Jessica Russell's Blog - Posts Tagged "murder"
The Balance Beam
Just a quick tidbit of information on whodunit novels. The worst mistake I see novice writers make when creating a murder mystery is trying to make it so bizarre that nobody in the world could possibly ever figure it out. The problem with that approach is that it's essentially impossible.
Unless, that is, you're going to wait until the final chapter and say that a space Martian came down from the sky and killed the person.
Intelligent readers narrow it down to two or three individuals, and one of them is almost always the murderer. And the thing is…that's okay! Readers like that. If you leave them too much in the dark they get disgusted, but if they figured it out in the first chapter they get (drumroll ) disgusted.
So don't obscure it to the point where the end doesn't make any sense, but don't make it so easy that they have no reason to keep reading.
I read a novel recently and I stayed interested throughout most of the chapters, but in the end, the murderer was someone who essentially had no motive and I kept waiting for it to be explained but it never was. It ruined the book for me. The writer may have reached his goal of making sure nobody could guess, but the ending was so ridiculous I don't think anyone will care.
I've also read numerous books where the culprit was was so obvious that I didn't need to finish reading. This is also the kiss of death.
The best thing to do is leave the breadcrumbs, but make them go to several different people.
In a good novel, especially a good whodunit, there are only so many people it could be. The fact that readers might be able to zero in on that cluster of people doesn't mean you're failing to write a good mystery. That's what readers like to do. They like to say "I think maybe it could be her, but that other person over there also has a motive, and then again it could be him."
Sure, some readers will hit on the right person and figure it out, but if they don't do that until the very end, it doesn't ruin the book for them. In fact, it's very satisfying, because they slowly caught on to what was happening.
So don't make it too easy, but don't try to create something unbelievably absurd simply so you can say "no one ever guesses who the murderer is!"
It should be a surprise for most readers, but a surprise that they're slowly getting close to as the book wraps up. That's the most satisfying experience for readers according to many surveys, so go for it. Write on!
Unless, that is, you're going to wait until the final chapter and say that a space Martian came down from the sky and killed the person.
Intelligent readers narrow it down to two or three individuals, and one of them is almost always the murderer. And the thing is…that's okay! Readers like that. If you leave them too much in the dark they get disgusted, but if they figured it out in the first chapter they get (drumroll ) disgusted.
So don't obscure it to the point where the end doesn't make any sense, but don't make it so easy that they have no reason to keep reading.
I read a novel recently and I stayed interested throughout most of the chapters, but in the end, the murderer was someone who essentially had no motive and I kept waiting for it to be explained but it never was. It ruined the book for me. The writer may have reached his goal of making sure nobody could guess, but the ending was so ridiculous I don't think anyone will care.
I've also read numerous books where the culprit was was so obvious that I didn't need to finish reading. This is also the kiss of death.
The best thing to do is leave the breadcrumbs, but make them go to several different people.
In a good novel, especially a good whodunit, there are only so many people it could be. The fact that readers might be able to zero in on that cluster of people doesn't mean you're failing to write a good mystery. That's what readers like to do. They like to say "I think maybe it could be her, but that other person over there also has a motive, and then again it could be him."
Sure, some readers will hit on the right person and figure it out, but if they don't do that until the very end, it doesn't ruin the book for them. In fact, it's very satisfying, because they slowly caught on to what was happening.
So don't make it too easy, but don't try to create something unbelievably absurd simply so you can say "no one ever guesses who the murderer is!"
It should be a surprise for most readers, but a surprise that they're slowly getting close to as the book wraps up. That's the most satisfying experience for readers according to many surveys, so go for it. Write on!
