I’m new to outlining and sometimes there’s an element that’s missing when I draft outlines—complexity.
I think that’s because I usually add more layers to my books after the first draft is finished. Unfortunately, I won’t have finished the first draft when I submit an outline to my editor…I won’t even have started the book… and it won’t occur to me to add the complexity into the outline before I send it (at least, it hasn’t before). This means that I ordinarily get feedback on my outlines that state “could you please add some complexity to this mystery?”
(Note to self: it will save us all a lot of time if I take that step before submitting the next outline.)
I’m imagining that I’m not the only one who gets this kind of feedback from an editor…at least, I hope I’m not. Luckily, there are quite a few ways to make a mystery less cut-and-dried or easily solved. Some ideas:
More suspects. You have to be careful here, because if you have too many suspects, then readers can get lost. If you already have quite a few suspects, then really take a look at them. Is one of them less-likely as the murderer? Can you add to their motive or give them more opportunity to have committed the crime? Can you, in other words, make that suspect appear more suspicious?
A motive that is different from the motive you’ve originally promoted as the one tied to the murder. You’ve got greed or financial gain as the motive for the murder—with a cast of characters who all have something to gain from the victim’s death. But you could suddenly reveal either a different motive or a suspect with an additional motive—revenge, anger, ambition, jealousy. Maybe the suspect is trying to cover up a different crime.
Point to a different suspect toward the end of the story. One way to help make the killer’s identity more of a surprise is to subtly direct readers to a completely different suspect very close to the end of the book.
Have your suspects both lie and tell truths. In my books, I’ve got my suspects feeding my sleuths a variety of different information. Some of it leads the sleuth to clues. Some of it functions as a red herring. At times, it’s hard for the sleuth to distinguish the truth from the lies and it makes it more difficult for her to solve the mystery when she isn’t sure the information she’s receiving is trustworthy—or if the source of it is.
Obfuscate. Give suspects secrets that have nothing to do with the murder. One reason that your suspects would lie is if they were trying to protect their secrets. Most people have things they’d rather no one else knew about. This is especially easy to write if your book is set in a small town—folks don’t want the whole town to know their business when they have to live and work closely with a small number of people. There are old scandals, petty crimes, or illicit relationships they’d like to keep to themselves. These secrets function as roadblocks, red herrings, and detours for our sleuths.
Another victim. Just when your readers think they’ve nailed the right suspect—kill the suspect. :) Or, kill another likely suspect and give the most likely suspect a great alibi. On that note…
Locked rooms, iron-tight alibis. If you add a bit of impossibility to the story, it not only adds complexity, it helps break up endless suspect interviews. Then you can gradually offer glimpses how these situations are possible.
Parallel subplots. Bonus points if you can connect a subplot that develops a character to the mystery somehow. Maybe it can get the sleuth out of hot water or provide a clue to solving the case. Tie-ins are interesting.
Basically—what can you do to make this story twist a little? Brainstorm ways to play havoc with the sleuth’s investigation. Can you derail it temporarily? Send it off in a different direction? There are ways to add complexity without taking it so far as to frustrate the reader (which we don’t want).
Some of these fixes will also work with other genres. You can expand on it, too. How do you see writers in your genre add complexity or twists to their stories?
Image: MorgueFile: Ladyheart
Elizabeth–I never realized, until I read your suggestions, that many of these ploys are things I enjoy when reading suspense. Small towns are great for hiding secrets and there are many secrets no one would like others in town to know–which is great if you want to fog the issue. :-)
I don’t write mysteries, altho I admire those who can, but all my stories have an element of mystery or suspense. These points were a great reminder of using those points to add depth to a story (and solved a problem I was having with an aspect of my current story. Thank you.)
Sia McKye Over Coffee
I love when the person I suspect is the next victim (yeesh that sounds morbid!) – as long as there are other good suspects. :)
Elizabeth – I think there’s always a balance one has to strike between adding enough complexity to a story to make it interesting, and keeping the story’s focus. Your ideas for adding some depth to the story are terrific, too. I especially like your suggestion about hidden motives. And then there’s always the ‘person who confesses but does it to cover for someone else’ layer. Everyone thinks the case is solved, but…
Hi Elizabeth – I know if I ever get round to writing a novel .. I’d come here for my course on ‘writing a book’ … wonderful post – and I’m sure all the elements are there in the books I read .. it’s just I want to read to the end!
cheers Hilary
~Sia–That’s the best thing about a small town (for mystery writing, anyway)–the fact that everyone wants to keep their business private. And it’s nearly impossible to! Because, in small towns, people talk.
And…oh good! I’m so glad to hear the post help you fix a problem. Good luck with your writing!
Hilary–I’m hoping you’ll write one! I’d love to read it. :)
Great list for complexity.
I can’t get it out of my mind that you have to submit an outline to before you’ve started writing it. This scares the heebie jeebies out of me. I change my mind sooo much when writing my stories. It’s mostly that I think I know where it’s going until the characters take over and then I find it’s not headed in that direction after all.
:)
Wonderful.
I’m sure if my publisher required an outline for each book, I would get the same feedback.
Alex–For some reason, it doesn’t seem to come naturally to me in the outlining process.
Jemi–Exactly!
Margot–Forgot about that one! Very good method. And the “is it a murder or was it an accident/suicide” question, too.
I’m with Teresa on the outline. The best part about writing a suspense or mystery for me is that *I* don’t know who did it until I write it. Knowing the ending and the answers would dull the process for me.
However, this list is fantastic and all the stuff I look to in the revisions. I like messing with characters’ motivations a lot. :)
Teresa– I *do* sometimes change the outline. Sometimes I forget to tell my editor I’ve changed it, too. :) Worst screw up was once when the art department started work on my cover…depicting a scene that was no longer in the book. Ugh. Oops.
Now that teaser chapter, though–*that’s* set in stone. There’s no going back from that thing…
Jack–Thanks and thanks for coming by!
Robyn–I know *exactly* where you’re coming from! I always felt, as a pantster, that was the very best part of writing a mystery…I found out who the killer was as I wrote the book. With my editor, though, sometimes I *still* don’t know, even with an outline–she’ll sometimes ask for a different killer (and she’s very, very good, so I hurry to make the change. :) )
Motivations are fun, aren’t they? Thanks so much for coming by.
I love reading your tips. They help me even though I don’t write mysteries (maybe one day I’ll get the courage to try it). I write women’s fiction and I can use the “hidden secrets” idea for a motive for the antagonists behavior. My protag can be motivated by an agenda that isn’t know to other characters, too. I guess I can insert some mysterious elements into my women’s fiction!
Marcia–Oh good! Glad it helped. I think mystery is one of the easiest/best elements to blend into another genre (running neck-and-neck with romance). Mystery can add conflict to a novel, too.
Hope you’ll give mystery writing a go one day!
Loved the tip ‘A motive that is different from the motive you’ve originally promoted as the one tied to the murder.’
Great idea! I use the others in my own stories. I love when writers throw everything but the kitchen sink at the hero so they don’t know who the killer is until the last possible second. I love all the twists and turns of trying to figure out who the killer is and then (1) smacking myself in the head when I get it wrong or (2) shouting ‘I knew it!’ when I get it right. Great stuff!
Elke–I’m with you–I *love* it when a mystery can surprise me and I love it when I pick the wrong suspect as the killer. :)
Thanks for coming by!