Expert: Susan Rand - 3/24/2011

Question
Hi Ms. Rand,

Recently I've taken up mystery writing.  Writers like Agatha Christie and A.C. Doyle have always intrigued me, and I'm hot to concoct some clever murder mysteries of my own.  This is quite a break from writing poetry and academic essays, hehe.  I've read a few modern mystery writers, too.  

Here's the q: When plotting these stories, I'm using the "howtocatchem" instead of the classic "whodunit" style, showing readers the crime in Ch. 1 and the murderer.  The excitement builds as my detective draws close to that one fatal flaw in the murderer's otherwise perfect scheme.  In the final scene, the readers and the murderer alike finally learn what that fatal flaw is, and how it fits as the last piece of crucial evidence for homicide.

Is this a viable method, or is it too predictable by today's industry standards?  Maybe you've guessed by now that I've always been a big fan of Peter Falk's tv detective "Columbo".  Do you know whether the classic "whodunit" is generally better accepted by the industry, or is simple quality of writing the deciding factor?  I've outlined six or seven other crime stories using this method, but I'm unsure whether this type of story is considered cliche today.

I'd love to hear any advice on the subject, as well as any tricks or tips to help me better envision those "fatal flaws" in my mystery stories.  I've learned quickly that writing mystery isn't very easy!

Thanks for your time.  I'm looking forward to hearing your answers =)     


Best,

Billy

Answer
You are absolutely right, Billy, mystery writing isn't at all easy!

There are several kinds of mysteries besides the two you mentioned, the "whodunit," and the "howtocatch'em." There's also the "psychological" (masterly executed by Ruth Rendell), and the "combined character and plot-driven," as exemplified by the books of John Harvey.  Then there's the "action-adventure" mysteries, like THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, with no actual murder committed except in the villain's past. The point of all this is that there are many ways of plotting a mystery, and many diferent methods of writing them - you, of course, are free to choose the type you want to write. None are "cliches."

Mystery readers want interesting characters and a good puzzle. I'm not intimately acquainted with the current standards in the publishing industry (I deal with the writing), but I believe that those criteria publishers use to judge mainstream novels (how many readers will buy this?), as my impression is that mysteries sell slowly but steadily; many remain in print for years and years, even decades.

Carry on with your mystery as you want to write it, and have fun with it. If you have fun writing it, your readers will have fun reading it.

I hope this helps. If it does, a nice rating would be greatly appreciated. I am proud of my high scores over 1900+ questions.

And thanks for writing!

For help with writing, go to http://pygmypress.com