  Mystery
This week: Short and 'sweet' ? Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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All that I see or seem is but a dream within a dream.
E.A. Poe
Welcome to this week's edition of the Mystery Newsletter. A mystery by nature is a question in search of an answer - a puzzle! And when we uncover the answer to the question, effectively solving the puzzle moments before the writer gives us the solution, follow clues tactile and cerebral, the momentary satisfaction is sublime! And we can frolic and have fun along the way.
If there were no mystery left to explore life would get rather dull, wouldn't it?
Sidney Buchman
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Greetings, fellow sleuths.
You know who done it; well, you're almost sure. But why? You know a crime's been done; the window was smashed in from the outside and there's no longer any jjewelry in the store. But who did it? You see the body posed for a slam-dunk chalk outline on the pavement; but it's all too obivous, appearing staged for a newscam. And time is of the essence, lest it happen again or the perp gets away or rain washes away the chalk outline, or... somehow clues become lost or outdated or irrelevant.
You sift through what you find in front of you; seek that which are thinly (or heavily) veiled by the obvious or obtuse; in order to answer the how, or why, or what for, or by whom. The focus is on the puzzle: be it as a crossword with questions to answer; a sudoku with all the pieces there awaiting their proper placement; a word find with the clues out in the open awaiting but insight as to their relevance to each other.
I'm thinking of a mystery short story - one that's less than maybe 10,000 words, generally between 2,000 and 5,000, but it can be shorter yet. And, being a mystery short story, a crime or threat of a crime is central to the plot and significant and immediately apparent to your reader.
 Just as there are numerous types of puzzles, i.e., crossword, sudoku, wordfind, etc., there are sub-categories of mysteries. What makes a short story mystery work is the closeness and immediacy of the puzzle to its logical solution. The story itself has to be focused and cmpact, with little extraneous information and scenic background. Everything that doesn't move the story forward, focus on the solution either by aiding the solution or attempting to thwart it, has to go. Weave a story about a hostile or threatening situation; have the protagonist (and/or antagonist) suffer in the process of finding and solving clues, then have him/her solve the puzzle, leaving no loose ends. Consider this puzzle - you assemble a bike for a 5-year old's birthday and sweeping the cardboard casing, find a couple of screws on the ground. You wouldn't consider the bike rideable; so also your short story mystery - leave no loose ends for your readers.
Move the mystery along with dialogue to weave a sense of time and place and immediacy. Argument, commenary (I'd avoid a long soliloquay), and conversational observation serves to give depth to not only the characters but the story itself.
Focus on one or two sentient characters, a protagonist and antagonist, with perhaps a few bit parts for helpers to guide clues or maybe a red herring (but don't get too 'fishy', lest the mystery be lost in a net of side-stories). These characters will converse and interact and help or thwart each other's efforts to solve the puzzle.
Add a bit of humor to the story; another way to bring your reader into the mystery, make it more real, create an 'otherword' to which he/she can relate. Some quirk of behavior either physical or emotional makes the characters more human, ones to which your reader can relate, and perhaps vie with to work the puzzle.
Try mapping out your mystery, beginning with 'what if.' For exampe, what if that girl leaning against the car that's been running in front of the jewelry store just found her fiance had given someone else an engagement ring, who's now lying across the front seat with eyes wide shut. "what if..." Then add a handful of characters, give them a problem (puzzle) to solve and an obstacle that makes it harder to solve the probem, and a way to sole the puzzle (clues). And, again, remember to tie up the loose ends that your sleuth (and reader) arrive at the most believable and logical solution to the puzzle.
Start a short story mystery fast to pull your reader in and involve him/her in the puzzle. Offer but a few obstacles to solving the clues, and keep the story to a relatively short timespan for believability.
Say more with less over a short period of time; keeping the clues, characters, and obstacles in proportionate scale with the length of the story. Use dialogue or action to move from one scene directly to another, eliminating most transitions or expository scenic descriptions. Some short mysteries are resolved in a single vivid scene with a cool twist in the middle or the end.
Focus the reader's attention with a single point of view or perhaps two parallel views to move the story forward and hold with a linear chronology, avoiding past reflection or shifting back and forth. Some dialogue can answer a question and perhaps pose a clue to background of the puzzle or a character.
Ready to start ~ Well, why not ~ begin with 'what if,' and start writing. Give it a shot (yes, pun intended  ).
Write On
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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Check out some mysteries where members of our Community ask 'what if' ~ let them know, if you will, how you solved the mystery along with the characters ~ share your thoughts with a note or review  Then try your hand at a challenge where you may be incited to ask 'what if' 
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#1414424 by Not Available. |
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Thanks for sharing this exploration in the realm of your virtual home. Keep asking 'what if' and let your muse creative plant a clue or two to solve the mystery.
Until we next meet, 'what if' you weave a mystery and answer the question. And, have fun with the sleuthing
Write On
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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Mystery: May 02, 2012 Issue [#5021]
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