Write Your Own: Mystery (7 page)

  a mischievous child;

  a respected person such as a vicar or headteacher;

  your best friend's mum.

 

Writing tip!

Having too many characters can be a disadvantage as it may be difficult for your reader to distinguish between them. Try to stick to one or two sleuths and the same number of villains, this way you can concentrate on making them ‘goodies' or ‘baddies'.

To make the mystery seem ‘real' you will need to think about the motives of your characters. A motive is what makes a person do something. All your characters should have motives. For example:

  the sleuth
What is the sleuth's motive for solving the crime? Are they just curious or does the mystery problem affect them in some way?

  the villain
Why did the villain steal the money? Are they jealous, greedy, a compulsive robber, or perhaps they need the money for a specific reason?

  the suspects
To make the mystery harder to solve, it is helpful if the suspects also have motives. This can lead the reader in the wrong direction!

All mystery writers have a few techniques which can create different effects in their writing. Try using these special effects to make your mystery more powerful.

1. Similes

A simile is a descriptive way of comparing one thing to another. Either use the word ‘like':
His teeth looked like old gravestones.
Or use the word ‘as':
His teeth were as crooked as old gravestones.

2. Metaphors

A metaphor is a bit like a simile. The difference is that, in a simile, you say that one thing is like another but, in a metaphor, you say one thing
is
another. For example, this is a simile:
His teeth were as crooked as old gravestones.
This is a metaphor:
His crooked, gravestone teeth shone in the moonlight.
Both similes and metaphors help to create powerful pictures in your readers' minds.

3. Personification

Personification makes an object seem human. You either describe an object as if it looks human, for example:
The huge cave mouth gaped at him.
Or describe it as if it is
doing something that a human might do. For example:
The oak's branches pointed, as if to scold us.

4. Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of similar sounds. This can be useful in creating atmosphere in your story. In this example, the ‘sh' sound is repeated:
The shadows shivered and shook their heads.

Have you ever started a book and given up after a few pages because it didn't capture your interest? You need to ‘hook' your reader with an exciting event early on!

Writers use ‘hooks' to grab the reader's attention. They are sentences that drop a hint that something is going to happen. A hook tantalises the reader into wanting to read on to see what will happen. Here are some examples that might make a reader think who? why? what?

  
Coombe Drive was built on an old burial ground. It was supposed to be
haunted. But Jake had always laughed at such stories;

  
No one ever walked on Grazeney Marsh. It was said to have claimed many lives …

  
They could hear the dog barking late at night. But no one had ever seen it …