  Mystery
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All that I see or seem is but a dream within a dream
Edgar Alan Poe
A mystery is an answer in search of a question; knowing what’s been done and the journey to discovering the how and why of it. It deals with something unknown to the reader, which the writer reveals in bits and pieces by use of clues, drawing the reader into the puzzle. Welcome to this week's edition of the WDC Mystery Newletter, where we will explore some of the means by which we plot the journey to discovery for ourselves and our readers.
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Clues and miscues ~ a page-turning or stanza-locking mystery is the puzzle pieced together through the eyes of the characters, the writer, and the reader!
Tom flinches, startled by the thud of the big man falling prone behind the counter with nearly as loud a report as the silenced pistol blowing a dark, red-rimmed hole through his shirt, and chest. Even though he knew nobody else could have heard either sound from the sleeping strip mall, he grabbed the satchel heavy with the betting parlor's nighly take and ran, gloved hands leaving no trace on the fire escape rungs as he dashed out the open door to the unlit alley, just another scurrying creature of the night. Not quite as agile as the four-footed rats, however, he stumbled on pile of discarded and nearly fell, but held his balance and kicked aside the offending rubbish without slowing his pace until he reached the waiting car parked on the corner.
Sam groaned, not sure if his eyes were seeing night or he was still dreaming, his arm reaching for the Nike's, so like the ones he once wore daily on the track as a sprinter, back when he was young. The predawn chill didn't quite anesthetize the sore arm he must have wrenched while asleep in the alley. Rolling over, he saw the corner store's door ajar and figured he could get soime water and maybe help himself to some food before. He hoisted his jumbled bones upward and, with an assortment of creaks and crunches, he was standing in the threadbare loafers he'd found in a dumpster yesterday. He shuffled towards the door and, leaning heavily on the wall, fingered his way into the store's back room. His eyes on the half-full coffee cup, Sam didn't see the obstruction, but his feet caught in the dead man's man's splayed fingers, bringing him down on his knees, eye to eye with the breathless grimace of a corpse. Sam pushed himself back to his feet with a groan more of frustration that horror and stumbled out the way he came, without a cup of coffee, back through the alley to the street, where he stopped just short of a black and white cruiser.
Twenty years of patrolling the streets, another routine night down and back to the station. Just as routine, a bum staggering out of an alley to beat the dawn. The old scarecrow looked back towards the alley, and the officer followed his glance where the rising sun spotlighted the open door back of the pawn shop. He briskly settled the bum in the back seat of the cruiser, locked him down and followed a wet smear on the outside wall to the open door. He called out and, hearing no answer, drew his revolver and slid in through the open door. Nobody challenged him in the
silent building as he looked down into open eyes that would see no more. He hurried back to the cruiser to call in the murder and to read the vagrant his rights.
So we have here the act of a murder, a theft perhaps, or reclaiming pawned goods by extreme measure, and a witness who will likely be accused of being an accessory or perpetrator (they'll tear apart the dumpsters looking for the gun), and what of the other set of prints in the dust, not loafers but clear treads?
What if, instead of our homeless person (if only for the night), there were a couple of teens engaged in after-prom activities, or someone coming to confront the shopkeep who arrived too late to get the package, but not too late to see a car peel out, or what if a widow is walking to early morning Mass and bumps into our perp as he rushes to his car, causing him to drop the bag and she sees her brooch, pawned to pay a doctor's bill.
Each sentient encounter can be a clue (or red herring) and each has a story. Very little of their story, if any, will impact the mystery itself. Here, we have a theft of a bag from a pawn shop and the murder of someone there - is it the owner, a worker, someone else coming to 'pick up' goods? It's your puzzle to weave and you as the puzzlemaster know the ending, and reveal the clues so that your reader can solve it along with your detective or protagonist.
You as the puzzlemaster want to know their story as well, the witness or unwitting accessory or bystander. You will likely reveal very little of it to your reader - just enough to keep them searching to solve the puzzle, but you need to know something about them so you can give them a reason to interact with the event.
 Give your sentient clues an identity, a name, a face, a profession or job, what are they wearing, what are they doing, why are they there, are they afraid, do they care, what do they think they saw or heard or know or don't know. Have they any unusual mannerisms, physical quirks, emotional baggage that is released by what has occurred or they imagine has occurred.
Not only does this add depth to your puzzle, but it makes it easier to plant relevant subtle or overt clues that make sense to your readers. There's a reason the law will be searching dumpsters in the alley and taking imprints of footprints = they're looking for the gun which we know our unwitting sleeping witness didn't have, and did he see Nike's? Does that mean anything? There's a lot you can show without telling it all, but you as the puzzlemaster ought to know.
Besides, it can be fun to write a character sketch of a witness or incidental character when the muse creative goes silent along the way, and it may spark a new trail, another clue, for your reader to follow, and keep him/her turning the pages. You don't have to share all you know, but your knowing it will color the images you convey as you reveal select pieces of the puzzle.
The sketches and shorts you write can also ignite the muse creative to another story or poem, so don't discard them once you've resolved the issues with that character. They may ignite another puzzle
Allow the muse creative to wander a bit in your notes, then show the essence of what you've uncovered, that your puzzle be more enticing with the added depth you reveal for your readers' sleuthing.
Check out the following stories, verse, fiction and fact, to see how the puzzle unfolds through interaction both overt and subtle.
Write On!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading |
Check out the following mysteries in prose and verse, and share with the writers your perception {review, perhaps of how you see the interaction unfold in the puzzle ~ too much, too little, or just enough to keep you turning the page
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Grace plagued by mysterious blackouts. An ominous voice in her head seeks control.
#1669357 by DJ. Venson  |
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#1668067 by Not Available. |
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#1667203 by Not Available. |
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#1665298 by Not Available. |
Ready to give your muse creative some leeway and create memorable interaction ~ try your hand here
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#1426910 by Not Available. |
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Thank you for this time exploring the puzzle process. I hope your puzzles are interactive and vital, and invite you to share with us your stories and verse.
Until we next meet,
Write On!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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Mystery: May 05, 2010 Issue [#3707]
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