Think about the mood you want to create for your story. The setting partially creates that mood for you. For instance, a murder-mystery set in 1920s Galveston, TX during an approaching hurricane is going to be very different from a murder-mystery set in Chicago in present day or Edinburgh in the 18th century. As another example, the Sherlock Holmes’ stories take much of their darkness and mood from the time period (Victorian and Edwardian era) and the foggy London setting.
Stasis is normal everyday life. You could start with the normal life of the detective, a witness, or whoever’s point of view you’re using. The trigger is the event that sets off the quest, which is often the murder in a murder mystery. The surprise is the twists and turns, the complications that keep the story going. In a murder mystery, that may be things like new evidence, new motives coming to light, or trouble finding a suspect. The critical choice is the main crux of the protagonist’s story. It’s where they must decide how they will act to complete the story, and it often involves choosing a hard path. It is a character-defining moment. This choice typically leads to the climax, the place where the action and tension comes to a head, such as the point where the detective is in the active process of capturing the suspect. The reversal and resolution show how the characters have changed and what the new “normal” looks like.
Set up an unlikely scenario. For instance, one novelist set up a story where a woman changes her will, forgoing her children and leaving everything to a dying man. Soon, a person is murdered. This setup is so unusual that it leaves the reader wanting more.
For example, you might write, “Chapter 1: Introduce the protagonist, the detective Rebecca Newport. Begin in her home, where she is getting ready for work. She gets a phone call that calls her in early, which she quickly learns is a homicide. "
You can use clues in 2 ways. Immediate clues are things like the killer dropping a piece of jewelry on the way out, which may or may not be noticed by the reader. A future clue is something like DNA analysis, which the reader can’t learn about until the detective does. There’s also a difference in the level of subtlety. Some clues are very obvious, such as a gun left at the scene. Others are more subtle, such as the victim wearing purple, which turns out to help solve the crime. You don’t need to write all of your clues ahead of time, but you should decide on some key points so you can work them in throughout your novel. You don’t want to shove them all into a single scene.
You can research on the internet, but don’t forget to make use of other resources, such as your local library. Research can take you a long way, but experience is often even better. For instance, try attending a tea ceremony if you can.
You can also include things like their quirks and idiosyncrasies. Having these pages to refer back to will help you keep the details straight while you’re writing.
For flaws, maybe a character is always late, hates their mother, or doesn’t get along with their colleagues. If you need examples, think about people you know or you’ve met in the past. You can make the characters empathetic in a number of ways. They can be having financial problems or be the victim in the story. You can display them being selfless, even when they act with self-interest at other times, such as having a killer who fawns over their cat. For instance, Sherlock Holmes isn’t necessarily likeable. However, he’s interesting, and readers find him empathetic because he is very intelligent and good at what he does.
Variety will keep things more interesting, as well as keep your readers guessing.
Instead, you could have one person’s motive be they want to keep a secret quiet, another person’s be they want the victim’s money, while a third suspect’s motive could be they were jealous of an affair the victim was having.
For instance, a feeble older man is not likely capable of picking up a body and dumping it off a bridge, not matter how much adrenaline is pumping through his system.
Decide things like: Is the detective completely logical, or do they rely on hunches sometimes? Are they very analytical, looking at every detail, or are they better at the big picture? What are their idiosyncrasies? What helps them think properly? Are they caffeine addicts? Do they sleep at their desk? The little details will help the character become more real. For instance, Sherlock Holmes is very logical and doesn’t rely on hunches at all. But he’s also logical almost to a fault, meaning his relationships often suffer because he doesn’t rely on emotions enough. Some of his idiosyncrasies include things like needing another person to bounce ideas off of, playing the violin, and conducting odd experiments to learn more about crime-solving.
When creating your victim, consider how you want them to contribute to the story. For instance, a likeable victim will immediately set the reader against the killer. However, if the victim was a despicable person, the reader may hold out judgment on the killer. Create a backstory for the victim to help readers care about them. Introduce it slowly through the story. You can even use one of your potential suspects as a victim later on in the story if the murderer kills again. [10] X Research source
Don’t forget to also include setting details as you go along, so your reader knows where the story is set. For example, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown opens with the dramatic death of a Louvre curator, instantly drawing the reader in.
For instance, the detective may witness the suspect and victim having an argument before the victim dies. Alternatively, maybe the detective asks a neighbor, “Can you think of anyone who had issues with the victim?” The neighbor might say, “Well, let’s see. I have seen a young man visiting late at night when her husband was out of town. I suppose he might be involved somehow. "
For instance, stabbing someone isn’t as easy as it sounds. It’s actually pretty difficult to force a knife into someone, especially someone who’s struggling not to die. Keep in mind that most “amateur” killers are going to make mistakes. They aren’t trained to kill, and most people don’t even know how to land a killing blow. What that means is things are going to be messy. Put some thought into how someone gets rid of a body. A body is hard to move, plus it’s pretty conspicuous. It’s also going to leave blood and/or traces of DNA behind, and it will start to smell. Digging a hole takes time, and dumping a body in water could mean it washes back up on shore, for instance.
For instance, you might note that a flashlight was left at the scene, but the outside was wiped clean. Alternatively, you can show the fingerprint being lifted off the battery.
For instance, maybe one of the suspects is a hiker, and there are large hiking boot footprints at the scene. In actuality, perhaps the prints were left by a woman who borrowed her husband’s boots.
Similarly, with each chapter, introduce a new element of the story. At the end of the chapter, leave the reader hanging about what happens next. Maybe you introduce a new clue that points to a different suspect, and the reader has to go on to find out if the clue pans out.
For instance, maybe the clues all along point to the murderer being the only son of a wealthy man since he seems to have the only motive. However, maybe the twist is the man had another child, a daughter, who also stands to inherit from the death; the clues should fit both the son and daughter so the reader doesn’t feel cheated. As another example, one famous murder mystery twist is in the Murder on the Orient Express (spoiler alert!). In the end, the reader/viewer learns all the suspects actually conspired to commit the murder, rather than just one of them.
For instance, maybe the detective crosses an ethical line and decides to leave the force. The new “normal” may be the detective finding a new job. Alternatively, maybe the detective is a rookie, and solving the case results in them being promoted.
