  Mystery
This week: Edited by: darkin
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Welcome to the Mystery Newsletter. Why are mysteries so popular? Because mysteries make you think. You follow every clue, examine the crime scenes and remember what each suspect said, until you solve the crime. A good mystery can keep you interested until the end. A great mystery will keep you guessing until the last page...when it makes you slap your forehead in surprise!
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Using the Strange and Unusual...
I was stuck trying to come up with an idea for this week's newsletter, so I decided to peruse the feedback from my last one, to see if there were any ideas for an article.
And I was not disappointed
J.M. Butler  made a wonderful suggestion after my last newsletter. She said: An interesting subject for your next newsletter might be on finding small odd facts and building off them to create a mystery. For instance, Ripley's Believe it or Not or Uncle John's Bathroom Reader or Guinness Book of World Records are full off odd things that, with work, could be used to be the entire turning point or a major key to solving a mystery. I’m sending 1000 GPs to J.M. Butler for her terrific suggestion. Thank you!
What a great suggestion and one I can answer with relative ease!
When I'm looking for inspiration to write a story, mystery or not, I tend to look for the strange and unusual. I feel it makes my writing more interesting, or at least stranger Here are some sources for finding odd little facts of life:
List books, like The Guinness Book of World Records, are great places to find story ideas. They are always filled with wonderful tidbits of human information. Where else can you read about the person with the longest fingernails or the tallest man. Wouldn't it be a great plot twist to have the murder victim killed while trying to break the record for sitting on top of a flagpole the longest? And all of these kinds of things can make great plot twists. They have a web site, with some interesting pictures and blurbs on some of their more unique records. http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/
How about urban legends? There's a wealth of stories in the pages of urban legends. And some of them are even true How about a murder mystery revolving around the old children's song Sing a Song of Sixpence? Did you know that song was originally a coded message used to recruit crews for pirate ships? A great web site for finding odd and unusual urban legends - and finding out if they're are true or not, is http://www.snopes.com/snopes.asp
Another place to find unusual story lines, or at least unusual holidays, is http://library.thinkquest.org/2886/INDEX.HTM. How about a person who is murdered during a parade celebrating National Cream Puff Day (January 2nd). Or someone who uses the Ides of March as a cover to stab their boss to death There are a ton of mystery ideas lurking in the strange and most times funny holidays that people celebrate.
The last place I look for story ideas is my local newspaper. Local news, national news, and international news can have a variety of different and strange tales. I wrote a story years ago based on a newspaper article about a man who blew up his apartment using bug bombs. Just the picture of his damaged apartment was enough to get my creative juices flowing. Another section of the paper that is loaded with unusual plots is the advice columns. People write in about the things that are bothering them the most, but they also write in about the strange things that happen to them.
With a little imagination, and the right source, you can turn just about anything you've read into a story, or a subplot, and keep your readers guessing until the final page.
Thank you for taking the time to read. Happy Writing!
darkin
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Here are some short stories I found while traveling the highways and byways of Writing.Com!
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Psycho-thriller about a man out to catch a killer - and being caught himself...
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
Don't forget to support our sponsor!
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Thank you all for the wonderful feedback!
Submitted by: tinman
Plots in a box- what an excellent and simple way to keep organized. Thank you
tinman
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Submitted by: April Sunday
Always on the money, Honey! Good show! Like the calendar box idea very much. TEFF
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Submitted by: rapunzel247
Thanks, Dr Demon Squirrel of Doom! The suggestion you made was really helpful. Expect to see a few mysteries in my portfolio soon. ;)
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Submitted by: David J IS Death & Taxes 
Too involved? Chandler's Big Sleep never made a definitive collar as to who killed the Sternwood's chauffer.
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Submitted by: DB Cooper
Attention Fellow Crime Writers: Please write more one minute mysteries.
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Submitted by: billwilcox
Squirrel of Doom,
Some really good answers to some really good questions. Write On!
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Mystery: March 22, 2006 Issue [#939]
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