Outline For A Mystery Novel

I tend to work from outlines, even with my fiction writing. It flows, but I need to have some kind of foundation to get a grip on what I am writing, In the first chapter I look at introducing the main character, and setting the tone for the story – I am working on a mystery, so I set the plot for the mystery itself, and what needs to be solved. The time and place of the mystery itself needs to be clearly set. This can get tricky, because often a mystery that occurs in the present is based on actions in the past.

In the second chapter, I start setting out clues … some of which may be real, some of which may be false. There needs to be a few twists and turns in this story, after all! Secondary characters may also start appearing as soon as the second chapter. A little “back story” on my characters – I do a complete identity sketch on each of my characters: their name, where they are from, what their physical characteristics are, what they do for a living, where they live, what they wear, what their beliefs are, what their goals are. This helps me to keep things straight, and to keep each character and their relationship with the other characters authentic.

In the third chapter I want my characters to start following leads. To start trying to solve the mystery. Odd facts start popping up, some leads end up nowhere, other leads bring out information that sheds new light on people and events. This is the chapter that I introduce a sub-plot … something for the reader to follow that has nothing to do with the mystery being solved. The sub-plot for me has to be two things: interesting and relevant.

In the fourth chapter the plot thickens! Clues start coming together, and suspects start revealing themselves. Clues may disappear, or people may disappear. Suddenly there is more of a sense of urgency to get this mystery solved, before something else happens, or someone else gets hurt.

In the fifth chapter evidence that is coming out of the investigation starts to point at a specific suspect, or group of suspects. A solution begins to reveal itself … although this may not be the right solution, or at least not the complete solution.

In the sixth chapter the sub-plot takes precedence. This generally has to do with the main character, and addresses what makes them tick, what drives them, that little something in their own background that has them taking the actions that they have taken.

In the seventh chapter  things start to get a nit sticky. Hidden motives, and hidden relationships start to reveal themselves.

In the eighth chapter the main character in some way reveals the results of their investigation. I try to put things together in a way that makes sense, but that does not reveal the solution to the mystery.

In the ninth chapter my main character is going over their actions, the clues that they have revealed, and the information they have gathered. Basically, they are looking to see what they may have missed. At this point, I will bring out critical evidence that has somehow been missed up until now.

In the tenth chapter I bring things together, and the mystery is solved. I love dramatic resolution, and I love justice for all!

This is my basic outline for mystery writing. Things can be adjusted, more chapters can be added, but the basic ingredients need to be there: there needs to be a crime, the crime needs to be investigated,  there has to be tension and drama, and my primary character needs to be deeply involved.

Here’s to a good mystery!

© 2000 – 2013 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited in any venue without the written permission of the author.

First Chapters

 

I have spent a fair amount of time lately thinking about entering a writing contest ... a specific writing contest. In the end, I decided not to. This lead me to thinking about taking my mystery novel out, sharpening my pencils (or learning to work with Dragon Speak!)  and getting a first draft written. For me, the first chapter can be a difficult one. What do I need it to do? Introduce my main character, for one thing. Establish my "voice" for another. My voice for my fiction writing will be a bit different than my voice for other writing that I do. Or perhaps not ... perhaps I am always me.

In my mind, I need to make the main character a strong one ... one that readers will identify with, and that I feel comfortable with. Rather like the person that I would want to be. I want my readers to be drawn into this person's world, to want to walk with her, to want to finish the story! I want to show my character's strengths, and perhaps hint at what her weaknesses might be.

The first chapter is also where I set the tone for the story,where my readers decide if they want to read the rest of the book. Am I going to be uber serious? Am I going to inject a bit (but not too much!) humor? Is there a lot of blood and gore to follow? And by the way ... what is the theme? Perhaps I should sneak that into the first chapter too! Is it romance? Is it theft? Is it family secrets? Is it cyberspace? Is it addictions? Fess up ... let the reader know!

I know exactly where my mystery is going to take place ... in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is important to me as a reader to know what country, and what part of that country, a story that I am reading is taking place in. I will give my readers that same courtesy ... to know where the story is taking place. And the places will change, as I have great hopes on making this a mystery series.

The bad guy (antagonist) will need to show up in my first chapter too ... or at least a hint of who they are, why they are in that position (perhaps a bit of back story), and what the tension is between my main character and the antagonist. Hint ... the antagonist does not need to be all bad (none of us are all good or all bad).

Lots of stuff that I am finding out needs to be in my first chapter! That's okay - I am ready. I have my outline, and I have my characters sketched out in profiles. Who they are, where they live, what they do for a living, where they went to school, what their preferences and dislikes are. It's all written out! To be honest, I did that for reference for myself, so that I can keep my characters straight!

One least thought,  that doesn't belong in this article, but is too good to keep quiet about! When you take out a phrase, or even a whole section, or chapter (this is called editing), don't throw it away. Keep it ... you may be able to use some of it in later chapters, or even in other books or articles. Waste not, want not!   

(c) 2000-2013 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited in all  venues without written permission from the author.

Writing Believable Characters

This is really a continuation on last weeks blog about creating characters. One thing that we need to see in characters, as well as in the story line, is believability. If a character does not seem believable, even in a fiction story, then you are not going to retain the reader's interest, and you are not going to be able to build your story. if you try to do so, your characters themselves will simply refuse to fit together the way that you want them to.

Start with their name. Names are everything! They reflect our cultural background, our family background, and the times that we were born into. Our name, in a sense, IS who we are. So give your characters names that reflect who they are, and where they came from. If you like their name, but they don't ... change the name! Characters are powerful people! Your characters names need to have a rhythm, a cadence of their own. And it probably is not a good idea to have different characters int he same book with the same name. This ends up somewhere between boring and confusing for the reader. Remember ... both the reader and your character have to be able to accept and relate to the character's name! As I revise my first attempt at a mystery, I decided to start over again on both location and character names. The story line will remain basically the same, but tweaked to remain in the area of possible/plausible.

One thing that I had to remember is that some of the characters from my first book will be carried forward, as I want this to be a series. As the series grows, my characters will grow. To do that, they need a firm foundation, and viable connections to each other. They have to be able to function through varying story lines, which is making me stop and think about what I want them to say and do. My main character I have firmly in mind. I know who she is, how she thinks, how she acts/reacts. The protagonist is another thing. The protagonist in my first story may be my main character ... that seems to work for me. The role of the hero (the person who saves the day) is not relegated to one person in my book. it is a group of friends that function well together. My antagonist - the ultimate "bad guy", is a combination of a single person and the group behind him. The obstacle is not a character, but a belief. it is something that affects all of the characters in some manner. Logic and emotion find their balance in my character's world. The archetype of sidekick for the series I am writing doesn't seem relevant, as the main character works to solve the issues of the story with other people.

Taking all of this into consideration - as well as the story bible that I discussed last week, I feel that I am well on my way to creating a viable story line!

(c) June 2012 Bonnie Cehovet