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Session # 3 of the workshop series, focusing on the writing of the mystery story.
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Building a Mystery Session # 3: Writing The Story Draft M. B. "Bud" Fields, Jr. DMA Budroe   Welcome back to the workshop. I know, and appreciate the level of work you have put into your mystery fiction short-story so far. I have enjoyed evaluating your homework assignments, and believe that our time together this week will build successfully on the work you have already done. During our first learning encounter, we discussed some unique ways to use tools already in our writing toolbox. In our second, we began developing characters, and an overall story plot or "arc". By this point, you should have a pretty good working idea of how you want the story to play out. Your characters are there to help you solve the puzzle, which you now know. You should also have a very good idea of how the story will end, but perhaps not. Now, if we presume that the first word has not yet been written, it is time to begin the writing process. You might not believe it yet, but I promise you that 5,000 words is a very lean resource. There are a few things that must be decided now, before you put pen to paper. 1. Audience Who will you write for? Language may well be affected if your story is for, say a 4th grade student. Who will appreciate your story the most? A mystery afficianado might well delve into your story with gusto, as to water in the desert, after all. What does your preferred reader look like? Build a specific picture of this person in your mind. It's really important to do this, because that is the person you will be writing to. Can they (will they?) comprehend and appreciate the inclusion of false leads, red herrings, or Maguffins in your work? By clear, I mean that you should picture this person so well that you can smell the fragrance of their perfume/cologne. You should be able to give a Police sketch artist a perfect rendering of the face or other features of this person, your reader. Solid color, or print dress? Business or leisure attire? What are the characteristics of your reader? Can you provide their internal motivations for reading your mystery? When you have defined this person, you should document that person in a way that will bring them immediately to your mind as you write. Do not make the mistake of thinking or believing (much less writing) that the younger the reader, the simpler the words must become. In fact, writing for youth or Young Adults can require much more difficult writing for a successful story. 2. Plotlines There are two schools of thought about doing this. I am a fan of the outline, but it took me a long time to get there!  The outline can be your best friend. You can "see" holes" in your plan. You can decide where and how to insert mystery-specific tools into your story. Are these tools required? Absolutely not, but like a rare spice one or even two of them can surely add taste, texture, and tension to your story. You should be able to accurately break down your plot into scenes (major and minor) which introduce characters, plot elements, or even the solution to the puzzle. My novels are mostly character driven, which means that the majority of the action takes place among the various characters I present to the reader. My characters move the plot along nicely, forward to the conclusion. Some writers would prefer scenery or perhaps dialogue to use in this way. 3. Mystery tools You Can Use There are a myriad of possible tools in the mystery writer's portfolio which can be successfully used in any writing, but especially inside the pages of a mystery story. False characters or false leads that go only to a dead end, doing nothing to solve the puzzle. False plotlines (mistakes your characters make) can be good mystery devices. These are different, in a way from a Red Herring (but may be caused by one). The Red Herring is the object that creates or causes the false plotline. How many times have you read a mystery, and arrived at the hopeless end of what only then becomes known to you as a false plotline? These are usually reserved for novels, or novellas. As I referenced earlier in this short series, Alfred Hitchcock loved to feature coat racks in his writing and film work. They would figure prominently in his words, but especially in his films as visual indicators. Yet, they meant absolutely nothing whatsoever in the solving of the puzzle. Maguffins can be great devices, but using them does take most careful planning before being inserted into your mystery story. Their appearance may be casual or dramatic, yet by definition they must each have the same result: nothing. In my mystery story, for instance, I could focus the reader's attention on the filled, unattended kitty bowls in the kitchen. That they are unattended is the key. That could signify the owner (Mrs. Flaherty) and her sense of sadness and loss at the absence of her dear friend, Fibbertygibbit. But, rest assured, the presence of the food and water bowls have no part in the resolution of the puzzle, and must be used with great precision to fulfill their purpose. 4. Hierarchy Whether you view the heirarchies within your story from the top, or from the bottom they must be preserved at all costs. Hierarchies are (among others) of character, of plot, and especially of the writing. (The best one of all? Perhaps.) Letters of the alphabet make words. Words make sentences. Sentences make paragraphs.  The paragraph is the basic unit of the short story!Paragraphs make scenes. Scenes make acts. Acts make the story. As simple as it may seem, this truth is the most-often missed component of the writer. The written word offers a complete spectrum for your story. The canvas is the blank page. The palette, a complete rainbow with thousands of variations, are your words. Choose them carefully, purposefully. Waste not the first one of them. Of course, this is the first draft, and you will most likely have many, many unnecessary words that you use to remind you of an emotion, a look, an event, or an object. That's fine for now. The pruning comes later. Just remember that any "color" that you cannot clearly see will most likely be completely lost upon that reader you know now so very well. Don't edit now, it is not the proper time for that activity. Now, you are riding on the winds of your characters, the sea of your plotlines, and the scenery you pass by as the story progresses. This is writing time! I personally am not a great fan of the "kitchen sink" style of writing, but rather the subtleties of the surgical scalpel. You need every word required to tell your story, and not one other. Words, sentences, scenes, or even acts may feel the precision of the scalpel before the story is final. So be it. That great idea, or the wonderfully developed plot device may have to go--later! For now, let the muse be your companion as, together, you create YOUR mystery short story. ASSIGNMENT #3: SPECIAL NOTE: Please do NOT visit the linked document at the bottom of this lesson. It is incorrectly posted and is last week's selection. Instead, Please go here now  , for the rest of this week's workshop information.{/color}What might you imagine this week's assignment could possibly be? If this is a mystery waiting for a solution, please let me provide it for you now. Write the first draft of your mystery story. Provide a bitem link to the work (Identified for all here as your newest WIP, so don't sweat the small stuff, okay?)  Remember, the entire story must be effectively told in not less than 2,500, nor more than 5,000 words. But, that's when it's final, not now. Hopefully, you haven't jumped the gun on this assignment. If you have, then you might well avail yourself of this opportunity to do an edit for revision. The story publication submission deadline is on Saturday, July 31st at 2359 WDC time. That submission will be expected to be publication-ready. If you are not certain about what that means, please don't worry about it. We will discuss that in our next, and final lesson. I thank you for your attention this week. I know there are going to be at least a few questions. That is not a problem! I will do whatever I can to help you succeed in your writing. Just either post the question in this forum (You never know who else was wanting to ask!) or email me. Until next we meet, |
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