When I tackled writing my first mystery two years ago, I was shocked at how different the process was from writing a general thriller. Even though I’d already published six novels, I was surprised at how much preparation and planning writing a detective story took.
If you’re thinking of writing a mystery, here are six things I had to learn I wish someone had told me.
Great fiction is built around tension. The bad news is, we experience tension in our own lives every day. The good news is, it’s great fuel for our stories. The question is, how do you create that experience for your readers by building tension in your scenes?
Symbols enrich your story’s meaning by connecting what’s literally happening with overarching themes. Does your story include symbols? And what symbols should you include? In this article, we’ll look at symbolic archetypes that will help you create powerful symbols in your story.
Imagine The Shining taking place in a shopping mall. Or the movie Se7en set in sunny Florida. It just wouldn’t work. Setting plays a vital part in the success of these stories, and it should in your stories, as well.
I was recently reading a story in development and found myself irritated with the main character. Why? I thought. They have a good plan, they care about their goal, and their dialogue is engaging. As I kept reading, I found myself wanting to shout, “Get on with it already!” Suddenly I recognized exactly what the problem was, and worse, I realized I do it too.
I had a writing friend ask me last week, “How do you write through the boring parts of a story?”
Here’s my short answer: Cut them.
Of course, that’s all predicated on recognizing boring writing in the first place. Not sure where to start? Here’s some help with finding those parts to cut!
