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 Action/Adventure: December 31, 1969 Issue [#2257] |
  Action/Adventure This week: Edited by: manga_kateMore Newsletters By This Editor   1. About this Newsletter 2. A Word from our Sponsor 3. Letter from the Editor 4. Editor's Picks 5. A Word from Writing.Com 6. Ask & Answer 7. Removal instructions     Welcome to this week’s edition of the Mystery Newsletter. A mystery by nature is a question in search of an answer. The Mystery Writer poses the question in prose or poetry, and then proffers clues in the scenes, conversations and actions of believable characters. A microcosm of life and living, but one that the writer controls by taking pen or keyboard in hand and designing a world of solvable riddles and clues, perhaps by transporting them for a time to an ‘otherworld.’    Greetings! Several of our readers have written and asked me to provide some further information with respect to planting clues and leading the reader to discover the how and why on the way to solving a mystery, be it a historical mystery, true crime, a delicious cozy perhaps. How do we make it real and believable to the discerning reader of mysteries; make our mystery story one where he/she can follow real leads to arrive at the satisfying and intriguing solution just ahead of the protagonist or, when reading the solution, wonder how he/she glossed over the clue to the surprise twist? One way is to engage your own curiosity about life and read, not only mysteries, but your local newspaper and/or weekly newsmagazine for stories of intrigue and crime. Many of them give loads of detail in the continuation of the front-page or metro headline stories including, among other things, weapon specifications, drug composition and methods of transport and background on methodology. Of course, if you use actual clips from the articles, be sure to cite the reference as part of your story. Work it into a conversation (or perhaps argument) between your protagonist and a helper for focus and to incite your reader to follow-up and do a bit of research on his/her own to understand how the clue fits or why it may be just a misdirection or red herring.  Mysteries incorporate elements from the then-current daily life that are recognizable to the readers. We have so many resources available to us in our global world, so I’m answering the request posed by some of our readers to include resources for planting both obvious and subtle clues for your reader. For example, if you’re writing a historical cozy, akin to Arsenic and Old Lace, you might read up on apothecaries and gardening to incorporate the common uses of arsenic at the time into your story. If you do so, you will find it is still a naturally occurring element, found throughout the environment and exposure can lead to everything from skin irritation to abdominal effects, nervous system disorders and cancer. As versatile a clue today as in Victorian times (or red herring to misdirect, perchance?) http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/arsenic.html Or maybe your story has victims succumbing to a face-contorting demise in a bucolic field of clover, without a mark or wound (not even fang marks on the neck) to clue the sleuth.. Perhaps they were just scared to death of something? Perhaps there’s more to it? Consider the location, and ask why each of them happened to be in field of flowering clover in the bucolic retirement community of cancer survivors at this particular time. Clover, along with lima beans and sorghum (vegetarian?) contains amygdalin, which produces cyanide, which is believed to be the active cancer-killing ingredient in laetrile, which is not approved for this use in the U.S., but is so approved in other countries. See how much information is provided, some or all of which can lead to creative clues, misdirection, or resolution of your mystery from one cursory search from a free government site - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/laetrile/patient/allpages/print/ I’m including one cite here in a purely altruistic spirit for all of you with beloved feline or canine companions. Chocolate can be harmful or even deady to pets. The same chemical that recently has been touted as a caffeine-like substance that may reduce a human’s susceptibility to cancer, methylxanthine, can induce serious physical reactions in your beloved companions, up to and including their pain-riddled demise. The darker the chocolate, supposedly the ‘healthier’ for humans, and the more toxic to pets. http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc_dyk So, you see, a little bit of research sparked by curiosity will yield realistic, accurate, believable clues to perplex, misdirect and, perhaps, ultimately solve the puzzle of your mystery or leave your reader satisfied at the twisted ending that eluded him/her until the very end. © 2008 manga-kate Until we next meet, Keep Writing! Kate manga_kate 
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