It's difficult to write a murder mystery or any other novel.Plotting out the novel first will allow you to organize your thoughts.You'll need to create the victims, suspects, and protagonists to drive the story.After that, you can begin writing your story.
Step 1: For your story, choose a setting.
If you have a general idea of what you want your story to be, you also need a setting.Setting includes the location, the time of year, geography, and even the climate and mood.Think about the mood you want to create.The setting can create a mood for you.A murder-mystery set in 1920s Galveston, TX during an approaching Hurricane is going to be very different from one in Chicago or Edinburgh in the 18th century.The stories of the detective are dark and gloomy from the Victorian and Edwardian era and the foggy London setting.
Step 2: Plot your story's conclusion.
The plot progresses in the story.The 8 stages are stasis,trigger, quest, surprise, critical choice, climax, reversal, and resolution.Stasis is a normal part of life.You could start with the normal life of a detective, a witness, or someone else's point of view.The murder in a murder mystery is often triggered by the event that sets off the quest.There are twists and turns that keep the story going.It could be new evidence, new motives, or trouble finding a suspect in a murder mystery.The main crux of the story is the critical choice.It's where they must decide how they will act to complete the story, and it often involves choosing a hard path.It is a defining moment.The point where the detective is in the active process of capturing the suspect is where this choice leads to the climax.The reversal and resolution show how the characters have changed.
Step 3: You should make intrigue the focus of your story.
You want to keep the reader guessing.You can start with a corpse and detectives on scene to investigate, but a more interesting story will leave the reader questioning what is going on right from the start.An unlikely scenario should be set up.One novelist created a story about a woman changing her will, forgoing her children and leaving everything to a dying man.A person is murdered.The setup leaves the reader wanting more.
Step 4: An outline of where you want the story to go is important.
Make a detailed outline of the story once you figure out the basics.Write a brief description of what will happen in chapter by chapter.It will be easier to write when the time comes."Chapter 1: Introduce the detective Rebecca Newport" is an example.She is getting ready for work in her home.She gets a phone call early that she learns is a murder.
Step 5: There are clues for your reader.
There are physical clues, verbal clues and thematic clues.Physical clues include blood droplets and footprints.There are two types of clues: verbal clues and thematic clues.Clues can be used in 2 different ways.The killer dropping a piece of jewelry on the way out is an immediate clue.The reader can't learn about a future clue until the detective does.The level of subtlety is different.There is a gun left at the scene.The victim wearing purple helps solve the crime.You don't need to write all of your clues ahead of time, but you should decide on some key points so you can work them in throughout your novel.They don't want to be pushed into a single scene.
Step 6: Become an expert on your story's focus.
You have to know what you're talking about in order to make your reader believe.If you want to write about a murder connected to Japanese tea ceremonies, you need to know all the details.Don't forget to use your local library if you're researching on the internet.Research can take a long time, but experience can be even better.If you can, try attending a tea ceremony.
Step 7: The character sheet should be created for each character.
It is helpful to make a page for every main character in the story.You can write down the character's physical description, what happened before the novel, their education level and job, and their personality.They can include things like their quirks.You can keep the details straight while you're writing by having these pages refer back to you.
Step 8: Your characters should be sympathetic, not likeable.
"Likeable" characters don't have much depth.They need flaws and weaknesses in their characters to allow the reader to connect with them.It's possible that a character is late, hates their mother, or doesn't get along with their colleagues.Think about people you know or have met in the past.There are a number of ways in which the characters can be sympathetic.They can be the victim or have financial problems.You can show them being kind, even when they act with self-interest, such as having a killer who loves their cat.It isn't necessarily possible to be likeable.Readers find him interesting because he is very intelligent and good at what he does.
Step 9: Pick out a variety of suspects.
You don't want to point to a single person in your story as the suspect.Where is the mystery in that?You should include a variety of people who could be suspects.Variety will keep your readers guessing.
Step 10: You have to figure out the motives of your suspects.
Each potential suspect should have a different reason for killing the victim.The writing can be a bit flat.You don't want the suspect's motive to be to kill the person for money.A third suspect's motive could be jealousy of an affair the victim was having, as well as the fact that one person wanted to keep a secret quiet.
Step 11: The murderer should be made believable.
The culprit should be capable of the crime on every level.They need to be physically and emotionally able to do it.Readers are going to feel cheated if they're not.A feeble old man is not likely to be able to pick up a body and dump it off a bridge, even if he has a lot ofAdrenaline in his system.
Step 12: Take a peek into the detective's head.
Murder mysteries follow the detective.Whether you tell the story from the detective's point of view or from a third-person perspective, you should still know your detective inside and out.Is the detective completely logical or do they rely on hunches?Do they look at every detail or are they better at the big picture?What are their quirks?What helps them think logically?Are they addicted to coffee?Do they sleep at their desk?The small details will help the character.For instance, there is no need to rely on hunches.His relationships often suffer because he doesn't rely on emotions enough.He needs another person to bounce ideas off of, plays the violin, and conducts odd experiments to learn more about crime-solving.
Step 13: Put your victim or victims together.
If you open the story with the victim already dead, you can get a better idea of their life.If you introduce the victim as a character in the story, you can move on to the murder.Consider how you want your victim to contribute to the story when creating them.A likeable victim will set the reader against the killer.The reader may hold out judgement on the killer if the victim was a despicable person.The victim's story should be told to help readers care about them.It should be introduced slowly through the story.If the murderer kills again, you can use one of your potential suspects as a victim.
Step 14: Take action to draw your reader in.
The action could be dramatic, such as a glimpse into a later scene in the novel where things are more fast-paced.Something small could be used to set the hero off on a perilous journey.Your reader knows where the story is set if you include setting details as you go along.Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code opens with the death of a Louvre curator, instantly drawing the reader in.
Step 15: Introduce your suspects through dialogue.
One way to introduce your suspects is to have them interact with the victim before he or she dies.A witness or connected person can name possible suspects to the detective.The suspect and victim may have an argument before the victim dies.The detective might ask a neighbor if anyone had issues with the victim."Well, let's see," the neighbor might say.When her husband is out of town, I have seen a young man visiting late at night.I think he might be involved.
Step 16: The crime should be included in the first 3 chapters of the story.
A murder mystery is very fast paced.If you don't introduce your crime by the third chapter, you're going to lose readers.
Step 17: Make sure your murder scene is realistic.
You may realize that you don't know much about murder as you try to write a murder mystery.You should do some research to make the scene more realistic.It's not as easy to stab someone as it sounds.It's difficult to force a knife into someone who is struggling to survive.Most amateur killers will make mistakes.Most people don't know how to land a killing blow.Things are going to be messy.Think about how someone gets rid of a body.A body is hard to move.It will leave blood and/or traces of DNA behind, and it will smell.If you dump a body in the water, it could mean it washes back up on the shore.
Step 18: In different settings, include the suspect interviews slowly.
It will take a long time to write if you have each interview in a police interrogation room.Instead, have the detective interview one at the house where the murder took place, one in the police station, and one on the street as the next-door neighbor.
Step 19: Adding clues in the novel will give the reader a chance to solve the crime.
It's not fair to the reader to make a fingerprints on a battery in a flashlight appear at the end.At some point in the story, you need to show the clue.A flashlight was left at the scene, but the outside was wiped clean.The fingerprints can be lifted off the battery.
Step 20: Misdirection can be solved with clues.
Clues can point to multiple people at once or to a single person who may seem like the obvious choice for the villain but ends up not being the murderer.Misdirection is a tactic.You point your reader in the wrong direction when you show them everything.There are large hiking boot footprints at the scene if one of the suspects is a hiker.Maybe the prints were left by a woman who borrowed her husband's boots.
Step 21: Stick to the plot and you will keep the pace going.
The reader should always be left wanting more in the book.Don't get bogged down in ominous settings and flowery writing because a murder mystery should be plot-driven.If you follow the plot you know where the story is going.A new element is introduced with each chapter.The reader is left hanging at the end of the chapter.The reader has to find out if the clue leads to a different suspect after you introduce a new clue.
Step 22: There will be a twist near the end.
A good murder mystery has a twist at the end so that the reader doesn't know the ending.The twist should not be so abrupt that the reader feels cheated.It should follow the logic and clues of the story in an unexpected way.The clues point to the murderer being the only son of a wealthy man.The clues should fit both the son and daughter so the reader doesn't feel cheated.One famous murder mystery twist is in the Murder on the Orient Express.The reader/viewer learns that all the suspects were involved in the murder, rather than just one of them.
Step 23: The reversal and the resolution need to be worked on.
When the killer is caught, note how your characters have changed.Then show how they get back to normal life.The detective might leave the force if he crosses an ethical line.The detective may be finding a new job.The detective may be promoted if they solve the case.