|
A Scene is a Revelation A story is a sequence of small moments. The first moment is make or break for getting your reader involved. Writing advice for beginning novelists can be confusing, like to start with a hook or show the hero’s everyday world. It’s easy to go way off track by starting with…
Discoveries I Made While Researching The Peach Widow Background Every story presents new research challenges when writing an historical mystery. For The Peach Widow I needed background on farm dogs, inheritance law, and natural poisons. My first challenge was looking for background on inheritance law concerning a second wife and children by a previous marriage. After…
The Hidden Backstory of a Mystery The villain and the victim are star characters in your mystery. As the story unfolds for the reader the focus is on your sleuth, but the relationship of these supporting characters are the crux of the resolution. In a traditional mystery the puzzle pieces the sleuth uncovers are based on…
The Best Sleuths Have Character Beginning mystery writers work hard to get their clues lined up, create suspicious characters, and overall construct a puzzle for the sleuth and readers to solve. It’s easy to forget that readers fall in love with characters. The most important character in your mystery is your sleuth. You want your…
Don’t Forget to Tell A Story Mystery readers love a good story. So when you are constructing your mystery, hiding clues, planting red herrings, or making a suspect look suspicious don’t forget the story comes first. The strongest stories have well-developed themes, engaging plots, suitable structure, memorable characters, well-chosen settings, and attractive style. For best…
Discovery and Your Sleuth Once a crime is discovered and your sleuth takes on finding the killer, his next step is to unearth possible suspects. As he visits close friends, work colleagues, the coffee shop owner where the victim went each morning, your sleuth begins to create a picture of the victim’s world. The picture your sleuth…
Do You Know Your Subgenre? If you don’t know your subgenre, you won’t reach the right audience. The mystery genre contains a variety of subgenres. When you are clear about subgenre, you’re prepared to write a story that appeals to the right readers. Someone who loves a cozy mystery may have no interest in your…
The Hidden Treasures in Your Setting When I first wrote mysteries, I was in awe of writers who could create clues out of the setting. I read Pompeii by Robert Harris and was astonished at how the clues in the story were directly related to volcanic action, mystifying the young aqueduct engineer. The best way to discover…
Author Crowdfunding I’m one week in on my first Kickstarter project for my next novel The Grain Merchant. I’m excited and filled with doubt. I had two backers the moment the project went live. I was ecstatic. The first day I went way out of my comfort zone and did a livestream Launch Party…
Photo by SHUJA ZED on Unsplash Create Awesome Suspects to Delight Your Readers Mystery readers love to be tantalized. The clues, red herrings, and evidence you plant in your story lead them to guessing while your sleuth tries to reason out the possibilities. Your suspects weave the rich tapestry that keeps readers guessing. I recently…
