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Mystery: January 09, 2008 Issue [#2163]

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Mystery


 This week:
  Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

** Image ID #1363681 Unavailable **
Thank you kiyasama for the splendid banner!

If there were no mystery left to explore life would get rather dull, wouldn't it?
Sidney Buchman

*Star**Heart**Star**Heart**Halfstar*


         Welcome to this week’s edition of the Mystery Newsletter. A mystery by nature is a question in search of an answer. The Mystery Writer poses the question in prose or poetry, and then proffers clues in the scenes, conversations and actions of believable characters. A microcosm of life and living, but one that the writer controls by taking pen or keyboard in hand and designing a world of solvable riddles and clues, perhaps while transporting their readers to an 'otherworld.'*Star*



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Letter from the editor

*Snow1**Snow2**Snow1*


         As winter takes hold of the northern hemisphere, cold and snow inciting a need for escape to another place, sometimes just escape, I think it's a good time to explore the Historical Mystery.*Smile*

         Transport your readers for a while to another world. Give them a view of people who are different, yet somehow familiar. Paint a picture with depth and perspective that they can see, smell, hear and be a part of for a time. Make an alien world familiar, so they want to stay and help your characters unearth clues, solve a puzzle, make their world a safer place.

         A well-drawn historical mystery, one written with attention to detail and accuracy in speech, action, and character references, will do all that. Your sleuth would not be a gumshoe in Victorian England using forensics to determine the cause of death of a body found in the public baths. See how I’ve mixed images from Ancient Rome (public baths) with Twentieth Century (gumshoe) with today (forensics).*Rolleyes*

         Note that I use the visual image with intent; the writer ‘painting’ vivid scenes and a plot where the reader is transported to the believable, realistic world from the past recalled to print by the writer. That’s where the realism is important. For example, a pony express rider carrying a sealed packet during the Gold Rush would not use a ‘flashlight’ to see his way in the dark; nor would he greet the stagecoach driver with ‘yo, 'zup.’ Doing that would be anachronistic, an alternate reality, or fantasy. But a gumshoe could be tailing the moll to a speakeasy so he could scam a bootlegger’s next bathtub gin delivery.

         See how I’ve tried to use language and images to set the tone of the period; one that is peopled with characters who the reader can identify as belonging there, integrating details. Then, the reader can walk with the sleuth and unearth clues to solve the mystery.*Thumbsup*

         In a historical mystery, one can explore lost civilizations, unusual artifacts, mysterious disappearances or sightings. They are generally categorized by the time period in which the writer paints them, whether it is ancient times, the Renaissance, World War II, or others.

         Readers of historical mysteries want to engage in a form of travel, entering another world, traveling back in time, immersed in the reality of the world created by the writer using history and imagination, and many are familiar with the time period in which they like to 'travel.'

         Often these intriguing mysteries are based on some historical fact, but they need not be. For example, one story might explore the journey of the Shroud of Turin or Eric the Red’s adventures, another a paranormal encounter in the catacombs of Rome or at Stonehenge. I mention Eric the Red, but historical mystery readers are often offended by misuse of real people (remember, they are familiar with the historical period they like to read), so if you do use a real historical figure, be very sure your facts are accurate. For example, using Queen Victoria to focus the time period would be acceptable, but it would be her handmaiden running along the alley chasing a pickpocket, not Her Highness.*Bigsmile*

         Historical mysteries can be cozy, with amateur sleuths solving clues to find a missing person who may have absconded with (you name it), as well as those exploring actual crime, following the trail of Jack the Ripper to uncover his true identity, perhaps? The possibilities are as varied as the imagination, I think. But sufficient knowledge by the writer of the time period is required to give a historically accurate portrait of that world; one to which the reader can journey and in which he or she can for a while participate.

          “A good Historical Mystery needs to have just enough sense of an otherwhen to make it noticeably different from our own time, and yet still able to present the faces of the characters and make the reader understand what they were like.” Margaret Frazer


         If you love watching classic westerns, wonder what the catacombs really held, why ‘rumrunners’ were caught ‘bootlegging,’ perhaps, and want to share your fascination with your readers, why not plant a clue or two and write a historical mystery?*Smile*

         Along with those of our members in dire need of a virtual vacation from daily shoveling and plowing and slogging through slush, Mysteries Magazine welcomes historical mysteries. So, if you’re ready to send your readers on a colt to Dodge City, or maybe drive a Dodge Colt in a heist, I’m including here the links to their home site, along with the writers’ guidelines ~



         I hope this newsletter’s has incited your muse to explore historical mysteries, and invite you to take a look at some of the stories penned by writers in our Community for our reading pleasure and review.


Editor's Picks

Enjoy the following otherwhens crafted by some of the Writers in our Community for our sleuthing pleasure.*Smile*

Findlay's Table: A Mystery Open in new Window. (13+)
Parlour-type mystery short story influenced by Agatha Christie novels
#1313835 by SPACE COBWEBS Author IconMail Icon

 The Corpse Who Came to Tea: Intro Open in new Window. (13+)
A Victorian Era detective story of corpses, corsets, poison and teacups.
#1273430 by L.E. Garnier Author IconMail Icon

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This item number is not valid.
#1151122 by Not Available.

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This item number is not valid.
#1339168 by Not Available.

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This item number is not valid.
#1365442 by Not Available.

 Cannon Hill Park Misadventures Open in new Window. (E)
Young southern girl in Huck Finn tradition exploring her world with her best friend.
#1347990 by whimzician Author IconMail Icon


Remember what I said about historical accuracy? Along with all the resources online and in libraries, this intriguing timeline is chock full of events ~ clues perchance ~ inciting the historical mystery prosaic and/or poetic.*Thumbsup*

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1161964 by Not Available.


Check out this collaborative Historical Mystery, Agatha Christie Style?
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This item number is not valid.
#1182523 by Not Available.


And there's bound to be a delightful Historical Mystery here, perhaps yours.*Smile*
 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1364200 by Not Available.

 
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Ask & Answer

         Thank you for your warm welcome this week. I hope you've enjoyed this issue of the Mystery Newsletter, and am pleased to share some of the feedback from my last month's issue regarding clues ~ I know you will find some delightful reading in their ports!*Smile*


Submitted By: wildbill Author IconMail Icon

         Thank God an editor of the Mystery newsletter finally addresses the subject of clues--and does it well.
         I've read so many stories without a single clue miscast as 'mysteries' on the site. And they sometimes win "mystery" contests
         INHO mysteries are the hardest genre to write, simply because they require so much effort to plan and implant plausible clues that aren't so obvious that the mystery remains until the end.

         Thank you for writing; I looked, and INHO mysteries are truly daunting, but intriguing. I look forward to reading some of yours. Keep Writing!
*Snow3**Snow2**Snow1*

Submitted By: larryp

Hi Kate
         Some really good tips on the use of 'clues' in a mystery story. I like your opening sentence with the comparison to planting a garden.
         When my kids were young, I played a board game called "Clue" with them; this newsletter reminds me of that game.
kansaspoet
Larry

         Thank you for writing! I was hoping someone would realize it was Colonel Mustard with the candlestick, but only hiding in the conservatory. I also grew up on Clue ~ and, okay, Agatha Christie.*Smile*
*Snow3**Snow2**Snow1*

Submitted By: IdaLin Author IconMail Icon

         Excellent newsletter. I am thinking about completing a couple of mysteries I started in a class, and this newsletter has helped a lot by giving me things to be aware of, and things I need to include in my stories.

         I'm glad you enjoyed the journey, and look forward to reading your stories! Keep Writing!
*Snow3**Snow2**Snow1*

Submitted By: Lauriemariepea Author IconMail Icon

         thank you for a fun and thought-provoking newsletter, kate!
i'm sure your tips will be especially useful as i try to write my character's part for Acme Author IconMail Icon's "Murder at the Talent Pond" campfire, starting next month.*Bigsmile*

         Thank you for writing! Glad you enjoyed! Best of Luck for your sleuth at the 'Talent Pond!' Keep Writing!
*Snow3**Snow2**Snow1*

Submitted By: Stiggles Author IconMail Icon

         Awesome newsletter! I'm still pretty new to writing in this genre, so the subject of dropping clues is a very timely one for me in regards to one particular project I'm struggling with right now. Your advice is very insightful. Thank you so much!

         Thank you for writing! I'm glad you found some useful 'clues' and look forward to reading your work soon! Keep Writing!
*Snow3**Snow2**Snow1*

Until we next meet,
Be warm and safe ~
Keep Writing!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading Author IconMail Icon

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