![]() Mystery writing evolves as characters take control and the plot twists into unexpected pitfalls and roadblocks. A character in a written plot outline is different from a character who is given a voice on a page. That’s because as the author writes, and characters become more rounded, they become more capable. Novelists often tell us how their characters come alive for them and become unpredictable in personality and behavior. Doing that, I discovered, requires an accomplished touch because a good mystery plot raises questions left and right. In Mystery of the Purple Roses and the subsequent Masks, Mayhem and Murder, I tried to lead the reader to an ending that left no uncomfortable questions. The author makes characters work effectively, even burdening them with flaws, but they must feel like real people and speak for themselves. The author can’t become part of the story. I wrote both of my Red Maguire novels with that concern in mind. I personally prefer reading mystery stories that feature only a handful of key characters, as Psycho did, rather that trying to follow a long roster of suspects, as in Murder on the Orient Express.Ĭhristie’s acclaimed novel took the reader in so many directions, casting suspicion on so many characters, that Poirot’s long summation at the end answered critical questions to save the reader deep frustration.įrankly, readers don’t know what’s in an author’s mind. Giles from personal book collectionĪuthors make mystery stories unfailingly confusing if they deprive readers of occasional glimpses into the course of events. This mammoth compilation of crime stories from the pulp golden age contains stories from gifted writers such as Dashiel Hammett and Carroll John Daly. convincing characters make convincing mysteries I used a similar technique in my first Red Maguire novel, Mystery of the Purple Roses. In the Agatha Christie classic, Murder on the Orient Express, it was the protagonist Hercule Poirot. Hitchcock’s Psycho put to use a common technique in a mystery story - the summing up of all outstanding questions, usually described by someone central to the story or someone who emerges from outside the story to offer a clear-eyed explanation of what transpired. The basic structure involves a crime committed, a detective or other investigating hero introduced, and keeping the reader in the dark until the end. Mysteries, whether film or print, rely on formula plots. When I began writing mysteries a few years ago, I learned it was no easy take to mimic the masters. He started with a crime, invented an escape, confused the viewer with some misdirection and, finally, brought a psychiatrist into the final scene to explain what had happened. This time, I paid attention to how Hitchcock crafted the plot. I can’t recall watching Psycho all the way through when I was younger. It features Janet Leigh, Anthony Perkins, a lonely forbidding motel that a new highway bypassed, and a beckoning second-story light shining from a creepy Halloween-style house.Īnd there’s producer and director Alfred Hitchcock, the brain behind the 1960 movie’s tense scenes. The other night I watched the original Psycho movie. I wrote “Masks, Mayhem and Murder’ in the pulp fiction genre.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |