Creating and Writing a Mystery Story

 

Planning a Mystery Story

 

Choose the Setting for Your Story

• Where will your story take place?
• Will it be in the city where you live or somewhere else? Writing about someplace you know or can picture is easier to do. Use the five senses to help describe the setting.
• When will your story take place?
• Will your story take place in the present, past, or future?           
• Will your story take place all in one day or over a longer time?

Cast of Characters

• Make a list of the people in your story.
• The main character is most important.
• Minor characters may help the main character, or they may prevent the main character from solving the mystery.
• For each character, make a web or cluster. Develop your character’s personality and appearance. What is the motivation for how your characters act and talk?

Conflict

• WHODUNIT? What is the mystery?
• What is the problem that your main character will have to solve?
• Is someone or something missing?
• Did someone steal something?
• Was there a murder?
• Is there a secret?
• Is there an unexplained event?

Rising Action

• Rising action is the events between learning there is a mystery and finding the solution.
•  List these events in order, but stop right before the mystery is solved.
• Develop suspense with clues.
• Red herrings are clues that lead the reader to suspect the wrong person.
• At least one clue must be the key to solving the crime.

Climax

• This is the moment when the mystery is solved.

·         This is the moment for which the reader has been waiting!

Resolution

·         The resolution ties up the loose ends.

·         This is the end of the story – the last paragraph or two.

·         This tells the reader any details necessary understand how the mystery was solved.

·         The end of the story should be obvious; do not write “The End.”