Write Your Own: Mystery (15 page)

It was pitch dark. It was too quiet. He stood still, listening to the thudding of his heart. At that moment, he heard a scratching sound that seemed to be coming from downstairs. Jake froze. Was it one of the Doberman Pinschers? Silently, he tiptoed on to the landing.

There was a light from the attic room. So, cautiously, he crept upstairs. The map lay on the floor and he could see that it was smeared with green slime. Reluctantly, Jake picked it up. Without any warning, a scream pierced the air …

See what I mean? Here are some ideas for writing gripping scenes:

1. ‘Sentences of 3'
Use a ‘sentence of 3' to build up the pace. For example:
… he hauled himself up the tree, crept carefully along a large branch and stopped opposite the window.

2. Powerful verbs

Use powerful verbs to add punch to your writing. Compare these two following sentences and you'll see what I mean:

Jake
got hold
of the rope and
climbed
up the tree.

Gripping
tightly, Jake
hauled
himself up the old oak tree.

3. Short sentences

Dropping short sentences into your writing changes the pace of the story and can help keep your readers' interest.
But he missed!
It was too quiet.
Jake froze.

4. Adverb starters

Adverb starters can show how a character acts and feels. For example:

Reluctantly
, Jake picked up the map.

5. Sentence openers

Try to vary the way you start sentences by using clauses to
emphasise the character's actions. For example:
Grasping the window ledge, Jake clung on.

6. An unexplained noise

Introduce an unexplained noise to really keep your readers gripped! For example:

At that moment he heard a scratching sound that seemed to be coming from downstairs …

 

Writing tip!

Collect some suspense paragraph starters in your writing journal, such as:

suddenly ‘...without warning...” silently ‘...in terror...” in horror ‘...a scream pierced the air...'

7. The unexpected 
Revealing just a glimpse of something unexpected can add heaps of suspense to your story. For example:
The map lay on the floor and he could see that it was smeared with green slime …

When you come to writing your mystery story, try and see what is happening in your mind. But remember you don't need to write down every detail. Too much
description can slow down the pace of your story. So keep the plot going by focusing on the key scenes. Miss out anything that isn't essential, like what your characters eat for breakfast or what they do when they are getting ready for bed, unless these scenes develop your plot or tell your reader something new about them.

On the other hand, don't rush the story to the point where you simply report what happened. For example, look at this dreadful ending:
The police arrived. Fingers McClary got caught. We all went home.
Try to vary your sentences and keep the pace moving. A better ending here would go something like this:
The police arrived in a flurry of blue flashing lights. They grabbed Fingers McClary, handcuffed him and pushed him into the back of the police car. Satisfied, we strolled home, wondering what our next investigation would be.

 

Writing tip!

Use your thesaurus to come up with a ‘word bank' of exciting and mysterious words you can drop in to your story. Here are some examples:

puzzling, secretive, baffling, cryptic, curious, furtive, mystifying, strange, weird, uncanny

Just before the ending you may want to build up the suspense by having a final dramatic event – the worst thing that has happened so far! This will keep your readers' guessing until the very end …

Jake dashed out of the alley. He was about to turn the corner when Crabbit grabbed him and dragged him through the gate of number 38. The gate swung shut. There was a silence while Jake struggled in vain. Crabbit clasped his hand over Jake's mouth to stop him calling out and a moment later he discovered why. The Stroud Hill Gang had followed him!

They pounded out of the alley and turned up the hill. As the sound of their feet faded, Crabbit released his hand. He could smell
Crabbit's breath as he whispered, ‘Mr Sykes wants to speak with you, sonny, and he ain't too pleased.' Jake shuddered. He was alone now and no one knew where he was …

Now that you have reached the end of the story it is important to tie up any loose ends in your tale. The reader is desperate to know what really happened, who did it and why! Think about some of these ways to tie up the threads of your story.

1. A gathering of suspects

In this type of ending a character, probably the sleuth, explains what has been happening to a gathering of people. The detective explains what really happened, revealing the clues they followed that led them to the culprit – who may be in that very room! When the villain is revealed you could have them confess everything! For example:
White-faced, Mr Jenkins stood up, coughed and lowered his head. ‘I
think I had better explain,' he stammered.

2. Talking it through

Another way to end your mystery is when the events are revealed through two characters talking. This could be in person or over the telephone.

3. A letter or diary

Another interesting way of tying up the mystery is to have the ending revealed in a letter that explains the events, or even an extract from someone's diary. For example: