It's A Mystery!
The story I'm currently writing has elements of mystery, and so far I'm finding it tough to plot. This could be because, in the past, my stuff hasn't relied heavily on plot. The thing is, I've read lots of mysteries, so I don't see why they don't rub off on me. If I didn't like scifi/fantasy slightly better, I'd probably read a lot more mysteries than I do. The only series I really keep up with regularly are Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries and the Stephanie Plum books. And (wow, this makes me sound like I have no life) I have been known to watch 3-hour blocks of CSI reruns on SpikeTV (5:00 CST-8:00, just after Star Trek Voyager, just before the evening movie). I have become quite good at spotting plot holes in those. Which isn't particularly hard with a show like that, since the plot hole is usually "Shut up, Grissom would TOTALLY have seen that! Lame! I call foul!"
Some people must have a knack for plotting mysteries, otherwise they wouldn't write them, right? My theory is that's just not how my brain works. Therefore I've concluded I have no choice but to work backwards. Right? I have to figure out the outcome I want to have, and then hide bits of it that are slowly revealed through the action. Do mystery writers go backwards, or do ideas just come to them intuitively? I wonder. Personally I can't just start off making stuff up and trust that the plot twists that I subsequently come up with will make sense. So, backwards it is.
6 comments:
The current novel/short story that I'm working on (and by working on I mean writing character profiles, snippets of their history, and outlining--aka the "getting to know you" phase) is also a mystery. But with elements of supernatural. And it IS hard. I too am a devotee of all things CSI and totally have spent hours in front of the boob tube also crying foul cause, dude, Grisom is the man. Working backward is a solid idea. I would also urge you to read/watch the following: House (watch the way he unravels the medical mysteries presented in each episode... there's some good detective work going on there) and... sh*tican'trememberthename ofthenovel. I'll get back to you on that one... I can see exactly where it is on my shelf at home, just can't remember the name!
I'm not sure if you've read The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin or not, it's a YA mystery, but there's an interesting website where you can see her notes and manuscripts. It gives you a pretty good idea at how she attacked the novel.
It's a pretty good book to use with the grade level you'll be teaching too :) http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/authors/raskin/intro.htm
Ooh, I read the Westing Game? Several thousand years ago, but I read it.
I like mysteries, too, but I don't think I could ever write one. I think coming up with the ending first and dropping clues backwards is a great idea.
SAMARITAN by Richard Price. Its a fantastic study on how to build tension & suspension, as well as how and when to reveal important tid-bits of information so as to bring your reader further and further into the story/mystery.
*Sigh* my brain is tired... I meant suspense NOT suspension.
Excellence. I loved The Westing Game. I'll have to check these things out.
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