I've perused many sources, including books, on how to write mysteries, and the one thing that is unclear to me is how to structure my plot and how to write scenes appropriately for the mystery story. This is particularly troubling as the mystery genre is a unique one and doesn't easily or readily conform to the rules expected of writers from other genre fiction categories such as thrillers or romances. In my research and readings on writing contemporary mysteries, I came across only one plot structure for a mystery -- the three-act structure. And on top of that, for this plot structure, authors suggest I continually build up the tension from the beginning until the climax. In other words, the tension keeps getting worse until the climax. They suggest I continually expose the detective, the main protagonist, to formidable obstacles and troubling subplots as a means of establishing conflicts. Such a plot structure does not appeal to me. I am more drawn to the traditional structure where you have the exposition, rising, middle, climax, and resolution. Particularly, the introduction of characters occurs in the exposition and a body is found, the rising occurs when the detective is called in to investigate the crime, the middle is when the detective has setbacks, the climax occurs when the criminal is revealed, and the resolution explains what happens to the criminal and loose ends are tied up. Most modern mystery stories, especially American mysteries, follow the three-act plot structure where there is a rising tension up until the climax and the plot is highlighted by plot twists. I would rather have my mystery novel serve as a gratifying exercise in logical thinking for the reader. I want to avoid including the romantic redneck rubbish subplots and the breakneck action I often observe in contemporary mystery novels. I want to follow the traditional story structure observed in classical mystery stories like Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot mysteries and A. C. Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mysteries. In short, I want to stick to a traditional approach by including elements of cozy mysteries with private eye mysteries, much like the Hercule Poirot mysteries. Is there widespread appeal among mystery readers for how I want to manage the plot? Another question that is bothering me is how do I write mystery scenes? The regular way to write scenes is to structure it so that each scene includes three parts, goal, conflict, and disaster followed by a sequel which consists of a reaction, dilemma, and decision. This pattern may work well with genre fiction categories such as the romance and the thriller, but how do I apply it to the mystery novel, especially when I want to use a classic plot structure that is purely a satisfying exercise in logical thinking for the reader? Thanks.
3 act structures sell. 3 act structures are easy to follow. It seems to me you are going toward a cozy. Remember, a cozy can fit into just about any genre, you just need to figure out how it will happen. Spenser for Hire was a cozy, most won't accept that, but it is. For me, the biggest thing abut a cozy is that all the clues are there. No 'unknowns' spring up at the end.
Re: “especially when I want to use a classic plot structure that is purely a satisfying exercise in logical thinking for the reader?” This makes me go “hm.” I read a lot of mysteries. I don’t regard them as an exercise in logical thinking. Instead, I see the mystery as a device that highlights interesting characters and relationships. I see them as character stories. Agatha Christie definitely fulfills this preference for me. So do Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Georgette Heyer, and a number of other classic mystery authors—along with many modern mystery authors. (I see Robert Barnard, for example, as a modern-classic mystery author, though he does have a few different voices; I like some of his books much better than others.) I raise this because I’m getting a vibe that you may regard character as a sort of distraction. I may be completely misunderstanding you, but if so, some clarification might be useful. Re the question about scene structure, have you tried analyzing the scenes of the classic mysteries that you like?
Try to blend in the elements of the two types, if you can. You don't need to choose between one or the other. Hybrid them into something different that still falls within what your story is about in genre. (Just an idea).
I understand your point but is a three-act plot structure compatible with Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot Mysteries which are cozy type mysteries? Thanks. I do realize that other elements of mystery fiction such as characterization, suspense, dialogue, setting, handling of clues, etc are important to the story also, but I don't want to deal with romantic subplots and breakneck action in scenes and overall plot structure. I would rather mirror something like Agatha Christie's cozy mysteries. I want to write a mystery where a crime happens, the detective is called in, he cleverly investigates the crime, and triumphantly declares the criminal at the climax. From my perspective, I perceive Christie's mysteries to involve minimal instances of romantic subplots and breakneck action. I have only read Christie's short stories with the exception of one of her novels entitled "The Affair at Styles." In her mysteries, I like how the detective engages in a logical thought process to unravel the mystery and how Christie hardly involves subplots and does not include scenes involving a goal, conflict, and disaster. However, I do understand what you're saying about characterization, suspense, etc. being important also and I definitely agree. Is a Christie type mystery marketable in contemporary times? As far as the scene construction is concerned, I have analyzed classic mysteries by Christie, Doyle, and others and I don't see the common elements of a scene in their own scenes such as goal, conflict, and disaster. I am going to pay more attention to them though moving forward. In your opinion, what type of scene pattern have you observed with Christie's mysteries? Thanks. This is a great suggestion, but I might try to just do cozy mysteries. However, I might end up mixing the two anyways. thanks for your input.
I’ve never really analyzed plot or scene patterns. I have to quibble with your earlier post where you say “the regular way to write scenes is...”. I’d say that might be A way to write scenes, but I think it’s far from universal. I have one Agatha Christie novel on my phone, Sleeping Murder, and I’m not really seeing that clear and mechanical a pattern. I also struggle to see how that pattern could apply to every story. Surely it’s just one of countless possible ways of ensuring that something happens in a story?
I could be offering rubbish advice here, but I don't think you should be thinking too hard about scene structure. I'm all for story-planning, and I'm all for making sure each scene has a purpose, but when you start applying strict models to your scenes it feels (to me) like you're trying to write to a checklist. And while there are helpful tips a good writer always tries to keep in mind, trying to follow a checklist like that to the T shouldn't be what writing's about. This is a creative process before it's a logical one, even in a genre like mystery where things need to be...well, logical. So I think you should forget scene structure. And if having a perfect method for the story structure is stopping you from writing, maybe you should loosen up about that, too. Carry on examining mystery stories and pinpoint a vauge pattern they follow. Then let your creativity flow and just gently guide it into that mould instead of ramming it in. If I were you, given how much you've mentioned Agatha Christie, I'd read a lot more of her novels to help me. I recommend The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Murder on the Orient Express, and Hercule Poirot's Christmas. They're all quite clever, and I feel that they're also a bit simpler (and so may be a better guide for you) than The Mysterious Affair at Styles.
If I were you, I'd investigate how-to guides, written by experienced authors. There will be blogs, articles ...and here is a list of books available on Amazon UK to get you started. Each book will probably contain a lot of what you already know, but they will also give you a couple of ideas you probably haven't thought of as to how to approach your story. Reading how other authors handle your issues will be quite helpful, I imagine. https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=writing+a+Mystery+novel&rh=i:aps,k:writing+a+Mystery+novel&tag=writingfor07a-20 Are you planning to create a specific detective (Poirot, Holmes) or will the person solving your crime be just an ordinary person with a gift of clear thinking? Or somebody who is part of a police force? Just curious. I take it your target audience will be people who like to solve puzzles, rather than people who like the thrill of the chase and the emotional journey that gives them.
Thanks for your feedback. I understand your point that it is just A way to write scenes, but I still struggle with how to properly write scenes and scene patterns for a traditional cozy mystery. I'll have to read more of Christie's novels and short stories to find out. It's interesting that you did not see a scene pattern. I myself have not observed a pattern in her novel, although I have observed a clear plot structure for the overall story.
This is great advice. I'll focus more on the overall plot structure rather than scene construction as my writing will be primarily cozy type mysteries and I'll read more of Agatha Christie's novels that you suggested to get a better idea the story and scene structure. Thanks.
Great, I'll read up more on the subject and thanks for the link. I did read most of the Amazon books from the link provided though , but there are a few I have not read. I'm not sure if I want to create a professional sleuth like Holmes and Poirot or an amateur one. I figured I could probably create a detective that graduated from college with a Biology major but could not establish a career in his field. As a result, he looked for other ways of putting his academic credentials to good use. He is gifted with the ability to observe details keenly and think logically. He has extensive knowledge of medicine and is well rounded, but he also has his weaknesses and foibles. He has a disturbing childhood in which he was verbally and physically abused by his father. He feels strongly about the impact that criminal activity has on society both at the personal and public levels and so has a personal stake in seeing that criminals are brought to justice. This is the basic sketch of my detective and I suppose he's amateur but with professional qualities. Yes, I want to create a story that offers the reader a gratifying experience in logical thinking. I want them to enjoy solving a challenging puzzle rather than experience breakneck action and have an emotional journey.
That will give you some emotional content as well. A reason for the detective to do this. Not a bad way to start. You might want to work in his desire to make SURE he's got the right criminal. Maybe something in his father's past hinged on being wrongfully convicted, or the opposite ...being let off the hook while somebody else took the rap, due to faulty or sloppy crime solving.
But are you sure that scene patterns, beyond, "A scene should in some way further plot, character, and/or setting" are really a thing that you need to worry about?
Sorry for the delayed response. These are good points. I even thought about a situation where my fictional detective, due to the psychological impact of the verbal and physical abuse during childhood, committed minor crimes (misdemeanors) himself and it affected his life for the worse. He was found not guilty in court and he has since reformed himself. As a result, he deeply feels the impact that crime has on people's lives and wants to do something about it. Well, I suppose for the type of mystery I want to write, where it's an exercise in logical thinking, I don't necessarily need to worry about scene structure or patterns. This is why I'm going to do more research on the writing styles of such authors as Agatha Christie and A. C. Doyle. I'll read more of their novels including their short stories with an eye for analysis. Thank you all for your input.
Yes. If they weren't, most would never know of them since they wouldn't fit scripts. Check out the resource section here on this site to see if any good mystery writing sites have been added.
I'm not following the "scripts" part. While several Agatha Christie works have been translated to plays, movies, etc., her BOOKS are also known well. And when she wrote something in script form, she changed it quite a bit--I remember reading this in her autobiography.
If Poirot couldn't fit into 3 act structure there would be no plays, movies, mini series, etc. So, IMO they are compatible with 3 act structure.
What does "compatible with" mean, though? I mean, characters are compatible with just about any story structure, aren't they? And novels are often fairly heavily adapted when they go to the screen, I assume to, among other things, make sure they fit with the screenplay structures. Is there any novel that would be incompatible with the three act structure?
Also, it's not as if film or videotape is capable of saying, "Wait. This is not a three act structure. No filming for you!" It's certainly possible to create these things without a three act structure, and in fact Googling makes it pretty clear that it's far from un-heard of. I realize this is a side issue. The Poirot video creations may indeed have a three act structure. That certainly doesn't mean that the books and stories have to.
Compatible was used to show that it is easily done, and has been done many times, also to use the word in the question I was asked. Characters are, but a lot of stories aren't unless changed dramatically. House of Leaves would be a novel difficult to place into a single 3 act structure, but could be done using multiple, overlapping ones. @ChickenFreak I was answering this question- Didn't Christie put out a book titled 'Three Act Story (Poirot)? and was it a 3 act structure?
One of her Poirot novels is called Murder in Three Acts (US title), or Three Act Tragedy (UK title). It's in a theater setting. I've never assumed that the novel itself was structured in three acts, however.
