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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/4014-Puzzling-the-story-behind-the-story.html
Mystery: October 20, 2010 Issue [#4014]

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Mystery


 This week: Puzzling the story behind the story
  Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

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

** Image ID #1363681 Unavailable **
All that I see or seem is but a dream withn a dream
Edgar Alan Poe


         A mystery is an answer in search of a question; knowing what's been done and journey to discovering the how and why of it. It deals with something unknown to the reader, which the writer reveals in bits and pieces with both subtle and overt clues, drawing the reader into the puzzle. Welcome to this week's edition of the WDC Mystery Newletter, where we enter and explore the puzzle for ourselves and our readers.



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Letter from the editor

Greetings, fellow sleuths

         Some of the most intense and riveting mysteries answer not only who, what, when, where, and how, but why? Consider Wilkie Collins and Ruth Rendell, each of whom wrote riveting murder mysteries with psychological depth. They mystery of the 'gem' in Collins' The Moonstone, was as vital to solving the murder(s) and involved the characters (and readers) in the 'otherworld' created by Collins.

         A psychological crime mystery incorporates the genre characteristics, but with more emphasis on character development and showing the psychological pressure and burden it causes the character. The psychological impact of the crime on victim, family and friends; the motives of the protagonist in solving the crime and the conflict between the antagonist and victim or protagonist. There is often as well conflict between the protagonist and law enforcement, even if the protagonist is a member of the law.

         I think it's all a matter of emphasis. A detective novel might well have lots of sociological/psychological observations, like Raymond Chandler's novels. But in a psychological mystery, solving the crime itself carries less weight than solving the reason for the crime. The detective is generally an ancillary character. And the story isn't usually structured as "an investigation into a crime," is it is with much other crime and mystery fiction. The emphasis is instead on the context of the crime and the minds and experiences of the people involved or touched by it.

         Psychological mysteries as a genre tend to dissolve strong central-figure identification, and tend to block that kind of straight-ahead narrative in favor of something branching, with more emphasis on atmosphere and interaction among strong characters. When there is a central character, it's often a sociopath, and the story is the puzzle that created him/her. Whether so obvious he/she appears a leader or central figure until defragmented, or so subtle as to be one of the crowd, its' your call as you plot a mystery with a puzzle that takes more than a 50-minute hour (the term (and time span) of a psychologist's session) to solve*Wink*

Write On!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading Author IconMail Icon



Editor's Picks

I know you willl enjoy reading (and reviewing *Wink*) the psychologically motivated puzzles offered here by some members of our Community

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1163133 by Not Available.


Malice Intended Open in new Window. (ASR)
Who is the slapdash, foolish criminal behind a crime scene in a hotel?
#445131 by Joy Author IconMail Icon


 The Luck of the Dice Open in new Window. (18+)
A killer is loose and the police chief is under pressure to find the killer or be fired
#951670 by Bruce Author IconMail Icon


 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1236799 by Not Available.


 Taken For Granted Chapter 1 Open in new Window. (ASR)
Amateur sleuth psychologist tries to discover if a patients death is suicide or murder
#273676 by SnowyChicago Author IconMail Icon


 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1715993 by Not Available.


Hide! Open in new Window. (18+)
A short story about identity.
#1029395 by Lee L Strauss Author IconMail Icon


 The Most Singular Case of Mr.JamesPhebes Open in new Window. (18+)
A "Psychological Thriller" of a different kind. Step inside the mind of James Phebes....
#1375367 by >KârK< Author IconMail Icon


 
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Ask & Answer

         Thank you for engaging in this exploration of the psychological puzzler. I invite you to try one of your own, in prose or in verse, perhaps as the tricksters arrive en masse on Halloween, there's something to uncover in the aftermath of their revelry*Wink*

         Until we next meet across the byways, I wish you each

HAPPY HALLOWEEN


Happy Sleuthing, as we
Write On!

Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading Author IconMail Icon

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