How to Write a Great Crime and Mystery Stories…”Who Dunit”
Learning how to write great crime and mystery stories was part of the reason I went to the California Crime Writers Conference sponsored by the SoCal Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime Los Angeles this weekend. Here are some of the tips I learned. First off when writing it was said we should feel and not think. That’s because everyone agrees stories are about establishing an emotional connection. This starts with the author and the story idea and how the writer can then translate it to the reader. This was a conference on writing mysteries, so the consensus was of the idea or scene scares you, then you know you are hitting the heart of the matter.
Another interesting idea with respect to the genre of how to writing crime and mysteries is that murder can be considered by the perpetrator as a form of conflict resolution. Someone is seen as a problem if their eyes and getting rid of them gets rid of the problem. There is one problem with that, any person that thinks that way is not all there. So that leads to the back story. Why is someone that way? What happened in their backstory to create that mind set? This should be shared in a way that is not an info dump, but skillfully inserted in a way that intrigues. Where they born that way or were things done to them that created that deviance? Understanding this and dropping it in skillfully deepens the story.
When writing great crime and mystery stories, to be satisfying stories, the can also be about what the characters learn from the trials and tribulations they experience. So, if this is a crime, how does the crime impact the character’s growth and what situation would you want to put them is so they can grow as it relates to their unique backstory.
Finally, Tess Gerritsen talked about how to find your story’s ‘what if.” This is of course is the chord that starts to activate the imagination. It should awaken something in you. They key to all good stories is of course to invoke curiosity and worry. We are driven to find out what will happen or why something happened. A good ‘what if’ can also lead to a ‘big’ premise which of course is the third rail for you story. What activates the rail is stakes? We get hooked by seeing a character we care about in danger.
Finally, many of the agents stressed it is important it is to follow the directions when submitting to them, no mass emails. Try to find someone who is looking for what you have. Of course, everyone agreed a strong opening is to grab the agent’s attention and giving your story a hope of making the first cut. Many writers they said overlook the importance of setting, leaving the editor to swim in a sea of uncertainty, unable to visualize the scene. Finally, another rookie mistake is diving into the action before giving the editor a reason to care about what happens.
Understanding Point of View in a Story