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Mystery writing

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Mystery writing | Supporting Characters

How to Make Your Suspects Believable to Keep Readers Guessing

ByZara Altair June 21, 2021

Tips to create three-dimensional, believable suspects to confound your mystery sleuth and keep readers guessing until the end.

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Mystery writing

Clues, Conflict, Tension, and Twists

ByZara Altair June 14, 2021

Discover how clues, conflict, tension, and twists work together to build anticipation and keep readers turning pages.

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Mystery writing | Writing Craft

Metaphors in Mystery

ByZara Altair May 17, 2021

How metaphors work in storytelling, and how they add impact to your story.

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Mystery Clues | Mystery Genre | Mystery writing | Writing Craft

Difference Between Evidence, Clues, and Red Herrings

ByZara Altair April 26, 2021

Clues, Evidence, and red herrings in a mystery explained. Learn the difference to use them well in your novel.

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Mystery Genre | Mystery writing

What Makes a Mystery a Mystery?

ByZara Altair April 12, 2021

Mystery readers have expectations. Use these 10 elemental mystery tropes, to give them what they want while writing a great story.

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Mystery writing | Story Structure | Writing Craft

How to Expand Your Story Idea

ByZara Altair March 16, 2021

A story idea isn’t a novel yet. Steps to flesh out your idea into a solid novel plan.

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Author Learning | Mindset | Mystery writing

Write Without Fear: How to Overcome Writer Fear

ByZara Altair February 1, 2021October 26, 2021

Creativity is risk.Tips to overcome fear for writers. How to acknowledge your writing fears and steps to take to keep writing.

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Author Learning | Mystery writing | Writing Craft

Who’s On First In Your Story?

ByZara Altair December 21, 2020October 26, 2021

Tips to master your story’s beginning. Character, setting, voice, action, and the first sentence all work together to draw your reader into your story.

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Creating Characters | Mystery writing

The Mystery’s Magic Character Triangle

ByZara Altair November 30, 2020October 26, 2021

Your mystery balances on the character triangle of victim, villain, and sleuth. Each must be equally strong for your story to work.

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Creating Characters | Mystery writing | Novel Writing

When Characters Run Wild with Your Story

ByZara Altair November 23, 2020October 26, 2021

What to do when a character starts taking over your story.

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Recent Posts

  • Create Your Stand-out Detective: A Guide for Mystery Writers
  • The Sleuth’s Eye: How Self-Editing Improves Your Mystery Writing
  • From Idea to Icon: Create Your Standout Mystery Detective
  • Character Chemistry: How Supporting Characters Fuel Your Mystery Narrative
  • The Mystery Novel Ending: Wrap-Up After the Big Reveal

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