Free Write Your Own: Mystery by Pie Corbett

PUZZLING PLOTS
THINKING ABOUT MYSTERY
    Outside it was dark, the moon covered by filmy clouds. Amy shivered as she walked down towards the bottom of the lane. She was just passing the old church hall when she noticed a light, flickering in the window. She tugged Sam away from a tree that he had been sniffing.
    Amy knew that the church hall was never used on a Tuesday evening. She had walked past the hall every Tuesday for at least four years and there had never been anybody there before. She crouched down and pulled Sam close to her. She could just see the light – it was a lantern and someone was waving it back and forth as if they were signalling something. Suddenly, the lantern went out and she heard the distinct sound of breaking glass …

    What is going on in the old church hall? Is someone in danger? Does this sort of story make you want to keep reading? Do you enjoy watching films full of clues and suspense that are only solved at the end? If you like puzzling plots and cliffhangers, how about trying to write one yourself? This book will help you write a really gripping mystery.
WHAT IS A MYSTERY?
    Mystery stories are packed with scares, suspense and fast-paced action that keep you right on the edge of your seat. A mystery story may be:
    Â Â a detective mystery or ‘whodunnit’ 
In these stories a private eye or detective is usually working against time to solve an impossible robbery or curious crime!

    Â Â An adventure mystery
In these, a great adventure is wrapped around a mystery. Perhaps the main characters see a strange light in a vacant house and they set about solving the mystery with many thrills and spills on the way!

    Writing Tip!
    Some of the writing terms in this book are explained in the   glossary . There are checklists to help with spelling, punctuation and making new paragraphs in  chapter 5 .
WHAT DO I NEED TO WRITE MY OWN MYSTERY?
    The great thing about being a writer is that you don’t need much equipment, just a writing journal or notebook, a pen and a place to write. However, the most important thing that you need is the ability to daydream and think up great stories! Mystery writers are also like good detectives – always on the look out for characters, settings, details and ideas.

    Â 
    Writing Tip!
    Get a writing journal and find a special place to write – somewhere that is quiet and where you won't be disturbed. You will need a good dictionary to check spellings (or a computer spell-check) and a thesaurus to help find alternatives to words you use a lot.
CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER…
    Like all stories, a mystery has certain key ingredients:
    1. The problem
    In a mystery story the problem usually occurs early on.
    The mystery ‘problem’ could be:
    Â Â a kidnap;
    Â Â a robbery;
    Â Â a weird happening;
    Â Â an unearthed secret.

    2. The investigation
    Once the mystery problem has occurred, the rest of the story is an investigation into what has happened. It is the main character who tries to solve the mystery.
    3. Clues and red herrings
    A mystery writer lays plenty of clues that lead to the mystery being solved. Some of the clues will be genuine and some will need to be ‘red herrings’. These are clues that are intended to mislead the reader!
    4. Flashbacks
    These are used in mystery stories to explain what has happened in the past. Flashbacks allow the characters to go back in time and explain to the reader how the mysterious events unfolded …
    5. Suspense
    Mystery writers pack their stories with suspense. The reader is constantly wondering what will happen and how the mystery will be solved.
    6. Cliffhangers
    Cliffhangers are there to keep you reading! They usually come at the end of a section or chapter and leave the main characters at such an exciting or dangerous moment that the reader is desperate to find out what happens next!

    7. Mystery characters
    Most mystery stories have the following key characters