MUSE MONDAY
Please welcome
JoAnne Myers back to Muse Monday. She'll be awarding two commenters a print
copy of her poetry collection “Poems About Life, Love, and Everything in
Between.”
Before writing a word, take some
time to jot down key story points. As you're writing, the story will want to
take on a life of its own. Having a handy reference of key points will help
keep your story on track and you from pulling your hair out. A list of key
points is also helpful when outlining the story plot. You may very well find
that the story begins to unfold as you're writing down the key points. If this
happens...let it! Write down any ideas or details that come to you, they'll
come in handy later.
Some key points to consider are;
what is the mystery? This is the underlying theme to the entire story so be as
in-depth as possible (has there been a murder or a theft or a kidnapping? If
so, how and where was it committed?).
Hunt for the culprit. Every good story has at least one antagonist, but what steps must the hero or heroine take to find him/her? How will the villain evade the hero? How is the mystery solved? In mystery writing there are a lot of twists and turns. Write down your initial thoughts for plot twists, red herrings to throw the readers off the trail of the true villain, and of course the final stages of how the good guy will prevail...or does he? You need to decide whether or not the hero or the villain wins in the end. Many hero’s die trying to solve their case. Many are involved in physical altercations with other characters. You must decide how many altercations, the number of characters involved, and what weapons if any are used. It is not a good idea to only engage your characters with fist fighting. Throw in some knives, chains, falling from windows, or my favorite, a poisoning, and other nasty assaults.
Every great story has well rounded
characters. We read fiction because we want to be entertained and develop a
connection with the characters. Outlining items such as personality traits,
physical features, and quirks can help bring your characters to life; a speech
impediment, or limp, or a nervous twitch.
For the Protagonist, decide the
name, age, where does he/she live, does he/she have a family or pets, what is
their driving goal for taking on this particular case? Is the hero a police
officer, a person sworn to honesty, pride, and valor. Or is the good guy a
private detective being paid to find a certain someone. Or your main character
could be a parent or sibling searching for a missing loved one.
For the Antagonist, decide the name, age, where does he/she live, is there an underlying reason for being the antagonist? Perhaps this person is a career criminal. On the other hand, maybe he/she is a good person that suffered an unjust and turned to crime out of bitterness and despair.
Then you have your support
characters, who are the color of the story. They provide depth to the story
whether good or bad. A support character could be as simple as a loud mouth hot
dog vendor standing on a street corner or as in-depth as the villain's partner
in crime. In writing a mystery story, support characters can take on a life of
their own with the reader, so make them interesting. Just because they are
labeled support characters does not mean they are any less important than the
main characters.
Next is the location of the story.
When and where is the story set? These two key elements are what bring your
story to life. Mystery story writing is a broad genre and could be set in any
time period and in any place. When working with actual locations it is a good
idea to do research on the location first. Readers want to feel as though they
are there with the characters, so being able to accurately describe a location
is vital. Time periods are no exception. If the story is set in 1940's New
Orleans, the reader will want to see their surroundings, not just be told the
story is taking place in a speakeasy or church. Be descriptive!
A mystery story is not a story
without a solid well thought out plot. Some things to consider when developing
the story plot: What is the driving force of the mystery? To solve a murder, or
rescue a kidnap victim? What does the villain do to thwart the hero? Does the
villain get his goons on the hero? Is the hero being set up by the villain and
now he is being hunted by police. What other obstacles get in the way of
solving the mystery?
One of the most important elements
of writing a mystery story is suspense. Giving away too much too soon will bore
the reader. It is best if the suspense is sprinkled throughout the story; bring
the mystery to light within the first few chapters, then as the story
progresses add a clue here and there without revealing the outcome until the
final chapter. Do not be afraid to add a "red herring" or false clue,
within the stories context. Readers love nothing better than to think they have
everything figured out only to find in the end they were mistaken the entire
time.
The final few chapters of the story
should hold the climax of the conflict and resolution between the hero and
villain, including how all of the clues scattered throughout the story
cumulatively solves the mystery. A good conclusion gives the reader a sense of
closure in finding out how the hero solved the mystery. Remember that not all
mysteries have to be completely solved or have a "happy" ending. If
you are writing a series of stories, the villain may get away at the end of
story #1 with the hero using clues from story #1 to track down the villain in story
#2. In mystery story writing, the possibilities are only limited by your
imagination.
Blurb for MURDER MOST FOUL-PG
13
When two dismembered torsos
wash up on the banks of the local river in the small industrial town of
Pleasant Valley, residents are horrified. Between contradicting statements,
police ineptitude, lust, lies, manipulation, incest, the motorcycle gang The
Devil’s Disciples, crooked cops, and a botched crime scene, everyone becomes a
suspect.
The young beautiful Jackie
Reeves, a registered nurse, believes the killer is a man from her past. She
contacts the dangerously handsome FBI Agent Walker Harmon. An arrest is made,
but Harmon and Jackie believe an innocent man is being railroaded by local cops.
Determined to find the truth, before anymore killings, Agent Harmon and Jackie
are forced to run a gauntlet of deep trouble and turmoil, which marks them for
death.
My books along with my
original canvas paintings, can be found on my website Books and Paintings by
JoAnne or http://www.booksandpaintingsbyjoanne.com
Buy Links for “Murder Most
Foul,” a crime/mystery story
available here: www.melange-books.com/authors/joannemyers/MMF.html
JoAnne’s books are also
available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Email:
joannetucker98@yahoo.com 
