Zara Altair's Blog, page 4

Get Ready to be a Mystery Author: Part 1

You As An Author It’s never too early to start your transition from writer to author. Once you start writing your mystery, spend some time establishing your presence as an author. You’ll be building your author platform where you tell readers about your book. Once your novel is published, you’ll have your author platform well in hand. 

You’ll want basic marketing materials with information about you and your books to share in as many ways as possible. When you start early you’ll give yourself time to create a solid professional message about you and your books.

​ The Business Mindset Business mindset differs from your creative writing mindset. You’ll be learning about creating your author identity, marketing strategies, collecting and managing information (data) about your readers and sales, and other business details.

Learn from other businesses, including other authors. Set aside time in your schedule to focus on the business side of your author life. Be willing to start and willing to learn. Authors who embrace the business side create success. The basic principles of an author business mindset will get you started on your author business journey.

Think of your author self as a business entity
Consider your books your products
Learn successful methods to market your books
Be willing to test and test again

With a business mindset, you don’t give up creativity. Instead, you use it in a different way
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​ Create Your Marketing Platform Your marketing platform is essential to your author business. Whether you are traditionally published or self-published, you need that platform. Creating your author platform takes time. Don’t try to do it all at once. Take a methodical, step-by-step approach to get the details right.


Agents want to see your platform before they represent your book. Many agents will not accept a book unless you have a platform designed and in place. A good reason to start early.
You will co-promote with a traditional publisher. The reason the agent wants to see your author platform is that publishers want to know you put energy into promoting your book(s).
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If you are self-publishing, you will spend time weekly if not daily promoting your work.​

​ How to Start Your Author Platform Creating your author platform takes time. Don’t try to do everything at once. Give yourself a month to set up your author platform activities. Setting these things up now teaches you a very useful skill for authors: dividing your time between writing and marketing. If you are serious about your author career, you need to learn this time management skill.

Before you establish your platform you need to prepare some basic materials. Keep these on hand for guest blog posts, podcast invitations, and media like print, television, and radio. 

1. Write a description of your book. You will probably revise this many times but write one. Pretend you are writing the blurb for the back cover.

2. Write an author bio for yourself. You will need several. A short one, 25-30 words, to post at the end of articles or on social media that does not allow for a long description, like Twitter. Then write at least two more, a 100-word bio and a 300-word bio. If you hire a publicist or decide to do your own publicity, you may want a 1000-word biography as well. You will probably rewrite these many times but start with something now.

3. Create a formal portrait of yourself both color and black and white. You can do this yourself with a plain background or hire a professional photographer.

4. Create a cover image for your book. You’ll want this for your website and any promotions you may do.

Once you’ve created the content for your platform, you are ready to build your platform where future readers can learn about you and your books. Start with an author website.

​ Create Your Author Website ​ Your own author website is the foundation of your author platform. It’s your author base camp. Any sharing you do later on social media or with email campaigns will direct readers to your website.  

You can use free website services like WordPress.com or Wix to get started. If you have time and resources, you can become more involved and intricate with a self-hosted website using WordPress.org. You will need to monitor and update the self-hosted website for updates or hire someone to manage the site for you. If you have a large budget, you can hire a website designer to create a site for you. If you do, make sure you have access to add and change the content.

​ Basic Pages for Your Website Your website will have several pages. You can add more, but here are the basic pages you’ll need to get started.

An introduction to you as an author. Your bio and some words about why you are writing the book.A page just for the book. Give potential readers a taste of the book with the book description and a short excerpt. Once your book is published, you will add links to where readers can buy your book.A blog page. Most free and paid website services include a blog page. Update this with articles on a regular basis, at least once a month if not more regularly. The key is to be consistent. Write about your progress, your research, and your challenges. Readers love a personal feel.  
As you can see, there’s a lot of work in creating an author platform. But, there’s more. Next week, in Part 2, I’ll talk about connecting with readers with email. And, in Part 3, we’ll look at social media. 

Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash


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Title Your Mystery

Reader Curiosity and Attention The title of your mystery is one of the first things a reader sees. Your title and your book cover are two of the first things a prospective reader uses to make a decision
to read your story. The title of your book may not change the story but it can change a potential buyer’s interest.

A title that is interesting, catchy, and relevant to your story has a better chance to get a reader to buy your book. The title of your novel creates a connection with your potential readers. 

Tucker Max of Scribe stresses the selling potential of a title:

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The title of your book is–by far–the most important book marketing decision you’ll make.

Your choice directly impacts the buyer’s first impression.

​ Brand Awareness and Genre Targeting Memorable titles help readers connect the title with your name. Your author name is your brand. When readers associate your name with the book you write, you build your brand awareness. Authors who offer more than one book benefit by creating titles similar in format and concept.

​ Features of a Good Title You have several options for creating a book title, but all good titles have elements in common:

grabs attentioneasy to rememberindicates genre or themeeasy to say
These guidelines make your title recognizable, targeted toward your genre, and easy for someone to remember when they recommend your book. Your book will get noticed, be remembered, and shared with other potential readers.

​ Create Your Book Title List Your title is a marketing tool, so choose your title with your reader in mind. Your reader is someone who enjoys books in your genre. Use a marketing filter when you think about your book title. Get the essence of your book, then add words with emotional hooks.

Finding the right title for your book is a brainstorming process. Start large. Think of as many titles as possible first. Take time. Work the process over at least a few days if not weeks. Every time you think of a title possibility, write it down. While you are in the stage of compiling ideas, don’t judge, just add title ideas to your list.

Look at the titles of your successful competitors. Knowing how successful authors in your genre use titles to sell books is a good guideline for how to think about framing your title.

Make a list of potential titles. Start your title idea list while you are writing and keep adding to the list as you get new ideas.

Once you have a sense of the titles that sell in your genre, brainstorm titles for your manuscript. Is your story steamy or sweet, action-packed or literary? Dark and chilling, or light-hearted and cozy? Think of words and phrases that capture the tone of your manuscript.

Go through your manuscript looking for phrases, including dialogue, that reflect the essence of your story. Think of your story theme or the major conflict. Is there a quote—poetry or Biblical—that suits your novel?

The idea is to gather as many title possibilities as you can. Then play with your current title collection by trying one of these tricks:

Change word order.Add an action verb. Kick, Kill, Kiss...Add an emotionally charged adjective. Deadly, Ravished, Irresistible...Work in your protagonist’s role. The Magistrate, The Stumbling Detective,Reference the antagonist or her role. Hannibal is a good example.Use location.
At the end of this process, you’ll have a long list of title ideas.

Pro Tip: Make sure the title you use is not already popular. Narrow Your List Brainstorming is playful and fun, but once you have a big title list, you need to narrow down the options.

Review the titles of successful books in your genre. Evaluate which of your titles best suit your genre, and remove the rest from the list. This should turn your long range of options into a more focused shortlist.

​ Test Your Title Before you make a final decision, get feedback. Use vehicles to test your title. Informal choices from friends and family may be instant feedback but not always the best marketing judgment.

If you have a reader fan base, send a survey. Use quick tools like SurveyMonkey or a Google Form to compare choices.

Get feedback from real readers customers with PickFu.

Your novel title is a first-level marketing tool. Use a brainstorming process. Guide your decision by the novel’s genre. Then, test for feedback before you make your final decision.
Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

Dialogue Adds Character to Your Characters

Who Is Talking? How your characters speak reveals their personality. Especially in mysteries, characters reveal their character, even when they try to hide it.  The challenge for writers is to make the language each character uses, appropriate to that character and distinct from other characters in the story.  That way, readers understand who is talking.

Dialogue is a verbal action. When a character speaks, they are actively moving the story forward. When the language, rhythm, and voice is clear for each character, your dialogue not only flows in your story you’ll minimize the need for repetitive dialogue tags. 

​ Preparing for Dialogue The best way to write distinctive dialogue is to know your character. 

Character background. Add dialogue segments to your character background. Speech habits, like repeatedly saying OK or turning statements into questions. Note delivery style - animated or deadpan. For mystery suspects, add details about actions either conscious or unconscious they make when telling a lie. 
Research. Interview people who embody your character. Or use the time-tested someone you know as the speech model. A female biochemist and a male who breeds Bengal cats will have not just a different vocabulary, but speech rhythms and pet phrases. Listen to people talking in cafes, buses, trains, at the airport or any public venue. You don’t have to visit a crack house to learn the language. Watch characters in movies, television series, and YouTube to grab dialogue details
Cast Your Characters. When you cast a real person - actor, acquaintance - as your character, listen to how they use their voice to speak. Borrow phrases, intonation, and body movement to create dialogue details for your characters. 

Capture the details to make each speaker in your novel unique. Use syntax, vocabulary, and tone to help your reader understand who is speaking. The more you individualize speech, the better your reader understands the character.

​ Dialogue in Your Story When you understand your character, you get inside their head and think the way they think. What they say, in dialogue, reflects their thinking. Understanding your character’s motivation helps you create dialogue unique to that character. 

Talking like your character becomes innate the more you understand. You’ll avoid dialogue traps that beginning writers often make.

Stilted and unnatural dialogue speechAll characters sound the sameDialogue doesn’t move the story forwardFlamboyant dialogue tagsToo many dialogue tags 

If you think of dialogue as action, you will avoid these dialogue traps because the words your character says reflect the character’s inner workings in the same way other actions do. When you know your characters well all the actions, including dialogue, come from internal motivation. 

Characters speak when they need rather than you thinking I need some dialogue here. You’ll stop worrying about getting dialogue right,
and use it as another storytelling tool.

Photo by Yolanda Sun on Unsplash



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What Makes a Novel a Mystery?

Thrillers and Crime and Mysteries, Oh My! Terminology can be bewildering. New writers need to be clear about their genre because readers of each genre have expectations about what the story will deliver. Knowing your genre facilitates marketing to reach the right readers who will appreciate and enjoy your novel. 

In thrillers, the clock is ticking. The protagonist is vulnerable and must achieve their goal before time runs out. Whether it’s getting out of a capture situation or preventing the assassination of the prime minister, the protagonist works against the clock.

The crime fiction label is muddled because what Americans call mystery is called crime in the UK. Crime fiction involves a law enforcement protagonist pitting wits against a known outlaw adversary. The crime novel deals with the concept of the nature of justice.

In a mystery novel, the protagonist, either a professional or amateur sleuth, works through a discovery process to reveal the person who committed a crime, usually murder. A mystery emphasizes the solving of the crime.

​ Components of a Mystery For your mystery to resonate with mystery genre fans, the novel needs certain elements that readers expect in a mystery. Whether you decide to opt for traditional publishing or independent (self) publishing, readers, including agents, will expect your novel to contain the key mystery components.

Plot Components
A baffling crime, usually a murder.
An investigator committed to solving the crime.
A concealed killer.
The killer’s cover-up.
Discovery process and elimination of suspects.
​Evaluation of clues, sorting the true from the false. Identification and apprehension of the killer, the reveal. 

A mystery works as a puzzle. Your sleuth and the reader sort through suspect statements and clues to discern the real killer. Your work as a writer is to hide the killer until the end of the story. Readers expect these components and will be disappointed if they are not there. 

Story Components

Beyond essential plot components, readers have other expectations for a mystery. 

A wise and empathic sleuth. The sleuth’s personal code drives the desire to solve the mystery. For instance, if she’s a cop, it’s more than being assigned a case, the sleuth has an internal drive for truth. The second component is an understanding of human nature and empathy with people’s foils and shortcomings.

​A villain with cover-up skills. The killer is a master at deceiving. Whether the death was an accident or premeditated, the killer is adept at keeping motivation and action hidden. Their goal is to escape justice. 

Setting that reveals. The setting is like another character in the story. In a mystery, a tranquil exterior hides a reality fraught with human frailty. 

A series of reveals. As your sleuth works through clues and interviews suspects, he reveals many truths, not just the final uncovering of the killer. 

Pursuit of truth. The sleuth’s moral code drives him to discover the truth at any cost. The nature of truth is the overriding theme.  The Mystery Elements of Your Novel When you understand the basic elements of a mystery novel, your planning and writing go faster. A mystery is more than just catching the bad guy. You’ll be on your way to writing a mystery reader’s love by meeting reader expectations. 

Photo by BBH Singapore on Unsplash

The Power of Sleuth Flaws

How to Add Empathy to Your Fiction Detective Every fictional detective has skills. Which skills and how they are used are up to you, the author. These skills help your reader admire your detective especially whey he meets confrontations and obstacles. But, your detective’s flaws are the intersection where readers empathize.

Readers empathize with shortcomings. Your detective’s skills impress the reader, his flaws make readers care. Flaws give you opportunities to create obstacles in your story. And, small flaws are just as powerful as the big ones. Flaws don’t necessarily need to cause extreme angst. A scatterbrained sleuth in a cozy mystery can leave her keys, forget to add salt to the cake, or forget where she saw the important clue. Your readers understand these setbacks.

A set of smaller flaws adds dimension to your character in a way that one large one cannot. In addition, you have more ways to set more obstacles in your story.

​ Defects for Your Detective ​ Most mystery writers are familiar with the detective who struggles with an addiction to alcohol. You may choose to hop on the train or create distinct flaws for your character.

Vanity
Narcissism
Unable to enter a relationship
Womanizer
Quirky
Obnoxious
Grief
Depression
Isolated
Lonely
Moody
Addicted, 
Abrasive, 
Self-absorbed
Unable to relate to ex-spouse
A past professional failure
A failure that caused a death

When you give your protagonist reasons for doubt and guilt
the emotions affect decisions and actions. Your sleuth will want to hide these flaws. Each time one comes to light your protagonist has an emotional response. The defects and the protagonist’s responses create a believable human character. Embarrassment, guilt, and shame are powerful emotions that help your reader form an emotional connection with your sleuth.

​ Balance Positive and Negative Traits Balance traits like intelligence, attractive looks, and positive qualities like generosity, kindness, and good humor with defects that create an engaging character.

Instead of one large flaw, give your protagonist breadth with a collection of flaws. Every time you create conflict for your sleuth, you invite reader empathy. As an author, you create more ways to frustrate your sleuth as he heads toward discovering the killer. Obstacles create tension. Tension keeps readers turning pages. 

Zara Altair


Photo by David Sinclair on Unsplash

How To Use Details In Your Mystery

Work With Details As a novelist, you have the ability to use details to create the mystery in your story. Skilful use of details can hide clues, mask suspect responses, and create impactful settings. Details give you the power to guide your reader through the story.

Add details to your mystery as you write. Planning gives you broad strokes, but the writing process is the place to add details. Details Scene-by-Scene ​ ​Because you build your story scene by scene, you have ample opportunity to use details to create the tone, hint at suspect culpability, and add clues and red herrings as your novel progresses.

For mystery writers, strategic use of details amplifies the mystery around each of the details.

Clues. Hiding clues to deflect your sleuth and your reader is a vital method of using details to deepen the mystery. As you plan your novel, and then outline each scene you can include clues and red herrings to move your story forward. How you display the details will emphasize or hide the clues you use in each scene. A list of physical objects on a table includes an important clue, but because of the other objects, the clue is hidden in plain sight. Suspects. Use details about your suspects the way you use clue details. As you describe their clothing or the way they act, you can point to the true villain without giving away the true suspect. With suspects, you have the added advantage of using dialogue and actions as well as physical details. One phrase or sentence can either send your sleuth on a wild goose chase or reveal an intent. As your suspect speaks use actions to reinforce their spoken word, reveal unintended subtext, or negate the spoken word. Setting. While physical clues may be part of the setting, you can use the details in your setting description to add to the tone and create more mystery. When your sleuth meets a suspect for the first time - or any time - the setting around the character gives you ample space to tell your reader more about that character - the home, where she hangs out, organized or disorganized. You add information about the suspect by describing their world. Add dimension by relating those details to the victim’s world.Foreshadowing. Build suspense with tiny details that hint at a later event. Foreshadowing details can lead to a reason why a suspect is not the killer or to the final reveal. Details early on in your story can also foreshadow a crisis scene where your sleuth is emotionally or physically challenged from feeling like
giving up to being tied up in the killer’s basement which the sleuth and the reader saw early in your story under another context. The Small Bits that Build Your Story When you begin your mystery, the concept of using details can seem overwhelming. In the planning stage, break down your story into manageable sections like chapters and scenes. As you write each scene add details. Whether you plant clues, reveal red herrings, create suspicion about a suspect, or foreshadow a thrilling climax details keep your reader interested in the page they are reading now. 

Broad strokes work as you are planning, but when you write, details enrich the reader’s experience of the story page-by-page. 

Zara Altair 
Photo by Todd Quackenbush on Unsplash

How Many Suspects is Enough?

Be Good to Your Reader Choosing suspects for your mystery novel begins when you flesh out your story idea in the planning stages. As you create your character bible adding suspects to your mystery novel you aim for a balance between enough characters to challenge your sleuth and your reader and too few suspects. 

If your mystery has only two or three suspects your reader won’t feel challenged. You will be challenged creating material to flesh out a novel of 65,000 to 85,000 words. If you have ten or more suspects you’ll confuse your reader. They’ll find it hard to keep all the suspects clear in their head. Which one was George? Was he the tailor or the neighbor? When was he introduced?

Whenever you stop a reader in your story you run the risk of them being unsatisfied or putting down your book and not returning. For an average length mystery (65,000 to 80,000 words) choose between five and eight suspects.

​ Introduce Your Suspects Introduce each suspects so your reader has a clear idea of their identity and their context in the story. Each character forms an impression with your reader so they recognize that character as they appear throughout the story.

Introduce each suspect separately. Give your reader a sense of who they are, how they communicate, and a visual clue to use as a quick refresher when the character appears later in your mystery.Use specific details for each suspect to help fix their identity for your reader. Make those details specific to that suspect. For instance, if two of your suspects race bicycles, give each a set of specifics that are separate from the other. Avoid overlap between characters.Give each suspect a distinct name. Create names that are 
unique to each suspect that don’t sound alike. Spelling and sound need to be as different as possible. Avoid confusions like one character named Jim and the other James. Use story context to help readers identify suspects. How did they know the victim? What was their relationship to the victim? How does the character interact with your sleuth? 
You won’t go wrong by starting with the context for each suspect and then working out the details. You can always change red hair to blond, or change a character's name. The context helps your reader understand that suspect’s role in the story.

​Zara Altair

Photo by Hannah Lim on Unsplash

Ratchet Up Tension in Your Mystery

Why Tension? Isn’t A Mystery a Puzzle? A mystery is a story. A good story of any genre needs tension. Tension is what keeps readers reading. Without tension your story can feel episodic with no push for the reader to continue.

What is tension in a story? It’s the state of being stretched tight. In a story, tension applies to a character’s mental and emotional state. In order for readers to feel tension, they must care about the character. When a reader empathizes with the character and the character is confronted with an obstacle, the reader feels the tension.

​ Escalate the Tension You create the story by writing scene by scene. Each scene has some type of tension. Build story suspense by increasing the difficulty of the challenges to your protagonist, the sleuth. 

Planning your mystery helps with ever-increasing difficult challenges. Start with small ones and build to the final confrontation.  

​ How To Build Tension in Your Mystery
Use a variety of techniques to keep your reader reading by challenging your sleuth in many ways. Don’t forget that the mental and emotional state of your sleuth are the keys to getting your reader involved. 

Character Empathy. For the reader to experience tension as your sleuth is confronted with obstacles, they first have to care about your protagonist. When you introduce your character in the beginning in her everyday world with an action that overcomes a minor obstacle displaying her skills, you are creating empathy. That empathy is how your reader becomes attached to your sleuth.
Raise the stakes. Each time a character overcomes an obstacle you relieve tension. As the story progresses, organize your stakes for each successive obstacle by making each one more difficult than the last. Start with small challenges and then frustrate your character. Your reader will wonder how he will meet the new challenge. As the challenges become bigger, your reader is more involved. 
Set a time limit. When your sleuth has a certain amount of time to solve the mystery, you raise the stakes. The boss gives him a week to solve the case or he’ll be replaced. She’s leaving for the trip of a lifetime with her fiance in three days. The ship home sets sail in three days. 
Uncertainty. Use your sleuth’s fears and shortcomings to create anxiety. With her weakness exposed, your reader feels the challenge. When your sleuth is off-balance you create tension. Because your sleuth is threatened by fear, he may react badly, heightening the tension more. Keep the biggest uncertainties for the end. The biggest weakness. The biggest fear. 
Character conflict. Once your reader is familiar with your main characters, putting those characters at odds raises emotional tension. Emotional tension is vibrant and powerful for readers. Just as powerful as a physical threat.
Internal conflict. Build tension by placing your sleuth in a moral dilemma. Give her a choice between two bad and conflicting ends. Or save a suspect by defying the law. Once again, your sleuth’s defence mechanisms against these choices can result in worse consequences that build more tension.

Vary your use of tension-building devices. A conflict similar to the one your hero faced before lessens the tension. Think conflict variety. 

Aim to escalate the the conflict as you build tension. Otherwise, your mystery will feel episodic with one sequence following another but without raising the stakes.   

​ Pace Your Moments of Tension In a mystery, the major tension is solving the puzzle of who killed the victim(s). Each additional moment of tension holds reader interest. Pace your tension building moments at major story points. Escalate the stakes along the way. Keep your revelation to the end of the mystery, so your reader guesses along with your sleuth. 

You’ll keep your puzzle agreement with your mystery reader and maintain their involvement by telling a great story filled with conflict.


Zara Altair

Photo by Norbert Tóth on Unsplash


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How to Start Your Mystery Novel

How To Start the First Chapter of Your Mystery Writing a mystery is a long run to the finish. Your first chapter brings the reader into the world of the story and introduces your sleuth. 

As a writer, you are in for a marathon of writing. You’ll introduce suspects, plant clues and red herrings and misdirect your sleuth and your reader. When a reader starts your mystery, they feel they have an unspoken agreement with you to give them a good puzzle and an intriguing and sympathetic sleuth. 

Your job in the first chapter is to bring the reader into your story.

​ Basic Elements of The First Chapter of a Mystery You define the course of the story in the opening sequences. This is your story’s first impression. The beginning starts the reader on a course to the conclusion and you want to plant the first seeds so they can grow as the story progresses.


The first sentence. Hook the reader with a thought or action that pulls them into the story. The hook doesn’t have to be big. It doesn’t need to reveal the murder, it just needs to get the reader to keep going. While you write your first draft, don’t struggle too much for an epic memorable line, just get the reader into the story. You have the rest of your story and editing process to refine the sentence. For now, plunge into the story.

An opening line should have a distinctive voice, a point of view, a rudimentary plot and some hint of characterization. Jacob M. Appel

The first paragraph. Introduce the setting and conflict. Ground the reader with the place and time of the story. Los Angeles today. Victorian New York. Rome under Claudius. Low Town in a land of sorcery. 
The first page. Introduce your sleuth and give him a reaction to the little conflict you just mentioned. Display one of her skills or shortcomings to give your reader a sense of who the sleuth is and how they act in the world.
The first chapter. Introduce your sleuth by showing her in her everyday world. That doesn’t mean what they have for breakfast but how they work in their world. Who they see. Maybe there’s a sidekick or partner. How they respond to conflict and create a resolution. Get your reader acquainted with your sleuth, their personality, and the way they display their traits and respond to other people. You are planting the seed of how the sleuth will approach the murder and suspects later in the story.
Tone. Make certain your tone matches the tone of your story. You are making an agreement with the reader that this is the tone they will find as they keep reading.
Revisit the entire first chapter once you have reached The End. Work on the opening sentence. Make sure the minor conflict in the first chapter hints at the big mystery to come. 

Your first requirement is to bring the reader into the story. Introduce the world, your sleuth and add a conflict that challenges your sleuth. 

​ First Chapter Mistakes Keep your first chapter lean and stay with the story. First-time novelists often tell too much in the first chapter. You have an entire novel to add details. Avoid these beginner mistakes to keep focused on your story moving forward. 

Starting too early. Your reader wants the story. Introduce your sleuth doing something. Give your reader action. Waking up, taking a shower, eating breakfast are not action moments. Leave them out. If your sleuth’s morning ritual is essential to the story, show it later.The whole life revealed. It’s called backstory. Your readers don’t need to know right away that major childhood trauma, or where your sleuth grew up. You can sprinkle those details later if they are necessary. Start adding backstory in the first part of Act 2. Now you want to pull your reader in.Vague opening details. You don’t need to be artsy. Leave the hinted language that tells about an orange on the table highlighting your descriptive genius. Get to the story.Long descriptions. Setting or your protagonist. Get the reader into the story before you add descriptive passages. Highlight a physical detail and leave it at that until later.The mirror. Your protagonist looks in the mirror and notices all his details. Don’t do it. The method is overused. Use other character reactions to give your reader a sense of your sleuth’s physical details. If your sleuth has a disability, show your reader in the context of the story.Gratuitous sex scene. Gratuitous sex is not a hook. If it doesn’t move the story forward, your reader will be disappointed. 
Keep your first chapter focus on the story and you will avoid these mistakes.

​ Focus on the Story Your best guideline is your story. If you’ve done your planning, you know who is in the first chapter, what actions occur, and what the (minor) conflict is. 

You have an entire novel to spread out with details, narrative description, and backstory. The first chapter is your reader’s first impression of your mystery. Make a good first impression and then work hard to keep them reading.

Zara Altair

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Troubleshoot Your Mystery

​Get Past The Stuck Place Sometimes your story seems to throw up a big wall and you don’t know how to fix it. You’re stuck. It happens to all writers. Don’t despair.

With all the character development and story planning you’ve done, your story seems stuck and you don’t know where to go next or what to write. 

Take action to root out the problem so you can continue writing if you know what to do. 

The first thing to do is not consider your story a failure, or worse, that you as a writer are a failure. It’s only a process glitch.

​ Tips to Revive The Story Thread Approach your stop point depending on the root cause. Use these tips to kick your story forward.

Take a step back. Walk away, do something else. Better yet, work on another scene in your mystery. Trust the process and wait for the insight which comes when you are away from your writing space.Get physical. Trim the hedge, wash dishes, run. Physical energy stimulates mental energy. It’s neuroscience.Go back to your Character Bible. Add more to your main characters. Examine their fears, secrets, and lies. Add more details. A close look often sparks the way to new complications.Look at your storyline. Sometimes you are emotionally attached to a scene or chapter that doesn’t fit the overall story. Create conflict. Add a new obstacle. Perhaps a suspect has a reason to not reveal everything to your sleuth. (Revisit the Character Bible.)Be cruel to your sleuth. You’ve created a rock star sleuth with multiple talents, now make your sleuth work hard to get to the finish. The bigger the obstacle, the juicier the story.Raise the stakes. Make the conflict bigger. Raymond Chandler wrote great detective stories. Here’s his problem solver:When in doubt have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand…. A writer who is afraid to over-reach himself is as useless as a general who is afraid to be wrong.Raise the threat level. Expand your threat thinking from just physical to emotional and philosophical. It may be a gun, it may be a member of the opposite sex who drops an emotional bomb, When good fails and evil wins, for the moment, make you sleuth turn cynical.Head toward the midpoint. If you’re in the first half of your mystery, focus on getting to the midpoint. What can happen in the story right now that gets your sleuth closer to the middle? You may be too focused on getting to the end. Give your story room.Head toward the end. The reveal is the end of your mystery. Have you identified the right killer? Think about changing the villain/killer and explore where that takes you. Read in your genre. Look for inspiration from other writers. Examine how other authors keep the story moving. You’ll find fresh ideas for your mystery.
The tips are aimed at helping you identify why you are stalled
with the story. The resolution to getting unstuck is often in the story structure or in your cast of characters. 

​ Positive Moves Get Results Taking action is the quickest way to get past your story impediment. Positive motivation to make the story the best it can be will get your story moving. And, a positive outlook that this is just an obstacle for you the writer to overcome kicks you out of negative thinking. 

Every writer has moments when the story doesn’t feel right. Remember that writing a mystery novel is a process. When you work to get past a stuck place, you improve the process. Find your “man with a gun in his hand” and keep writing. 
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Zara Altair
Photo by Lava Lavanda on Unsplash


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