Writing Mysteries for Young People
by Kristi Holl, author of eleven published mysteries, including the 2011 “Boarding School Mysteries” series.
Only $7 (pdf)
(Mystery
Writing interview)
50-page e-booklet
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE (immediate
direct download)
requires
Adobe Acrobat
“Once Upon a Mystery . . .”
I love to read (and write) mysteries because in a mystery something is guaranteed to happen. Both mysteries and real life often reflect a struggle between the forces of good and evil. Present day mysteries can read like the front page headlines of the morning newspaper. By the last chapter of a mystery, people usually reap what they’ve sown. One fun thing about writing mysteries is that you get to play God (a little.) Unlike real life, you can duly reward the good guy every time and make the bad guy pay!
The following sixteen chapters will show you how to construct a mystery. This includes the development of heroes, victims and villains, plotting and planting clues, creating the setting and scene of the crime—and then how to solve the mystery in a believable way.Contents
Introduction: “Once Upon a Mystery” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3
Chapter One: “Amateur Sleuths: The Basics” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3
Chapter Two: “Amateur Sleuths: Tricky Traits” . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6
Chapter Three: “Villains: the People You Love to Hate” . . . . . . Page 9
Chapter Four: “The Perfect Victim: Do’s and Don’ts” . . . . . . . . Page 12
Chapter Five: “Setting: Scene of the Crime” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 15
Chapter Six: “Choosing Your Crime” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 18
Chapter Seven: “Pre-Thinking Your Plot” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 21
Chapter Eight: “Plots and Subplots” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 24
Chapter Nine: “Avoid Plot Clichés Like the Plague” . . . . . . . . . Page 27
Chapter Ten: “Planting Clues”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 30
Chapter Eleven: “Climax and Denouement” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 33
Chapter Twelve: “Finding Ideas for Mysteries”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 36
Chapter Thirteen: “Killer Openings” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 39
Chapter Fourteen: “The Magazine Mystery” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 42
Chapter Fifteen: “Cracking the Case”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 45
Chapter Sixteen: “The Mystery Notebook” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 48
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE
Only $7 (pdf)
Questions? Contact me here. (immediate direct download)