Step 6: Build a Story Structure

Just like a building, a story needs a structure to frame your story. Wanting to make my work as easy as possible (remember I told you that you’d learn 10 easy steps to mystery writing), I use a simple 3-act structure.

Act I

In Act I you set up your story. Act I:

Introduces major characters, especially sleuth, victim, and killer

Presents key elements of the story world (time, weather, locale, and brief setting details)

Reveals inciting incident (the one that changes your sleuth’s world)

Act I ends with a major plot point (finding the body if it didn’t appear earlier or the arrest of a key suspect) and forces your sleuth to investigate.

Act II

This is the meat of your story. The sleuth gets busy trying to discover who killed your victim. Sadly, she’s faced with multiple obstructions. Of course, the villain tries to deter her, maybe even tries to kill her.

Remember all those characters you created? The sidekick, the mentor, antagonists, and suspects. They’ll all get in her way. Some of their problems have nothing to do with the murder; others will.

Now also is time to complicate your sleuth’s life with subplots. Is she at odds with her husband? Does her daughter disobey her? Is she having problems at work? Subplots can be minor (her boss is fired) or major (her husband wants a divorce). All of the subplots, though, must be resolved by the end of the story, at the end of Act II, if possible.

Midpoint in Act II comes another plot point, a major reversal in the story. Let’s say she’s certain she’s tracked down the killer. Every clue points to him. Then he’s killed. Her theory is destroyed.

She does what every winning sleuth does. She picks herself up, dusts herself off, and gets back on the trail. Now the killer does everything he can to stop her, throwing obstacle after obstacle in her way. In the meantime, other problems heat up as well. She’s served with a divorce petition. Her daughter runs away. Just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, she keeps on keeping on.

Until the end of Act II. Plot point three and all goes wrong. A suspect is arrested but she knows he didn’t do it. Helpless, discouraged, all is lost.

Act III

No. She won’t stop. No matter what, she’ll find the real killer and bring him to justice. Now she brings all her talents to bear, all the skills she’s honed solving minor problems she uses to solve the murder. Risking life and limb, she tracks him, fights off his efforts to kill her until he’s caught. Or dead.

Denouement

You thought you could relax now, didn’t you? Sorry. You must tie up any loose ends in the plot and subplots. Explain how you deduced the killer, how you cornered him, how you revealed him. But do this quickly. Readers don’t want to hang around long once the killer’s caught.

How long should your story be?

My mysteries are about 300 pages long. What, you ask, do I fill all those pages with? Scenes! That’s next week’s post.