Write Your Own: Mystery (10 page)

Did you notice the question:
‘Was there a connection?'
Sleuths should always be asking questions! Asking questions will set your readers wondering and lead the action forwards.

 

Writing tip!

Make a police file report for your suspects. It could look like this:

You will need to create some mysterious settings for your story. What sort of places do you know that might be suitable? You could choose somewhere that is lonely or you could have the mystery happen in an everyday place like a school canteen! Near where I live there is:

  a disused bus shelter;

  an old mine pit;

  a quarry;

  an old abattoir.

Once you have decided what settings to use in your story, it's a good idea to sketch a simple map of the area, showing the places where your characters live and where the story takes place.

Setting is very important in mystery stories as it can really add to the atmosphere! Here are some tips:

1. Use mysterious-sounding place names

A good idea is to look for real place names on a map, for example:
Darkfell Hall, Goldenacres or Monkswood Path.

2. Use familiar settings

If you base your mystery setting on a place you already know then it will be easier to give details about it. For example, perhaps you have visited a castle, a clifftop, an old school or factory that you could use as a setting!

3. Describe what you see and hear

Try to mention some details that are unusual or out of place. For example:

The curtains were all drawn shut. It looked as if the house was asleep. Paula could hear a low humming sound. It seemed to be coming from beneath the house! There was also a faint light coming from the bottom of the cellar door at the side of the house. She noticed a scrap of paper sticking out of the letterbox and went to investigate …

4. Use the weather

Weather helps build up atmosphere and a sense of mystery. For example:

The wild wind whipped the frost-glittered leaves across the
lawn of the old mansion. The snowman that the children built yesterday looked lost and forlorn and the sky looked heavy and grey, as though it were in sympathy.

5. Use the time of day

Setting your mystery at certain times of the day helps create atmosphere.

The clouds wrapped themselves around the moon and Jake could only just make out the pavement ahead. He pulled his coat closer. The mist crept up from the river and the night-time noises had started again! Oh, where was Judy when he needed her …?

Mystery writers use a number of special techniques to build up suspense, keeping the readers on the edge of their seats – baffled and curious until the very end!

1. Planting clues

You will need to ‘plant' clues in the story – nothing too obvious or your reader will solve the mystery too easily. For example, you could use:

  a photograph, for example:
In the photo, he was wearing some sort of uniform …

  a news clipping, for example:
Mrs Verity, a devoted church-goer and mother-of-three, was found guilty of
robbery last week and jailed for five years …

  a letter, for example:
‘… but the strangest part was, I never, ever saw her again …'