What Makes a Good Mystery? (Volume 3)

 

I love a good mystery! I think I’ve mentioned that before. And I’ve been sharing my thoughts on what makes a good mystery and suspense story. Have you been following along?

So far, we’ve chatted about how the story has to have intensity:

    Lucy Reynolds agreed, "It has to get my heart pounding and maybe looking over my shoulder at least once."

     Rachel T says, "I like when an author weaves pieces of the puzzle into a larger whole. I usually can't figure it out until the reveal."

    Carolyn Hutson adds, "The unexpected makes for a good suspense, but I also want some scenes that make me jump out of my skin and make me not want to stop reading."

Then, we talked about the twists in a story. Y’all had a lot to say about those. 

    Cindi Knowles commented, "I love a good mystery, suspense, or thriller that has lots of twists and turns, that keeps me guessing and turning pages because the story is that enthralling." 

    Alicia Haney puts it this way, "I love the twists and turns, also when the unexpected suddenly shows up!"

    Barb D. adds, "I enjoy the twists & turns, and just enough things about the various characters in a story, and then suspect everyone! I like endings that I didn't see coming!"

This week, I want to talk about something that actually is necessary for ANY fiction story.

Character Depth Some of you think it's important too! 

    Gail H. has an opinion about the antagonist. "The best to me is a culprit that seems unlikely and is not revealed until the very end. Those I would have never guessed."

    Winnie says, "I love engaging characters and a little romance."

    Carolyn suggests, "The way the characters respond to stress is important as well. I have to like the characters and really feel what they are feeling."

    And Amy adds, "It's best when I'm completely invested in the characters and story. 

Interest in characters is no surprise. If you think of your favorite books, likely the characters are what stick in your mind. I bet you can name these books!

• Darcy and Elizabeth 
• Scout  
• Jo and her sisters 
• Lucy and her siblings.

To me, the main characters need to be as real as my next-door neighbor with history, burdens, mistakes, dreams, and values. A really good character is a broken one because we are all broken, right? I know “Mary Poppins” is likely a favorite story, but characters that are practically perfect in every way can get tedious and annoying when it comes to mystery.

I prefer characters that have something in the past that affects their decisions and actions. In fact, if done well, the character will have a difficult time in their history that they have to relive at some point near the end of the story.

That’s not to say that the “brokenness” has to be tragic and heavy, though. Give me the girl that dresses to the nines and then walks into the post office with donut icing under her nose or the guy who dunks his chip into habanero sauce thinking he’s Texan enough to take it. I love laugh-out-loud characters who are willing to laugh at themselves, too. It makes them real and memorable.

So what about you? Tell me about your favorite characters or the character you’re reading about right now. What makes the character stand out? Share your thoughts about characters in the comments and you might be the winner of a $10 Amazon gift card and a super-sleuth magnifying glass. And you might just find yourself in an upcoming volume of What Makes a Good Mystery!

What Makes a Good Mystery? (Volume 2)

 

Last month, I asked the question, what makes a good mystery? I love a good mystery, and I’ve found a number of things in some of my favorites that end up giving me that ahhhhhhh at the end of a story.

Several of you shared your favorite elements in mysteries, and the one I have for today was mentioned over and over again in last month's comments. It is a must for a good mystery or suspense!

Plot Twists

I love it when I see a story headed one direction, and it suddenly doubles back or goes down some alley I didn’t even notice. Like a magician, an author of excellence will give us a slight of hand trick, capturing our attention in one way while working a little mischief in another.

Twists make mysteries great, but they have to be reasonable. 

Decades ago, there was a movie where a number of fictional detectives were gathered together for a special dinner party. They (and their authors) were accused of “criminal acts” such as introducing the antagonist for the first time at the very end of the story, allowing the hero to have information that isn’t given to the reader, and so on. It was a spoofy movie, but it makes a good point. Have you ever read a book that had something like these “literary misdeeds?” What other twisted "misdeeds" have you seen besides the two that were mentioned?

Twists are a necessity for a mystery or suspense, but they should have a few rules.

•          Be logical
•          Connect
•          Have roots

Being logical is self-explanatory – “Elementary, my dear Watson.” The twist might come from right field, but once it has been revealed, heads should nod. “Of course” or “Why didn’t I see that?” might come to mind.

A twist should also connect to something. This leads to a pet peeve of mine, something like one of those misdeeds. A crucial clue just appears out of thin air. Total coincidence. It happens, but the twist should at least be connected to something that the characters know or do within the logical progression of the story.

Finally, I think a well-conceived twist will have its roots at the beginning of the story. Then when it does surface, a reader gets an extra aha! because it’s been there all along.

Have you enjoyed a good twisted mystery? One where you really didn’t see something coming and then wham? Tell me about it! Share your experience in the comments. One lucky commenter will win a $10 Amazon gift card and a super-sleuth, lighted magnifying glass.

What Makes a Good Mystery? (Volume 1)

I love a good mystery, but what is it that makes a mystery good? Is it the plot – the whodunnit with twists and turns? Is it the characters that fill in the gaps and the detective – amateur or not – whose shrewd observations reveal the truth? Maybe it’s the conflict between good and evil?

I have a growing list of the elements that I like to see in a mystery/suspense story—way too many to put down in just one article. I’ll share them with you a little at a time, though. Here’s the first one.

Intensity

While the story doesn’t have to be a full-fledged suspense for me to enjoy it, there has to be at least one scene full of foreboding where the creepy music enters my mind. A moment when the hero realizes what’s going on and puts a target on his or her back.

This is the moment that, in novelist vernacular, is called MEP – at least in my notations. The explanation of which is full of abstracts and higher-level cognition . . . okay, okay. It stands for Most Exciting Part. Really cultured and professional, huh! LOL! But if this piece of the story isn’t intense, then it’s a meh MEP for me. Entirely forgetful.

On the other hand, if the hero is suddenly and unexpectedly (well, at least the hero doesn’t expect it) thrust into danger, painted into a corner where I can see no escape, I’m up all night making sure that there is indeed escape, and justice is done!

As I read exceptional mysteries and suspense, I have some things that are a must for me to feel that ahhhhhhh at the end of the story. I bet you have some of those as well. 

Share your idea of the most important element of a great mystery/suspense in the comments, and you might just be the winner of a $10 Amazon gift card and a super-sleuth lighted magnifying glass.   

Co-Authoring: Lessons I'm learning....

Good Morning from sunny South Carolina. Lynette Eason is here and it's finally stopped raining! 

So as I sit and look out over my back yard, I’m thinking about a new project. Of course I have a book due March 1, but that doesn’t stop my little brain from spinning with new ideas and excitement over this particular new project.

What am I working on?

So glad you asked!

Here’s the latest: Co-authoring a novel.

Recently another published author and I have started working on a little project.  It’s sort of an experiment for both of us. Neither one of us has ever done this before so we’re kind of learning as we go.

We’ve decided to co-write a story together. (Is that redundant? Using co-write and together in the same sentence?? Sorry, no time to look that up.) Anyway, we’re working on a story that we hope will turn into a series, but our goal is to work on the first story and see how it goes. So far, we’ve come up with character sketches, our character’s goals, motivations and some conflict and some plot elements. I find myself thinking about that story quite a bit. It’s my fun story, my stress reliever when I need to take my focus off the contracted one I’m currently working on. Without a contract on the fun story, there’s no pressure and no deadlines, except maybe self-imposed ones.

Some things/tips I’ve figured out just in this beginning stage of the whole co-author thing are:

1.     Respect each other’s talent and time.

2.     Co-writing is cool because you can bounce ideas off each other. One idea fuels another and soon you have some really great material to work with.

3.     Co-writing, brainstorming, sharing your work with another person/author is a pretty intimate thing. It builds a friendship, a trust that can be hard to find with just anyone. Be careful not to do anything to destroy that trust or friendship, it would be hard to get back! (No, I’ve not personally had this happen, but I sure can imagine!)

4.     Everyone who writes has their own voice, but with co-writing, the voices can blend to make a unique voice that tells a page-turner of a story.

5.     Realize that the story is the work of BOTH of you. Be open to suggested changes. Your partner, too, wants the best story the two of you can create!

As of today, I’ve finished the first scene of the story. I’m excited to hear what my co-author thinks about it. I look forward to her ideas on how to make the scene better. And I’m rubbing my hands in anticipation of the scene she will soon write.

Stay tuned as this new adventure in co-authoring progresses. I’ll keep you updated!