This week: Building a Conspiracy Edited by: Carol St.Ann  
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| The Mystery is an intricate entity, easily done in by the smallest detail. Let’s investigate how it works, shall we? And while we’re at it, let’s compare battle scars and have a laugh or two at one another’s expense. |
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I was writing a simple murder mystery when it occurred to me that my murderer could not get the deed done without help. But this character was a loner.
So I decided s/he needed a minion of sorts. As the story progressed, I realized that my murderer and the minion could not get the job done by themselves. They needed help. It further seemed that hired help wasn’t viable because of the degree of trust that would have to exist between the three. How was I going to make this work?
My antagonist needed more than simple minions, in fact, more than two. It became clear that what my antagonist needed was supreme control over the entire series of events; over the minions and the minions’ minions. My sweet little romantic mystery turned into a full-blown, no-holes-barred conspiracy.
Now creating a conspiracy is not as easy as one would think. It requires engineering and masterminding with dedication and precision. I was not at all sure I was or would ever be up to the task.
With no idea how to create a conspiracy, I tried to reason with my characters, but they dug in their heels and informed me this was the way this was going to go or it wasn’t going to go at all. Yeah, it was their way or the highway.
So what did I do? Well I did what any self-respecting writer with a mob of characters duking-it-out in her head would do. I shelved the whole thing.
Fast forward to several years later: Out of the blue, while surfing YouTube one day, it occurred to me to type “conspiracy theories” in the search bar and see what came up. You could have blown me away with the library of information suddenly presented for my research (and entertainment, if I’m to be honest).
As each conspiracy theory was laid out for me, I soon found myself jotting notes on how my antagonist was going to make the rest of my story happen. But the further along I got, the more I realized even the smallest deed might need a character of its own just to make it happen. Then I had to figure out how many of these small deeds were going to be involved. How was my antagonist going to control all of this without failure or flaw? The task of writing this book had truly become a burden. Thinking about it incessantly wasn’t even a choice anymore. I wrote notes on everything that would accept ink! It invaded every conversation. Yes, I became that person; you know, that friend with an obsession you tend to avoid until they get over it…
It had become a challenge I couldn’t walk away from. I couldn’t let it beat me. Had I become a victim of my own conspiracy? This would not do. I had to clear this up. Had to know how it was going to unfold.
More weeks of YouTubing led to frustration and doubt I’d ever get ‘er done. Exhausted and disgusted with the frustration of a multitude of rewrites, I decided to give up and shelve the novel once and for all.
I don’t know if giving up afforded just enough of a relaxed mindset, but that night I woke around 3 AM, fully convinced I had the answer. (I remember the date; it was St. Patrick’s Day 2017.)
What if I wrote the whole thing backward! Now, of course, I don’t mean to write the book backward; what I mean is to outline, develop, engineer, and populate the conspiracy in reverse from the conclusion to the onset. This is a sure fire way to avoid rewriting and rewriting as more minions arrive to make even the simplest thing work. It really is a fine Swiss watch action, because not only does this added cast of minion-characters need to interact with each other, they also need to interact with the other characters in the story. They need to fit in seamlessly and often invisibly. It’s intricate, detailed, and precise in every way. It is also dark and dastardly, much more so than I have ever imagined.
I sat into my big fluffy chair with a yellow legal pad and turned it upside down (to appease and amuse my smart-Alec muses) and I wrote the final act of the conspiracy; the moment of success. Then I mapped out the action preceding it, how this one fitted in and who, and how many, were involved. And what action preceded that action, continuing on like this all the way back to the beginning.
Once I started this worksheet, it was less than a day before I had my entire conspiracy mapped out. Oh sure, there were cross-outs and squiggly-lined arrows and date changes. But it was more fun than I’d have guessed, and when I got to the end and re-read it all, this time from the forward timeline of the story, it worked with only minor tweaking.
I felt I’d won a great victory.
I’m not saying this is the only way to write this type of story, but it’s definitely the way that worked for me. And though it took years and was by far the most difficult literary hurdle I’ve encountered, it is also my greatest victory.
Until next time, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
—CSA |
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How about you? Ever had to create a conspiracy? Write in and share your story about your story. Links are welcome.
Have you ever gotten frustrated with a book or story you were writing and shelved it? Did it leave you alone? Write to me about it.
By the way, now that YouTube thinks all I want to watch are conspiracy theories, how do I get rid of them?
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Mystery: March 23, 2022 Issue [#11269]
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