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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/1662-.html
Mystery: April 18, 2007 Issue [#1662]

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Mystery


 This week:
  Edited by: darkin
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

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!


Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

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Creating the Perfect Victim


Who your victim is can be just as important as who your hero and villain are. Each has the same importance in your story, and should have the same amount of care taken when you create them.

Your victim isn't just a body to be discovered or someone whose death can give your detective a crime to solve? Your victim is a plot twist that can help move your story along. He is a crucial character in your story. Here are five tips to help you create them.

1. Your victim should make sense. Think about your plot. The kind of mystery you are writing will show you the type of victim you need. If you are plotting a kidnapping and murder, you don't want to show a 98-pound weakling kidnapping a 230-pound fighter, unless you can do it in a believable way. You want your victim to match the villain and crime, so the reader can believe what you are showing them.

2. Give the hero a connection. Detectives will work hard to solve the case, whether they know the victim or not. But giving the detective a connection to the victim can make the story more suspenseful. If that can't be done, then give your detective the ability to empathize with the victim, to feel their loss, so he is more driven to find the killer.

3. Make the victim human. Give your victim annoying character flaws, something that others would find aggravating. Maybe even aggravating enough to do him in over? Just about anything can be used for this, from annoying personal habits to being too nice.

4. Mr. Popularity, or is he? There are two kinds of victims that make great characters: the victim that everyone hated and the one everyone loved. Both are good characters. The victim everyone hated would have a ton of suspects, probably almost everyone they dealt with. The victim everyone loved would have no suspects, since everyone adored them.

5. The cardboard victim. Too often the victim is the least fleshed out character of a mystery novel. They are nothing more than a body the detective has to deal with. Treat your victim like that and you are doing a great disservice to your readers. The reader has to care about the victim as much as the detective or they won't bother to finish reading to find out who killed them. So give the victim a back story and a life. Show they were someone and deserve to be avenged.

When creating your mystery's characters, give enough attention to an important character; your victim. It will make your story more suspenseful and give your detective a motive to get the job done. And your readers a reason to keep reading.

Thank you for taking the time to read. Happy Writing!

darkin


Editor's Picks

Here are some items I found while traveling the highways and byways of Writing.Com!

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FORUM
Crack Kraken's Code Contest [Round Over] Open in new Window. (13+)
Follow the clues and decipher the message to win prizes!
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Word from Writing.Com

Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
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Don't forget to support our sponsor!

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Ask & Answer

Thank you for taking the time to read this issue. I hope you enjoyed it. And if you have any suggestions for future issues, please let me know. If I use your suggestion, I will pay you 5000 GPs and highlight one of your items in that newsletter!!!!

darkin


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Submitted By: Fyn Author Icon
Submitted Comment:

Fun and interesting newsletter!!! I've been to several Bed and Breakfasts that had secret rooms or staircases and hidden notebooks to add your thoughts! It is fun reading the words left by others as well! "Trunk" is about a secret staircase and hidden room in my grandmother's house! Once used as part of The Underground Railway, hidden rooms can serve a myriad of uses for the mystery writer of today.


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Submitted By: billwilcox
Submitted Comment:

Squirrel in the Dark,
I LOVED this newsletter. It is always so much fun to write about hidden compartments and secret doors that lead to thrilling adventures and more clues. This has got to be one of my favorite newsletters of all time. Well done! *Cool*


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