You have to use a different plot formula when writing a mystery. There are tried and true recipes for whipping up a mystery novel but being clever isn't enough, you need to add a compelling but flawed main character to appeal to your readers. For help writing a mystery, go to contact@writersrevolution.com

1. Start with a corpse.
2. Foreshadow EVERYTHING.
3. Hide your clues in plain sight.
4. Use maguffins* and red herrings** to confuse the reader.
5. The perpetrator must be introduced (though not necessarily revealed) early on; no "deux ex machina's"***!
6. Use one or more false solutions in the first half of the story arc.
7. Make the end of every chapter a cliff hanger.
8. When the crime is solved, leave a lingering doubt, or room for the sequel!

                 
     


*What is a "maguffin"? It is said that Alfred Hitchcock invented the term but it's a literary device that has been around forever. It is usually an object, can be a person or event, that has no intrinsic importance in the plot except to create action and illuminate the characters. The Maltese Falcon is a maguffin. The One Ring in the Lord of the Rings trilogy is a maguffin.

**Red Herring? Another plot device used to distract and confuse the reader by throwing suspicion away from the real culprit and on to an innocent party. The phrase comes from the salted fish whose scent British hunting dogs were trained to follow; and later trained to ignore when chasing the scent of foxes. 

***A "deux ex machina"? Literally means "god from the machine." Often at the end of ancient Greek plays, a god would descend from the ceiling, sometimes via a machine consisting of a platform and pulleys; to solve the problem, reunite lovers or punish a wrongdoer. Today it is used (but shouldn't be) by writers who have painted themselves into a corner and must resort to unlikely in-the-nick-of-time solutions. Imagine the calvary charging over the hill just as a character is about to be shot by the bad guy. It's a desperate plot device and for the most part, readers hate it.