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    Roads to Writing 4. Mystery Fiction
    Roads to Writing 4. Mystery Fiction
    Roads to Writing 4. Mystery Fiction
    Ebook47 pages57 minutes

    Roads to Writing 4. Mystery Fiction

    By David McRobbie

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    About this ebook

    This is an essay, a personal view, on the craft of writing mystery fiction, or whodunits. It looks at finding plot ideas, creating the detective character and suspects. The essay goes on to explore the tricky business of laying clues within a story, together with some cunning tricks to disguise them.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDavid McRobbie
    Release dateOct 6, 2016
    ISBN9781370595143
    Roads to Writing 4. Mystery Fiction
    Author

    David McRobbie

    David McRobbie was born in Glasgow in 1934. After an apprenticeship he joined the Merchant Navy as a marine engineer and sailed the world, or some of it. Eventually he worked his passage to Australia, got married and settled down for a bit only to move to Papua New Guinea where he trained as a teacher.Subsequently he found work as a college lecturer, then a researcher for parliament. Back in Australia in 1974 he joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a producer of radio and television programs for young people.In 1990 he gave up this work to become a full time writer for children and young adults. He has written over thirty paperbacks, mainly novels, but some are collections of short stories, plays and ‘how-to’ books on creative writing.Three of his novels were adapted for television, with David writing all of the sixty-five scripts — the first being The Wayne Manifesto in 1996, followed by Eugénie Sandler, PI then Fergus McPhail. These shows were broadcast throughout the world, including Australia and Britain on BBC and ITV.The BBC adapted another of David’s novels for television — See How They Run, which became the first BBC/ABC co-production.At the age of 79, David is still at work. His most recent paperback novels are Vinnie’s War, (Allen & Unwin) published in 2011, about childhood evacuation in the second world war. This was followed by To Brave The Seas, in 2013, a story about a 14-year-old boy who sails in Atlantic convoys during WW2. Both books are available online.

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      Book preview

      Roads to Writing 4. Mystery Fiction - David McRobbie

      Roads to Writing

      4. Mystery Fiction

      A Personal View

      David McRobbie

      Copyright 2016 David McRobbie

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this essay, please purchase an additional copy for each person with whom you share it. If you’re reading this e-book and did not purchase it, then you should buy your own copy.

      Thank you for respecting the writer's work.

      Cover image: Alice-Anne Boylan

      Contents

      Prologue — A Story Fragment.

      Chapter One — What is Mystery Fiction?

      Chapter Two — Plot Ideas.

      Chapter Three — Suspects.

      Chapter Four — Clues.

      Chapter Five — The Three-D Technique.

      Chapter Six — Wrapping Up.

      About the Writer

      Other Books and Essays by David McRobbie

      Prologue

      A Story Fragment

      I’d got a hint that a Tael was lurking out this way. He, or she, would need to skulk off somewhere remote and gather strength before coming amongst us. If I were to win, it would have to be in the full un-glare of darkness when the Tael was at rest, away from the light. And wouldn’t you know it, that bitter night was the coldest we’d had for some time.

      I went out to the mill on my bike, quieter that way but freezing on the fingers. It made me regret not wearing gloves, but they were back in the workshop where I’d put my motorbike in for repairs. As I pedalled along the road, the rain drove into me stinging my eyes, making me flinch against it. Soon I could see the dark mill silhouette against the sky. The place had long ceased to work, the sails no longer spun but hung derelict, bare and dejected.

      I dismounted and stood breathing quietly, listening for any unwelcome noises. Tael sounds. To conceal my bicycle from the road I hid in the long grass. The danger is if any Tael detects your presence they soon make themselves known and there’s nothing you can do about it. I waited for the tell-tale sign in my head that he or she sensed that an Ordinary was nearby. Nothing came; no glazing over of the eyes or involuntary movements of my arms or legs; I was still in charge of my own mind and body. Good. Then it was time to approach the mill but I’d hardly taken a step in that direction when there came a noise I didn’t expect to hear.

      •

      This story fragment has two purposes, which we’ll explore later. Right now, as promised, let’s look at the nuts and bolts of mystery fiction.

      Chapter One

      What is Mystery Fiction?

      A mystery story has long been known as a ‘whodunit’. In writing such a tale you are really setting a puzzle for your readers to solve. You’ll allow them a sporting chance to work out whodunit, then give the solution at the end. At that point in the story, you will explain each clue and show how it helps reveal the guilty party. The mystery can be a long puzzle, as in a full length novel, or it can be a short story that takes only

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