  Mystery
This week: Edited by: darkin
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Welcome to the Mystery Newsletter. Why are mysteries so popular? Because mysteries make you think. You follow every clue, examine the crime scenes and remember what each suspect said, until you solve the crime. A good mystery can keep you interested until the end. A great mystery will keep you guessing until the last page...when it makes you slap your forehead in surprise!
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Keeping Your Reader on the Edge of Their Seat!
Mystery stories aren't just tales of who did what to whom. They are a collection of suspenseful scenes that lead the reader through a maze of events until the final curtain is drawn. What makes a great mystery is the writer's ability to keep the reader clutching their book until the last page is turned.
Every aspect of a mystery story should be used to build suspense. That is what they are for, to keep your readers on the edge of their seat. Remember, suspense isn't just keeping your readers in the dark about what is happening. It is about making them feel the tension, live the fear of discovery, and revel in the joy of catching the villain. You want your reader to live the story through your character's eyes.
Building tension in your story can be done several ways. One of the best is plot twists. When writing your story, be sure to make a plot that has shocks, sudden turns and surprising revelations. Do not let your reader become comfortable in the story; shake them up. Use your story's red herrings to keep your reader wondering, and waiting, for the next tidbit of information.
Creating characters your readers will want to know more about can help keep them reading. If your reader cannot identify with your characters, they will not care about what happens to them. Give them more than just hair and eye color, give them a reason to want to see your hero win and the villain lose. There are many wonderful ways to make your characters more real. One is to give them a habit, something they do not even think about doing. Like your heroine pushing her glasses back up her nose. Or the hero tapping his fingers on the table when he is nervous. Little things will make them more real to your reader. And just when your reader thinks they know the character, give them information that makes them question what that character is really up too.
Use your setting to create a suspenseful mood. You want to choose a setting that matches the kind of story you are writing. If you are writing a gothic tale do not make your setting a lovely home in the country, unless you are trying to give your reader a false sense of security. Think about your plot, what kind of place comes to mind? When you write about it, let your reader see it in every scene. Make them see, feel, smell, hear, and yes, even taste the place. Give them a reason to want to be there in their mind while they are reading your story.
Let the reader into the mind of the criminal. You do not have to tell them who the bad guy is, but you can let them see into his thoughts and actions. Giving the reader first-hand insight to why the villain does what he/she does will add to their suspense. They will be waiting for the moment the hero comes upon the villain's handiwork.
Suspense is what makes a mystery story go round; more so than the plot, characters or setting. Readers live for that edge-of-you-seat excitement, the force driving them to keep turning the page long after night has fallen and they should be in bed. Give your readers that feeling, and you will have a reader for life.
Thank you for taking the time to read. Happy Writing!
darkin
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Thank you all for reading and for sending your feedback. Here is some of the comments I've received.
Keep writing!!!
darkin
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SHERRI GIBSON 
Submitted Comment:
You've done it again, Darkin. This is a very informative newsletter. The advice given on submitting manuscripts all writers should know before sending out his/her work, yet like you stated, so many don't. Excellent newsletter and advice!
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Breezy-E ~ In College 
Submitted Comment:
Great NL! Good info for any kind of manuscript!
As to your question (There is a belief in some circles of writers that all mysteries must have clues and a solution. That unless there is a crime to solve, it isn't a true mystery. What do you think? Can a mystery be about something other than a murder, theft, or other such crime? Can the discovery of something non-criminal also be a mystery?) I think that, while you need clues and a solution, there is no need of a crime. Take the children's series The Boxcar Children. The first book is a bit less of a mystery than the others, but all the other books are definately mysteries.
Breezy-E
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Fictiøn Ðiva the Wørd Weava 
Submitted Comment:
Dear darkin:
Thank you for including my short story in your last newsletter!  A little while ago, I came across this Judie K. Cummins quote: "I understand "mystery" to be when the reader is trying to find out who the "bad guy" is along with the protagonist; whereas, in "suspense" the reader knows who the "bad guy" is and worries that the protagonist won't discover in time to save herself (and maybe others)." The quote helped me to decide what type of story I might consider to be a mystery--a story where some type of crime has been committed by an unknown perpetrator. Clues are placed throughout the story, and the perpetrator is usually revealed in the end. On the other hand, the discovery of something non-criminal can also be a mystery. For example, there are medical mysteries to be solved as well.  Thank you for your thought-provoking questions.
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sel21
Submitted Comment:
Hi and thank you for offering my Retinal Detachment story in your newsletter.
I'm thrilled, because I have never written anything in the vicinity of the genre.
Also love the suggestions for submission up front.
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Deborah Owen
Submitted Comment:
Yes, I think a mystery can be about other things. For example, I wrote a story dealing with an ice-skating accident. It deals with mystery, suspense and paranormal activities. I think a mystery can be weaved into anything.
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Mystery: January 24, 2007 Issue [#1505]
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