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.
Youdunit Whodunit!
The information is gleaned from my little non-fiction e-book primer called Youdunit Whodunit: How to Write Mysteries.
STORY STRUCTURE (PART 6 Continued)
LOOSE THE HOUNDS INTO THE MIDDLE:
Other mid-story development tidbits:
- Increase the tension and confusion by adding sub-plot entanglements, clues, red herrings, mistakes and misunderstandings. Find these distractions by playing around with answers to this question: what could reasonably and believably go wrong?
- Explore your characters’ motivations; remember the theme or the point of the story or what the Protagonist learns, about him or her or the world, foreshadows the solution
- Create conflict among characters to move the story forward. Witnessing a fist fight is riveting; eavesdropping on a happy couple not so much
- Ensure that EVERY scene provides information to the solution or essential character development. If not, throw it out. Sometimes your best writing should be tossed; them’s the breaks
- Increase the pace as the story unfolds
- Ensure that all plots, be they main or sub, continue to progress (and climax at the end)
- Avoid repetition, and
- Shun long periods without action. Remember: witnessing a fist fight is riveting; eavesdropping on a happy couple not so much.
…MORE how-to write a mystery tips and techniques continued in the next Friday Mystery Writing 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!).
If you liked this, you may enjoy the previous post, One Damn Thing After Another
Tags: crime fiction, detective fiction, ebook, genre fiction, mystery novel, mystery writing, writing how to