Essential ingredients

There are a few essential ingredients that it is wise to consider when writing a mystery story. They are crucial to the overall development of a quality mystery.

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CHARACTERS

They can be considerate, loyal, honest, helpful, nasty, friendly, selfish, gentle, kind, trustworthy, loving, jealous, bold, timid, shy, boisterous, independent, confident, foolish, wise, clumsy, ... To find just the right words, use a dictionnary

The Sleuth: a sleuth is a detective, employed or engaged in catching lawbreakers or getting information that is not readily available. There are different synonyms for this. Use them.

Characteristics of a sleuth. The sex, age, race, religion, dress, geographical origins, looks and even the name determine how the public views him/her. Ensure that you provide your reader with some of this vital information. Develop the personality of your sleuth. What characteristics do you feel are important for your sleuth? How can you convey these to your readers?

Strengths. Sleuths usually possess special strengths, either physical, mental or moral. What special strengths might your sleuth possess? How are they used in helping to solve the crime?

Employment. Your sleuth may be a private investigator, a detective, an officer with a police force, a medical examiner, a budding young detective, or even a school-aged kid who enjoys solving crimes. What is the employment situation of your sleuth?

Friendly Assistance. Sleuths always work in conjunction with other people. They may be friends, associates, partners or other law enforcement agencies. Will your sleuth require the help of others? How can you work that into your mystery?

Animals. Some sleuths have a pet or animal which may or may not actually help in solving crimes.

Villains. Some sleuths face the same opponent(s), also called enemies, archenemies, foes or villains, over and over. Others face them only once. Who is your villain? What characteristics will he/she have that will add depth to your mystery?

VOCABULARY

Sleuth, Detective, Gumshoe, Mouser, Nose, Bloodhound, Investigator, Officer, Constable, Private Investigator, criminologist, crime lab, headquarters, police station, burglar, con-artist, murder, innocent, crime, trickster, witness, modus-operendi, clue, scheme, plot, motive, thief, crook, weapon, reward, kidnap, extort, pathologist, counterfeit, scam, sheriff, fingerprints, handcuffs, FBI, RCMP, SQ, alias, disguise, villain, ...

When you read and find other words, add them to this list.

MYSTERY THEMES

robbery, murder, blackmail, spying, mischief, cover-up, cheating, lying, mistaken identity, red herring, kidnaping, extortion, counterfeiting

Problems/Mysteries. What sort of crimes do you want to focus in on? Robberies, murders, monsters, scams?

Keeping Records. In order to help put criminals in their place, records must be kept. How does your detective handle this?

Clues. In Two-Minute Mysteries, there are clues to help readers solve the mystery. They are sometimes very difficult to spot. Sometimes, it is only a word or a phrase which provides the actual clue. What will be your clue(s)? How can you work that into your story WITHOUT it being too obvious (remember, you do not want to give your answer up too easily).