The Mousetrap: Day 3

Please continue reading The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie.

Basically, a whodunit or mystery story involves a pretty good plot along with compelling characters. Keep some of this advice in mind when reading or writing mysteries:

1. Plot is king. Planning a plot is essential for a mystery. You can't write this kind of thing organically (like you're used to) and therein lies the difficulty (and challenge!)
2. Start with a crime in mind. Research crimes of this sort to get ideas. Choose a crime you'd be interested in exploring. Some basics are: murder, theft, sabotage, treason, manslaughter, breaking and entering, assault, kidnapping, etc.
3. Consider starting with the crime scene, then planning backwards.
4. Outline the story before starting to see if each scene fits (and how) into the plot. Each scene should advance the plot. (Good advice in writing all fiction!)
5. Rearrange necessary scenes in an order. In Agatha Christie's work, for example, she often arranges chapters to revolve around the questioning of a suspect. She cuts back and forth between key, important characters during a chapter or between scenes.
6. Using a flow chart can be helpful too in order to show dead ends.
7. Introduce what is called a "red herring" or "macguffin" (also mcguffin), a goal or object that the protagonist or antagonist is willing to sacrifice almost anything to get or pursue, often with little explanation as to why it is considered important. The macguffin is usually unimportant and leads the reader astray. Very helpful in designing mysteries.
8. Consider the plot as the way in which the problem (the crime) gets solved.
9. Put your protagonist in danger. Allow for dead ends to misdirect the reader.

10. Use minor characters (particularly their motivations) to misdirect or hint or provide clues that lead to the solution of the mystery.

EXTRA CREDIT: Write a mystery story draft. Some further advice about writing a whodunit is here for those of you who care. Write a draft of your mystery. It is sometimes helpful to start with the crime or murder, then work backwards with your plot. Give each of your characters a motive, a means to commit the crime, and a possible opportunity to commit the crime (even if they did not do it...)

HOMEWORK: None.