Home Page › Forums › Fiction Writing › General Writing Discussions › What Makes a Mystery?
Tagged: genre-writing, mystery
- This topic has 26 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 10 months ago by Larchness.
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January 12, 2021 at 2:40 pm #88952
@gracie-j rofl!
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSebJanuary 12, 2021 at 3:23 pm #88954@kathleenramm (Realistic!) Ooh, I read the first book of All the Wrong Questions a long time ago. Never got around to the others, though.
@lewilliams Professor Layton! Never played but I do know about him.
@abigail-m She’s my dad’s favorite English author! I highly recommend And Then There Were None!Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into daysJanuary 12, 2021 at 7:21 pm #88960I’ll definitely have to read that one first then:)
January 13, 2021 at 8:06 am #88985(Side note, but every time I see the title of this topic, my mind sings, “What makes a monster, and what makes a man?” from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, so that’s been an interesting phenomenon. :P)
@devastate-lasting Oh nice! Not too many people have heard of him in my experience. They’re really some delightful games, IMO.
@larchness Yes, thank you!! It’s been so long since I’ve actually watched the show that I can’t recall exactly how they portrayed his deductions (other than that one scene in his “mind palace”), but I do remember less and less attention being given to the actual mystery element of the show, like you said. Have you watched the entire show?“Seven seconds till the end. Time enough for you. Perhaps. But what will you do with it?”
January 13, 2021 at 1:14 pm #88998I definitely recommend reading the other three books. Each one is better than the previous.
I’ve been wanting to read And Then There Were None for years now, but still have not got past the first couple chapters. I think it’s because I got a little overwhelmed with all the characters, but of course, if I just continued reading that wouldn’t be a problem anymore given the premise and all. XD I’ll start reading it again after I finish the couple books I’m reading now.
January 13, 2021 at 1:25 pm #88999@kathleenramm XD I was kind of overwhelmed at first too but after like two or three chapters that no longer became a problem. I should read some of her other stuff too…
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into daysJanuary 13, 2021 at 3:39 pm #89001@gracie-j
Sorry it took me a while to get here. I’ve been crazy busy with writing. 🙂 Anyway, I’ve not read a whole lot in the mystery genre, but I say a big area needed to have an amazing mystery would be to keep the reader’s guessing and at the end when the “villain” or whatever is revealed it’d be someone I wasn’t expecting but I could go back and see how all the clues pointed to it. Basically, I think a strong plot is what is mostly needed to pull one through. And interesting characters, as always!!!!!!!!!!!!
God gives His hardest battles to His strongest soldiers.
TeenWritersNook.comJanuary 13, 2021 at 3:40 pm #89002I’ve read the first three books in the All the Wrong Questions series!!!!! *high-fives ya* It’s like one of my all-time favorite mysteries EVER!!!!!!! I agree that the interesting characters is really one of the best things about that book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
God gives His hardest battles to His strongest soldiers.
TeenWritersNook.comJanuary 13, 2021 at 4:09 pm #89006Anonymous- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
- Total Posts: 1789
@issawriter7 Definitely! It’s great to hear that you’ve been busy! How far along are you in your WIP?
January 13, 2021 at 4:16 pm #89009@gracie-j
Hehe…my first thought was which one. XD For Into the Lamp, my Aladdin retelling, I’ve sent to a couple more literary agents and am just waiting for responses mostly. For the main novel I’m writing at the moment, Heir to His Crown, writing’s been going SUPER GREAT!!!! I’m almost halfway into the first draft!!!!!!!! I think I’m about 30K into it. My stories tend to be about 70K long. I’m hoping to have the first draft completed by the end of Jan. *crossing fingers* How’s things going for your writing?
God gives His hardest battles to His strongest soldiers.
TeenWritersNook.comJanuary 13, 2021 at 5:54 pm #89020Anonymous- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
- Total Posts: 1379
@gracie-j
The only mysteries I’ve ever read are the Boxcar Children series, LOL. I loved those books so much when I was little – I’d always check out as many as I could from the library. Honestly, those books are still dear to my heart and I would love to reread them. Sadly, though, I don’t own any except the very first book 🙁
Anyways! I always thought to define mysteries as any novel focusing on an unanswered question, and a protagonist trying to answer that question. Mysteries could also be novels led by unreliable narrators, those narrators that lead you to believe one thing when they mean another, or they keep things from the reader.
January 13, 2021 at 8:20 pm #89025@lewilliams Oh yeah the mind palace, that was something else I thought was a little far-fetched, even though it does have roots in actual memory processes some people use. I’ve seen the whole thing, I definitely think the first season was the best, and then it kind of devolved into a larger, crazier plot. I was pretty happy with how they adapted the Hound of the Baskervilles, that’s always been my favourite of conan doyle’s stories.
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