How to Write a Traditional Mystery

Today's webinar is titled "How to Write a Traditional Mystery." Our presenter today
is Maggie King. Maggie is the author of the Hazel Rose Book Group mysteries, including Murder
at the Book Group and Murder at the Moonshine Inn. Her short stories, A Not So Genteel Murder
and Reunion in Shockoe Slip appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries anthologies. Wine,
Women and Wrong is included in 50 Shades of Cabernet: A Mysterious Anthology.
She graduated from Elizabeth Seton College and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business
Administration from Rochester Institute of Technology. She belongs to James River Writers,
the American Association of University Women, and is a founding member of the Sisters in
Crime Central Virginia chapter. She has worked as a software developer, retail sales manager,
customer service supervisor, web designer, and non-profit administrator. She has called
New Jersey, Massachusetts and California home. These days she lives in Richmond, Virginia,
with her husband, and all her jobs, schools and residences have gifted her with her story
ideas for years the come. We're thrilled to have you with us today and let's get this
webinar started. >> Thank you, Cindy, and thank you to everyone
for joining us today. Today we will talk about writing the traditional mystery. We have a
few goals in mind. Creating characters that your readers will love. Developing an appealing
setting, planning your story and creating suspense. To get a better understanding of
your interests I would like for you to answer this question. Have you written or are you
thinking about writing a mystery? And we'll open for polling now and we'll look at your
answers as they come in. First, what is a mystery? In simple terms
a mystery is a novel, play or movie dealing with a puzzling crime, especially a murder.
The main character is a detective, also known as a sleuth, who solves the mystery biological
reasoning. Each suspect must have a believable motive and a reasonable opportunity for committing
the crime. Facts, clues and red herrings are presented to the reader throughout the story
but the author strives to surprise the reader with the identity of the killer and motive.
There are different types of mysteries, there is the traditional mystery, known as the cozy,
classic whodunit. The focus is on the puzzle. The main question the reader has is who is
the murderer? The works of Agatha Christie offer the best known example of this mystery
subgenre and Murder She Wrote starring Angela Lansbury is a televised version of a traditional
mystery. We have a second polling question. Tell us
what mysteries you watch on TV or on film? We'll look at your answers as they come in.
Sorry for the delay here. Okay, here is the cover for the Murder at the Vicarage. This
is the first of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple series and it has been filmed many times.
Another type of mystery is suspense. It takes the mystery one step further. Who is the murder
and does the protagonist die? Psychological suspense. The bestselling Girl on the Train,
Gone Girl, and then the many works that Patricia Smith and Ruth Rendell. Romantic suspense,
as the name suggests, the main characters are romantically involved and must face down
danger and nail biting hurdles in their pursuit of the killer. Robb, Burton, Gardner and Garwood
are known for their romantic suspense stories. The late Mary Stewart pioneered the genre.
And then there is the thriller. A hero and villain with plenty of action and close calls.
It may be narrowed down to medical or political thriller. The stakes will be higher than in
a traditional mystery or tale of suspense. The question the reader now has is who is
the murderer, will the protagonist die and will the world blow up? Baldaphe, Brown, Cook
and Patterson are all great examples of thrillers. Okay. There are different types of sleuths.
There is the private investigator or the P.I. The heroes are professional investigators
or ex-cops. They're independent, intelligent and often get involved in physical brawls.
The PI genre typically falls into two subgenres, a soft boiled and hard boiled. Hard boiled
usually have gritty descriptions of people and places. They have -- depict violent crime
and they usually are set in urban environments. The soft boils are similar in style but lighter
in tone. There is usually wry humor in this type. The authors of fictional P.I. Chandler,
Sue Grafton and others. Police procedural. A type of crime fiction that has elements
involved in a police investigation. Investigative field work and forensics are included in this.
Examples are McBain, and others, Joseph Wambaugh was a cop himself. It is realistic. And the
amateur sleuth, average citizen not trained in apprehending killers. Their professions
could include being librarians, journalists, car mechanics, B & B owners, hairstylists,
just about anything. Cohen and others are among many authors who write mysteries featuring
amateur detectives. And this is the cover for Nancy J. Cohen. The title of her latest
mystery series Bad Hair Day and the salon owner as the amateur sleuth. I also write
a series of traditional classic mysteries with an amateur sleuth. For the remainder
of our time together I'll talk about that subgenre. My advice can be also applied to
police procedures or other mysteries. Traditional mystery is a whodunit with an
amateur sleuth, often referred to as a cozy or a classic puzzle mystery. No explicit sex
or violence. The focus is on solving the puzzle, not on forensic detail. There is little or
no profanity. It’s a small number of suspects who usually know each other. They prefer a
series as oppose to a stand-alone. However, many mystery writers write both. Okay. Murder
at the Book Group. That was the first -- that was my debut series novel. And in this a description
of it, secrets abound. A story of two women, Carlene is a mystery writer who dies after
drinking poison tea during a meeting of her book group in Richmond, Virginia. Hazel Rose
is a romance writer, doesn't believe that she committed suicide despite the note near
her body. She decides to find out who killed Carlene. The refined and reserved Carlene
had quite a checkered past and equally amazed about what she learns about the other book
group members. And then Murder at the Moonshine is the second in my group. Hazel is asked
to find out who killed a high-powered executive in a redneck bar. She is a romance writer,
not a detective, but the victim's husband is the prime suspect and he is Hazel's cousin
and she will do anything to help family, never mind that he doesn't give her the time of
day, he is still family. She recruits book group members to help with the investigation
and she goes undercover at the bar where the victim was killed. To get to witness firsthand
how much money matters and how some will stop at nothing to get their hands on it.
Okay. Let's talk about setting. Setting is an important consideration for your story,
especially if you are planning a series. The setting could be the ocean, the mountains,
or the desert of the country could be the United States or another country all together.
The setting will usually be where you live or a place you know well. If your setting
is not where you live, be sure to keep up with the current events and try to visit often.
Any readers of traditional mysteries prefer small town settings. If you have a small town,
you need to bring in new characters with each story. Mary Daheim deals with this in her
Alpine series set in a small town in Washington State. She builds a community college and
a retirement home in the stories of faculty and students from nearby communities come
into Alpine to attend the college and nearby communities also supply residents for the
retirement home. More about settings. Settings offer distinctive elements that you can work
into your plot. You can make your setting come alive and be authentic by considering
aspects such as the climate, economics, religion, government, politics, medical facilities,
cultural opportunities and more. I set my series in Richmond, where I live.
My Richmond setting is historical, the state capital of Virginia and was the capital of
the Confederacy. In recent years the population has become more diverse and politics have
changed. This has caused a certain amount of conflict and conflict is good for your
mystery. However, be careful about writing about politics. If you sound at all partisan
you risk alienating half your readers. I had some critical reviews saying I talked about
politics too much. It wasn't my intention but there you have it. People are sensitive
especially in this day in age. The same holds true for religion and social issues in general.
Be careful, but don't be too careful. Bring in the five senses. Let the reader see, smell,
taste, feel and hear the place where your characters are at any point in the story.
Can your readers hear the roar of the ocean and smell the cheese steaks of your Philadelphia
setting. Walk around and soak in the sights, sounds and smells of your setting. Maybe your
setting by creating diagrams and collages of the town or neighborhood and your sleuth's
residence. It will help you keep track of details. Many authors create Pinterest boards.
Creating your sleuth. First you have to -- you need to answer some questions that your readers
will have. Why is your sleuth investigating? Was the victim a relative or friend? Did the
sleuth find the body? Is the sleuth, or a friend or relative of hers a suspect. Your
sleuth's lifestyle and occupation may reveal a world that is unknown to the reader. Your
occupation will be one you know. If -- for ease I will use the pronounce she and her
for the most part but all the points I make are applicable to males. The sleuth's occupation
should bring her in contact with many people. If she doesn't have an occupation -- the job
needs to be a flexible one because she will need time to investigate the murder.
>> Maggie? We have a question. Sean wants to know would it be okay to make up a town
or does it tend to make a mystery less real? >> That's fine. Many authors do. And sometimes
it makes it easier because if you don't have things the way you want them. Sue Grafton
writes -- she calls the town Santa Theresa. It's actually Santa Barbara. Most people recognize
it if they're familiar with it. That way she can have restaurants that she can make up
and she doesn't have to worry about things changing like, you know, physical aspects
of the town changing. Does that answer the question?
>> As far as I know it did, Maggie, thank you.
>> Okay. Gillian Roberts in her Amanda Pepper series set in Philadelphia. The teacher gets
out of school by mid-afternoon which leaves her a few hours for sleuthing. Incidentally,
Helen Hath No Fury is set in a book group. Qualities of your sleuth. Your sleuth must
be intelligent and observant. She will be a seeker of justice determined to reveal the
truth. Your sleuth must be a good listener. Suspects and others will often unwittingly
reveal information. Your sleuth will be inquisitive and persistent, refusing the take no for an
answer. Your sleuth doesn't put herself in dangerous situations. But she often gets in
them anyway because she believes the situation to be harmless. Be careful she isn't too stupid
to live. There is an acronym for that. You probably read stories or watched movies where
the sleuth does get themselves into dangerous situations without thinking. I once read a
sleuth where they broke into someone's office at 4:00 in the morning. Your sleuth must have
a good sense of humor. There are many humorous mysteries but be careful because someone why
your story -- humor might be inappropriate. Challenges. Your sleuth will
have many challenges. Your sleuth should have flaws as well as strengths. If she has an
emotional issue, you as an author have a great opportunity to allow for her character growth.
For example, if your sleuth has a fear of public speaking she might have to confront
her fear during the course of the investigation. Past mistakes may come back and haunt your
sleuth. Old boyfriends and husbands may reappear in your sleuth's life creating complications
for her and they may keep her from committing to a new love interest.
Okay, in Murder at the Book Group when it opens, Hazel has been married four times,
divorced three times. She is very reluctant to go down the aisle and has a rocky relationship
with her on again off again love interest. Getting to know your sleuth.
Create a bio for your sleuth and other characters as well. It doesn't have to be extensive but
you should include their education level, marriage history, health issues, favorite
foods, movies, books, and pets. For example, Hazel Rose went to RIT and met her first husband
there. She has two cats, her favorite movie is double indemnity. You get the idea. Get
a feeling for how your sleuth responds and how she speaks. Writing the story lets you
further know your sleuth. You don't have to do everything up front.
Secondary characters. They need to be interesting and provide sub plots and diversions through
several stories. You can have quirky an eccentric characters but don't make them all that way.
Often authors of mysteries set in small towns will do this but I advise against it. However,
there are very popular mystery authors who only have quirky characters so it's really
up to you. If you enjoy a cast of eccentric characters, by all means have them in your
series. Secondary characters may be friends, family, co-workers, government workers. In
my work they are Hazel Rose's book members and family members. Some secretary characters
may be victims at a point in your series. Secondary characters may be the reasons for
the sleuth's involvement in crime solving. If it's your sleuth's sister and she knows
she didn't kill the victim the sleuth is motivated to clear her sister's name and
that often the sleuth herself is the main suspect and needs to clear her own name. Some
secondary characters will appear in each story and others show up on the page only on occasion.
More on secondary characters. Readers welcome secondary characters but don't hesitate to
introduce new ones. Characters that readers will care about and will root for. Characters
are often more important than the plot. Readers love characters. If you have a series they'll
be looking for their favorites with each book. This is more the case of contemporary mysteries
than with those of Agatha Christie and her contemporaries. With them the focus was on
the story and not on the characters. Give your characters real problems and let them
overcome them. Give your character choices the make. Show how they grow from bad choices
and how their personal relationships grow and change mirroring reality. Make your characters
human, even the bad ones. Theme. Make the recurring cast of characters
the main theme of your series, it could be sleuth's job, her neighborhood, family, location,
it could be a hair salon, bar, coffee, workplace or any gathering place. In my series the scene
is the book group. It brings together people with a common interest. They have also contacts.
In my series one book is a writer, a business professional, librarian and retired English
teacher that does a lot of volunteer work in the community. It makes it more realistic
because everyone knows everyone: now for the victim
Who is your victim and who wanted him or her dead? Was the victim pleasant or unpleasant?
If she was pleasant why does more than one person have a motive for killing her? If she
was unpleasant, why should the reader care about her murder? It's best if the sleuth
knew the victim as it gives her a compelling reason to get involved in the investigation,
plus readers will care more. The answers the these questions about the victim will form
the heart of your story. Who is your victim? You may already have a
victim in mind. Here are a few examples, a controlling husband or lover. A rich and nasty
relative, a demanding boss who passed your killer up for a promotion. Someone who did
your killer wrong, either recently or in the past. And if this idea comes from your own
experience be careful you're not being too realistic.
If you need ideas for your victim consider news sources, especially local ones. They
can give you inspiration. Look through the obituaries, letters to the editor, the advice
column, that's my favorite. Local politics, human interest articles. You'll find ideas
like a bookkeeper at a non-profit embezzled funds. A high school teacher seduces one of
her students. A relative gets written out of a will and ex acts revenge. The man's lover
stabs his wife and even something like the country fair, a blue ribbon winner for the
best jam. Somebody lost that -- didn't win that ribbon and, you know, might not be too
happy about it. Then there are the stories that people tell you about their family and
friends especially in the workplace. You know, you hear all kinds of stories when you stop
by someone's cubicle or -- to get coffee. So, you know, listen. Again, then there is
the what if scenarios. What if a certain persons comes into your life after many years. What
if a situation from the past had turned out differently?
How is the murder committed? There are three aspects of a crime to always keep in mind.
Means, motive and opportunity. Is there a special knowledge required to commit the murder
such as knowledge of poisons, herbs, anatomy, guns? Who among your suspects might have access
to this knowledge? There is also the Internet as a resource there. People do their research.
If a weapon was used, who had access to it and the necessary experience to use it? Does
it appear like the victim died of suicide, accident, or of a way other than murder?
It can be a good idea to make it appear to be suicide or accident but don't let those
causes be your final solution. Some authors do this but I feel it cheats the readers who
want a murder. I use the suicide employ in murder in the book group. I've talked about
this before. Carlene, when she drank cyanide-laced tea at the book group. There was a suicide
note found near her body and feels certain the woman was murdered. Who had the opportunity?
Almost anyone at the book group. It seems unlikely that anyone took advantage of an
opportunity. Carlene had opened a fresh box of tea. So who puts in a dose of cyanide and
how? How did the killer even get cyanide? Who is the killer? Again, the three aspects
of the crime to keep in mind, means, motive and opportunity. Who has the most to gain
from the victim's death? Who has the means to kill? Who knew the victim and has a motive?
Who had an opportunity at the time of the murder? Is the killer the one who seems the
most likely or the least likely? You don't limit yourself to the obvious people. Consider
delivery people, friends, co-workers, in short, everyone acquainted with the victim is a possible
suspect. However, you'll want to limit the number of suspects to four or five at the
most. Okay, a visual aid. Draw a rectangle --
>> Maggie, before you go on and you were talking about characters, a couple questions have
come in. Do you -- any chance that the sleuth in your story is more based on an actual person
in your life or maybe even you or do you kind of take characteristics from people you know
and bring them together, or you are building it from -- without any influence of people
in your life? >> Oh, yeah, that's a great question. I would
say that my characters are more a composite of people who I've known, including myself.
There is nobody who is exactly like someone who I've known in my real life and there is
no situation that's exactly the same. It is kind of like if you're familiar with a Picasso
painting, you know, he has got like a person's face but they're all broken up into fragments
and squares and so that's the analogy I have for my stories.
>> One additional question from Britney, the characteristics of the killer. How can you
build suspense with following the killer as the main character, as in gone girl and how
do you build suspense if there is no sleuth? >> It's hard for me to answer that because
I haven't written a story like that. You just have to consider people and you have to consider
the psychology of the characters. And look at -- have some kind of knowledge or be willing
to look at the darkest aspects of people. And, of course, not everyone wants to do that.
I don't want to get that dark especially as in Gone Girl.
>> Thank you. >> Okay, thank you. For a visual aid for considering
your killer. Draw a rectangle and write your victim's name inside. Then draw arrows radiating
from the rectangle. At the end of each arrow draw another rectangle and write the name
of a suspect inside. Then along the length of each arrow write in a possible motive for
the corresponding suspects or write a secret that makes him or her look suspicious.
Why did the crime occur? Did the killer seek revenge on a spouse or a lover for cheating?
Did the killer wish to escape a controlling husband or boyfriend who wouldn't let her
go? Did the killer need to increase her shares or interest in a business or property? Was
the killer being blackmailed by the victim? Was the killer trying to preserve an inheritance
for herself or a loved one? Was the killer afraid that a past misdeed would be discovered
and ruin a prospective opportunity for money and prestige? The possibilities are endless.
Okay. The most common motivators for killing. They
are envy, jealousy, rage, greed, revenge, shame and fear. And then why kill now? Why
indeed. Why did the crime occur now instead of at another point in the back story? Did
something change that threatened the killer? Has a new opportunity arisen for the killer
to carry out her plan or is it a crime of passion?
Creating suspense, or heightening the tension. Start the story with action, description,
or dialogue that entices the reader to keep turning the pages. Also to heighten the tension
put you are character at risk. Will she lose her job or someone she cares about being impacted?
Create a deadline for your sleuth which, if not met, results in disaster. Isolate your
characters. If your sleuth leaves her cell phone at home or her battery goes out or ends
up with no coverage she could be the grave danger, or feel like she is. Hook the reader
from the opening page by suggesting a crisis or major change for your sleuth or victim.
For example, I'll read the opening of a body to die for by Kate White. When I think back
on everything terrible that happened that autumn, the murders, the grim discovery I
made. The danger I found myself in I realized I probably could have avoided all of it if
my love life hadn't been so sucky or non-existent. Late in the summer I had been kicked to a
curb by a -- was gaga over. So when I was invited to spend an early fall weekend free
of charge at the inn and spa in Warren, Massachusetts I grabbed the chance. I go nuts for a good
massage and was hoping that a few of those and a change of scenery will improve my mood
and jump start my heart. Soon after I arrived at the inn all hell broke loose. So does that
opening peak your interest? It did mine. I kept turning the pages until I read the end.
Creating suspense. Going on with this. Create false alarms for your sleuth. The next time
the alarm will signal something real and the sleuth won't react fast enough, if at all.
End each chapter with a hook that will compel the reader to keep reading and lose sleep.
Short paragraphs and sentences step up the pacing. Avoid lengthy descriptions and passages
of intro spec shun. I try to include back story in dialogue or in short passages making
it seem more natural. Limit back story to what relates to the current situation. There
is an author who I live but I get impatient with her long back story passages that she
includes with each and every book in her series. Every conversation should have a purpose and
result in new information to move the story along. more on creating suspect. Include conflict
in every scene. Keep the story moving and don't get bogged down especially in the middle.
Have something surprising happen. Authors will produce a second dead body midway in
the story or a plot switch that will send your sleuth investigating in another direction.
When I presented my debut mystery to my agent he said great, I love it. It sags in the middle.
Straighten it up and cut 10,000 words. I said okay, but I really had no idea how I would
eliminate 10,000 words. I did and it wasn't all that hard, really. I scrutinized it carefully
and had a ruthless friend who I got involved and found unnecessary things in characters
that ended up on the cutting room floor. Let readers experience your sleuth's emotional
responses of anxiety, excitement and fear. Follow action scenes with scenes of reflection.
Don't have one hair-raising scene after another. Rather, balance those scenes. You can do that
by revealing and updating the roster of suspects or by having a romantic dinner.
Use foreshadowing to suggest that something bad will happen later in the story. Here is
an example of foreshadowing from the novel writing help website. An old man is sitting
at his desk looking at his stamp collection. When he opens the drawer for his magnifying
glass his fingers brush against a revolver. Finds the magnifying glass and closes the
drawer. So you can guess that the gun wouldn't have been mentioned if it wasn't going to
be fired later in this novel. The investigation. Your sleuth questions the
suspects. Have the suspects divert attention from the killer by giving each one of them
a secret. The secret doesn't have to have anything to do with the victim or with the
murder. The suspect may be protecting someone. The suspect may have committed a crime that
has nothing to do with the murder such as embezzling. Suspect may have a long-held grudge
against the victim. Or the suspect is paying bills for a relative and for some reason doesn't
want that known. Or it could be the suspect has a child from
a long-ago affair and she doesn't want that revealed. Have the suspects tell both lies
and truth. Have them rat on each other. Assign alibis. As far as alibis go, not everyone
will have one or one that can be verified. Some suspects are hesitant to reveal alibis
and may lie about their whereabouts. Maybe they were somewhere they should not have been
like having an affair and not wanting to be found out. Some alibis will contradict something
said by another suspect. Avoid a logical sequence of events. Add curves,
twists and red herrings. Figure out how each suspect's secret will be revealed to your
sleuth. Thwart the sleuth whenever possible to give her successes as well.
Clues and red herrings. A clue is a piece of information that points to the killer.
A red herring is a piece of information that sends the sleuth in the wrong direction or
points to a suspect that isn't the killer. And who is the red herring throughout your
story? Distract your readers when you drop a clue. Make it seem insignificant in comparison
to something else or overshadow the clue with a red herring that seems very important. For
example, the sleuth learns the victim was black mailing one of the suspects. The suspect
needed the money for his kid's surgery and didn't want to keep paying it out to the victim.
Present a clue, then immediately create a diversion. A character walking in on a scene
or a phone call. And disguise clues by listing a number of items. Things in the middle of
a list get less attention. Comb, keys, lighter, wallet, pen possible contents of a purse.
The lighter is the least-noticed item and may be the item that points to the killer.
More on clues and red herrings. Use red herrings involving other suspects to distract from
the killer. Uncover includes through omission. Have something missing from the seen. The
sleuth may not notice that it's missing but later it seems significant. Have something
out of place in a scene. Play a cat and mouse game by having the killer trying to match
wits with the sleuth. In so doing the killer may slip and drop an important clue. Give
the reader all the clues and information that your sleuth receives.
Okay, the solution. Have the sleuth gather all the clues together and name the killer
at the same time as your readers. At some point in the story, have the sleuth itemize
the clues. Convey emotional reactions like pan ill and fear such as heart racing or heart
hammering. Dry mouth, dry throat. Make the pacing quick but capture every detail and
nuance. The wrap scene. The wrap scene typically takes
place with the sleuth's friends and family. Review recent events and discoveries, including
why the killer killed. Have the sleuth explain how she figured out who the murderer was.
Ideally the sleuth has a moments of personal growth. Murder at the Book Group Hazel Rose
goes from being in a route to what she wants from life. The sleuth should never lose the
reader's interest in a contemporary series. In Agatha Christie's day readers really didn't
care about the character, they only cared about the story. Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple
didn’t change much from the beginning. You want your mystery to be completely solved
and your reader can have a sense of satisfaction. The ending is what readers take away when
they close the book. To the reader the characters and the story ending matter the most and what
they will remember. In conclusion, writing a mystery is a complex,
challenging task. Today has just been an overview. It will take several webinars, you know, to
adequately teach you how to write a mystery. But writing a mystery is a complex and challenging
task. And to summarize you need to create a likable but imperfect sleuth, you need to
create an appealing cast of supporting characters. Develop your victim, crime, killer and suspects.
Add clues and red herrings. Plan how your sleuth will uncover the clues and then you
have your grand finale. >> Maggie? Before you go on I have a couple
questions that have come in from Margaret. Margaret is curious. She has a couple of them
and I'll read one or two at a time. Do you create an outline and do you know the ending
before you actually begin to write? >> Okay. Yes, I do know the ending. It's almost
like working backwards. Not every author does, but that's what I do. As far as an outline,
I have a general outline but it's very flexible because I change it as I go along. Now, there
are different kinds of writers, there is the plotter. Someone who has a strict outline
and has it all done and they follow the outline absolutely. And then there is a panther and
that's somebody who does no outline. They just sit down and write. I believe Stephen
King calls himself a panther. And of course Stephen King is very successful, so it works
for him. And then there are the plotter, who do a combination of a plodder and a panther
and I consider myself to be that because I have an outline I follow but sometimes the
characters -- authors will tell you the characters tell them what they want to do and that's
very true. It can sound odd to some people but it's true. Your characters will inspire
you. >> Thank you. Margaret has two other questions
and then we'll wrap up today's webinar unless there are more. Margaret wants to know how
do you collect your story details? Do you use the old school index card notebooks or
new age writers app and do you write long hand or on a computer?
>> I do my creative work long hand and then I kind of transcribe to the computer. So I
like to, you know, sit in a nice easy chair with my legal pad and write that way. To me
it's writing moving my hand with the pen and the ink. That's what -- that's how it works
for me. That's more real to me than working at the computer. And what was the second part
of the question? >> Do your story details, where do you collect
them? Old school on paper or maybe on a writer's app.
>> They're on paper. I'm not using an app. I do have on my computer, I have -- I have
a word document for story ideas and I collect them all in there. And I do have a paper file.
I might see things when I'm reading the newspaper that I cut out and put in there. Different
ways to collect. But I don't have an app for it, not yet, anyway.
>> Thank you. That's all for now. >> Okay. Great. These have been great questions.
Now, music to your ears, what you want to hear from readers is I never guessed who the
killer was, I was so surprised. Another thing you might want to hear is I really got into
your characters. Take away. Read many mysteries. You will probably write what you like the
read. Whether that's traditional mysteries or thrillers or suspense. There is a lot of
overlap in genres as well. They aren't strict but sometimes when you're starting off you
may want to stay within the parameters of the genre. It's all about your readers. Make
them care about your characters and never give up. If you want to write a mystery don't
let anyone, including yourself, discourage you.
>> Here are my favorite traditional mystery writers. Susan Albert, Agatha Christie, Nancy
J. Cohen, Mary Daheim, Gillian Roberts, Joan Smith and many, many more. I went to a convention
of traditional mystery writers both domestic in Bethesda, Maryland and there were 600 there.
That's just a fraction. So that brings me to the last polling question. I would like
to know who are your favorite mystery authors? Here are some resources for you. Writing the
Cozy Mystery by Nancy J. Cohen. You can write a mystery, how to write killer fiction and
here are a few websites. Of course, this is just a fraction of the help that's available.
I can make these resources and more of them available to you. And now I'll take any other
questions you may have. >> Thank you, Maggie. We're closing the poll.
Last opportunity for folks to submit their questions. I'm looking and scanning to see
if there are any additional ones. Oh, we just -- Maggie says she knows what her ending is
going to be first. Maggie, of your list of favorite authors, is there someone on that
list that is your go-to? >> I think Gillian Roberts and Joan Smith.
>> Why would you say that? >> Okay. I just like the way -- I love their
characters and I just feel like especially the Joan Smith. She is British and I feel
like they're very realistic and they're believable. You can believe that somebody who is not a
detective or someone not trained in apprehending killers would get involved in these situations.
And sometimes it isn't really believable but you suspend your belief because you enjoy
the story and the characters. Joan Smith I think that they're believable.
>> We have a question from Sean. He wants to know. Is it suitable for the killer to
get away at the end or does it make the story seem pointless if the sleuth doesn't succeed?
>> Okay. Well, readers tend to -- especially in traditional mysteries readers don't like
that when authors do that. But, you know, you certainly can do it especially if -- sometimes
people have -- might have an ongoing trilogy going on and they are continuing the story
into another book. And then it could be acceptable. As long as the killer eventually gets apprehended.
But generally I wouldn't suggest it. >> Thank you. Question from J.D. How do you
market or sell your books and do you use traditional publishers or go on your own and use something
like ink shares.com. >> I have been traditionally published so
far. I may venture on my own eventually. On something like create space. So far I'm traditionally
published and I'm sorry, what was the second part of the question?
>> Or do you use something like ink shares.com? >> No, no, traditionally published. As far
as you also ask about marketing and promotion. I go on tours after I write the book. I have
a launch locally in Richmond and invite people to that. I go on blog tours. I've also -- there
are companies that they will -- if you pay them a fee, they will promote your book on
their mailing list and usually -- that's for the E-book which usually will reduce to 99
cents and that does very well. So I would say it was mostly blogging. I do a lot of
appearances. I have do a lot of panels and try to think what else I do. I've been interviewed
on the radio and TV. The day I was on local TV. My sales shot way up that day. I would
suggest many on TV. It's there for the asking if you haven't done it before.
>> Okay. We have a logistical question from Theodore. What is the word count you would
suggest in a story like the ones you have written?
>> Okay. Well, the minimum is usually 70,000. And they go up to like maybe 90,000. I think
my first book was probably around 92,000. And my second book was maybe 80,000. It was
-- my second one was better because it was tighter writing. We do improve with each book.
>> Fantastic. Thank you. That's about all the time we have, Maggie. Any additional questions
can be emailed to me or RIT or tweet them. We will get you answers from Maggie to any
questions you send at the conclusion of this webinar. As a reminder, you will all receive
an email from us probably early next week with a link to today's recording complete
with captions and again I thank all of you for joining but special thanks to Maggie for
being our presenter today. Please consider joining us on May 16th, next week, for the
webinar called Inches or Centimeters, An Introduction to Doing Business in Latin America. The speaker
will be Mr. Rudy Winsberg. Attend this webinar before you get started if you want to go to
Latin America. Close your WebEx window and take the brief and anonymous customer satisfaction
survey about this webinar when you exit. Have a great afternoon, all, take care.
>> Thank you.

How to Write a Traditional Mystery

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