What Makes a Mystery?

[Anonymous]

First, I want to bring attention to the fact that we do not, as of yet, have a “Mystery” sub-forum in the “Genre-Writing” category. I find this disconcerting.

Second, I want to pose a question to y’all. In light of mine and @godlyfantasy12’s work in the mystery department, what would you say (as readers and writers) makes a consummate mystery?

@william-starkey @kathleenramm @r-m-archer @jenwriter17 @lewilliams @erinramm @devastate-lasting @e-k-seaver @writerlexi1216 @abigail-m @nova21 @joy-caroline @scoutfinch180 @ugroza @libby @larchness @annika-c @issawriter7

@aunt-ruth @larry-the-cucumber @bob-the-tomato @grandpa-joe @cecilia @basil

@maybe-there’s-someone-named-basil-on-this-forum @i-know-you’re-out-there @you-can’t-hide-from-me

[Linyang Zhang]

@gracie-j According to Google, the definition of mystery is: “a novel, play, or movie dealing with a puzzling crime, especially a murder.”

I haven’t read that many mysteries in my lifetime, but I did enjoy the ones which I did read. I think that a good mystery is one which allows the reader to guess at what is going to happen, and make it partially true but with a twist. As in, apt foreshadowing but also plot twists.

As I am slowly growing from the genre of fantasy into crime and drama, which is quite closely related to this topic, I am quite interested! I think that the different between crime and mystery would be that with mystery, you don’t know the culprit, but with crime, you usually do.

I’d love to hear what you think!

Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days

[Abigail.M.]

I don’t usually read them. But from the ones I have read, I believe one of the things that make good mysteries is when there are no apparent clues shown in the beginning and don’t reveal all the secrets in the following chapters. Every time, I knew how the mystery would end before I was halfway through the book… which, now come to think of it, maybe a reason I don’t read more of them.

[Anonymous]

@devastate-lasting Well, my track record with mysteries is pretty spotty. I read a lot of Nancy Drew when I was little, and what I loved most about that was that I was able to solve the mystery along with her. Being able to play detective (without doing all the detective-ing) is always fun.

Nowadays, I don’t read lot of “mysteries,” but there’s always some secret that must be uncovered. I totally agree with you, because my favorite part about reading anything, really, is making assumptions (despite what they say about assuming 😉 ). I’m usually right, but I love to keep guessing!

With writing them, I think what makes a mystery a true mystery is red herrings. The more you keep the characters and readers guessing (and the more you’re able to balance the falsities and the truth as the writer), the more interesting and exciting your story is–regardless of the genre, actually.

One thing about mysteries, though, which is probably why I don’t read many of them, is that most of them lack anything but the mystery. Maybe that works for some people, but I like a little bit of everything–romance, action, drama, and a great setting and cast of characters–without it being overdone.

I’d really like to see what everyone says so that I can incorporate the right things into my mystery!

[Anonymous]

@abigail-m I agree! What I’m trying to do with my mystery is make the suspects I do have look guilty and not even introduce the real suspect until much later. My only concern with that method is that it may not seem as thought-out if I just randomly pick a guy to be the killer–even though I know I’ve planned this very well.

I would recommend Agatha Christie. She keeps me guessing until the very last page!

[Abigail.M.]

@gracie-j

I have seen Agatha Christie’s titles on bookstore shelves before, but I definitely should read one. I have a copy of Sherlock Holmes on my shelf but haven’t read it yet.

Thank you for the recommendation:)

[Larchness]

@gracie-j Absolutely on the red herrings. I love reading them and I love writing them. The way I see it, especially with the Nancy Drew books, mysteries are like a staircase of rising tension. With a lot of mysteries, each chapter climaxes at some sort of cliffhanger (“Bess turned the corner and screamed!” End Chapter 1.) What can annoy me is when an author relies too much on cliffhangers and so some of them are just end up being mundane and anticlimactic.

There’s also a number of beats your story should hit to be recognized as a mystery, but it’s a fine line between following conventions and straight up recycling plot after plot with the same suspects with mysterious backstories. After a point, you can start to predict that the over-the-top creepy guy they introduce in chapter one is very much *not* the culprit.

I like it when non-mysteries incorporate mystery elements as part of a larger story, so they’re not forced to rely on those old tropes. Anyways, I’ve been up since 4 am so I might not be making much sense.

[Anonymous]

@larchness You make a lot of sense, actually, and I totally agree!  I really do like it when non-mysteries incorporate mystery elements, or when you don’t realize it’s a mystery for a while, or it’s a slowly unfolding one over several books even.

@abigail-m You’re welcome!

[Elizabeth]

@gracie-j Hmm, I’m going to have to ponder that one! I don’t read a ton of mysteries, nor do I write them (except for that one time I tried and consequently Gave Up™). However, I have started playing through the Professor Layton video game series with my husband, and based on that… I would have to say the interweaving of seemingly unrelated elements. For example, the game I just completed, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, has 6 to 8-ish (if I’m remembering correctly) mini-mysteries you have to solve that all ultimately connect to reveal the answer to the final mystery.

Another element would be the involvement of the reader/viewer in the mystery. One of my big beefs with the BBC’s adaptation of Sherlock is that you’re so detached from Sherlock’s process. It’s a lot of spectacle that keeps the viewer at arm’s length, rather than inviting them to try to figure out the mystery with the characters. (Honestly, don’t get me started with BBC Sherlock–I have so many bones to pick with the show.)

“Seven seconds till the end. Time enough for you. Perhaps. But what will you do with it?”

[Larchness]

@lewilliams You’re right about Sherlock. I did love it but as the show went on, it’s like the writers got tired of explaining his thought process. Episode one, he’s making deductions and it’s clever because he explains why he came to that conclusion, but then later episodes it’s just “I know this and this and this because I’m smart, trust me.” A redeeming quality of his character was how his mind worked, and after we lost that thought process we lost that redeeming quality to an otherwise insufferable character.

[Anonymous]

@lewilliams Good one! I know I really like being able to solve the mystery along with the detective. I haven’t ever watched BBC’s Sherlock, although I have seen the movies with Robert Downey Jr. They were pretty good at highlighting Sherlock’s thought process in the movies.

[Kathleen]

@gracie-j

You may now rest assured as mystery is now a sub-category under writing genres! Now looking at it there are still quite a few genres missing. So if there are any other genres that anybody wants,  just let me know and I’ll get on that posthaste.

When I was little I loved to read the classic Nancy Drew books, and also the A-Z Mysteries books. Not sure if those count though as true mysteries though. XD

My favorite mystery series I’ve read is the All the Wrong Questions series by Lemony Snicket. The first book is good, but the story exceedingly gets better with each addition, with the fourth and final book of the series being one of my favorite books in not just mystery, but just books in general.

I think what made All the Wrong Question series different from other mystery books I’ve read are the characters, the humor, and the reread ability. Unlike most mysteries, I find you can only read them once because finding out “who did it” is the all the fun. But with The All the Wrong Questions series, that is not the case. Each time time you read it you can pick up on some thing new. Also, a lot of the mystery is up to the reader. Not all the questions are answered. So it’s up to you as the reader to put the clues together and find the answers. Something I thought was really cool.

Besides that, my family owns the entire Sherlock Holmes Mysteries, which I have yet to read. My brother wasn’t too wild about it when he read it, but I am curious about it, and plan on reading a few. I’ll be interested in seeing if my view of Mysteries change.

[Anonymous]

@kathleenramm Yay! Thank you for adding the mystery category! (Btw, a romance sub-forum wouldn’t hurt! 😉 )

All the Wrong Questions sounds very interesting! I’ll have to check it out! Also, you’ll have to let me know what you think of Sherlock!

[GodlyFantasy12]

@gravie-j This is kinda hilarious but one of the (I guess you’d call it tropes) I dislike is when the person u know is innocent is like the only prime suspect in the eyes of certain ppl. For me, it’s annoying sometimes cuz they get treated so badly! And I’m just like “SERIOUSLY?!” (This and arguments over stupid things, and switching places tropes are ones I do not enjoy.)

 

anyway, that’s hilarious because….ermmm

 

That is pretty much what happens in my WIP

😂😂😂😂

#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb

[Anonymous]

@godlyfantasy12 I was about to say…

 

[Author]

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