Write Your Own: Mystery (2 page)

Writing Tip!

Some of the writing terms in this book are explained in the  
glossary
. There are checklists to help with spelling, punctuation and making new paragraphs in 
chapter 5
.

The great thing about being a writer is that you don't need much equipment, just a writing journal or notebook, a pen and a place to write. However, the most important thing that you need is the ability to daydream and think up great stories! Mystery writers are also like good detectives – always on the look out for characters, settings, details and ideas.

 

Writing Tip!

Get a writing journal and find a special place to write – somewhere that is quiet and where you won't be disturbed. You will need a good dictionary to check spellings (or a computer spell-check) and a thesaurus to help find alternatives to words you use a lot.

Like all stories, a mystery has certain key ingredients:

1. The problem

In a mystery story the problem usually occurs early on.

The mystery ‘problem' could be:

  a kidnap;

  a robbery;

  a weird happening;

  an unearthed secret.

2. The investigation

Once the mystery problem has occurred, the rest of the story is an investigation into what has happened. It is the main character who tries to solve the mystery.

3. Clues and red herrings

A mystery writer lays plenty of clues that lead to the mystery being solved. Some of the clues will be genuine and some will need to be ‘red herrings'. These are clues that are intended to mislead the reader!

4. Flashbacks

These are used in mystery stories to explain what has happened in the past. Flashbacks allow the characters to go back in time and explain to the reader how the mysterious events unfolded …

5. Suspense

Mystery writers pack their stories with suspense. The reader is constantly wondering what will happen and how the mystery will be solved.

6. Cliffhangers

Cliffhangers are there to keep you reading! They usually come at the end of a section or chapter and leave the main characters at such an exciting or dangerous moment that the reader is desperate to find out what happens next!

7. Mystery characters

Most mystery stories have the following key characters to make the mystery work:

  the ‘sleuth' or detective
A mystery story has a main character who tries to solve the mystery. It could be a real detective or an ordinary person who acts like a detective.

  the villain
This is the person responsible for the mystery. The villain could be an evil person or it could be something more innocent like a magpie that steals jewels!

  the suspects
The suspects are characters who might have been responsible for the mystery. It is good for your story if the suspects appear to have a reason for committing the crime. This is called a motive.

If you want to write mystery stories then you will need to read plenty. The more you read, the more you will become familiar with the basic ingredients that a mystery writer needs. Try to read as many mystery stories as possible from this list before planning your own story: