This week: Showing and telling in mysteries Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
More Newsletters By This Editor 
 
1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions
Quote for the week:
"Mystery spread its cloak across the sky.
We lost our way.
Shadows fell from trees.
They knew why."
~From "House of Four Doors" by the Moody Blues |
You have probably heard the phrase, "show, don't tell." This is good writing advice for all genres, but especially for mysteries. It is important to show the reader enough of what happened so they have a chance to guess the solution without making it too easy.
In mysteries, it is sometimes necessary to lead the reader astray without actually lying to them. That is why it is sometimes important to show the reader what a character says and does without telling them what the character is really thinking. A reader will interpret the clues in the same way a detective who is investigating the crime does. Witnesses and suspects sometimes lie to investigators, and clues are not always what they seem. While characters can lie to the reader, the writer must never lie, although we can misdirect. If the character who turns out to be guilty tells other characters "I had nothing to do with the crime" it is misdirection. However if the writer tells the readers through narration that the guilty party had nothing to do with the crime, it is a lie.
This sounds fairly simple, but sometimes even famous published authors make the mistake of showing too much or telling the reader a lie.
In one mystery I read recently, a murder was shown as it happened, and the writer did a great job of showing events without revealing the killer's identity. Events were shown from the point of view of the victim. The killer was only described as a figure in the dark without any clues that revealed whether the figure was male or female or any other identifying characteristics.
Unfortunately, the scene where the body was discovered wasn't done as well. The person who "found" the body was revealed as the killer at the end. Since a killer might want to appear to discover the body in order throw suspicion away from themselves, this might have been a great misdirection if it had been done carefully. Unfortunately, it was done in a way that lied to the reader and basically ruined an otherwise good story.
When the killer in this story "found" the body, she only had her dog for company. With no other humans around, she had no reason to pretend to be innocent, but she did. According to the narration, she wondered why the dog was excited and trying to pull her off the path. This is a lie to the reader, because she would have known what the dog was leading her to.
When she "realized" it was a body, she went closer to see who it was. She wouldn't have needed to do this if nobody was around, because she obviously knew who it was. When she "identified" the victim, she freaked out, which wouldn't have been necessary with nobody around to see her apparent surprise and shock. While some murderers might be shocked and sickened at the sight of their victim, this character was eventually revealed to be a cold calculating killer who committed premeditated crimes and had little or no empathy for the victims.
There are a couple of ways this scene could have worked much better. Someone else, such as a police officer, could have discovered the body. The only reason for the killer finding the body might be as an explanation of why her DNA might have been found at the scene, but the killer's DNA was never mentioned. It might have worked better if the killer had found the body "off camera" and other witnesses had been alerted by her screams. Then she could have told the story about the dog leading her to the site and pretended to be freaking out.
An even better way to do it might have been to have another person with the killer when she came upon the crime scene. That way, one or both would have had a reason to put on a surprised and shocked act. While characters can lie to each other in words or actions, they should never lie to the reader in their thoughts or when nobody is around to lie to. It would have worked really well if it had been two suspects, because the reader would not know if one or both of them was putting on an act or lying.
Something to try: Write a mystery story in which the guilty party "discovers" the crime.
|
| | The Island (13+)
A young couple desperately tries to cling to their fraying sanity and delusions.
#1059879 by iKïyå§ama  |
| | Mind Trip (18+)
“Make it short. My flight leaves in less than an hour, and I intend to be on it.”
#2293399 by Tiggy  |
|
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
| Question for next time: What subjects would you like to see discussed in future mystery newsletters? |
To stop receiving this newsletter, click here for your newsletter subscription list. Simply uncheck the box next to any newsletter(s) you wish to cancel and then click to "Submit Changes". You can edit your subscriptions at any time.
|
Mystery: June 25, 2025 Issue [#13204]
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
