Author: Elizabeth Spann Craig

To me, one of the most fun things about reading a mystery is the puzzle. I love finding the clues along with my sleuth…and being misdirected by the author’s red herrings.

I also have fun writing in clues and distracting my readers from them in my own book. But I admit that planting clues is the hardest part of writing a mystery for me. I want them to point to the killer, but I also want to make sure the reader doesn’t have a neon sign blinking “CLUE! CLUE!” whenever I plant a clue.

Agatha Christie did a great job writing in her clues. She frequently slipped in an important clue among some useless information that seemed more important than the actual clue. Or she would plant a clue, draw the reader’s attention to it, then have two characters suddenly burst into the room in the midst of an argument that completely shifted the reader’s attention.

There are some good websites out there that can help writers learn more about writing effective clues and red herrings:

Don’t Drop Clues: Plant them Carefully! by Stephen Rogers does a great job covering the types of clues, how to misdirect your reader, and mistakes to avoid.

Suite 101 covers planting clues in different ways: tucking them in a paragraph, heightening the drama, clues of omission, missing weapons, and clues from real life.

Author Sandra Parshall’s website explains how “Clues Drive the Mystery Plot.”

The Christie Mystery website demonstrates how Agatha Christie used clues and other plot devices.

Stephen Rogers writes a different article on red herrings and how to use them effectively.

I know there are a lot of writers who have a germ of an idea for a mystery novel. Most of them are mystery readers and feel like, if they can just get started, that they can finish an entire manuscript.

Here are some interesting and useful websites for mystery writers, and other writers, to help them get started on their mysterious voyage:

Write That Novel , which has useful, printable sheets for characterization, plotting, storyboards, etc.

Book Crossroads , which has links to online mystery writing groups, hardboiled slang dictionaries, forensic information, and legal overviews.

John Morgan Wilson’s website , which gives tips on mystery writing, including a useful page that demonstrates how to bring your characters to life (if you’ve ever been told “show, don’t tell,” this would be good for you to check out.)

Holly Lisle’s website , which has articles on creating characters, preventing a “sagging middle,” ending your writer’s block, etc.

A Yahoo Group for writers on firearms : a good place to start your research.

Tripod.com’s Classic 12-Chapter Mystery Formula : Reading this can help you see the bare bones of many mystery novels. You don’t have to follow it exactly–it’s just a guide.

Advanced Fiction Writing.com’s snowflake method of writing a novel : one of many different methods of writing/plotting a book.

The Cliche Site is just sort of fun. But it can also remind you how many cliches you have built into your writing. Take a look and see if there’s another way to word some of the cliches that you’ve used.

Hope these help!

Okay, I’m intending this post to be a warning to all you parents out there.  PLAN YOUR QUIET WRITING TIME IN ADVANCE!  I managed to do this during the summer, but for some reason have gotten out of the habit. 

What you should do: Tell your kids to give you_____ minutes for you to write. Have it be whatever length of time you feel you’ll need.  Tell them what’s available for them to eat for breakfast, or, go ahead and fix it for them before you get started.  Tell them not to disturb you unless they’re sick or the house is on fire, etc.  Tell them to let the answering machine pick up. Take the dog out to use the bathroom.

What you should not do: what I did this morning, which was just to send them upstairs (this is early in the morning and my husband is not up yet.)  Because this led to my daughter (“I have a tummyache. And I’m hungry.”), my son (“I’m having a problem installing a program on the computer.  Can you take a look at it?”), and my dog (“Whine! Whine!” and looking earnestly at the front door) all interrupting me.  Luckily, I knew where I was going with my story this morning and stepped back into it.  But how much faster could I have gone and how much more could I have accomplished if I’d done a little prep work before I got started? 

Okay, I know that rejection is no laughing matter.  But if you’re an active writer (i.e., you have finished a manuscript, article, something else that’s ready to submit), then you’ve probably experienced your fair share.  Think of all the opportunities for rejection that lurk out there between literary agents and book and magazine editors.

Sometimes you’ve just got to have a chance to laugh about it, though.  Remember, J.K. Rowling was rejected by an editor, too.  And isn’t he sorry he turned her down? 

When I stumbled across a funny post about rejection and an even funnier web site, I had to share.  The website is http://rejectioncollection.com/  and it touts itself as: “The writer’s and artist’s online source for misery, commiseration, and inspiration.”  Chances are, you’ll see many versions of your own form letter rejection here.

I also came across a great blog entry on the agent blog “The Rejecter.”  The anonymous literary agent assistant on the blog states that authors will find fault with any rejection they receive.  That’s probably true.  Here’s a sampling of the agent’s possible rejection language and the author’s possible response to it:

Rejection: “Thanks, not for me.”
Author: “What, she couldn’t take the time to write more than one line?”

Remember that everyone goes through rejection.  If the letters are personal enough to give you writing or revision tips, take the advice. And just keep on trying.

A while back I referenced “Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories” as a great tool for mystery writers to use when working on their manuscript.  It is a great tool and offers advice like “the reader should have the same opportunity as the detective to solve the crime,” and “the villain has to be someone who plays a prominent part of the story” (no sudden introductions of the killer at the end of the book).   The list of rules reminds us that the killer shouldn’t be a professional crook, or a servant (none of “the butler did it.”)  

One of my favorite parts of the mystery writing rules states:

20) All of the following tricks and devices are verboten. They’ve been done to death or are otherwise unfair.

a) Comparing a cigarette butt with the suspect’s cigarette.
b) Using a séance to frighten the culprit into revealing himself.
c) Using phony fingerprints.
d) Using a dummy figure to establish a false alibi.
e) Learning that the culprit was familiar because the dog didn’t bark.
f) Having “the twin” do it.
g) Using knock-out drops.
h) If the murder is in a locked room, it has to be done before the police have actually broken in.
i) Using a word-association test for guilt.
j) Having the solution in a coded message that takes the detective until the end of book to figure out.

Good reminders.

As great as it is, though,  this list of rules was compiled in 1936 by author S.S. Van Dine and includes some possibly outdated advice, too….like “the detective should not have a love interest.”  I don’t see a lot of problem with the detective having a romantic interest (poor guy or gal has to have some fun in the book.) 

A different version of a mystery writing rules list can be found here.  It’s an About.com article on modern mystery rules.  It does repeat some of the items on the earlier list, but also adds things like: “The culprit must be capable of committing the crime,” and “wait as long as possible to reveal the culprit.” Their reminder to make sure to research your details is also a good one.