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All that I see or seem is but a dream within a dream
Edgar Alan Poe

         She enters the store as she does every Sunday for her paper and some conversation. But the clerk isn't behind the counter, he's on the floor, splattered with pickle juice. There's something in his hand. She recognizes it, there are only two of them left, and one is on her mantel. She knows who put the gash on the poor clerk's head, and knows it's not the same person who put the hole through his chest, now bleeding into the pickle juice on the ground. ...

         You've got the beginning of the puzzle - and you know where it will end. But your reader does not. You've planted some clues at the scene to begin the journey. Now, how to keep your reader following, turning the pages as others arrive at the scene and the story unfolds. You want to keep your reader involved, wanting to know why pickle juice? what was the 'something' in the clerk's hand? why did the woman know there were only two, did she perchance have the other? And the hole in his chest - a bullet, a knife, a pickle fork? So many possibilities. How to keep your reader questioning, make him or her want to know more, learn more, solve the puzzle and the mystey.

         It's all too easy to muddle through the middle. You know what the end result will be (most of the time), and you think, perhaps, the neatest was from one point to another is a straight line. Well, a mystery is a puzzle, and a puzzle can be a maade (of clues). But place them with care, and lead your sleuth (and reader) not too far astray, lest they both get lost and either give away the end and just go through the motions, or get so lost following clues and subplots that the reader no longer recalls why the sleuth is searching for what, and stops caring about solving the puzzle.

         Again, as in beginnings and endings, there are three ways to keep your reader turning pages, make him want to know what happened, and why, along with your sleuth.

         One way is to give your readers and your protagonist several avenues to follow and they make a choice, attempt to resolve the problem, and are thwarted once, twice, and the third attempt succeeds. Now that doesn't mean the woman tries to pry the item out of the clerk's hand by breaking first one, then two, then three fingers. Remember, she has the other, so there are a number of ways she can attempt to find why the clerk had it in his hand. But don't give her a dozen or more attempts to try, then she just becomes foolish in your reader's eye, and they stop caring whether or not she learns the answer. With each attempt, perhaps one a red herring, you create active tension and show how the sleuth cares, and make your reader likewise care.

         If the sleuth makes only two attempts before succeeding, he/she may simply have been lucky. If the sleuth has to make four or five attempts proving victorious, the sleuth starts to seem unworthy of respect and the story becomes monotonous or a spoof.

         Create some twists and turns for the sleuth, and the story itself. Clues both subtle and overt will keep your reader turning pages as the story itself unfolds with more depth. Show with dialogue and action more of the life of your sleuth, giving him/her some flaw, a fear perhaps, or an ulterior motive to solving the puzzle. Perfect protagonists are hard to walk along with, to empathize with, for your readers. Readers don't stop reading when the pages almost turn by themselves and one way to do this is to introduce twists.

         Suprise your reader with surprises, don't make them expect them. Subtle clues, mannerisms, dialects, clothing that doesn't fit the season, there's a lot that can be subtly introduced and sometimes very obviously missed by the sleuth until later something ties it in and brings the story full circle. The reader and sleuth sharing an 'aha' moment.

         Surprise also your reader with a subplot. Perhaps a clue reveals that there were actually three copies of the item clutched in the clerk's hand. The third is in the hand of a possible witness being sought for another crime, which can be a secondary story and subplot if you weave it back into the puzzle. But remember 'sub' in subplot, in a short story one should suffice, and as a subplot, not overshadow the puzzle itself.

         The subplot in a mystery can reveal the setup for the crime, or the reason for concealing the crime, and ultimately help resolve the clues as the sleuth takes matters in hand and solves the questions posed at the first scene, solving the puzzle and tieing up the loose ends along the way, discarding the herrings and validating the clues both subtle and overt. Your reader remains involved and cares, along with the sleuth, that the puzzle is solved. They turn the final page, satisfied.

         So, one way to not muddle the middle is to have an idea not only of where the puzzle begins, and where it ends, but how to weave through the potential maze of clues, a herring or two, and the sleuth/protagonist's own perceptions as envisioned through your pen and shared with your reader. There's a path you create, and it takes an active twist and turn your sleuth wants and needs to follow, and your reader comes to do likewise, turning page after page to not miss a moment.

         Give it a try, plot your course, as you would a road trip you're planning, but along the way, you make a few stops, there's a detour or two along the way, perhaps an unanticipated stop for car repairs, and when you reach your destination, it's with a sense of accomplishment and relief and, yes, satisfaction. That's what we give our readers when we don't muddle the middle of a story or epic poem. Whether you write from a detailed outline, or a question and answer, or allow the scenes to unfold along your path from the opening to resolution, If your journey is one of joy, and you have fun with it, so will your readers.

Write On!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading