I drove by a sagging building with a charred sign and burnt siding. Yes, it appeared that someone had lit the local mattress store on fire, and now the only thing inside of it was ashes. But the question was, who would light a store selling mattress, beds, and pillows on fire?
And there’s your idea.
The first step to creating a plausible mystery is to come up plot and one of the best ways to do so, is by getting an idea. So, what qualifies as an idea suitable for a mystery?
Well, the scenario written above is a good example, but why? For starters, most arsonists target expensive buildings or start fires as a hate crime, which is odd, because what grudge could a criminal have against a store selling stuff you sleep on?
That’s what your novel must reveal. A mystery is just a story of a detective searching for answers and that’s why questions are great for story material. It could be something as simple as ‘why did a waiter purposely ‘forget’ to bring a couple their food’ or something complex like, ‘why would someone kill your sweet neighbor who smiles and hands spearmints to everyone she meets’.
Now maybe you’re wondering where you’re supposed to find these questions and the answer to that one is that you can find a mystery anywhere if you’re looking and sometimes when you’re not looking either. Walking your dog you could discover a broken mailbox with its contents scattered across the road or on a trip to the grocery store, you could find the words ‘help me’ scribbled on a can of spaghetti sauce.
Or perhaps you’re thinking, “I have plenty of ideas, but when I try to turn them into a story, they don’t work.” In that case, the idea probably isn’t the issue, but rather the rest of your story is. See, while the idea is the first part of planning your novel, it’s not the only part.
You still need characters, an outline, and sometimes more ideas. For instance, maybe your story is based on the fire in the mattress shop. Maybe you write a chapter or two and realize you don’t have enough to go on and you’re not sure what to write about.
A few days later, you decide you want to give your character more personality, so you give him an annoying ex-girlfriend who is determined to make it harder if not impossible for your character to solve the case. Now, your character has two problems to deal with and you have more to write about.
Alright, so what do you do if you’re typing away and then realize that the annoying ex-girlfriend in your book reminds you of your own irritating ex-girlfriend in real life? Or maybe a mattress store in your neighborhood burnt down and is the source of your inspiration?
Does that mean you can’t use these ideas?
Honestly, I try to be careful about mixing my books with reality. If you base a character after a real person, I would recommend changing their name in the book and adding some quirks to them, so the real person won’t realize it’s supposed to be them. (Unless you asked the person if you can imitate them and they agreed.)
I would do the same for the setting. If the story ‘takes place’ in your town, then I would change the name and describe it a little differently, just so any mattress store owners in the area don’t get nervous.
One more thing, even if you don’t end up using an idea, I would recommend jotting it down on a scrap of paper, because sometime in the future you could go looking for an idea you already had. (And if it’s on paper, you won’t forget it, right?)
-D.P.
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