Hey Book Dragon! (Awesome name btw XD)

I am absolutely still looking for advice, it’s always welcome! Thank you so much for it, that makes a lot of sense! Thankfully I am definitely an outliner, so that part comes naturally to me at least XD

Thank you, and nice to meet you!

Mysteries tend to be very structured, especially when looking at episodic mysteries. Someone (I forget who) broke it down into 5 elements that most mysteries have. (1) Someone finds the body. When I write, this is the first act, and it’s usually the…[Read more]

Glad to have been with you for this last part of your journey!

Oh, and if I officially get kicked off the forum (haha, just kidding), will I also no longer receive the emails? I wanna unsubscribe from those as well.

She’s part of this great group of young people who all love to write, but she’s discovered she is in a different phase of life and must move on. How can she exit the group?

Lol, all that was just for fun. I’m the main character and this is the group of writers. But ya, I’m in a new phase of life and need…[Read more]

Hi! That already sounds like a really fun premise!

Let me see, I think the most likely way to make money without getting in too much trouble would be to steal and sell things.

The safer, more obvious choice would be tools. I don’t know how it works for the setting, but surgical tools might be worth something and it would be easy e…[Read more]

I need the help of all the “villains” out there:

Suppose you work at a country/village hospital, and are looking for a little extras cash. Obviously you turn to the more shady ways of doing things. You want a non-murder (after all, you don’t want to hang), non sexual crime.

You are not a doctor or nurse, your occupation is more of the unsee…[Read more]

Thank you so much for that advice! I’ll look into those things, it helps a lot! I’m really excited to keep working on it! 🙂

Rathburn did not know what he was in for. We had found strategic positions and lay in wait for him. There was not a lot of cover, so we had to find safe positions behind the austerely furnished room. Getting access had taken months of planning. Rathburn often worked late nights…[Read more]

Another thing I would mention is to layer misdirection or false trails within the story. Sometimes these are called “red herrings” in the writer’s guides.
Have several characters have reasonable motives for wanting to off the victims. …[Read more]

Does this help?

A whole lot! Thank you so much, Brian! That’s exactly the kind of overview I needed!

I already know who the murderer is and I have a faint idea of their motivation, but this will really help me work it out! Thank you so much!

That is amazing and heart-wrenching.  Very evocative and poignant.  Great job!

Some pain can only be mitigated by being present and connected.

Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. [Romans 12:15 NLT]

I have been wanted to respond all day, but it has been so busy at work.

I agree with Joelle. You have to reverse-plot a mystery.  Determine what will happen and be revealed at the end and then work backwards.

You need to determine the main motivation for your villain.  What would drive them to commit a homicide.

There are the usual r…[Read more]

Thanks Joelle! I’ll absolutely go check it out! I have a lot of research to do XD

Also, I love your quote XD

As you could cleverly deduce from the title, I’m looking for advice on the basics of the noble craft of the whodunnit.

Out of the blue, I had a concept for a mystery novel, which may or may not be induced by my recently heightened consumption of Agatha Christie novels.

The problem is that I am very much the…[Read more]

That was painfully beautiful ❤️💔❤️‍🩹

heheh…

I swallow hard and make my leaden legs step forward. The white door swi…[Read more]

Hi Cathy,

Absolutely. Here is the essence of what is happening, as the Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthian Christians:

So then, dear friends, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. … For even if I grieved you…

[Read more]