Back-handed Writing of Mysteries

 

Good morning!

Ruthy here with some of the fun things I've learned about writing mysteries.

First, they are crazy fun. And I mean that sincerely. As an author who never thought of writing mysteries who is now a huge fan of writing mysteries, let me just say my fave, fave, fave is writing mysteries with some romance attached.

I love romance.

I love the common goal of solving a crime or a puzzle while we have romantic division because it means that the hero

Shot by Arrul lin/Unsplash

 and heroine 

Shot by Sarah Cervantes/Unsplash

are there organically, not by an engineered plot. And that's a very important point. If the hero and heroine are naturally thrown together by circumstances neither can change then they have a chance to deal... grow... learn... adjust.... and be attracted without it being manufactured. Lots of fires begin with the tiniest spark... that then smolders... flares... and ignites. 

But I also like extended romance plotlines (Think Castle, Signed, Sealed, Delivered, etc.) where the relationship evolves over time and a whole bunch of things get solved. Now that's the premise for the indie series I'm working on to be released in 2023/24  "Perpetual Mysteries", a group of time-slip mysteries that make me smile every time I think of them!

But I owe the skills to developing that series to Guideposts and my work with them in Mysteries of Martha's Vineyard, Savannah Secrets, Miracles and Mysteries of Mercy Hospital and our newest one (another time slip that I love!) Mysteries at the Whistle Stop Cafe'.  

Everything's an education.

When you get a chance to try something new or spread your wings, I say go for it! Learning to work with other authors is huge... learning to develop stories within a story: Also huge.

Look at it this way. A stand-alone mystery is great.

A stand-alone mystery in a line with six or eight or ten other mysteries is exponentially better if you have the setting/characters/ideas to make the mysteries sing. And no matter if you're looking at the indie market or traditional publishing, the more you have, the more you sell. 

I work backwards in a mystery. I need to know the end game to write the story, so once I know what the characters are going to discover.... what the crux of the mystery is... I can figure out a path to get them there. I don't do it mathematically. Not intentionally. I want a beginning, a middle and an end, but in that middle I want them to be surprised... maybe discouraged.... thoughtful... surprised again... scared.... depending on the type of mystery because not all mysteries have a fear element. And I want them to be solving some internal personal problem, see some growth as the character(s) go through the steps.

But first they need a mystery, right? 

A child, given away seventy years ago. Why?

A child, given away last week. Why?

A cache of letters in an old metal box beneath a floorboard.

A bundle of clothing, stained and dirty as if it had been worn yesterday discovered in an old closet that hasn't been opened in a hundred and fifty years because no one knew it was there.

A son not given a stipend by his father... Why?

A woman who can't remember why she's on a quest to a little town in Northern New York but has a pair of tickets for a boat ride there.

Once you know what the question is, you can come up with answers... and then chart the path.

I don't know if it works this way for everyone. I know it works for me.  And while I can write suspense, I veer away from real suspense because I'm nightmare prone. No one needs that. But mystery?

No nightmares there!

I've got a copy of a mystery to send out to one commenter today... Leave a comment today to be entered and tell me what you like, love or don't like about mysteries. And if you're a writer, are you game to give one a try?

Multi-published, bestselling author Ruthy Logan Herne is still having the time of her life as she creates wonderful stories, the kind of stories she likes to read with the kind of characters that live in her town and the small Western New York towns surrounding her. Email Ruthy at loganherne@gmail.com, visit her website or friend her on Facebook where you will see she is a flag-waving, dyed-in-the-wool conservative/libertarian-type gal who loves God, her family, dogs, coffee, chocolate and kids!