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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/9660-You-Hide-They-Seek.html
Mystery: July 24, 2019 Issue [#9660]




 This week: You Hide, They Seek
  Edited by: Annette Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

Dear writers and readers of mystery, I am Annette Author Icon and I will be your guest editor for this issue.


Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

You Hide, They Seek


Mystery writing is best done with a plan. Where and how you place clues to solving the mystery is a huge part of that plan. Mysteries are like a puzzle in words. In a way, the writer is playing a cat and mouse game with the reader's ability to pay attention to small hints within the text. Writer! Play fair. Do give enough clues so that the end doesn't come as a surprise. However, don't give away so much that the reader sees the ending coming from page 3.

Tease your reader by creating diversions. For instance put a real clue right before a fake one. Many readers tend to hone in on the last clue, so giving them the real clue first, creates a diversion. Beginning mystery writers should take this bit of advice to heart as it is not too hard to mention or show the actual clue and then throw a red herring in the way of the readers.

Another technique is to make something unimportant appear to be of more consequence while presenting an actual real clue as an aside. For instance, you might put a big emphasis on a police report, but only mention the witness who gave the report in passing.

A big reason to plan your writing out: it is a good idea to sow a clue well in advance of the time when it will become important to the story. For instance, have a character research a chemical in the first chapter, but have someone die from exposure to the chemical several chapters into the story.

As you see, while pantsing any story can be the most fun way to write it, planning a mystery story does have its benefits.



Editor's Picks

 The Open Window Open in new Window. (E)
A man is dead and the clues lead to an astonishing solution to this mystery.
#2193929 by Ned Author IconMail Icon

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🏆 Another Task for Millie Open in new Window. (E)
Filled with many mysterious clues, where will the tattered journal take Millie next? (1st)
#2155082 by 🎼 RRodgersWrites 🎶 Author IconMail Icon

 Reading the Clues Open in new Window. (E)
Rohan read the clues and got the answer. Well, that is, until he visited his aunt.
#2074365 by Alickle Author IconMail Icon

 Drew Clue Page One Open in new Window. (18+)
Entry for Hook To Book
#2092949 by Author Ed Anderson Author IconMail Icon

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1952219 by Not Available.

 
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Rye's Investigation Open in new Window. (E)
The case of the missing lunches.
#1997642 by Teargen Author IconMail Icon

 Missing a Native Woman's Tale Open in new Window. (GC)
A journalist follows clues leading to a disturbing tale about two First Nations women.
#2055665 by Phoenix Author IconMail Icon

 NURSERY RHYMES Open in new Window. (13+)
A detective cracks a case thanks to a parrot
#521973 by Joy Author IconMail Icon

 Digging for Clues - Chapter One Open in new Window. (13+)
Ella's brother gets more than he bargained for.
#1226242 by Mumsy Author IconMail Icon

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Crack Kraken's Code Contest [Round Over] Open in new Window. (13+)
Follow the clues and decipher the message to win prizes!
#746016 by Kraken through the Snow Author IconMail Icon

 
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Ask & Answer

For my last Mystery newsletter "Seven Tools to Write Mystery Stories" Open in new Window., I received this comment:

Quick-Quill Author Icon wrote: My question to you is; How does this apply to a mystery that doesn't involve a crime? There are genealogy mysteries, there are lost treasure mysteries, Indiana Jones for instance. as well as what happened? I'm plotting a story about a painting with paranormal attributes that can/should affect the person looking at it. Is this a mystery? I'm not sure what it is. I guess I tend to write outside the box. *sheepish grin*

I think the seven tools totally apply to something like Indiana Jones. "Tell them there is a bomb in the room." That's got Indiana Jones written all over it. If you go down the list of seven tools and imagine a scene, phrase, or situation in an action/adventure mystery such as Indiana Jones, I find you'll have plenty of material. Take number 4: incorporate the background into the drama. What's more dramatic then being trapped in a blimp that has caught fire over the Pyramid of Giza while your sleuth is also trying to save the treasure box that contains "the mystery." ???

For my previous Mystery newsletter "Push and Pull" Open in new Window., I received this comment:

Advent Pumpkin Author Icon wrote: Waiting for the answer is what keeps us hanging on. That's why questions are posed in TV shows just before commercial breaks.

Sorry for the late reply. Definitely. Waiting for the answer (cliffhanger) is a huge incentive for a reader to keep turning those pages or for a viewer to keep watching.

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