  Mystery
This week: Building character relationships Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week: "From the deepest desires often comes the deadliest hate."
~ Socrates
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Relationships between characters are an important part of mystery stories. The plot often revolves around the feelings of one character for another. Love, hate, jealousy, or fear of another person can be strong motives for crimes. If those relationships are not believable, it can derail your entire story.
When planning the relationships between your characters, remember that all people do not show their feelings in the same ways. In a love relationship for example, some couples say "I love you" a thousand times a day and are constantly hugging, kissing, or touching each other. Others may never say those three little words, but their relationship may be stronger than those who shout it from the mountaintops. They may show their feelings in more subtle ways, such as a brief hand touch or eye contact.
People who hate each other also show their feelings in different ways. Some may have loud public arguments or brawls and may threaten to kill or otherwise harm each other. Others may behave with politeness and courtesy, while seething and plotting revenge in silence. One man I know treats people he doesn't like in an extremely polite, courteous, formal manner, while he is brutally honest and informal with those he likes. Consequently, people he really doesn't care for assume he likes them, and he doesn't understand why! Make sure that the relationship and the ways feelings are shown makes sense for the personalities of the characters involved.
In a mystery story, as well as in real life, relationships are not always what they seem. A character who is in love may try not to show his or her feelings, especially if the love interest is involved with someone else. Characters who are having an illicit affair may be cold or distant to each other in public, so they will not be found out. A person who hates his boss or a coworker may behave pleasantly to that person to avoid losing his job. If a relationship that is not what it seems is part of the plot twist of your mystery, try to leave subtle clues for the reader so it will not seem to come out of nowhere. For example, a seemingly loving wife who actually hates her husband may make remarks containing subtle barbs and insults.
Try not to stress any relationship that isn't important to the plot of your story just for the sake of adding a love interest. So many otherwise good stories, movies, and TV shows are ruined when a love interest takes over a story that is not primarily a romance. Many authors have a hard time finding a balance between a love interest that adds to character development and one that overshadows the main mystery and derails the story. Examples of romantic relationships that add to their stories without taking over are Rina Lazarus and Peter Decker of Faye Kellerman's mysteries and Steve and Teddy Carella in Ed McBain's "87th Precinct" series.
Something to try: Write a mystery story in which a relationship between characters is an important part of the plot. |
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Mystery: August 29, 2018 Issue [#9092]
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