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Quote for the week:
Mystery spread it's cloak across the sky.
We lost our way.
Shadows fell from trees.
They knew why.
}In some ways, all writers are mystery writers. We all want to keep our readers guessing and wondering what happens next. Even if you don't consider yourself a mystery writer, any story can benefit from a dose of mystery. Divisions between genres are not written in stone. Well known published works that include some elements of mystery include the following:
Harry Potter series (JK Rowling)
Discworld series (Terry Pratchett)
Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Shadow of the Wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafon)
Charley Lee (poem by Henry Herbert Knibbs)
Citizen Kane (movie by Orson Welles)
House of Four Doors (song by the Moody Blues)
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (song recorded by Vicky Lawrence and later by Reba McIntyre)
A predictable plot spells death for any story, no matter the genre. A good way to keep the readers' interest is to keep them guessing and trying to figure out what will happen next? Here are some examples of mysteries that might fit in to a non-mystery story:
A lover is keeping secrets
A strange new disease
Aliens among us
A friend is suddenly unfriendly
Something is hiding in the darkness
A birthday surprise
A mystery element in a non-mystery story should play fair with the readers in the same way it does in a classic whodunit. The reader should be given clues that will give them a chance to guess what is going on (without making it too easy of course).
Something to try: Introduce an element of mystery into a story of another genre.
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Mystery: April 13, 2016 Issue [#7586]
