 Mystery: February 24, 2016 Issue [#7497] |
  Mystery
This week: A mystery doesn't have to be a crime Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week:
"I think kids want the same thing from a book that adults want - a fast-paced story, characters worth caring about, humor, surprises, and mystery. A good book always keeps you asking questions, and makes you keep turning pages so you can find out the answers."
Rick Riordan
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The dictionary defines a mystery as "anything that is difficult or impossible to explain." While most mystery stories deal with solving a crime, mysteries do not have to involve a crime. There are countless other mysterious events or situations that are worthy of a mystery story. A crimeless mystery works well when you are writing for children or any venue that restricts violence.
Here are a few suggestions:
Treasure hunt: Who doesn't love a treasure hunt? The treasure doesn't have to be worth tons of money, as long as it is something the characters want that is hidden. Every treasure hunt needs a map and a series of clues. To keep your story original, try to find a new way of presenting these items.
Secret code: Breaking the code might be only half of this type of story. Maybe the decoded message is also cryptic, containing recognizable words, but with no clear meaning.
Something is missing or in the wrong place:Where is it, and how and why was it moved?
Someone is acting strangely: There are lots of possibilities here. A straight A student fails a test. A new bride goes outside to answer cell phone calls so her husband cannot hear what she is saying. A normally grouchy individual suddenly appears to be happy.
Locked room: Classic locked room mysteries often involve a murder or robbery, but they can be used in a crime free mystery as well. Maybe a character is given a challenge to obtain an object from a seemingly impenetrable chamber. Or maybe you could reverse the classic locked room format. A character could be inside a room, apartment, or house that is supposedly completely locked down with security alarms, but there is evidence that someone has gotten inside.
Even if your story does not involve a crime, you will still need to build suspense to keep the reader interested.
Remember that in a good mystery, nothing is as it seems. Even though your story does not involve an actual crime, your characters and readers might think a crime has been committed until the mystery is solved. Or maybe it seems as if there was no crime, when in fact, there was. You might have your characters come up with a perfectly innocent explanation for what has happened, only to show another character gloating about getting away with a crime.
Something to try: Write a mystery story in which no crime was committed.
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