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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/9764-The-TV-Show-Formula.html
Mystery: September 18, 2019 Issue [#9764]




 This week: The TV Show Formula
  Edited by: NaNoNette 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

Dear writers and readers of mysteries, I am NaNoNette Author Icon and I will be your guest editor for this issue.


Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

The TV Show Formula


Do you watch TV shows? Do you watch police/crime TV shows? Do you watch Lucifer or Hawaii 5-0?

If you said yes to the last two questions, then you have witnessed the typical police procedural formula for writing crime mysteries. You may or may not have noticed that it's usually the first person on scene who is not the victim or a police officer who is the culprit. It is true that there are episodes where the first person on scene will be a decoy. A detractor from the pattern to give you the impression that you can't ever tell for sure until the TV show wants to reveal the culprit to you.
Once you watch a few seasons of Hawaii 5-0 or Lucifer, you will find that the person who committed the crime is first on scene eight times out of ten. It will then be up to the police officers or crime solvers to drag the net around that person.

As writers, we can use that in our short stories or novels. Once the crime is discovered, you can have the culprit show up on the scene. Since we are writing and not producing TV shows (yet), we have to be sure to give our reader enough incentive to remember that person once the plot noose starts tightening around them.

At first, the culprit might appear as a concerned neighbor, a jogger running by, or even be the person who called the crime in! *Shock2*

As the detectives collect more and more clues and evidence, that evidence has to keep pointing back at that culprit, but not in too blatant a fashion. There has to be at least one decoy culprit in the story. Maybe even someone who would have a reason to have a grudge or a motive. Something that makes the other person just as likely to be the perpetrator.

Remember to keep track of your hints and clues as mystery writing is planned writing. In the end, you don't want the reader to be able to say, "This clue was nowhere in the story. You just pulled this one out of thin air to wrap up the plot, but it wasn't anywhere." You have to be able to point to the clue. The better hidden, the better it is.


Editor's Picks

 
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The Treasure Map  Open in new Window. (13+)
Who is holding our library and our beloved Mrs. Stone, town librarian hostage?
#2200619 by lezismore-moreislez Author IconMail Icon

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#2200524 by Not Available.

 
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An Ancient Mystery Open in new Window. (E)
The Writer's Cramp Contest entry
#2200097 by Vanishing Vapor Author IconMail Icon

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Attitude Changes Open in new Window. (18+)
A Show, Don't Tell Entry
#2199778 by Mastiff Author IconMail Icon

 Guardian Open in new Window. (ASR)
Escapism in the blurred lines of reality.
#2199700 by J. J. Netzach Author IconMail Icon

 
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Fox on the Run-Ch.1 Dreams+Ch. 2 Reality Open in new Window. (ASR)
Penelope spies a peculiar fox on her porch. Then, the nightmares begin...
#2198360 by Candid Ishida Author IconMail Icon

 
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Top Secret Open in new Window. (E)
A detective sets up in business. Third place in No Dialogue Contest.
#2198184 by Beholden Author IconMail Icon

 
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Night and Day Open in new Window. (13+)
Fate is a tricky thing and often unkind.
#2197927 by Ned Author IconMail Icon

 
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there will be a great terror Open in new Window. (E)
a beast in the universe
#2197884 by lucifer very very very 1st Author IconMail Icon

The Old Holy Cemetery  Open in new Window. (ASR)
“Why am I here? This whole place is a tomb.” (RISING STAR SHINING BRIGHTER WINNER)
#1895332 by ChrisDaltro-Chasing Moonbeams Author IconMail Icon

 
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Word from Writing.Com

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Ask & Answer

I received this reply to my last Mystery newsletter "Forest" Open in new Window.

ChrisDaltro-Chasing Moonbeams Author Icon wrote: Thank you for featuring my short story on your amazing WDC Newsletter - Mysyery: Forests. I was honored and proud. Christina Daltro

Thank you for reading my newsletter and writing such a nice comment.

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