 Mystery: September 26, 2018 Issue [#9139] |
This week: It's all part of a plot! Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week: If you do enough planning before you start to write, there's no way you can have writer's block. I do a complete chapter by chapter outline.
~ RL Stine |
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A well crafted plot is necessary for any story, but especially a mystery. Nothing annoys a reader of mysteries more than a story full of plot holes. Even writers who are lucky enough to be able to write by the seat of their pants (a skill I definitely do not possess) can benefit from a little planning when writing a mystery. Without any planning, it is so easy to write yourself into a plot hole that is too big for your characters to crawl out.
For me, planning a story is one of the best parts of writing it. There are many different ways of planning a story, but here is one:
First, develop develop the central plot line for your story. This is the major puzzle, crime, or situation that the rest of the story revolves around. This is the best time to do research to determine whether the events you want to include in the story are believable or even possible.
Many writers develop their characters before putting them in to a story. It is a good idea to make sure you understand what makes your major characters tick before getting too deep into the story. What are their strengths? Their weaknesses? How do they react under pressure? How will they interact with each other?
When you have a good idea of the major plot line and the characters, construct an outline or timeline of the major events of the story. That will help you recognize and plug any plot holes before you start writing.
After the main storyline is planned, fill in the subplots, red herrings, and misdirection that you will use to keep your readers guessing. Make sure the whole story still makes sense and you didn't create any new plot holes.
Besides constructing a strong, seamless plot, mystery writers have the added challenge of setting up illusions to keep the readers guessing. A mystery is basically two or more story lines. One story line is what is actually happening. The others are alternate versions that you must lead your characters (and readers) to think are happening without actually lying to them. The readers should be given all the clues necessary to guess the solution without it being too easy.
When I read a mystery, I like it best when I figure out the solution almost at the same second the main character does. I'm not sure what is more annoying: a plot that is so convoluted, twisted, and based on obscure information that nobody has a chance of solving it, or one that I figure out in the first chapter!
Something to try: Make up a character before writing the story where they are the main character or the villain. |
| | RED (13+)
A short story written for the Show, Don't Tell Contest. Who is the mysterious RED?
#2165386 by Choconut  |
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