So you’re interested in learning how to write a mystery book.
It makes me happy to hear it.
Since I hid behind the Lincoln Logs in Mrs. Jenkins’ third-grade classroom so I could read my first Nancy Drew book alone, I have loved mysteries.
That day, mystery snagged me, and ever since, she has been leading the way.
Being a mystery reader is the finest way to get ready to write a mystery book.
You must be able to rely on reflexes that you’ve honed over years of reading.
And to help you through the difficult times, you’ll need the dedication of a loyal supporter.
Being completely honest, there is a ton that goes into creating a mystery book.
However, if you invest the time and energy to make it happen, you’ll benefit greatly in the long run.
So let’s get going.
Being a mystery reader is the finest way to get ready to write a mystery book.
You must be able to rely on reflexes that you’ve honed over years of reading.
And to help you through the difficult times, you’ll need the dedication of a loyal supporter.
Being completely honest, there is a ton that goes into creating a mystery book.
However, if you invest the time and energy to make it happen, you’ll benefit greatly in the long run.
So let’s get going.
Readers of mysteries like figuring out puzzles and looking forward to the conclusion.
But readers have much higher expectations than that.
Readers want to empathize with the protagonist, feel the excitement of the chase, and feel satisfied that the offender has been punished.
In every genre, but especially in mystery writing, meeting reader expectations is of utmost importance.
Approximately 33% of all fiction sales in the English language belong to the mystery genre, which has a huge fan base.
You’re putting yourself in a position to succeed in the mystery genre if you can win over even a small fraction of that audience.
Which mystery subgenre fits your writing style the best?
The mystery genre has numerous subgenres, and some authors are better suited to various mystery subgenres.
For example, cozy novels need a lot of character and setting detail to keep the sluggish pacing engaging.
Cozies are lighthearted mysteries with a bloodless crime that frequently involves a victim who has little connection to any of the protagonists. The violence occurs off-stage.
Without a lot of action, cozy authors must be able to crank out upwards of 60,000 words while keeping it interesting.
The primary character is highlighted rather than the crime.
Medical and legal mysteries, as well as police procedurals, demand in-depth specialized expertise.
These are best suited for experts in these subjects, for meticulous writers who enjoy the minute details of technique.
If you get it incorrect, readers will spit you out, and a little bit of research won’t help you get by.
As much of the gathering and analyzing of clues will fall to a group, with each member contributing to the crime’s solution, this kind of writer should also be adept at creating teams for their characters.
Readers look for a really compelling, believable main character in Private Eye/Noir books.
The PI will engage with police, and those conversations must be realistic, therefore familiarity with or study in this area is not required.
Which type of mystery best suits your writing style?
The main character earns a living by conducting background checks and other investigations, among other things.
A writer who wants to write a PI novel should have experience in IT or a similar sector because modern PIs are excellent computer users.
It’s undoubtedly a noir if the tone of the book is grim, grimy, extremely gory, or unashamedly urban.
Suspense is another element, but that is a topic for another day.
Recognize the tropes
Like all genres, mystery is replete with tropes, which are recurring themes or literary devices that readers are familiar with.
“The butler did it” and “locked room mystery” are a couple of instances.
While some of these may seem cliché to you, mystery enthusiasts adore and rely on the majority of them.
Instead of avoiding them, the idea is to discover novel ways to approach them, so that readers experience both a sense of familiarity and a sense of surprise.
Plan ahead .
He advises taking into account the following four elements when crafting a mystery:
technique of murder.
Find a new angle on what has already been done.
I quickly searched for creative murder techniques on Google, and as you could expect, the list of results was incredibly large.
At your own peril, explore.
The Darwin Awards are a different resource you could take into account when looking for uncommon ideas.
Object of the opponent.
What does the villain ultimately want?
Dent describes it as a kind of treasure, either literally or figuratively.
The crime and the villain should provide the context for the tale.
The setting ought to come after you’ve got those under control.
the cause of the hero.
What’s at stake is a different way to look at things.
What will the hero get out of achieving his objective?
What will he forfeit if he loses?
One more quick suggestion for outlining, this from Scott Meredith and Algis Budrys. Formulate a…
Character
In a setting
With a problem
Put your protagonist through a series of try/fail cycles while solving the crime, escalating the stakes with each cycle
The last try/fail cycle is the most perilous and challenging of all and is followed either by the hero’s success in catching the murderer and bringing him to justice, or his ultimate failure
Continue knowing your genre and analyzing it.
However, don’t allow studying prevent you from writing.
If you want to create a mystery novel, try it out because writing is the best kind of practice!
Have you thought of a mystery novel idea?
Have you created a smart riddle that, in your opinion, would make a fantastic mystery novel?
In the comments box, make a comment about it.
By Rima
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