Rx for Writers

Transcripts

Thursday, September 27, 2001

MODERATOR is Mel Boring, author of many nonfiction books.

Kristi is Kristi Holl, author of 24 books, including 8 middle grade mysteries. Her mysteries are often set in real places, like The Haunting of Cabin 13 in Backbone State Park, and her three Carousel Mysteries (A Spin Out of Control, Deadly Disguise, Stage Fright) in her hometown.

Names color coded in blue are viewers with questions.

Interviews are conducted at 9-11 p.m. Atlantic/Canada, 8-10 p.m. Eastern, 7-9 Central, 6-8 Mountain, and 5-7 Pacific

Moderator: Hello, all of you. It is a great joy for me tonight to get to interview an expert interviewer herself, Kristi Holl. Kristi had done marvelous work as the webmaster of this site. Tonight, we will be asking her questions about a sparkling specialty of hers, writing mysteries for children. Of Kristi's 24 published juvenile novels, eight are mysteries. And one of those mysteries-- The Haunting of Cabin 13 --won a children's choice award. Kristi, a warm welcome to you tonight!

Kristi: Thanks so much for subbing for me tonight, Mel. It's fun to be on the other side of the interview!

Moderator: Kristi, you've published eight mysteries in addition to your other books. What made you interested in this genre?

Kristi: I've always loved to read mysteries, and they were my favorites as a child. I grew up on Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Cherry Ames. And I continued to read mysteries as an adult. I lean toward "puzzle" type mysteries, like Agatha Christie, and many current mystery writers like Anne Perry. So it was natural to try writing a mystery for children. The second book I wrote was a mystery called Mystery By Mail about a blackmail scheme in a junior high school. But interest definitely stemmed from reading mysteries in the 50's and 60's.

Moderator: Have mysteries changed much since that time?

Kristi: Well, we do have the new Nancy Drew Files, written by current writers, so in some ways, things haven't changed much. But the sophistication level has changed. Many mysteries back then were very simple, and you certainly had no graphic violence. Nancy Drew got bopped on the head once, but mostly she got tied up or locked in a closet or trapped in an old tower. Today's heroes operate in a tougher world sometimes, with kidnappings and drugs and domestic abuse. This is not a must for writing mysteries now--I don't write that kind myself--but it is definitely allowed. You'll find horror elements in mysteries now, and the occult (lots of ghosts, seances, etc.) and I don't write that kind either! All my mysteries have been the puzzle type, with a crime committed usually, and an amateur sleuth tracking down clues and figuring out whodunit.

Moderator: You've done single mysteries and a mysteries series. Which came first?

Kristi: The single mysteries came first. I wasn't sure till I actually sold the first one that I could do it. I had four single titles out before I attempted a series, which was my three Carousel Mysteries set here in my home town.

Moderator: Where can you find good ideas for mysteries?

Kristi: Ideas for mystery plots can come from any number of sources. Keep your eyes peeled for conflict and odd facts mostly. You can clip ideas from newspapers if you're an avid reader. (I'm not, but I used to ask my husband to mark anything he found that was interesting or odd, and I'd cut the articles out later. They went into a plastic "idea" box. The best ideas came from the inside pages, the odd human interest stuff.) Odd ideas from TV are good, but bear in mind that millions watch TV and will see that same idea. The best ideas come from public television documentaries and educational shows, I've found, like the historical ones or the animal shows. I also got ideas from old copies of the Guinness Book of World Records that I bought for fifty cents apiece at a garage sale. The idea for my mystery that won a children's choice award just came from an old puzzle book I had kept from my childhood.

Moderator: Where do you most often find ideas for mystery plots?

Kristi: Personally, nearly all my mystery ideas come from places I've visited. (That's why most of mine are set Iowa--I haven't gone many places!) I collect brochures everywhere I go, and in them I've found odd historical facts that become important clues to solve the mystery. You also get maps, names of businesses, local legends, etc. to add authenticity to your setting. One example was my The Haunting of Cabin 13, which takes place in Backbone State Park up in NE Iowa, on the bluffs of the Mississippi River. We went on vacation there many summers, and stayed in Cabin 13 a few times. I read in the park brochure about the cattle rustlers and stagecoach robbers that had once hidden in the caves and bluffs of the Backbone Trail, and I started wondering if perhaps some of their "stash" was still there. One thought led to another, and the book plot was born. Another spot in NE Iowa we visited a lot was the Effigy Mounds National Park, an Indian burial grounds. It's also on the Mississippi River bluffs, and after nearly losing one of my young daughters on the trail, and fearing that she'd gone over the bluff into the river at a point called Hanging Rock, I went home and wrote a book about a kidnapped boy being hidden up there called Danger at Hanging Rock. So, for some reason, most of my mystery ideas come from places I visit, especially places with history or little museums.

Moderator: How can your setting become an effective plot device?

Kristi: Your setting can determine important parts of your plot. For example, if your setting is an island, your plot can include hurricanes that take out the electricity and phones, or storms that wash evidence up on the beach. If your setting is mountainous, you can encounter caves to hide in, rattlesnakes to fight, bears, and extreme cold. A small town setting is less hazardous, yet it means that you're carefully watched, your routine is known, and the villain can find you quite easily. Cities with high rise apartments and parking garages lend themselves to different plots than a hut in the Alps. So make use of your setting--in a mystery, it can easily be as important as a main character.

Moderator: When you get plot ideas from settings, are there any restrictions there?

Kristi: Well, you must always ask yourself, "Does the crime fit the setting?" Writers of children's mysteries should keep in mind certain basic facts: Youngsters are usually confined to their neighborhoods; depend on their bicycles for mobility and transportation; have limited physical strength; and are in the most part under the watchful eyes of adults, both at school and at home. Even when you change the setting (on a Disney cruise with the family, at a mountain cabin on vacation, riding the subway), your young hero is likely to be with parents or grandparents and limited in mobility. Keep your setting in mind when choosing your crime or mysterious happening.

Moderator: Are there any big "no-no's" in writing mysteries for young people?

Kristi: Well, there are for me--and for many mystery writers. I don't like the trend I see toward more violence. I don't like seeing rape depicted in YA mysteries, for example. Leave it to the adult mysteries. You can write suspenseful stories and be realistic without being graphic. Most often, the threat of something about to happen is as scary--or scarier--than seeing the scene. On the other hand, kids want and deserve mysteries that don't talk down to them or are too simple. Stories where something was stolen and after much clue-tracking, it turns out to be the dog buried the stuff in the backyard, are happily a thing of the past. You can have a story with lots of twists and turns, lots of suspense, and also with humor, without being graphic at all.

Moderator: How would you define a mystery?

Kristi: A mystery usually has some puzzle or puzzling occurrence to solve. When readers choose a mystery, they know that they'll be reading about (1) a crime that was committed, or (2) a mysterious happening that threatens the hero. When you choose the first type, the crime is often introduced by the end of the first chapter so the hero knows what he is trying to solve. For example, in my Cast a Single Shadow, the theft takes place in the first chapter. On the other hand, in a "mysterious occurrence" book, odd things do happen in the first chapter, but it more closely resembles a scary puzzle to put together than a crime to solve. Subsequent chapters add more eerie happenings as suspense builds and the hero works (often against a ticking clock) to figure out what's happening before someone is hurt! I used this type of plot in The Haunting of Cabin 13, with its increasingly serious ghost notes and eerie lights bobbing over the lake and cave.

Moderator: Is plotting a short mystery story the same process as plotting a book-length mystery?

Kristi: Basically it is. Naturally, a short story's length limits you to a simple puzzle that can be solved quickly, and there won't be time for subplots or much characterization. But the mystery structure is the same. It's just less complicated with the stories, and you have fewer of everything: fewer suspects, no subplot, few false or real clues, etc.

Fred: Could you please share your personal favorites among children's mystery

writers with a fledgling mystery writer? Thanks!

Kristi: Well, I have my own personal favorites among people I know, like Joan Lowery Nixon for YA, and Mary Downing Hahn for middle graders. Both women have won numerous children's choice awards for their mysteries. Some mystery/suspense you might study (for various ages) could include for the very young, Inspector Hopper by Doug Cushman (a grasshopper detective) or The Case of the Shrunken Allowance by Joanne Rocklin. For middle-grade readers, try Betty Ren Wright's The Moonlight Man or Bill Maynard's Pondfire. For the 'tweeners ages l0 and up, Avi's Midnight Magic or Ted Pedersen's Ghost on the Net. If you want to write for teens, try Playing with Fire by Kate Chester or Joan Lowery Nixon's Who Are You? These will get you started. Also, ask librarians who the most popular mystery writers for children at your library, and read their books to find out why!

Danielle: I want to write middle-grade mysteries. What reference books do you recommend I study on how to write mysteries? Thanks!

Kristi: First, I want to say that you don't have to read any reference books to write mysteries, especially if you have always loved to read them. You've absorbed a lot by osmosis about suspenseful writing that way. I sold four mysteries before I ever bought a craft book on writing mysteries. However, I found myself using the same plot devices over and over, the same worn-out ideas, and that's when I bought some books. I wish I had had them earlier! There's no use re-inventing the wheel, I don't think. So, from my shelves I can recommend: Joan Lowery Nixon's Writing Mysteries for Young People, a book edited by Sue Grafton called Writing Mysteries, The Weekend Novelist Writes a Mystery by Robert Ray and Jack Remick, many books in the HOWDUNIT SERIES by Writer's Digest books, like Missing Persons, Rip-Off, Amateur Detectives, Modus Operandi, Deadly Doses, and others, Mystery Writers Handbook edited by Lawrence Treat, and You Can Write a Mystery by Gillian Roberts. All these books overflow with tricks of the trade and idea boosters!

JaciRae: I have an idea for a mystery, but how do I turn that into an actual plot?

Kristi: It somewhat depends on how you got the idea in the first place. If you cut and save newspaper clippings, then dump out your boxful and find 3-6 ideas that strike your fancy, and they don't have to have anything to do with each other. See if any one of them or a combination of several, will yield a plot. Getting the idea is the easy part. Turning it into a story plot is fun now, but in the beginning, I found it very stressful. I tried too hard, and I started to write too soon. You need to spend a lot of time with a pad and pencil at first, just doodling different notions and ideas that come to you as you study your clippings (or in my case, my brochures and photos of the setting). Things will come to you, like possible character names, different scenes, perhaps the climax, how the crime is done or hidden, odd character traits you'd like to give your hero, titles, etc. WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN. Do NOT trust your memory. You may not use everything that comes to you during this daydreaming/doodling time, but you'll use a lot of it eventually. As you write stuff down that comes to you, more stuff will bubble up. And it will happen at odd moments during the day when your mind is otherwise unoccupied. TAKE TIME to write those bits down or you'll lose something valuable. This is how an idea slowly becomes a plot.

MBVoelker: Can mystery be mixed with other elements such as fantasy or science fiction? Is there anything special a person mixing genres this way ought to watch out for?

Kristi: First, you need to decide what your dominant genre will be because each genre has its own "rules" to follow. There are romantic suspense stories, for example, and if your main genre is the romance, the plot will differ from one that is primarily suspense. So your first goal is to decide which genre you are primarily working in, and that will decide where the book will be shelved in the bookstore too.

Moderator: Let's say I wanted to write a mystery. What goes into the planning stages, before I can actually start writing? How much of the plot do I need to know before I can start writing?

Kristi: Well, you need to know a few things for sure. You need to know what really happened (the mystery's solution) so you can place clues in the right places along the way. You need to know your amateur detective and WHY he wants to solve this particular puzzle. What's at stake for your hero? What basic steps will your detective/hero take to solve the mystery? (Interviewing suspects? Following a trail of footprints into the woods? Internet spying? Wearing a disguise?) Who's the villain or what's the opposition? (You must have something or someone trying to thwart your hero.) What's the time limit? You need to give your hero a fairly short time to solve the mystery in order to heighten suspense (and then shorten the time for good effect later). You need to know if you'll be able to include fear and danger in some way, and lots of action. You will want to have others in your cast of characters to help (like a sidekick perhaps) and get in the way and cause conflict. For longer works, you'll want a subplot or two for enough depth.

Moderator: Mysteries are considered "plot driven" instead of "character driven." Are the characters only there to serve the plot?

Kristi: In some mysteries, like hard-boiled private eye stories, they are. But I don't care much for that type. While mysteries for young people are also plot driven, or centered mostly around the plot, the stories will be much more engrossing if the main characters are also fully developed. You can develop your hero in two such ways so that your reader is pulled even more closely into your plot. First, give your hero a personal problem to solve apart from mystery. My heroes have had problems at home with parents and siblings, personal fear problems, etc. Also, be sure the hero has something at stake in your plot--make the plot personal. WHY does he want to solve the problem? If your hero can't solve the mystery, there should be dire consequences. (For example, if a necklace is stolen from a jewelry store, your young hero might want to solve the crime, but if he can't, the store will just file for insurance and it won't matter to the hero. On the other hand, if the necklace is stolen and the boy's mother, who works at the store, is arrested and jailed, solving the mystery becomes personal. The hero will DESPERATELY want to solve it, and your reader will care so much more too.) Making sure the hero has a big stake in the outcome doesn't take much extra plotting effort, but pays big dividends in keeping your reader interested. It also keeps reviewers from saying your plot is "slight." (NOTE: mystery writing techniques are good for ALL types of writing and plotting problems. Apply what we're saying here to your mainstream, general story and see what a difference it can make!)

ninacs: How can you bring this level of complexity to a short story for kids, having a secondary personal problem to solve?

Kristi: It needs to be a less serious personal problem to have, like a pesky little sister who tags along or eavesdrops, or a parent who nags about cleaning their room. Save the more serious personal problems for book length development.

Moderator: So how important are the characters? Couldn't the wrong hero ruin the plot?

Kristi: Yes, he or she could. Some plots need a serious, brainy-type hero for that particular crime. Some need a courageous hero (or one that will overcome her timidity in order to do what she has to do.) Humorous mysteries work well with heroes who leap before they look and get into all kinds of scrapes a more careful personality would avoid. So, yes, do keep your plot in mind when creating characters.

Moderator: Do you create your plot first, then invent a hero to fit the plot?

Kristi: In a sense, I guess I do, since I usually have the plot idea first. Mysteries are essentially about plot, so that's natural. But you're right in thinking that the action involved in solving the mystery must fit your hero. Is cracking the crime compatible with his age, health, and size? Can s/he believably solve it? (Note: I said believably, not easily.) You do want solving the mystery to challenge your hero, or it won't hold your reader's interest. For example, in The Haunting of Cabin 13, the boy confined to a wheelchair helped catch the villain when he rolled downhill after him, knocking him over. The boy's previously shown skill in handling his wheelchair made this believable, although the rough ground and the villain's size still made it a challenge. Just be sure you don't go overboard. If solving the mystery is so challenging that it's rendered unbelievable, you'll lose your reader in disgust. For example, had I chosen instead to have the young paraplegic throw himself from the wheelchair and climb up the side of the cliff using only his arms, the readers would have scoffed and closed the book.

Moderator: As long as your hero can solve the problem or the mystery, can you go forward then with outlining and planting clues, etc.?

Kristi: Not quite yet. Take one more look at the center of your plot: your crime or "mysterious" happening. Does this crime fit your villain? Is the deed something your villain could pull off (and almost get away with?) While a dog can certainly be the thief when it's socks missing from the hero's bedroom, it's too much of a stretch to have the family pet steal the ATM card and charge up a storm at the local mall. Also, some crimes require adult villains because of the preplanning involved, even if a child or teen had the capability to commit the actual crime.

MBVoelker: What about getting authorities out of the way? How can you have a serious problem, like the necklace theft from the store you used as an example earlier, without having more grown-ups -- the police this time -- taking over again? How can you do this believably?

Kristi: Actually, with amateur detectives, it's not that hard, especially with kids, because they are perceived as not knowing much. In the case of the jewelry theft, the police felt they had arrested the right person--the boy's mother--and they weren't looking any further. That's what spurred the boy on actually, to snoop around. Amateur detectives can actually take more freedoms sometimes than private eyes because they don't have licenses to protect. But in the case of kids solving mysteries, the clues that point the way to their solving the crime nearly always have to do with things they've spotted, odd ways people behaved, things that happened where you would not normally find any police hanging around. The Writer's Digest book called AMATEUR DETECTIVES is great for this, showing how kids of all ages and old ladies (who are sharply observant) can outsmart the police believably, how they can find out clues believably, and personality types that best fit the successful amateur detective.

JAMES55CLINTON: The POV character can be the hero, the sidekick or a narrator. What are the pros and cons?

Kristi: In writing children's mysteries chances are that you'll want your hero to be the viewpoint character because he will be able to go everywhere and be involved in all the action, plus you'll see inside his thoughts and know how he is putting the clues together. Having the sidekick be the POV is quite limiting for children's stories, although the narrator could pull it off easier. However, remember that half the pull of a mystery for a child is identifying with the hero, BEING the hero almost, and solving the problem along with the hero. So having the hero be your POV character accomplishes this goal the best.

MBVoelker: It sometimes seems to me that the hardest part of writing a story is getting the grown-ups out of the way so that the kids can carry the story. How can you work around good parenting practices so that the kids can go to work?

Kristi: That is so very true. I've resorted to different things. Sometimes I have them so busy they don't notice stuff, like a mom who is taking night classes, leaving the 12 year old home, in charge, baby-sitting. If you have the setting of your mystery in the child's hometown and neighborhood, they can usually take off on their bikes and go places without parents. Sometimes parents go away on trips, leaving the kids in the care of someone less observant like a grandparent who doesn't watch them so carefully. But you're right...you must find a way to get rid of the parents sometimes without doing anything really nasty to them!

Moderator: Are certain crimes/mysteries used for the young, and others for YA?

Kristi: Well, certainly that's true in some cases. There are a number of YA mysteries which include rapes and murders, but you certainly wouldn't want that in simple picture book mysteries or early chapter books. On the other hand, many crimes can be used for all age groups. The specifics depend on the age of your readership and hero/ine. Take the crime of theft: a preschool picture book might show the family dog stealing the hero's socks from his dresser drawer; an early reader might center around the second grade hero's lunch being stolen from the coat closet; a fifth grader might have his bike stolen; and a YA hero might be missing his ATM card or cell phone.

Moderator: What kinds of crimes can you use for children's mysteries?

Kristi: Possible crimes could include blackmail (as in my Mystery By Mail), the forging of signatures or paintings, arson, kidnapping (A Spin Out of Control), con artists or swindlers (Stage Fright), vandalism, shoplifting, stealing (Cast a Single Shadow), smuggling, poisoning (Deadly Disguise), or pranks that go wrong (such as throwing objects from an overpass and causing a fatal car accident).

Moderator: In a mystery, the plot has to move quickly, with lots of surprises along the way and with several per chapter or short story. Do you have trouble thinking of ideas or plot twists?

Kristi: I used to, after writing a couple of mysteries and realizing I had used all the plot twists and turns I could think of. (I was starting to repeat myself.) So I started keeping a notebook handy during my "free reading" time because I read a lot of adult mysteries. And when I would come across a plot twist, I would make a note of it in one section of my notebook. I would jot down things like: Give character a big secret that he/she doesn't want revealed; shorten the time so the hero has less time to act than he thought; an overheard phone conversation or message left on answering machine; someone seen wandering through neighborhood at an odd hour; stain on carpet or clothes; a locked desk drawer or briefcase or suitcase or cabinet--why is it locked?; someone is caught in a lie; shrieks or street noise keep the hero from hearing everything he's told; someone suddenly has more money to spend--where did it come from?; someone is in disguise: why?; someone is caught eavesdropping. I made an extensive list this way, and then when it was time to plot my own stories, and I got stuck for something to happen to increase the suspense or further the plot, I went to my "plot twist" notebook and scanned my list for ideas.

Moderator: Why is it so necessary to have so much action in your plot?

Kristi: Partly it's what readers expect. When a child (or adult, for that matter) picks up a mystery, they expect things to happen. They expect the hero to do more than sit and talk and think and figure things out. (Very bad plotting.) Get your hero up and moving. Get him out and in various settings as he tracks down clues. Each scene needs to convey a sense of movement and physical action of some kind. As tempting as it is, don't overdo the scenes where your hero is (for the sake of your reader) putting together clues, sorting through impressions, figuring it out, etc. A certain amount of this has to happen, but with children readers, they want more than Hercule Poirot using his "little gray cells." This problem or tendency can be solved most easily by using a sidekick or best friend in your plot. Let your hero have a sidekick or friend (preferably of the opposite sex to attract more readers) who can go along to track down clues and work things out. This way you avoid your hero being alone too much and having too much of the plot going on in his thoughts or when he talks aloud to himself or his dog.

Moderator: What about pacing? Some mysteries are so fast-paced that the reader can't catch his breath!

Kristi: That's true! They can be like the movies where you can't leave long enough to go get popcorn because it never slows down. That's not really very good pacing, though. You want highs and lows, tense suspenseful times alternating with more restful times. Don't try to keep everything at a fever pitch all the time. That can actually get as boring, if there's no break, as having nothing much happening at all. There needs to be a buildup to a dramatic scene, but your reader needs a short rest afterwards, and then you can start building to the next high point again. That's pacing, and it's something I don't worry much about until after I get my rough draft completed. I space out the major dramatic moments in the outline, but the pacing within the scenes is something I wait to work on till revisions. By the way, you don't want all dark and dreary scenes either. You may want some "comic relief" scenes--editors like them too--where the young reader can relax with the hero a bit.

Moderator: Are there any tricks to writing with suspense?

Kristi: Phyllis Whitney always advised giving every character in your book a secret. That's a great way to stimulate plot ideas and suspenseful twists and turns. The secrets don't all have to be sinister either. We all have things we know or do (or in our past) that we don't want made public. Make it true for your characters too, and watch what happens when the hero gets too close to a secret. People will lie and act strange--is it because they're the guilty villain, or are they just protecting their embarrassing secret? You can increase suspense in dialogue by having people refuse to answer, or answer a question that wasn't asked, or lie, or any number of things. Suspense is built up when your hero (and reader) is led to expect one thing, but something else entirely happens. Surprises of all kinds increase suspense. Dangerous situations are suspenseful. Ticking clocks, where time is running out for your hero, increases suspense too.

Moderator: Even with mystery short stories and stories for younger readers, you must be able to plant clues in a subtle way. Are there tricks to this? Or rules?

Kristi: The only real rule is that you have to play fair with the reader. The clues have to be in plain enough site that a good reader can find them. And you can't wait till the end to plant them either. It takes no great writing to plot a mystery and keep the reader fooled if you don't give out any decent clues till the last few chapters! No, you must plant the clues early, certainly the big ones in the first half of the book. The reader wants to feel, as I did as a child, that he has a fair chance of solving the mystery right along with your hero or heroine. And since this is true, you must learn to plant them in such a way that they are "out there," yet hidden. And you must plant false clues, or "red herrings", to take your hero off onto wrong paths, accusing the wrong people. Your villain often supplies these false clues. Your reader deserves a good hunt.

Moderator: How do you do that, though? What are some "nuts and bolts" for planting clues?

Kristi: I guess I use three main methods for planting clues. The first is that I hide them in plain sight. I put the clue right under the hero's--and the reader's--nose. In my The Haunting of Cabin 13 the heroine reads the park brochure aloud to her parents in the car, revealing the main clue that will solve the mystery at the end.

I also hide clues in a list. Make the clue just one item of many in a long list. For example, in one mystery, an important clue was laying on a desk. When the heroine made a phone call, she pushed aside some junk to make room for the phone book, and I listed four or five things she shoved to the side. One of those things was a clue, an object that shouldn't have been there.

Sometimes you can't hide the clue in a list or in plain view. But if it's an important clue, you the author have to give it to the reader. When that happens, give the clue (like in a conversation between people), but then create a diversion after planting a clue. As soon as the clue is revealed, create an emergency for the hero. Perhaps that conversation is interrupted by a scream coming from upstairs or outside, a frantic phone call, sirens, whatever. By the time the hero has attended to whatever emergency you created, he will have forgotten the clue, and so will your reader. Only later, when the solution is revealed, will the reader remember that clue.

bernie: Do you have a sort of blueprint for how many scenes, clues, red herrings, etc. per chapter or section?

Kristi: Hmmm... For a chapter, I have two scenes at least, and usually three, and my chapters are l0-l2 pages double spaced. I tend to plant most of my clues early in the story, like the first half, but that's about all the "rules" I have about that.

martys: About how many "red herrings" should you include in a mystery for middle school readers?

Kristi: If you're talking stories, not many. If you're talking books, many more. In books you need to have the real villain and at least two other good suspects and for each suspect--the real one and the other two--you need at least three solid clues pointing in their direction. Otherwise they won't seriously be considered suspects or draw enough attention away from your villain.

Moderator: In its simplest terms, what is a step-by-step plot or outline for a mystery?

Kristi: Well, first there's your beginning, where the crime or mysterious happening takes place! This is where you introduce the hero and the victim in the setting you chose. Then there's the middle, where the hero investigates, but things get worse! This is where you plant clues and use those plot twists I talked about earlier. At this point, there seem to be several suspects. This is by far the largest section of the mystery, maybe 70% of the word count. This may sound like an odd thing to point out here, but be sure your scenes are full of conflict. Sometimes I see unpublished mysteries which have an excellent puzzle, but the author has gotten so busy with the hero solving the puzzle that conflict is forgotten when tracking down the clues. Make your hero run into all kinds of trouble and fight for every clue he finds! Then you have the climax, or the "black moment" when all could be lost! This is the scariest part of the mystery; your hero is often trapped somewhere with villain. Then the ending is last, where the hero solves the mystery and reveals the solution!

Kevin: I hate to outline, so does that pretty much exclude me from writing mysteries?

Kristi: No, it just may mean that your writing style doesn't like outlines. Some very fine mystery writers, like Tony Hillerman, don't use outlines at all. They start with a general idea of the mystery, a couple characters, a setting they know well, and they start writing. Things happen along the way. I know one children's writer who doesn't know "whodunit" until she gets to the end of her book and decides! Personally, it would drive me nuts to write like that, but I know some mystery writers who do. Just bear in mind that you'll probably do a lot more rewriting because once you figure out the plot, you'll have to go back and plant all the real and false clues, etc.

Moderator: Kristi, do YOU outline your mysteries thoroughly?

Kristi: I used to thoroughly, and I still recommend that to new mystery writers, or it can be daunting to remember it all. My outlines now are much less detailed because I'm confident now that what I don't get the first time, I can add during revisions. However, there is a method that combines the best of both methods, and this can really be used for any type of book. I may try this with my next mystery and see if I like it. One mystery author writes without an outline, just writing as it comes to him, but he keeps 3-5 different windows open on his word processor. One is for his book, one is for characters, one for setting, one for clues. As he is writing his book, when he introduces a new character or setting, for example, he will "cut and paste" that section into the appropriate window document (characters, or setting, or whatever.) Then, when he's done, he has his rough draft, plus he has character and setting sketches in his other documents. I will have to try it and see if I like it or not.

wendymh: How much time do you put into the planning stage and when do you know it is time to start writing?

Kristi: I do a lot more thinking now than I used to, although my outlines are less detailed. I used to start writing much too soon, and felt like the planning time wasn't "really writing". That just ending up in having to do a lot more rewriting later, and after awhile I also was coming up with dull plots, because if you take the first ideas that come to you and don't take time to go deeper or find something more surprising, your books start to sound the same! So, I try to take at least 2-3 weeks of writing time just to plan now, more if it's a type of book I've never done before. With mysteries I know it's time to write when I pretty much know those elements that I mentioned a bit earlier.

Moderator: What are cliffhangers, and do you end every chapter with one?

Kristi: Cliffhangers just mean leaving the chapter or scene on a high suspenseful note. All writing tends to use cliffhanger endings, but mysteries use cliffhangers that tend to be more suspenseful or dangerous. The purpose of the cliffhanger is to get the reader to turn the page and start the next chapter, rather than putting the book down (and possibly not coming back to it.)

Moderator: What goes into the climax of the mystery?

Kristi: The climax is one of the most important scenes in the book, and it occurs very near the ending. The entire book or story leads up to this scene. It's the "black moment" where things look really bad for your hero, maybe even life and death, and it looks as if there may be no way out. Often, the hero is trapped in some place or situation with the villain during the climax, and it's a toss-up who will win. Because of the action taken by the hero here, the hero wins. Beginning writers tend to skip over the climax scene too quickly, telling in just a few words what happened--or sometimes leaving extra white space and continuing several lines down after the crisis has passed! Don't ever do that! It is essential to show the reader this scene as it is taking place, not tell about it after it's over. The reader wants to participate in the climax scene, and he deserves to.

Moderator: Many mysteries have a surprise or twist-type ending. Is there a secret to writing these?

Kristi: First, let me say that although the ending is a surprise to the reader, it still must be believable and plausible. The reader must be, after the surprise, able to say to himself, "Of course! I see! This is how it had to turn out!" It can't be the kind of surprise where the reader throws down the book in disgust and says, "Oh, come on! It would never have happened that way!" Successfully planting real clues in your mystery will give your reader the right kind of surprise. That's really the only trick to it. And it takes some practice to give the clues without being too obvious. My first few attempts came back from my editor with the comment, "You need to fix your heavy-handed foreshadowing." I was always afraid the reader might not "get it" so I guess I was too obvious at first. Our young readers are sharper than we sometimes give them credit for.

Moderator: What about dialogue? Is it only for characterization, or can it matter to the plot?

Kristi: This is an excellent way to give information to the reader. The hero questions people, so the dialogue importance is obvious there. But it isn't just in what clues are given in the dialogue itself. Make good use of your tag lines and the characters' facial expressions and body language. People telling the truth behave differently than people who are lying. I got a great book called Never Be Lied to Again, by David J. Lieberman, which gives this kind of information. Include it when you're writing your dialogue. You might or might not have your hero pick up on the body language clues, depending on whether you want to call attention to it for the reader (if it's a false clue) or not call attention to it (if it's a real clue).

cptacek: How do you write authentic dialogue for children?

Kristi: I have to eavesdrop on them, frankly. When my own kids were young, that was easy because all four were underfoot at once, but they got older, and now they are grown and some married. My characters started to sound older and older, so now I eavesdrop by going to school. I ask the principal and the 6th grade teacher first and then, armed with notebook and pen, I go to school for the day. I sit in the back of the room and they forget me and there I eavesdrop and write down dialogue. Since kids talk in class all the time now, that's easy. I go to lunch too, and step into the hallway, and write down dialogue. That type of thing works best for me, rather than going to a mall or something because I can make notes on character sketches and classroom settings at the same time.

Moderator: Should a new writer try to sell a single title mystery first, or plan it as a series?

Kristi: If you've never written a mystery before, I would try the single title. You can always create a character that you'd like to work with again, in case your first book sells well and your editor is agreeable to a sequel or series. But if you've never sold a mystery, it will be hard to sell a series of your own right away. If you are thinking "series" for later, though, try to make sure your hero has a best friend or sidekick who helps and is involved in the action, preferably a person of the opposite sex to attract readers of both sexes. Editors do like heroes and heroines to have sidekicks so the hero isn't a Lone Ranger detective. (Do have your sidekick talk more than Tonto though.)

Moderator: The time has sped by, and I want to thank you for ALL of us, Kristi! And THANKS to you all for making my job so easy tonight!

Kristi: Thank YOU, Mel. This is one of my favorite topics to talk about!

Moderator: I hope you all will be back here two weeks from tonight. Good night!

Return to Transcripts

93 Long Ridge Road, West Redding, CT 06896 Phone: (203) 792-8600 (800) 243-9645 Fax: (203) 792-8406 E-Mail: WebEditor@institutechildrenslit.com

Home | Writing Course | Short Story  | Full Story | Aptitude Test 
 Send Me Info | Enroll | Our Instructors | Our Credentials | Sample Lesson
College Credits | Tax Deductibility | From Overseas | Writer's Bookstore 
Newsletter | Writing Contests | Write for Adults | Free Writer's News
 Rx for Writers | Chat Room | Open Forum | Writing Tips  | Scheduled Events | Transcripts
Writer's Retreat | Writer's Support  | Student  Center |  Privacy Policy | Web Editor | Comments

Copyright © The Institute, Inc., 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
No part of the electronic transmission to which this notice is appended may be reproduced or redistributed in any form or manner without the express written permission of The Institute, Inc.