  Mystery
This week: Crime & Effect Edited by: Jeff  
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“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
- Carl Sagan
Random Mystery Trivia of the Week: Bestselling and award-winning mystery novelist Harlan Coben (Tell No One, Hold Tight, Just One Look) attended Amherst College and was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity with friend and fellow bestselling author Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, The Lost Symbol). Combined, their books have been translated into more than 40 languages and have sold in excess of 127 million copies.  I shudder to think of the sheer volume of calls they must receive from the Amherst Alumni Association. 
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CRIME AND EFFECT
Since so many mysteries revolve around the commission and/or investigation of a crime, I thought that this week we'd talk a little bit about different kinds of crimes... and what those crimes mean for both your characters and your reader.
First, let's start with a fair-sized, but by no means comprehensive list of crimes. They include:
 Adultery
Aiding and abetting
Arson
Assault
Battery
Blackmail
Bribery
Burglary
Child Abuse
Computer Hacking
Conspiracy
Counterfeiting
Embezzlement
Espionage
Extortion
False Impersonation
Forgery
Fraud
Identity Theft
Incest
Kidnapping
Larceny
Libel & Slander
Loan Sharking
Manslaughter
Murder
Narcotics
Obstruction of Justice
Perjury
Piracy
Prostitution
Rape
Robbery
Slavery
Smuggling
Theft
Treason
Trespassing
As you can see from even this brief list, there are a whole lot of ways to break the law.  Some of these crimes are violent; some are not. Some are crimes against other persons; some are not. In your mystery, the crime committed says a lot about the criminal, and can often dictate how the audience perceives that criminal. Let's look at some different categories of crimes:
Heinous Crimes
Rape, Incest, Child Abuse, Identity Theft. There are some crimes that the majority of people consider so despicable, so detestable, so inexcusable, that there's virtually no way you're going to get a mainstream audience to identify or sympathize with the character who committed those crimes. These are the crimes you might consider for your antagonist if the goal is to have your reader hate the criminal. They probably wouldn't be the best choice for a story where you want your reader to see shades of gray or understand and empathize with the bad guy.
Crimes of Passion
Manslaughter, Adultery. These kinds of crimes are perfect if you're looking to write a story in which you want your audience to identify with the actions, or at least the motive, of the criminal. While not every reader will agree with the character's decision or course of action, chances are that with the right portrayal, they'll at least understand how a character can get caught up in the heat of the moment and commit this kind of crime.
Non-Violent Crimes
Counterfeiting, False Impersonation, Libel & Slander, Narcotics, Obstruction of Justice, Perjury. Crimes that are non-violent - and oftentimes predominantly affect the criminal - are useful when you want your criminal character to be guilty of breaking the law, but not necessarily guilty of anything that will cause readers to react with outrage or deep offense. These are ideal crimes if your character needs to be slightly tarnished, but otherwise good and decent. They're great crimes for protagonists who need to have a dark streak to them.
Time- or Situation-Sensitive Crimes
Blackmail, Extortion, Kidnapping, Trespassing. Any time a crime installs a ticking clock, or leaves a loose end (like someone or something important being held by the criminal), it's a great crime to propel the narrative. Ticking clocks have a natural structure and storyline built in; the protagonist has to solve the crime, get the hostage back, or deliver what he's being blackmailed about, before time runs out or the person hanging in the balance outlives their usefulness. These are ideal crimes to provide momentum for a story, and - depending on the circumstances - can either be understandable to a reader (in the case of something like trespassing), or as deplorable as a heinous crime (in the case of kidnapping someone's child).
Property-Centric Crimes
Burglary, Embezzlement, Larceny, Piracy, Robbery, Smuggling, Theft. These crimes are ideal if you're trying to establish the importance of an object, or have your protagonist involved in something that most people still view as illegal, but isn't as directly offensive as committing a crime against another human being. Again, depending on the circumstances, these crimes range from somewhat understandable (stealing a sentimental item back from someone) to utterly inexcusable (embezzling money from a company retirement account).
There are literally hundreds of crimes out there ... and when you consider that in many situations, you're dealing with the commission of multiple crimes either concurrently, or in short succession, there's a lot of opportunity to craft antagonists (and maybe even protagonists) of all sizes, shapes, and stripes.
Make sure you give the appropriate amount of consideration to who your characters are and, in the event of a story centered around a crime, make sure you find the appropriate crime for those characters. Criminals can be empathetic, sympathetic, revolting, disturbing, sick, or twisted. But, depending on the circumstances, they can also be honorable, justified, or even heroic. With the sheer number of crimes out there, multiplied by the number of personalities that commit them, there's no end to the possibilities for your crime-centric story. Find the combination that's exactly right for the tale you want to tell.
Until next time,
- Jeff
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This week, I would encourage you to check out the following mystery items:
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#1671901 by Not Available. |
Such a beautiful smile, She sets her bags on the elevator floor, takes the orange from my hand, our hands brush, warmth stirs within me. “ Thank you very much, I should be ok though, my apartment is just outside the elevator door. 7th Floor.” I press the number 7 button for her. Of course I already know this, room 702, that’s her.
The round-headed little man in the black suit began to get quite frantic. His bugged-eyes danced from side to side while he kept wringing his hands and looking out the window. “I am not dead yet, but I will be...in approximately,” he checked his watch, “...one hour.”
As we drove further east, the radio news became more and more detailed about an extraordinary event. Hours later, I could see evidence of the event from the freeway. There to my left was a flurry of activity and streaming lights from the emergency vehicles clustered at the Federal Building. Imagine my chagrin when, as I was driving through downtown Oklahoma City, the newscaster reported that the bomb had been delivered in a Ryder truck, of the same type that I was driving!
There were hushes and gasps that rippled through the courtroom. The man who stood up was so much like the defendant. In fact, it was the man spotted by Ms. Malinzi. Ms. Malinzi looked at the man and then down at Mr. Poker sitting at the defendant's bench. She kept doing this unable to believe her eyes. They were like the same person at two places at the same time.
There was a hard chill in the air, but surprisingly, no frost on the ground. Autumn had come early to the Carolina coast and had progressed rapidly since early September. The sun had yet to show it's face and no warmth could be drawn from the harvest stars. He fought back a shiver as he walked from his truck to the company offices.
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#1675494 by Not Available. |
His name wasn’t really Frank but that is the only name they knew him by. When he met with them separately to sign the contracts he introduced himself as Frank. He always finished a job, which is why he was able to charge such high amounts of money for his services. No matter how big or small he always fulfilled his end of the deal and tonight he was going to finish the job he came here to do. This job was a little different because it was a new one for him.
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#1671901 by Not Available. |
Kara did and wondered yet what was wrong. “What is it?” “The stars…” Her friend whispered weakly. “What about ‘em?” Jordi rubbed her arm and noticed goose bumps had spread across her skin. “There aren’t any.”
Scott walked out of the bar to find his car gone – no big surprise. After all, this wasn’t exactly the best neighborhood to leave your unlocked car outside with the keys in the ignition. That was easy, he thought. With no apparent concern, he headed off to his “other” car. It was only a few blocks away and besides, he had plenty of time. Even the best chop shops needed a couple of hours to a-la-carte a vehicle.
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In response to my last newsletter on endings:
Rahul  writes: "It was nice to read your points on "the ending style". I guess i have to agree to all those points in larger perspective. but then i would like to add that writing is much about creativity than following the suit. So in some mystery some innovative ending style should(at least could) be used. would like to know your views more."
I completely agree that creativity is important. My intention was merely to point out the elements of an effective mystery ending; I hope I didn't come across as implying that it should by any means be a mechanical process. I always view guidelines as a creative challenge... not necessarily something that inhibits one's muse so much as focuses it and propels it in a specific direction. Creativity is one of the key weapons in a good writer's arsenal, but it's also important to understand genre conventions and what's expected of a writer, a story, and characters in a particular type of writing. To me, it's not so much a matter of being creative OR being structured... as a matter of being creative AND being structured. I always challenge myself to do both; live up to audience expectations and then try to exceed them with innovation and creativity. Thanks for the great comments!
Artemis Quill writes: "Great newsletter. Your presentation provided me with some wonderful information!!! Sent with a wink and a smile."
Thanks for the feedback, Artemis! Glad I could help.
Cassie Kat writes: "Awesome NL this week, hard to believe just by reading it that it's only your second one!  . Up until just now, I never realized how important those four components are for a good ending, and am planning to strengthen and rework some of my own works with each of these in mind."
Great to hear... it's amazing to think about all the components that an ending needs to have in order to be truly memorable. And all the more frustrating when some writers seem to be able to effortlessly come up with them as they write! Please let me know when you rework your stories; I'd love to check out their new endings!
Fyn-elf  writes: "Excellent newsletter!! Thank you as well for using one of my short stories in your editor's picks.. Been receiving lots of reviews on it because of this!!!"
Thanks, Fyn! Always a pleasure to read your work.
LJPC - the tortoise writes: "Just like last time, your NL was well written and full of great information. Thanks for spending so much time helping your fellow writers. -- Laura"
My pleasure, Laura. I'm glad you enjoyed the NL. Write on!
In response to my earlier newsletter on red herrings:
robert.atwood writes: "I particularly liked the way you talked about red hearings in your editorial. I very rarely dabble in mystery but find red hearings to be a very effective device when I am writing my scenes. They also help me separate myself from narrative summary and create great distance. Great job on this one I look forward to your next. I hope this finds you well and in good spirits."
Thank you kindly, Mr. Atwood. Red herrings can be a lot of fun... as long as you don't know it when you're reading one. |
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Mystery: May 26, 2010 Issue [#3763]
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