (like a character’s behaviour).
- Intensify suspense with a chase or a villain who escapes until the last possible moment or page
- Place the Protag or someone close to him or her at risk.
If you found this of interest, you may wish to see the previous posts.
…MORE how-to write a mystery tips and techniques continued in the next Friday 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, ebook, Electronic / Digital Publishing, fiction, genre fiction, mystery, mystery novel, mystery writing, self-promotion, self-publishing, writing how to, writing skills