  Mystery
This week: Puzzling the story behind the story Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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All that I see or seem is but a dream withn a dream
Edgar Alan Poe
A mystery is an answer in search of a question; knowing what's been done and journey to discovering the how and why of it. It deals with something unknown to the reader, which the writer reveals in bits and pieces with both subtle and overt clues, drawing the reader into the puzzle. Welcome to this week's edition of the WDC Mystery Newletter, where we enter and explore the puzzle for ourselves and our readers.
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Greetings, fellow sleuths
Some of the most intense and riveting mysteries answer not only who, what, when, where, and how, but why? Consider Wilkie Collins and Ruth Rendell, each of whom wrote riveting murder mysteries with psychological depth. They mystery of the 'gem' in Collins' The Moonstone, was as vital to solving the murder(s) and involved the characters (and readers) in the 'otherworld' created by Collins.
A psychological crime mystery incorporates the genre characteristics, but with more emphasis on character development and showing the psychological pressure and burden it causes the character. The psychological impact of the crime on victim, family and friends; the motives of the protagonist in solving the crime and the conflict between the antagonist and victim or protagonist. There is often as well conflict between the protagonist and law enforcement, even if the protagonist is a member of the law.
I think it's all a matter of emphasis. A detective novel might well have lots of sociological/psychological observations, like Raymond Chandler's novels. But in a psychological mystery, solving the crime itself carries less weight than solving the reason for the crime. The detective is generally an ancillary character. And the story isn't usually structured as "an investigation into a crime," is it is with much other crime and mystery fiction. The emphasis is instead on the context of the crime and the minds and experiences of the people involved or touched by it.
Psychological mysteries as a genre tend to dissolve strong central-figure identification, and tend to block that kind of straight-ahead narrative in favor of something branching, with more emphasis on atmosphere and interaction among strong characters. When there is a central character, it's often a sociopath, and the story is the puzzle that created him/her. Whether so obvious he/she appears a leader or central figure until defragmented, or so subtle as to be one of the crowd, its' your call as you plot a mystery with a puzzle that takes more than a 50-minute hour (the term (and time span) of a psychologist's session) to solve
Write On!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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I know you willl enjoy reading (and reviewing ) the psychologically motivated puzzles offered here by some members of our Community
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Who is the slapdash, foolish criminal behind a crime scene in a hotel?
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Mystery: October 20, 2010 Issue [#4014]
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