I write mysteries because I love to read them. I love following the clues laid out by the authors in a traditional mystery. One of the best pieces of advice about writing mysteries I’ve received came from thriller author Steven James. It made me realize that I had to write mysteries like a reader of mysteries.
Steven James told a roomful of writers at a writing conference that when you are writing and realize a connection within your story or a question rises in your mind, it is very likely many of your readers will have the same realization. When that happens, you need someone in the story to share that he or she has spotted it too.
Plot it naturally
As an example, I’ll tell you about an experience I had when reading a mystery novel as a teen. I’m going out on a limb here because I’m about to criticize the Queen of Mysteries, Agatha Christie. But the clue confused me, and if a character had made a comment within the story, then the book would have been a better read for me.
In A Murder Is Announced, Letitia Blacklock seems to be the target of a murder plot. When amateur sleuth Jane Marple and Inspector Craddock are investigating, they find that Letitia has letters she wrote to her twin sister Charlotte. When I read that, I was puzzled. Why did Letitia have letters she mailed to her late sister? Neither Miss Marple or Inspector Craddock comment on the oddness of this and I thought it would be natural for someone to remark on this strange fact.
So I was confused and made up my own reason. Since her sister was dead, maybe Letitia acquired them with the rest of her sister’s possessions. Eventually the letters are revealed as a vital clue. But if Ms. Christie had had one of the detectives state a possible explanation, it not only would have kept me from being confused, it also would have provided an excellent red herring. As it was, the fact that such a strange discovery wasn’t explained at all drew attention to it. I should have known it was an important clue.
So when I plot, I try to keep in mind how I would receive the information as a reader. If a development is bizarre, a reader will notice, so a character would naturally mention that. If mean Old Man Olsen gives someone a compliment, a character would naturally notice that something’s changed in Old Man Olsen.
It’s tempting to glide over significant clues because I don’t want to tip my hand to the reader. But if the clue would provoke questions if I was reading this book, then, as a mystery writer, I need to address that. I’ll discuss how to guide readers through clues and red herrings so that the mystery is fair-play but without giving the game away in next week’s post.
